Huawei Unfolds Another Phone
Image from Huawei
Moving on from the rumours of the P40 series, many reviewers are talking about yet another folding phone coming to the market. I was not fond of the initial releases of folding phones, both Samsung and Huawei left much to be desired. An experimental concept that left much to be rethought to fit the daily needs of the average consumer, not to mention that hefty price tag. Samsung’s current Galaxy fold is very much a tablet that folds into a phone. It hasn’t been without its problems and faulty displays have been at the heart of this problem and wider adoption hasn’t really taken off just yet. Huawei are stepping forward with a new outing in the Huawei Mate XS.
The concept of folds is still very much immature and I would say pointless to some degree but Huawei are trying to offer a smartphone that folds out into a tablet. It’s a direct competitor to Samsung’s outing and I do wonder how long it is before Huawei debut a clamshell form factor to compete with the Galaxy Z Flip. With a spring loaded hinge that seems to snap into place with consistency, transitioning between phone and tablet mode seems seamless. In phone mode, taking selfies with the back facing camera will be something I have not been able to do with my current bar form factor phones.
With some hefty specs, it seems like a great improvement over the previous generation and I might have been willing to give it a shot. Yet, there are many issues that are still holding me back and will continue to do so until resolved. Pricing on this device is touted to be just shy of $3000. While Huawei have established themselves in a market as a premium flagship retailer, and many other firms wish to follow this feat, I feel delivery in value is still important. Perhaps this is an exclusive piece of technology that was aimed at a smaller demographic anyway and price levels can be maintained. The Google issue however makes this a device that will be missing an established trustnet and a number of officially support applications from which most devices derive value from. It might look and perform great but what can you do with it? That’s a very important factor when picking up a new phone in the current Android ecosystem.
Reviewers are starting to publish their early thoughts with the device and they are very much just that. Most early tests with the Mate XS were carried out over a 24 hour period and that is never going to be indicative of how the device really performs under daily use. With durability concerns, high pricing and software availability up in the air, it’s not a compelling sell to me just yet. The form factor and design of this phone is starting to grow on me but that’s about it for now.
