Huawei was understandably cautious in the lead to the Mate X. Watching Samsung’s Galaxy problems unfolding in what seemed like slow motion caused the company to rethink its strategy. Shortly after the Fold went back to the drawing board, Huawei announced it would be doing the same in order to dot all of its Is and cross its Xs.
After a well-received debut way back in February at Mobile World Congress, the Mate X is finally ready to come to market. The device is set to arrive on November 15, several months after its planned summer release.
It will be hitting the company’s native China with the almost unthinkably loft starting price of 16,999 yuan (~$2,400). Of course, in addition to being Huawei’s first crack at foldables, the device also sports 5G, a fact that is apparently central to the roll out.
Huawei says it’s looking to bring it to other markets down the road, depending on 5G availability. Though for…reasons, the device will likely not be available in certain markets. Among other things I wouldn’t get my hopes up about its arrival here in the U.S. On a released note, the device will also be running a Google app-less version of Android, like the Mate 30.
That could certainly be a big deal breaker for international buyers. Though, having played with the device at MWC and again in China, I can say that the hardware is certainly the best foldable we’ve seen to date. The price tag, on the other hand.