Huawei Technologies unveiled $2,600 Mate X folding smartphone on Sunday which it said was primed for next generation 5G mobile connections.

“This phone is not only for today for 5G but also for future 5G. On all the benchmarks you can see the performance, the speed is the fastest for 5G in the world,” said Richard Yu, head of Huawei’s consumer business group.

The Huawei Mate X has two back-to-back screens which unfold to become an eight-inch tablet display.

The competitor to the recently announced $2,000 Samsung Galaxy Fold device is thinner, has a bigger screen, and folds flatter. The Mate X has an 8-inch wraparound OLED display, a folded thickness of a mere 11mm, and a spec sheet highlighted by 5G, a 4,500mAh battery, and Huawei’s in-house Kirin 980 processor.

When the device is folded, you have a dual-screen smartphone, with the second display on the rear allowing you to shoot selfies with the main camera or to share what’s on your primary display with a person on the other side. Opening up the Mate X offers you an almost square tablet that has minimal bezels on three sides. One of the sides is reserved for a thicker grip section that houses all the cameras and keeps the thickness of the main chassis down to just 5.4mm. Even when folded, the Mate X measures just 11mm in thickness, thanks in large part to the fact it has no gap in its fold. When closed, the Mate X is turns into a 6.6-inch smartphone:

Here’s all the displays you’re getting from this tablet:

• 6.6-inch (19.5:9 aspect ratio, 2480 x 1148 resolution) main display, when folded.
• 6.4-inch (25:9, 2480 x 892) rear display, when folded.
• 8-inch (8:7.1, 2480 x 2200) main display, when unfolded.

Compared to the rival Samsung Galaxy F, the Huawei Mate X places its fold-out screen on the outside of the device, so that it covers the front and rear of the phone when closed. In both modes, the display is larger than Samsung's. Huawei's device is also flatter and thinner when shut. However, unlike Samsung's Galaxy Fold it does not have a second display on its reverse side.

For comparison's sake, Huawei said:

• the Mate X's screen is 8in (20.3cm) when unfolded
• when closed, the Mate X's larger screen is 6.8in and the smaller one 6.6in
• when shut, the Mate X is 11mm (0.43in) thick
• Samsung's Fold's main screen is 7.3in (18.5cm) when unfolded
• the Fold's other display is 4.6in
• the Fold measures 17mm (0.67in) thick at its widest point when closed

The processor at the heart of the Mate X is Huawei’s Kirin 980. Alongside that chip is Huawei’s own Balong 5000 5G modem. The device has also a dual-SIM card slot, or you can add one of Huawei’s Nano Memory Cards.

It is powered by an impressive 4,500mAh battery . It’s accompanied by an upgraded 55W version of Huawei SuperCharge, which will top up the Mate X to 85 percent in 30 minutes. The power key on the side of the Huawei Mate X also houses a fingerprint sensor.

The Mate X will be priced at 2,299 euros ($2,607) when it goes on sale later this year, setting a new upper limit for consumer smartphones.

Huawei Mate X specs

• Colour: Interstellar Blue
• Display:
• Type: OLED
• Size:
• Unfolded: 8 inches
• Folded: 6.6 inches for front panel, 6.38 inches for back panel
• Resolution:
• Unfolded: 2480 x 2200
• Folded: 2480 x 1148 for front panel, 2480 x 892 for back panel
• Chipset: HUAWEI Kirin 980 + Balong 5000
  
• HUAWEI Kirin 980
• CPU: 2 x Cortex-A76 Based 2.6 GHz + 2 x Cortex-A76 Based 1.92 GHz + 4 x Cortex-A55 1.8 GHz
• GPU: Mali-G76
• NPU: Neural Network Processing Unit
• Balong 5000
  
• 2G / 3G / 4G / 5G Multi-mode
• Support SA&NSA
  
• Operating System: Android 9
• Memory:
• 8 GB RAM + 512 GB ROM
• NM card: support up to 256 GB
• Network
• Primary SIM card:
• 5G NR TDD: N41 / N77 / N78 / N79
• 4G LTE TDD: B34 / B38 / B39 / B40 / B41
• 4G LTE FDD: B1 / B2 / B3 / B4 / B5 / B6 / B7 / B8 / B9 / B12 / B17 / B18 / B19 / B20 / B26 / B28 / B32
• 3G WCDMA: B1 / B2 / B4 / B5 / B6 / B8 / B19;
• 2G GSM: B2 / B3 / B5 / B8 (850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 MHz)
  
• Secondary SIM card:
• 4G LTE TDD: B34 / B38 / B39 / B40 / B41
• 4G LTE FDD: B1 / B2 / B3 / B4 / B5 / B6 / B7 / B8 / B9 / B12 / B17 / B18 / B19 / B20 / B26 / B28
• 2G GSM: B2 / B3 / B5 / B8 (850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 MHz)
  
• Dual SIM Support
• Card slot 1: nano card
• Card slot 2: nano card or NM card (sold separately).
  
• GPS: GPS (L1 + L5 dual band) / AGPS / Glonass / BeiDou / Galileo (E1 + E5a dual band) / QZSS (L1 + L5 dual band)
• Connectivity:
• 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz
  
• Bluetooth 5.0, BLE, SBC, AAC, aptX, aptX HD, LDAC and HWA Audio
  
• Type-C, USB 3.1 GEN1
• Type-C earjack
• Sensors: Gravity Sensor, Ambient Light Sensor, Proximity Sensor, Gyroscope, Compass, Fingerprint Sensor, Hall sensor, Barometer, Infrared sensor, colour temprature sensor
• Camera
• Leica camera: 40 MP (Wide Angle Lens) + 16 MP (Ultra Wide Angle Lens) + 8 MP (Telephoto)
• EMUI 9.1.1
• Battery
• 4500 mAh (Typical Value)
• Charging: 55 W HUAWEI SuperCharge
• NFC: Read Write mode / Peer to Peer mode / Card Emulation mode (payment by *SIM card, or HCE) is supported.

New MateBook X Pro comes with more power and storage

Huawei is also upgrading the MateBook X Pro. Available later this year, it still has the same design and the same number of ports. But it comes with a faster processor, an upgraded graphics card, an upgraded Thunderbolt 3 port, and the option for up to 1TB of storage.

Huawei is swapping out the optional Nvidia MX 150 GPU with the newly announced GeForce MX 250. While Nvidia hasn't published exact specifications for its Vega Mobile competitor, the company does state that the MX 250's performance is 3.5x higher than Intel's integrated graphics in the Core i5-8265U CPU.

On the CPU side, Huawei replaces Intel's Kaby Lake Core i5 and Core i7 processors with the latest generation Whiskey Lake CPUs, which boast higher single-core boost clocks and improved power efficiency. This should yield a roughly 10-percent performance uplift.

The laptop comes with a 13.9-inch, 450 nit, edge-to-edge 3000 x 2000 pixel touchscreen; full size keyboard with 1.2mm key travel; fingerprint scanner embedded in the power button; and 2.93 lb weight. The two USB-C and one USB-A ports remain, though the Thunderbolt port has been upgraded to a full four lanes of bandwidth, which Huawei says is capable of supporting external GPUs like Nvidia’s RTX2080.

The X Pro has either 8GB or 16GB of RAM.

Huawei also kept the pop-up web cam the same, with it embedded in the keyboard’s function row.

Huawei is also adding some software tricks, such as gestures for taking screenshots, and the newest version of Huawei Share. Plus a shared clipboard feature that can be used across multiple devices. The 2019 model also sees a WiFi performance boost of nearly 2x.

Huawei hasn't announced a U.S. launch for the MateBook X Pro yet. For now, we know it's launching in Europe later this quarter beginning at 1599 Euros.

Matebook X Pro (2019) basic specs

• Processor: (1.6GHz) Intel Core i5-8265U; 1.8GHz Intel Core i7-8565U (Whiskey Lake)
• Memory: 8GB-16GB 2,133MHz LPDDR3
• Display: 13.9-inch LTPS technology (3000x2000)
• Graphics: Intel UHD 620 (Integrated) + Nvidia GeForce MX250 w/2GB GDDR5 (MX250 not offered on Core i5 model)
• Storage: 256GB-512GB PCIe-NVMe SSD (512GB as tested)
• Camera: 1MP front
• Wireless: 802.11ac (2 x 2) & Bluetooth 4.1
• Ports: One USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-C (power delivery, data transfer); one USB-C 3.1 Gen 2 (Thunderbolt 3, power delivery, data transfer); one USB 3.0 Type-A; headphone jack. MateDock 2 includes USB-A port, USB-C port, VGA and HDMI
• Battery: 57.4Wh
• Operating system: Windows 10 Home
  
• Dimensions: 11.97 x 8.54 x 0.57 inches (14.6mm)
• Weight: 2.93 pounds
• Colors: Space Grey, Mystic Silver

Alongside the new MateBook X Pro, Huawei also announced the MateBook 14, a lower-tier model has a lower-resolution display. It, too, will be available later this year, with pricing information to be announced.

The MateBook 14 is visually very similar to the X Pro, but it has a 14-inch, 2160 x 1440 pixel touchscreen, and a slightly larger body. It weighs a little more, at 3.28 lbs, and trades the Thunderbolt 3 port of the Pro for one USB-C, one HDMI, one USB-A 3.0, and one USB-A 2.0 ports. It has the same keyboard, trackpad, fingerprint scanner, and pop-up webcam as the more expensive model. Instead of the quad-speaker system found on the Pro, the MateBook 14 has two speakers on its underside.

The MateBook 14 shares the same processor and GPU options of the X Pro, though it will top out at 512GB of storage. Huawei says the 57.4Wh battery is good for 15 hours of video playback or 10.5 hours of web browsing, which is slightly longer than the X Pro’s battery life, thanks to the 14’s lower-resolution screen.

All these CPU and GPU options further distance Huawei's device from the Apple Air. Where it differs most is its slightly lower resolution 2160 x 1440 display (with optional touchscreen). Huawei says it boasts a 100% sRGB color gamut like the MateBook X Pro, but with less maximum brightness (300 nits vs 450 nits). Notable also is the introduction of the company's "FullView" display to the MateBook 14. With top and side bezels measuring only 4.9mm, the result is a laptop with a 90% screen-to-body ratio.

The new notebook is also attractive when it comes to its measurements, clocking in at 307.5 x 223.8 x 15.9mm.

The new MateBook 14 will enjoy a global launch later this year beginning at 1199 Euros.

MateBook 14 basic specs

• Processor: 1.6GHz Intel Core i5-8265U; 1.8GHz Intel Core i7-8565U (Whiskey Lake)
• Memory: 8GB-16GB 2,133MHz LPDDR3
• Display: 14-inch IPS technology (2160x1440)
• Graphics: Intel UHD 620 (integrated) + Nvidia GeForce MX250 w/2GB GDDR5 (MX250 not offered on Core i5 model)
• Storage: 256GB-512GB PCIe-NVMe SSD (512GB as tested)
• Camera: Front: 1MP
• Wireless: 802.11ac (2 x 2) & Bluetooth 4.1
• Ports: One USB-C (data, charging); one USB-A 3.0 port; one USB-A 2.0 port; one HDMI
• Battery: 57.4Wh
• Operating system: Windows 10 Home
• Dimensions: 12.1 x 8.8 x0.62 inches (14.6mm)
• Weight: 3.28 pounds
• Colors: Space Grey, Mystic Silver, Rose Gold

Both models have a new software feature called Huawei Share that makes it easier to transfer images and other files between a Huawei phone and laptop. Huawei says it can transfer data at up to 30Mbps, and the feature is triggered by the NFC chips in both the laptop and phone.

Huawei says the MateBook X Pro and MateBook 14 will be available in global markets first, before coming to the US later this spring. The MateBook X Pro will cost 1,599 euro for the Core i5 model with 8GB RAM and 512GB storage; the Core i7 model with 16GB RAM and 1TB storage will sell for 1,999 euro. The MateBook 14 will start at 1,199 euro for a Core i5 model, while the Core i7 version will cost 1,499 euro. Pricing for the US market is expected to be released later this year.