58147 Huawei Mate X Finally Has A Release Date

Huawei Mate X Finally Has A Release Date



The Huawei Mate X release date has now been locked. The phone was originally supposed to go on sale in summer. The Chinese giant decided to move the date to do further testing and refinements. And now, the device is ready for the shelves.

During a recent event in Shenzhen, China, Huawei confirmed that its first foldable smartphone is coming on November 15. Although it’s good to hear that the phone is finally going to hit the market, there is a caveat.

Mate X Is Not Coming To International Markets Right Now

This Mate X release date is only for China. Huawei says that its launch plan is based on the deployment of 5G networks in different regions. Thus, for now, the foldable device is only headed to China. However, the company says its currently reviewing its international launch plan.

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The Mate X sports an 8 inches inner display. It folds outwards, unlike the Samsung Galaxy Fold. Inside, is the homebrewed Kirin 980 that is mated with the Balong 5000 modem for 5G connectivity. The tablet phone hybrid will only be available in one memory configuration: 8GB of RAM and 512GB of internal memory. For expanded storage, the proprietary NM card that provides up to 256 GB is supported.

In China, the Mate X price will be 16,999 Yuan. This is around $2,400 or £1,860. While the price tag is certainly inflated, Huawei stands a good chance of selling decent units. The company says it has managed to sell 200 million smartphones this year, which is quite remarkable. Moreover, it’s particularly doing well in China, where consumers are ditching other local brands to opt for it in the face of the current US-China trade spat.

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It’s not known if the phone has received specifications upgrade. However, it doesn’t seem likely, as otherwise, Huawei would have likely mentioned the changes during the event. Moreover, the hardware isn’t really the company’s problem right now. It’s software.

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The Mate X will run an open-source variant of Android. This means that it will not come pre-installed with popular Google apps and services. Since these are banned in China anyway, this will not matter much to consumers there.

International Mate X Release Date Isn’t Expected Anytime Soon

In other regions though, lack of Google services can prevent consumers from buying the foldable device. After all, $2,400 is a significant amount of money and without important apps and services, what good would a foldable display be?  Of course, there are some workarounds that may help users run Google apps on the phone. But then again, not many consumers will be willing to go to that length.

This could likely be the reason why a Mate X release date hasn’t been announced for regions other than China. After all, the company’s U.S. vice president of public affairs, Joy Tan, recently admitted that the company is struggling without Google apps and services.

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The more the Mate X release date is pushed, the more Samsung will benefit. Its Galaxy Fold has finally been released and it is apparently doing pretty good in the market. In fact, the company has ambitious goals for its second-generation smartphone and seems determined to corner the market.

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