In a livestream today, Huawei announced the global availability of their newest flagship foldable smartphone and a multitude of wearables. The company first launched these devices in China earlier this year, but now they’re coming to western markets, starting with Europe. The Mate Xs 2 is Huawei’s first new foldable since the P50 Pocket. It packs a massive 7.8-inch OLED screen (2480 x 2200 resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate) that folds outwards, unlike competitors such as the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3. When folded up, it reduces to a more narrow 6.5-inch display, allowing for easier one-handed use.
The device is powered by Qualcomm’s last-gen Snapdragon 888 4G, as Huawei isn’t allowed to source 5G-capable chipsets on account of the ongoing US sanctions against the Chinese vendor. The Mate Xs 2 also features 8GB of RAM, 512GB of storage, and a 4,600mAh battery that can charge at 66W. The camera system consists of a 50-megapixel primary sensor, a 13-megapixel ultrawide, and an 8-megapixel 3x telephoto with optical image stabilization. There’s also a 10-megapixel front-facing camera, although you can use the better-quality ones on the back when the phone’s in a folded state.
The Huawei Mate Xs 2 will become available in Europe next month for a price of €1,999. As previously mentioned, Huawei also announced a slew of wearables, but perhaps the most interesting is the Watch GT 3 Pro series. There are two models, a 43mm Ceramic variant and a 46mm Titanium option.
The Ceramic version has a 1.32-inch 466 x 466 OLED screen, while the Titanium model has a slightly-larger 1.43-inch 466 x 466 OLED display. Both are running Huawei’s proprietary HarmonyOS 2, and they come with a physical side button and a digital crown. The watches feature SpO2 tracking, skin temperature monitoring, 5ATM water resistance, and 32GB of storage. ECG functionality will also be included in certain countries, albeit not at launch. Preorders for the Huawei Watch GT 3 Pro series begin June 8, with pricing starting from €369.
