ICYMI: Huawei Mate X3 starts at PHP 109,999. No 5G services as always.


The company is still barred from advancing for 10 years even when they are ambitious.

Huawei’s third-generation foldable phone has now arrived in the Philippines with a price that’s impractical for most consumers, especially because the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4 has certain features that the Mate tablet has none such as 5G services and Google apps. The latter can easily be fixed by sideloading a third-party app like GBox. There’s no remedy yet for the lack of 5G services as that is purely a hardware problem.

To reiterate, the phone/tablet hybrid (not phablet) has a 7.85in. display when unfolded and a 6.4in. OLED screen when used like a normal smartphone. These screens are protected with a layer of Huawei’s Kunlun Glass which is said to be far more durable than Gorilla Glass.

It uses a 4G-only Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset with 12GB RAM and 512GB storage. Pretty impressive but again the lack of 5G may steer away some buyers.

The rear camera hump reminds us a lot of the POCO X3 days as it is arranged in a similar cross pattern. The primary camera is a 50MP XMage-enhanced with PDAF and OIS while the other two include a 13MP Ultrawide and a 12MP telephoto camera. The front features an 8MP selfie camera which could be used both when folded and unfolded.

There is a 4,800mAh Lithium Polymer battery inside. However, get this. Huawei is also launching a Collector’s Edition of the phone which uses a vegan leather back and uses a higher capacity yet smaller-sized 5060mAh SiC battery. This is a battery technology that Huawei has been developing for some time now and the company is rolling it out slowly first on flagships. Silicon Carbon (SiC) batteries allow for greater capacities at smaller storage caps so more important components could be fit inside.

While no 5G, the tablet retained the rest of the chipset’s connectivity features such as Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.3, NFC, and the company’s own two-way satellite messaging system to compensate for the lack of 5G cellular services.

It features a USB-C port, stereo speakers, a side-mounted fingerprint scanner, and an IPX8 water resistance. The regular Mate X3 comes in White, Purple, and Gold while the Collector’s Edition comes in Feather Sand Black.

The foldable is now available for pre-ordering up until 25th May. For those who do, you’ll also receive a FREE Huawei Watch GT 3 worth PHP 12,999 upon purchase. It is available via online shops like Lazada and Shopee as well as authorized concept stores.

By the way, DXOMark’s camera king, the P60 Pro, also made its landing in the Philippines.

SPECS:

  • 7.85″ 2.2K (2496x2224px) OLED, 120Hz refresh rate, 300Hz touch sampling rate1440Hz Hi-frequency PWM Dimming (unfolded)
    • 6.4″ FHD+ (2504x1080px) LTPO3 OLED, 120Hz refresh rate, 240Hz touch sampling rate, 1440Hz Hi-frequency PWM Dimming, Kunlun Glass (folded)
    • IPX8 water resistance
  • Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 (4nm)
  • CAMERAS:
    • 50MP (Primary), f/1.8, Phase and Contrast Focus, OIS
    • 13MP (Ultrawide), f/2.2, 2.5cm macro
    • 12MP (Periscope), f/3.4, 5x optical zoom, OIS
    • FRONT: 8MP, f/2.4
  • EMUI 13.1, Huawei Mobile Services
  • 4800mAh Li-Po (Regular) or 5060mAh SiC (Collector’s Edition)
    • 66W Fast Charging
    • 50W Fast Wireless Charging
    • 7.5W Wireless Reverse Charging
  • USB-C, NM Card Slot, Stereo Speakers, Side-mounted fingerprint sensor
  • 4G LTE, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.2, Two-way Satellite messaging system, Dual Nano-SIM Slot
  • White, Purple, Gold (Regular)
    • Feather Sand Black (Collector’s)
  • PRICE:
    • 12/512: PHP 109,999