Photos: Huawei launches Mate Xs foldable smartphone with better screen

Upgrade comes with an improved gull-wing hinge mechanism and stronger wraparound screen

Published: February 24, 2020 18:55 Reuters and Compiled by Nathaniel Lacsina, Digital Content Producer

1 of 12

Huawei unveiled an upgrade to its folding smartphone on Monday, hoping that a faster phone with higher-quality display will encourage consumers to spend as much as $2,700 for the top-of-the-range version. Image Credit: AFP

2 of 12

The new Mate XS arrives a year after the Chinese tech giant showed off its first folding phone, which had back-to-back screens that opened to create an eight-inch display. That device went on sale in China in November after the company improved the design. Image Credit: AFP

3 of 12

The Mate Xs has the same size display as its predecessor but comes with an improved gull-wing hinge mechanism and stronger wraparound screen, while boasting faster download speeds and longer battery life than the rival Samsung Galaxy Fold, Huawei's top salesman Richard Yu told a launch presentation in Barcelona. Image Credit: AFP

4 of 12

The folding phone will be priced at 2,499 euros ($2,710) for its premium model and goes on sale worldwide next month, said Yu, as Huawei pushed the price frontier for the most expensive smartphones even higher. Image Credit: Reuters

5 of 12

The launch was streamed from Barcelona, where the Mobile World Congress was due to be held this week before it was cancelled because of the coronavirus outbreak. Image Credit: AFP

6 of 12

Samsung Electronics, the world's top smartphone maker by volume, narrowly beat its Chinese rival in the folding race last year, but its launch was delayed after testers encountered problems with the screens. Image Credit: Bloomberg

7 of 12

The South Korean company is persevering with foldable technology and this month showed off a device shaped like a make-up compact that unfolded to look like a traditional smartphone. Image Credit: AFP

8 of 12

The Mate Xs, like last year's Mate 30 smartphone, will lack access to a licensed version of Google's Android operating system after the United States effectively barred its companies from supplying Huawei last year. Image Credit: Reuters

9 of 12

Huawei is offering users access to its own app store instead, but Yu said it remains committed to the Android ecosystem and to its longer-term partnerships with Google and other US companies. Image Credit: Reuters

10 of 12

Huawei also launched a speaker developed with French audio specialist Devialet, the first tablet in its Mate range and two new notebooks - a top of the range Matebook X Pro and Matebook D with 14-inch and 15-inch screens. Image Credit: Reuters

11 of 12

A Huawei employee demonstrates the features of the Huawei Mate XS device. Image Credit: Reuters

12 of 12

A Huawei employee demonstrates the features of the Huawei Mate Xs device. Image Credit: Reuters

Photos Business

Photos: Huawei launches Mate Xs foldable smartphone with better screen

More From Photos

Photos: After Noel Quinn's sudden exit, who's in the running for HSBC CEO?

Dubai's new beachfront destination J1 Beach is opening in September

In Pictures: Dubai's Al Maktoum International Airport to be world's largest

A look at the beautiful vintage cars of Havana

GULFNEWS SECTIONS

Trending

Photos: Huawei launches Mate Xs foldable smartphone with better screen

More From Photos

Photos: After Noel Quinn's sudden exit, who's in the running for HSBC CEO?

Dubai's new beachfront destination J1 Beach is opening in September

In Pictures: Dubai's Al Maktoum International Airport to be world's largest

A look at the beautiful vintage cars of Havana

GULFNEWS SECTIONS