Huawei Mate X shows off an updated foldable design in hands-on photos

Ben Schoon | Jul 26 2019 - 7:52 am PT

Just this week, Samsung’s first folding smartphone finally got a launch date following serious issues with its design. Now, Huawei’s folding smartphone, the Mate X, has quietly been given a design update which is shown off in some new hands-on photos.

A Chinese journalist by the name of Li Wei ran into Huawei’s CEO, Richard Yu, while at an airport and Yu happened to be using the Mate X at the time (via XDA-Developers). Wei was able to snap some photos of the Mate X while speaking with Yu, and it shows off a handful of design updates that Huawei has recently made.

The most obvious change in this latest update is the carbon fiber look that can be seen around the camera sensors and the hinge. While it’s not clear whether or not this carbon fiber is just a faux material for looks, it seems possible Huawei could be including the real deal given the price of the Mate X.

Further, there’s also a fourth camera sensor which is clearly visible along the back. The Mate X which Huawei showed off a few months ago only showed three cameras, but the company’s website confirms there is a fourth sensor which is a Time-of-Flight depth sensor. The button which Huawei uses to unfold the Mate X has also been changed with this design update, now showing a larger overall size and a red accent in the center.

Unfortunately, these pictures don’t tell us anything about the OLED display and whether or not Huawei has improved that aspect of the phone. Many still have durability concerns, as well as worries about the “crease” in the center of the display and whether or not Huawei has managed to minimize that.

Huawei previously announced that it had delayed the Mate X to later this year, and Richard Yu further confirmed that here. The device should be launching at some point in September.