Spent a day with Huawei’s Mate XT, the world’s first trifold smartphone, and the novelty remains fresh. I experienced it twice before—first at its release last September and later in February when it launched internationally. Finally, I’ve got the chance to extensively review this unique piece of tech, which is priced at just under $4,000 based on current exchange rates.
Over the next week, I’ll integrate the Mate XT into my daily routine, getting accustomed to its extensive screen space and navigating without Google Mobile Services support. With a day’s use, here’s my initial, or perhaps repeated, impressions accompanied by several pictures.
The Mate XT offers three modes for use: a standard phone view with a 6.4-inch display, a square foldable view at 7.9 inches, and fully extended into a 10.2-inch tablet. It felt slightly awkward to operate initially, as each segment folds differently. It took a bit of time to understand the fold mechanism without fear of damaging it, but once you do, opening it becomes satisfying, albeit a task requiring both hands.
When closed, the three segments lock together magnetically, offering a reassuring feel, though it’s questionable if the device would endure being sat on. A section of the display remains exposed when closed, and the front screen serves as the back in a semi-opened position, making scratches and fingerprint marks unavoidable.
Despite being bulkier and heavier than typical smartphones, the Mate XT is surprisingly comfortable to hold and lighter compared to most 10-inch tablets, making it more appealing in terms of portability. Although it appears similar in thickness to Oppo’s Find N5, the area with the USB-C port is slightly thicker.
On the software side, the Mate XT doesn’t support Google Mobile Services natively, meaning no Play Store or Google apps out of the box. However, installing Google apps is feasible through third-party methods like Aurora Store and microG—creating a near-standard Android experience, minus Google Wallet functionality. Yet, this could introduce security risks and uncertainty about future app updates, especially with Huawei moving towards HarmonyOS Next, which lacks Android app compatibility.
In terms of app utility across the larger display, results vary. The screen size is ideal for streaming, but apps like Instagram aren’t optimized for the extra space. Multitasking leaves something to be desired, offering only split-screen support for two apps, with a third app appearing as a cumbersome floating window.
After 24 hours, the Mate XT impresses as an engineering feat, though I still need to determine if it’s worth its hefty price tag over the coming week.
