Huawei Mate X3 review

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Introduction

The Huawei Mate X3 is a truly impressive piece if engineering. Huawei managed to craft an amazing device on a number of levels. First and foremost, the X3 is thin and light. It weights just 239g (the Feathered Sand model is 241g), which is 24g less than the Galaxy Z Fold4. When unfolded, the Mate X3 also measures just 5.3mm in thickness. All the while, the Mate X3 still packs a large 4,800 mAh battery.

Despite its relatively small size, the Mate X3 has a pair of very large displays. The cover screen measures 6.4 inches and offers 2504x1080px resolution and 20.9:9 aspect. Inside you get a 7.85-inch panel with 2496x2224px resolution and near-square 8:7.1 aspect.

Huawei Mate X3 specs at a glance:

• Body: 156.9x141.5x5.3mm, 239g; Glass front, glass back or eco leather back, aluminum frame; IPX8.
• Display: 7.85" Foldable OLED, 1B colors, 120Hz, 2224x2496px resolution, 10.1:9 aspect ratio, 426ppi; Cover display:, OLED, 120Hz, 6.4 inches, 1080 x 2504 pixels.
• Chipset: Qualcomm SM8475 Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 4G (4 nm): Octa-core (1x3.19 GHz Cortex-X2 & 3x2.75 GHz Cortex-A710 & 4x2.0 GHz Cortex-A510); Adreno 730.
• Memory: 256GB 12GB RAM, 512GB 12GB RAM, 1TB 12GB RAM; UFS; NM (Nano Memory), up to 256GB (uses shared SIM slot).
• OS/Software: HarmonyOS 3.1 (China), EMUI (Europe), no Google Play Services.
• Rear camera: Wide (main): 50 MP, f/1.8, 23mm, PDAF, Laser AF, OIS; Telephoto: 12 MP, f/3.4, 125mm, PDAF, OIS, 5x optical zoom; Ultra wide angle: 13 MP, f/2.2, 13mm, AF.
• Front camera: Wide (main): 8 MP, f/2.4; Wide (cover): 8 MP, f/2.4.
• Video capture: Rear camera: 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60fps, gyro-EIS; Front camera: 4K@30fps, 1080p@30fps.
• Battery: 4800mAh; 66W wired, 50W wireless, 7.5W reverse wireless.
• Connectivity: LTE; Hybrid Dual SIM; Wi-Fi 6; BT 5.2; NFC; Infrared port.
• Misc: Fingerprint reader (side-mounted); stereo speakers; BDS Satellite Message; Support for M-Pen 2s.

The Mate X3 also feels incredibly well made, with practically no flex to speak of. Its hinge design is truly impressive, allowing the display to tuck onto itself and the entire assembly to fold flat. While there is still a crease on the foldable panel, it is very well-contained and hard to notice in practice.

Furthermore, the Mate X3 is the first non-Samsung foldable to achieve an ingress protection rating. Just like the Galaxy Z Fold4, the Mate X3 is IPX8 rated.

Of course, we would be remiss, not to mention the camera setup on the Mate X3. The Huawei Mate X3 packs a triple camera on the back and two 8MP selfie cameras - one on each screen. The 50MP f/1.8 wide camera is joined by 13MP f/2.2 ultrawide and 12MP f/3.4 5x telephoto shooters.

Unfortunately, being a Huawei device, the Mate X3 has a few obvious shortcomings as well. The Chinese giant is still not allowed to use 5G modems, so the Mate X3 ships with a Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 with just 4G connectivity. The phone also runs on Harmony OS 3.1, which is based on Android, but it is not the same thing and crucially lacks any Google Services and apps and access to the Google Play Store.

None of this is a new development, though, and any prospective buyers for the Mate X3, which just hit international markets, should be well aware of these limitations by now. The real question is whether the rest of the phone's impressive hardware is enough to sway people.

Unboxing

Before we get into any of that, we need to take a look at the retail package for the Mate X3. The phone ships in a very thick and sturdy two-piece box. It even has an extra cradle inside to house the Mate X3 in an unfolded state.

One of the boxes under it contains the 66W proprietary wall charger for the Mate X3 alongside a proprietary 6A USB Type-A to Type-C cable. Be sure to hold on to both since they are not standard. Huawei also supplies a snap-on clear plastic case for the Mate X3 inside the box. It somewhat protects half of the phone, but it's still something.