The Huawei Mate X is edging closer to release. We already knew the Mate X release date is set for October/November and that it will pack Huawei's new Kirin 990 flagship chipset, but along with re-affirming these points, the firm's CEO has revealed another interesting point about the foldable phone.
In a briefing with other reporters at IFA 2019, TechRadar learned that Huawei will release two versions of the Mate X. The first to be available will apparently be the original Mate X we saw back in February at MWC 2019, powered by Huawei's Kirin 980 chipset.
That means the handset has plenty of power, but with Samsung upgrading the Galaxy Fold with a newer chipset just ahead of its September 6 release, Huawei is reacting with a second version of the Mate X boasting the Kirin 990.
That means if you're planning to pick up the Huawei Mate X, you may want to wait for the second, more powerful version to become available first.
The Kirin 990 has a 5G modem inside, so it's likely to support the next-gen network technology, and we already know the original Mate X has 5G support, so we'd be surprised if Huawei removed it from the updated version.
- Read our hands on: Huawei Mate X review
- The Kirin 990 is destined for the Huawei Mate 30
- Samsung Galaxy Fold: what's changed in the new version?
Ready for launch
Launched at IFA 2019, the Kirin 990 is set to feature in the Huawei Mate 30 and is likely to be in next year's Huawei P40 as well.
It may also be ready for release in the Mate X as early as next month. Yu said, "In the beginning we wanted to sell the Mate X, to be honest, last month [August 2019]. We postponed that. Maybe next month [October 2019]."
That matches Huawei's previous statement that said it would be releasing its first foldable phone at some stage between September and November.
While we are still waiting a firm release date from Huawei, there's no questioning that its first foldable phone is now just around the corner.
