Huawei’s Galaxy Z Fold 4 rival is about to launch, but the specs have already leaked

Image of the Huawei Mate X2 foldable smartphone
A Huawei Mate Xs 2 (Image credit: Basil Kronfli)

Huawei is launching the foldable Huawei Mate X3 tomorrow (March 23) alongside the flagship Huawei P60, but, as is often the case with smartphone launches, there might not be much to reveal, as many of the Huawei Mate X3’s specs have already been leaked.

The latest on that front comes from reputable leaker Digital Chat Station, who, posting on Weibo (via GSMArena), claims that the Mate X3 has a 7.8-inch foldable screen with a 120Hz refresh rate, along with a triple-lens camera setup that includes a 50MP primary sensor and a periscope zoom lens.

They also claim that the Huawei Mate X3 offers wireless charging and IPX8 water resistance, meaning it’s got the same sort of water resistance rating as most high-end phones, but no dust resistance. This is also the same rating as the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 have.

Finally, Digital Chat Station claims that the hinge will allow this phone to open at multiple different angles – so you won’t have to choose between fully open and fully closed.

This only provides a partial picture of the Huawei Mate X3, but PriceBaba has additionally spotted a supposed benchmark listing for this phone, which mentions a Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 chipset and 12GB of RAM.

That should make this a powerful phone, but one that's a step behind the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 flagships we’re now seeing. So, the Huawei Mate X3 will probably be more of a rival to the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 than the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5.

Earlier leaks fill in the gaps

These aren’t the first Huawei Mate X3 specs leaks, with earlier leaks pointing to a 6.45-inch OLED cover screen and a 4,800mAh battery with 66W charging.

What this phone almost certainly won’t have is 5G, as sanctions against Huawei have prevented it from putting 5G capabilities in its devices. So, you’ll probably be limited to 4G connectivity, which is a shame on a high-end device in 2023.

Still, if the price is right, then that could be a sacrifice worth making. We should have a clearer idea of that once this phone is unveiled on Wednesday, March 23, though this appears to just be a launch for China, so global pricing and availability details probably won’t be shared.

Hopefully, a global launch will soon follow, because even without 5G, the Huawei Mate X3 could rank among the best foldable phones.

James Rogerson

James is a freelance phones, tablets and wearables writer and sub-editor at TechRadar. He has a love for everything ‘smart’, from watches to lights, and can often be found arguing with AI assistants or drowning in the latest apps. James also contributes to 3G.co.uk, 4G.co.uk and 5G.co.uk and has written for T3, Digital Camera World, Clarity Media and others, with work on the web, in print and on TV.