The Huawei Mate X is pretty distinct as foldable phones go because it's the only one which folds down with the main screen on the outside, as most close in on their primary displays. Well, it seems the phone's successor may forgo this design.
This comes from Ross Young, an analyst and leaker who frequently comments on phone displays, and who tweeted some information on what he calls the 'Mate X2'. According to Young, the phone will have an in-folding screen with parts from Samsung and BOE.
- All the foldable phones we know of
- Check out our Samsung Galaxy Z Flip review
- The Huawei Mate 40 is coming soon too
That would make the Huawei Mate X2 look pretty similar to the Samsung Galaxy Fold, which had an in-folding screen - in fact, Young himself compares it to the recently-announced Galaxy Z Fold 2.
If this design prediction is correct, it would give the folding phone a more conventional design compared to its predecessor, but also possibly a more durable one - an exterior screen can be rather prone to scratches and scrapes.
We'll have to wait to hear more about this phone to know for sure, though.
Mate X2 is in-folding like the Z Fold 2 and will be sourced from Samsung and BOE. No UTG, CPI instead. But perhaps you already knew all that...:)August 7, 2020
Different screen material
Young does predict Huawei will use a different screen technology to Samsung for the Mate X2, which could make a difference for some users.
Recent Samsung foldables use 'UTG' or ultra-thin glass, which is exactly what the name suggests - a layer of glass so thin it can bend.
UTG phones we've tested have felt pretty durable, but not as much as normal smartphones with thicker glass fronts and backs.
According to Young, the Huawei Mate X2 won't use UTG and will instead go for 'CPI' or colorless polyimide, a heat-resistant polymer that's used in microelectronics, but not so much for phone screens - though the original Samsung Galaxy Fold did have such a display.
Perhaps Huawei has tested CPI and found it better than UTG - or maybe it's just cheaper or easier to get.
We've not heard too much about the Huawei Mate X2, so we've no idea when to expect it - if it's far in the future, maybe there will be lots of other changes and upgrades too.
