In terms of foldable phones, we’ve seen Samsung release a couple of options over the past year or so, while companies like Motorola have also waded into the discussion, too. Meanwhile, Huawei has also released two foldable phones of their own—the Mate X and the similar Mate Xs. Now, the Chinese company is set to release a new foldable smartphone: the Huawei Mate X2.
As first reported by Letsgodigital, a new design patent seemingly confirms that Huawei plans to replace the outward-facing screen design with something that looks remarkably similar to the recently-launched Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2. The patent isn’t exactly brand new, having been first registered with the CNIPA in China in August 2019, although the details have just been released.
As you can see, the images suggest that Huawei’s upcoming foldable phone will have two displays: a smaller cover display, and the main, foldable display. This might be an admission of sorts that the outward-folding display of the company’s two foldable phones might not be the most practical option. Instead, the new design should offer significantly more protection to the foldable screen—which is probably the most fragile component of a foldable phone.
Additionally, we might see a periscope lens for zooming, as well as dual selfie cameras on the cover display. In fact, the rear camera model looks a lot like the one on the Huawei P40 Pro+. This suggests a penta-camera setup, although we don’t have any other confirmed specifications for now.
As for the rest of the design, the Mate X2 looks to have a sloping design on the back of the phone, with a thinner bottom half. This might be an attempt to balance the protruding camera bump—which is an issue on the Galaxy Z Fold 2 in certain viewing modes.
Additionally, the main display is free of notches or hole-punch cutouts, with Huawei keeping all of the Mate X2’s cameras on the outside, or the back of the smartphone. Currently, the Galaxy Z Fold 2—which would be the logical competitor device for Huawei—sports a single 10MP selfie camera housed in a hole-punch cutout on the main display, which slightly encumbers the display.
Other specs are still a secret, although it seems safe to assume that we’ll see 5G connectivity. After all, both the Huawei Mate Xs and the Mate X has 5G support. A release date hasn’t been confirmed, although a possibility is that we’ll see a launch before the end of the year.
