P50 Pocket: Huawei unveils first foldable flip phone and it costs more than the Galaxy Z Flip 3

Following last week’s teaser pictures, Huawei has today made the Huawei P50 Pocket official at their Flagship Product Launch event. It’s poised to be the first big contender to the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 in the clamshell flip phone scene.

Pricing and availability

There will be two configurations of the Huawei P50 Pocket available, with the most expensive one being a Premium Edition coming in a gold colourway with a rather unique texture over the chassis. So far, only availability in China has been confirmed, though there’s been rumours that Huawei are also planning to launch the P50 Pocket in other regions too. Curiously, a product page for it on the Huawei Malaysia website as also cropped up. Pricing for the P50 Pocket meanwhile is as follows:

• Huawei P50 Pocket, 8GB RAM, 256GB storage – CNY8,988 (~RM5,925.69)
• Huawei P50 Pocket, 12GB RAM, 512GB storage – CNY10,988 (~RM7,244.27)

It’s certainly not the cheapest foldable device out there, with the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 starting at a comparatively much cheaper RM3,999. Judging from its design and marketing though, Huawei seem to be targeting the wealthier user here anyway, so the high price tag might not be as big of a concern to those actually considering to get the P50 Pocket.

Huawei P50 Pocket specs

As you can probably tell, the iconic feature here is the circular outer display. With a diameter of 1.04-inches, the OLED cover display has a resolution of 340 x 340p for a pixel density of 328ppi, has a refresh rate of 60Hz and a touch sampling rate of 120Hz. Meanwhile, the actual main display is a 6.9-inch, FHD+ OLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate and a touch sampling rate of 300Hz. If you’re a fan of the 21:9 ultrawide aspect ratio, you’d be happy to know that that’s the aspect ratio found here on the P50 Pocket’s main display. It covers the DCI-P3 colour gamut and has a Nano Optical Layer over it that Huawei says will eliminate reflections and glares from the display. At 6.9-inches, it edges out its rivals like the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 and the Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max.

Unfolded, it’s 170mm in height, but drops to just 87.3mm when folded. Similarly, it’s 7.2mm thick when unfolded, and becomes 15.2mm thick when closed. Coming in either white, black or gold, the P50 Pocket’s chassis has a textured finish to it too. Under the hood, you’ll find a Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 though with its 5G capabilities gutted. This gets mated to up to 12GB of RAM and up to 512GB of storage. And as is usually the case with Huawei devices, it runs EMUI 12 and won’t have Google Mobile Services onboard.

In the camera department, right under the circular outer display is the rear triple camera setup. The Huawei P50 Pocket packs a 40MP, f/1.8 main shooter flanked by a 13MP, f/2.2 ultrawide angle camera and a 32MP, f/1.8 ultra spectrum camera. According to Huawei, the Ultra Spectrum Image Technology in the device has Huawei XD Optics and a True-Chroma Image Engine that’ll enhance the clarity and visibility of light in your photos. The front camera meanwhile is housed in a punch hole cutout on the main display, and is a 10.7MP, f/2.2 selfie shooter.

Other features of note include a 4,000mAh battery that supports 40W fast charging via Huawei SuperCharge and a side-mounted fingerprint sensor. There’s also a sunscreen detection function, which checks if your face is properly covered up by sunscreen using the flash on the rear camera. It won’t have 5G support, wireless charging , an IP68 rating nor does it have a 3.5mm audio jack, but does support WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2. You’ll also be able to purchase optional accessories for your P50 Pocket, such as cases and straps.