HUAWEI Mate X3 First Impressions - Super slim foldable

We got an early look at the recently launched HUAWEI Mate X3 and here are our first impressions of its hardware.

HUAWEI Mate X3 large inner screen

The HUAWEI Mate X3 is the company's latest foldable with a super slim design that surprisingly survived a trip inside a working washing machine.

To recap, it features a 120Hz outer screen and a 120Hz inner folding screen. Inside is the 4nm Snapdragon 8+ Gen1, New Adreno GPU, 12GB RAM, 512GB of internal storage, and a large 4,800mAh/5,060mAh battery with 66W fast charging.

There is an 8MP f/2.4 selfie camera on each screen while at the back are the 50MP f/1.8 main camera, 13MP f/2.2 ultra-wide, and a 12MP f/3.4 5x periscope telephoto camera with an LED flash.

In the Philippines, the HUAWEI Mate X3 is priced at PHP 109,999 for the 12GB/512GB model.

Let's dive in.

Build Quality/Design

HUAWEI Mate X3 faux leather back desgin

In terms of materials used, the phone is mostly made of metal and glass. One variant features a faux leather back panel.

Mate X3's thickness versus iPhone 13 Pro

This material combined with the sleek design makes the phone look worthy of its six-digit price tag. What surprised us is how thin the foldable is. It managed to pack a massive battery while being thinner and lighter than the competition. Don't let its thinness and lightness fool you though, the phone feels solid and durable.

It is nearly as slim as the iPhone 13 Pro when folded!

It is IPX8 water resistance rated which is no surprise that the phone survived a rigorous session inside a working washing machine.

HUAWEI Mate X3's Outer screen

On the outer side of the is the 6.4-inch LTPO OLED screen with a 2504 x 1080 resolution, a 120Hz refresh rate, a 240Hz touch sampling rate, a 1440Hz high-frequency PWM dimming, and a 426ppi. It is Kunlun Glass protected.

While on the inner side of the phone is the larger 7.84-inch OLED screen with a 2496 x 2224 resolution, a 120Hz refresh rate, a 300Hz touch sampling rate, a 1440Hz high-frequency PWM dimming, and a 426 ppi.

Around the outer screen are super slim bezels while around the folding screen are slim symmetrical bezels.

Both screens come with a punch hole that houses the two selfie cameras.

HUAWEI Mate X3's top view

On top of the phone are the hinge, antenna lines, microphone port, and one of the speaker grills.

At the bottom are more antenna lines and microphone ports. Alongside is the USB-C port.

HUAWEI Mate X3's hinge and button sides

On one side of the phone is the hinge while on the other side are the antenna lines, metal volume rocker, and the power key that doubles as the fingerprint scanner.

At the back of the HUAWEI Mate X3 is the 50MP f/1.8 Ultra Vision camera with phase and contrast-detect AF, a 13MP f/2.2 ultra-wide angle camera with 2.5cm macro, and a 12MP f/3.4 5x Periscope telephoto camera with OIS and LED flash.

Both selfie cameras are made of an 8MP f/2.4 sensor.

HUAWEI Mate X3 Specs

Display: 7.85-inch OLED screen w/ 120Hz refresh rate, 300Hz touch sampling rate, 1440Hz high-frequency PWM dimming, 2496 x 2224 resolution at 426 ppi (unfolded), 6.4-inch Kunlun Glass-protected LTPO OLED screen w/ 120Hz refresh rate, 240Hz touch sampling rate, 1440Hz high-frequency PWM dimming, 2504 x 1080 resolution at 426 ppi (folded)

CPU: 3.2GHz 4nm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 4G octa-core processor

GPU: New-Adreno

RAM: 12GB

ROM: 512GB expandable storage via NM card slot

Rear Camera: 50MP f/1.8 Ultra Vision Camera w/ Phase and Contrast focus + 13MP f/2.2 Ultra-Wide Angle w/ 2.5cm macro + 12MP f/3.4 5x Periscope Telephoto Camera w/ OIS + LED flash

Selfie Camera: 8MP f/2.4 (Inner/Outer screens)

Battery: 4,800mAh, 5,060mAh silicon-carbon (Collectors Edition) w/ 66W SuperCharge, 50W Wireless SuperCharge, 7.5W Wireless Reverse Charging OS: EMUI 13.1

Connectivity: WiFi (2.4GHz/5GHz), 4G LTE, Bluetooth 5.2 BLE (SBC, AAC, LDAC), NFC, GPS (L1 + L5), A-GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou (B1 + B1C + B2a), two-way satellite messaging, dual SIM

Sensors: Accelerometer, light, orientation, proximity, gyroscope, sound, magnetic, pressure

Others: Side-mounted fingerprint sensor, IPX8 water resistance, stereo speakers, USB-C,

Colors: Feather Sand Black, White, Purple, Dawn Gold, Aoyamadai

Dimensions: 156.98 x 141.5 x 5.3 mm (unfolded), 156.98 x 72.4 x 11.08 mm (folded)

Weight: 239 g (Leather), 241 g (Feather Sand), 242.5 g (Collectors Edition)

Price: PHP 109,999 (12GB/512GB)

As of the moment

HUAWEI Mate X3's folding screen

As mentioned above, the HUAWEI Mate X3 is priced at PHP 109,999.

The most significant selling post of the phone is its lightweight and super slim design without compromising on overall quality and durability.

In our first impression of the hardware, our only nitpick is the lack of 5G. Otherwise, we are a fan of the materials used and we love how thin it is. When folded, the phone is as thick and as heavy as the larger smartphones out there.

The crease on the inner screen is there but is only noticeable under specific lighting and when dragging your fingers thru the crease.

The hinge has just enough resistance to allow the user to easily fold the phone at the angle of their choosing without suddenly closing.

This is one of those phones that you have to see in person and wonder at the engineering needed to produce it in this form factor.

Anyway, we will try to borrow a unit for our full review to fully see if it is worth your hard-earned cash.

What do you guys think?