Huawei Mate X3 Review

Verdict

The Huawei Mate X3 is a tragically beautiful foldable that virtually nobody should consider buying . Top - level hardware is entirely hamstrung by heavily restrictive software , not to mention a high price and no 5G.

Pros

Cons

Key Features

Introduction

I could likely have accept a stab at writing the conclusion to the Huawei Mate X3 recap before I even lay hands on this posh raw flagship foldable .

That ’s draw nothing to do with work-shy news media ( honest ) , and everything to do with the singular predicament Huawei finds itself in .

Fact 1 : Huawei make some of the best smartphone hardware in the business . Fact 2 : Huawei offers the worst software experience of any smartphone manufacturer , mostly thanks to US government authorization .

There was always the fortune that Huawei was going to drop off the ball on the hardware front with the Huawei Mate X3 , or that it might find some better way forward from the whole ‘ no Google Mobile Services ’ debacle . It has n’t , and it has n’t .

What ’s more , at £ 1,999 for the exclusive 12 GB RAM/512 GB storage model , the Huawei Mate X3 is monotonic - out expensive , even for a premium foldable .

With all that said , it ’s still well deserving running through what the Huawei Mate X3 has to proffer . Because the day those sanctions terminate ( if they ever end ) , Samsung , Xiaomi , and Google are going to have a problem on their hands .

Design and screen

It might be £ 130 to £ 330 more expensive than its rivals , but you could instantly see and feel where the money has gone with the Huawei Mate X3 .

This is an impeccably built book - style foldable that almost palpate like a ‘ normal ’ flagship speech sound when it ’s all folded up . In this more distinct shape , the Mate X3 is a manageable 11.8 mm thickset , and there ’s nary a coup d’oeil of light visible between its two halves . It make theGalaxy Z Fold 4look embarrassingly off the pace , though to be bonny to Samsung , theGalaxy Z Fold 5was only week by during my trial period of time .

An official weight of 239 gee lieu the Mate X3 right alongside theiPhone 14 Pro Maxfor massiveness . It ’s a profound phone , no doubt , but it ’s not a heavyfoldable , coming in 24 g lighter than the Galaxy Z Fold 4 and a whopping 44 g lighter than theGoogle Pixel Fold .

Beyond these boundary line normal dimensions , the Huawei Mate X3 looks and feels brilliant . From its glossy aluminum spine and matching curving frame to its silky , gently rounded ice back and matching front , it sits in the hired man sort of like a £ 2,000 phone should .

Even the huge orbitual camera module service to give the Mate X3 the flavor of a non - foldable phone , somehow balancing out and distracting from its asymmetric nature .

The Mate X3 ’s tightly wound hinge furnish a high amount of clamp force , keeping the X3 securely closed in your air pocket . That does mean that it takes a minuscule exertion to spread , but it also think of that it can be opened at any angle – though much beyond 120 degrees and the phone will topple over on a two-dimensional Earth’s surface .

It regains its sang-froid once folded completely matted , with a weedy 5.3 millimeter body and one of the subtle hinge dips I ’ve seen or felt . It ’s there , but it ’s extremely easy to overlook .

Huawei has n’t quite managed to work its magic in correct the foldable rubble resistance conundrum , so you still only get an IPX8 rating like the Fold 4 . At least it ’s private-enterprise with its contemporaries on that front .

There are two screens on offer here , as has become the monetary standard for such foldables , and they ’re of the highest standard . Externally you get a 6.4 - column inch 1080 x 2504 OLED , while internally there ’s a 7.85 - column inch 2224 x 2496 OLED , both maxing out at 120Hz . By nonpayment , Huawei will dynamically adjust both the resolution and the refresh rate grant to the chore at hand , but I cranked these both up to max for most of the review flow .

Huawei has get going down the Samsung route to screen predilection rather than the Google one , meaning that the home exhibit is slightly taller than it is wide-cut . However , the chief thing here is that the international display has a more normal view ratio than the Galaxy Z Fold 4 ’s , further aid to make it pleasant to use as a steady French telephone .

What really matters with these displays , of course , is that they ’re bright , sharp and colour exact , and also that they ’re well sync . You ’ll flit from one display to the other , and there ’ll be no detectable pearl off in the quality of the experience .

Cameras

Early foldables had middling woeful camera system , especially for the money . Recent examples have start to turn the tide , however .

The Google Pixel Fold has arguably offered the ripe folding tv camera experience yet , in the main thanks to Google ’s image processing excellency . With the Mate X3 , Huawei has applied its computer hardware mastery to the problem , and has link Google near the top of the pile .

The principal sensor here is a decent 50MP unit with PDAF , optical maser AF , and OIS . Together with Huawei ’s own considerable persona process chops , it yield shiny , sharp , well - focused shot with effective HDR . colour are gracious and natural , too .

Huawei was one of the first manufacturers to snap the low light code , and certainly enough , the Mate X3 take on strong nighttime shots . They look appreciably clear , but not at the expense of conserve the tonus of the scene . There ’s more noise than with a non - foldable flagship , of course of instruction , but it ’s all proportional .

Where the Huawei Mate X3 really stands out from the folding crowd , however , is with its 12MP periscope telephoto television camera . This can achieve 5x zoomed stroke , like the Pixel Fold , and well before of the Galaxy Z Fold 4 ’s 3x rapid climb .

They ’re comely shots too , with hatful of detail , a interlock - on focus , and a tone that broadly matches the main detector . Even 10x crack look fair to middling here , good manners of a hybrid soar proficiency .

The 13MP ultrawide is nothing to write home about . It does a reasonable job , though its colours seem less natural than the other sensors , and it struggles more with dynamic kitchen stove .

You also get a duo of 8MP selfie cameras , one for each screen , and they take pretty ample and balanced shots .

Performance and software

The Huawei Mate X3 runs on aSnapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 mainframe , which was a prune - edge part at the end of 2022 , but has since been overtake by theSnapdragon 8 Gen 2 .

Given the terms Huawei is demand , you might justifiably expect the faster element , just as you might expect it to provide 5 G connectivity . The company ’s ongoing sound issues mean this is a 4G - only affair .

Still , in foldaway terms , the Mate X3 ’s spirit level of performance seat right near the top of the tree diagram – for now at least . Its main rival the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 runs on the same cow dung , as does its full cousin theHonor Magic Vs .

Meanwhile the bright vernal thing of the folding panorama , the Pixel Fold , uses Google ’s ownTensor G2 fleck – a smart piece of atomic number 14 , no doubt , but not a particularly impressive ball carrier in the benchmark stakes .

Speaking of , the Huawei Mate X3 blitz Google ’s chunky foldable on our CPU mental testing , and it also transcend the Fold 4 and the Magic Vs . We ’re not certain if Huawei has extracted more operation from the same chip shot , or just optimised it better for specific benchmarks .

Either way , it ’s a firm performer , with nary a wobble or stutter when multi - tasking , unlocking , or gaming – once I base some appropriately mainstream games to test .

That brings us to the main percentage point of disceptation here : the fatal deficiency of the traditional Google - free-base experience that almost every other Android phone provides .

The problem with sign up for any new Huawei phone is that it means basically changing the way that you do things . It ’s a world of tricky - look alternate app stores , convoluted APK file download management , and parallel - creation app option .

There are ways to get Google apps onto the Huawei Mate X3 , but it ’s a hit - and - miss experience . As someone who typically run all - in with Google apps on Android headphone , I ’ve adopted a scorched - earth approach when test Huawei phones in gild to maintain my saneness and productivity . I forget about Google , and plainly shift my allegiance wholesale to Microsoft for a week or two .

The company ’s first-class Outlook app sees to your integrated email and calendar requirements , Microsoft OneNote handles note of hand - taking in knock-down if not super - visceral fashion , and Edge will do as a web web browser app . Doing it this way feed you a measure of the taut integration and reliability of the common Android - Google experience , but in a form that take on nicely with Huawei . Microsoft ’s SwiftKey keyboard already comes as standard .

When it come to function , there ’s no alternate for Google Maps , but HERE WeGo has long been a slick and true choice . While we ’re talking of function , no Google Maps means a number of other apps wo n’t sour on the Mate X3 , most notably Uber .

gambling on the Huawei Mate X3 is jolly dire , not because of any computer hardware defect , but because you have to stick out through those aforementioned hoop to find the best game . I located Vampire Survivors , CoD Mobile , and Wreckfest through the Petal Search system , which scours unofficial app stores bear side - loadable APK files . None of these turned up when search in Huawei ’s own AppGallery , confusingly , despite Petal Search being desegregate into it .

Of course , none of your onward motion will make its way over from old Android phones , while if you spent any money on the secret plan you ’re probably out of luck .

This is risking turning into a How To point now , but it just serve to instance how problematic and unintuitive track down the Huawei Mate X3 is compare to almost every other foldable on the mart . For the huge majority of people , it ’s a deal breaker .

Even without these issues , EMUI 13.1 is scarce the cleanest Android interface out there , what with its bloatware job ( including two vane browser app apps and some awful games ) and a layout that ’s more indebted to Apple than Google .

Battery life

Like every other foldable , stamen is not what you ’d call the Huawei Mate X3 ’s warm suit , but nor is it a disaster . In fact , I did n’t worry about the telephone set running out of ability once .

Huawei has compact the Mate X3 with a 4,800mAh shelling , which is bigger than the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 ’s , smaller than the Honor Magic Vs ’s , and the same as the Pixel Fold ’s . Given the thinness and elation of the headphone , it ’s a small miracle .

I was able to go through a long day of light - to - moderate employment ( around 3 time of day of screen on clip ) , with the presentation maxed out on resolution and refresh charge per unit , and was left with 45 % left in the tank . It should be capable to get you through more intensive days , especially if you flip those overbold display modes back to their more effective default circumstance .

If you ’re a particularly heavy exploiter of that national display , there ’s a luck you might have a tougher sentence . This is a phone that ’s build for mixed - habit , however , and the Huawei Mate X3 ’s brilliant external screen door and superb blueprint mean that I was never over - eager to open it up unless the state of affairs dictate .

Besides , the Mate X3 acquits itself well with more intensive full - screen tasks . An minute of Disney+ streaming sapped just 5 % of a charge , while half an hour of weak 2D gaming sapped 7 % . Those are strong resolution .

You also get a very good charging proviso , at least for a foldable of this type . Huawei cater a 66W wired courser in the box seat , which will get you from empty to full in less than 45 minutes . That ’s way better than the Galaxy Z Fold 4 and the Pixel Fold .

There ’s also 50W wireless charging , though you ’ll need a special wireless courser to make the most of those speeds . Regular Qi charging will work just fine .

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Should you buy it?

At the metre of writing this review , the Huawei Mate X3 offers credibly the best full - sized foldable design on the market place . It ’s sleek , scant , and stylish .

With no Google Play Store and no prescribed support for Google Mobile Services , the Mate X3 is not well-disposed to those plant in the vainglorious G ’s ecosystem .

Final Thoughts

Almost no one should consider buy the Huawei Mate X3 . It ’s very expensive , there ’s no 5 G , its processor is n’t the very latest banner , and the lack of Google musical accompaniment will make it borderline unusable for the immense majority of app - using people .

That ’s a actual catastrophe , because if you ’re talking about virgin premium foldaway computer hardware , the Huawei Mate X3 is the skillful in the business . It ’s sleek enough to practice as a normal phone whilst shut , but it unfurl confidently into a slim and capable mini - tablet .

Its cameras , too , are very good as foldables go , with the in particular notable provision of a firm 5x telephoto . Battery life is also solid , while the agitate provision is the best we ’ve seen in a foldable .

There ’s so much to like here . Even so , we ca n’t in all in force conscience recommend the Huawei Mate X3 above the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 , the Google Pixel Fold , orany other book - style foldablefrom a manufacturing business that has its theatre in guild .

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