Huawei Mate XT Ultimate

 The Huawei Mate XT Ultimate redefines foldables 

The Huawei Mate XT Ultimate is like no other smartphone available in the market and it is so good to see real innovation for a change. We miss the golden days back when manufacturers weren't afraid of experimenting with phone designs, and we will always appreciate brands trying to do something different. The Huawei Mate XT Ultimate Design is an eye-wateringly expensive smartphone. So much so, in fact, the cost of a return flight to Dubai to pick one up in person will set you back less than the device itself. That’s one of the few countries outside of China you can actually get hold of one, as being stuck on the software back foot continues to hamper the firm’s Western appeal. But Huawei did not only try to make the first truly foldable tablet, it succeeded. The device has a proper tablet-level screen size of 10.2 inches but also a proper tablet-grade screen aspect of about 16:11. However, being able to concertina a 10.2in tablet in enough places so that it slips into a trouser pocket softens the blow. A lot. The world’s first tri-fold phone is tech geek’s dream, with dimensions so skinny and a design so dramatic you’re guaranteed to be the centre of attention whenever you unfurl it. Top-tier cameras and rapid charging speeds are what you’d expect from a foldable flagship.  

Having such a large screen and trifold would usually mean a thick, bulky device. That's not the case with the Mate XT. On the contrary, Huawei has designed this foldable slate to be incredibly thin, just 3.6mm when opened, and 12.8mm when closed. That latter dimension matches the most popular foldable available, the Galaxy Z Fold6! Huawei Mate, Google Fold and Galaxy Fold. Spending a few weeks with one as my main phone taught a lot about the appeal of this new foldable breed, as well as where the phone world will need to improve the formula before it is offered to the world. The Huawei Mate XT Ultimate is made of premium materials all-around, there is a super thin rounded metal frame, stainless steel hinges and a stainless steel camera housing enclosure. The back is covered with either red or black vegan leather, while the tri-fold screen has a layer of ultra-thin glass inside.   

Until the Mate XT, we never had anyone commenting on such device. Even style-centric smartphones like the Nothing Phone 3a Pro flew under the radar, but the Huawei became a regular talking point. Admittedly it’s no shrinking violet when folded, with a red faux leather rear and a polished metal frame finished in gold. The “ULTIMATE DESIGN” logo blazoned across the back might not actually be over-egging the pudding. Folded shut, you’re looking at a slender 6.4in phone; unfolding one of the two hinges transforms it into a 7.9in book-style device, while opening up completely creates a 10.2in tablet. The screen folds back on itself in a Z shape, but each third is so ridiculously skinny (a mere 3.6mm if you don’t count the camera bump) that it’s barely any thicker than Samsung’s book-style Galaxy Z Fold6. It’s hefty and never found the 298g device a chore to use in any configuration. In tablet mode, the expansive 16:11 aspect ratio is almost perfect for on-the-go streaming binges and means you can fit three apps side-by-side-by-side for maximum multitasking. The creases are easier to spot than the best book-style models, and the non-removable screen protector doesn’t cope well with light reflections, so darker content can be a challenge when outdoors. Brightness is the 90Hz dynamic refresh rate; scrolling is smooth enough, just not as buttery as folders with 120Hz panels. Still, the 3K resolution is razor-sharp, and colours have the punch and vibrancy. The camera housing has been crafted in a very special way, using 80 layers of stainless steel, twisting them and polishing them. The result is a unique star-shaped piece, that has a different pattern on each phone!   

Huawei tried the whole “one edge of the screen exposed” thing before with the Mate XS 2, but rival foldables quickly settled on one flat outer display and a flexible inner screen. The Mate XT does come bundled with a case in the box for some extra protection. The built-in kick stand, which twists so you can go hands-free in any configuration is very handy. When folded, the Mate XT looks like a thick smartphone with a regular 6.4-inch OLED screen. If you look closely, you can see the small perforation for the 8MP selfie camera, and even a thin earpiece. There is no proximity sensor on the Mate XT - it relies on a software implementation, and it works quite well. The Mate XT doesn’t feel anywhere near as delicate as early book-style foldables did, so it’s a shame Huawei didn’t seek any kind of IP rating. Book-style rivals like the Oppo Find N5 have IPX9 resistance, meaning they can survive high pressure jets as well as full submersion. As a southpaw, the side-mounted fingerprint sensor a little tricky to reach; the Vivo X Fold 3 Pro‘s dual under-display fingerprint sensors are much more convenient.

You can fold the Mate XT in a way that mimics a regular foldable screen with a 7.9-inch squarish display. You can notice the usual plastic enclosure around the screen, something that is obvious on any foldable phone. And you should not remove the sort of visible protective film, as this will damage the screen. The Mate XT is incredibly thin when opened, though in this state, the relatively large camera housing makes it wobble a whole lot.  A box-fresh Mate XT runs Huawei’s EMUI interface, on top of an older version of Android stripped of all Google services. That’s no big deal if you aren’t a slave to the Big G’s software, as Huawei’s home-grown apps cover all the bases, from maps and email to web browsing and document editing. Pressing the power button wakes the Celia smart assistant rather than Gemini, and you download apps from the Huawei AppGallery instead of the Play Store. If you use this large screen estate in portrait mode, the Mate XT feels exactly like a regular-sized tablet, be it an iPad or something else. The entire back is covered with fingerprint-resistant vegan leather in either black or red. The selection has gotten bigger, but most of the major Western names are still MIA. You’ll spend a lot of time in the web browser to access things like Facebook and YouTube. Contactless payments with Google Wallet are still a no-go, though, and whether you’d be happy downloading banking apps through this workaround is up to you to decide.

There is a Mate X6-reminiscent camera housing with the twisted pattern we mentioned above. This oversized setup includes a 50MP primary camera with variable aperture, a 12MP 5.5x telephoto, a 12MP ultra wide camera, a laser emitter/receiver combo, a dual-LED flash, and a colour spectrum sensor. A microphone is also around. The primary mic, the USB-C port, the SIM bed, and the other speaker are at the bottom. The top side of the frame has one of the speakers, an IR blaster, and another microphone. Huawei’s own-brand Kirin chipset and 16GB of RAM supply enough oomph to keep the EMUI interface running smoothly. 3D games in particular need details dropping to maintain a playable frame rate. Productivity apps are no trouble, though, and it didn’t affect my ability to multitask when in tablet mode. The firm has a long way to go to catch up to the likes of Qualcomm, MediaTek and Apple.

The Mate XT relies on a side-mounted fingerprint sensor for biometric security, which is not the most comfortable to use in the fully open state, but it is better than nothing. The Mate XT has a sizeable 5600mAh silicon-carbon cell, and that large display sucks juice at quite the rate. If you’re in tablet mode 24/7 expect it to drain fully after five hours of gaming, or ten hours of video streaming. Book and phone modes fare a little better, so you could still get through a regular day of use. At least you get speedy wired and wireless charging, though whether you get a compatible charger in the box seems region-dependent. The Mate XT is an exquisite device, premium and innovative, one that easily stands out no matter the crowd or the situation. And it offers exceptional flexibility and usability; there are no two ways about that. Prop it up with the bundled case, and its kickstand transforms the Mate XT into a portable monitor or sorts, a great way to watch TV series or YouTube during your lunch break. With only so much room for sensors in a device this thin, and Huawei unwilling to compromise on a colossal camera bump. The Mate XT does a very good job with what it has, though. The 50MP lead lens is the standout, with a variable f/1.4-4.0 aperture that does depth blur rather convincingly. Optical image stabilisation and laser autofocus help out in low light, and Huawei’s image processing has long been top-tier.

Shots taken were all free from noise, with colours that lean towards a more natural presentation than some of the book-style competition. Huawei tends to favour higher contrast, so everything has real impact. Sharpening could be a little aggressive in places. Cropping the sensor produced virtually lossless 2x zoom shots. The periscope zoom also put in a good showing regardless of light levels, and despite not having an especially high pixel count. 5.5x magnification is quite strong. The Huawei Mate XT is comfortable to use and secure enough in your hands, no matter how many thirds of the screen you have in operation. The ultra wide snapper has an expansive 120-degree field of view, with sharpness right up to the edge of the frame. This style of foldable also only needs one front camera instead of two, with an 8MP unit on webcam duties. It gets the job done. The Huawei Mate XT Ultimate Design appeals directly to gadget fans for whom money is no object. After all, why just have one fold when you can have two at twice the price? This is surely the sign of foldable things to come, except you can have it right now. Being the only one of its kind also ensures you’ll turn heads every time you pull it out of your pocket.