Huawei Mate X delayed again, shipping before the end of 2019

Samsung's redesigned Galaxy Fold will debut in September.

Huawei has decided to postpone its Mate X folding phone for a second time until after the Galaxy Fold ships — for reasons unknown.

On the cusp of the Galaxy Fold's re-release in September, Huawei has made the decision to postpone the launch of its competing Mate X. The company announced the decision in a press event on Wednesday.

Techradar attended the event, and pointed out some design changes from a version that they saw in July. The new model has a slimmer lock button, and a revised "Falcon Hinge" crucial to the device's folding.

Revealed at Mobile World Congress, the Huawei Mate X is billed as a 5G-supporting foldable smartphone. Using a "Falcon Wing Mechanical Hinge," the device can switch between a 6.6-inch smartphone with OLED displays on the front and rear to a larger 8-inch tablet.

While the Samsung Galaxy Fold mounts the screen on the inside of the bend, Huawei opted to place it externally, a decision that puts far less strain on the display from repeated bending. Such a move is also risky from a usability standpoint, as it means the screen is not as protected from other items, such as keys in a pocket, unlike the inward screen design.

Following a host of pre-release units failing in the hands of reviewers, AT&T cancelled pre-orders for the Samsung Galaxy Fold on June 12. For their trouble, customers were given a $100 gift card.

When discussing the re-release in July, Samsung Electronics CEO D.J. Koh admitted the Fold was introduced prematurely.

"It was embarrassing. I pushed it through before it was ready," Koh said in a statement. "I do admit I missed something on the foldable phone, but we are in the process of recovery."

The concerns with Samsung's Galaxy Fold promoted a rethink by Huawei. It chose to delay the Mate X foldable smartphone from its original June launch until September, and now later, in order to carry out extra tests on the device to avoid a similar fiasco.

At the time, A spokesperson advised the company is working to launch the Huawei Mate X globally, with a focus on markets that will have 5G networks operational in the near future. The representative claimed the testing was being performed with mobile carriers around the world, and with developers to make sure apps function properly when the smartphone is unfolded.

They also admitted Huawei was being more "cautious" with the Mate X following Samsung's misfire. "We don't want to launch a product to destroy our reputation," the spokesperson insisted.

Apple has seemingly shown an interest in producing some form of foldable smartphone, one that analysts suggest could launch as early as 2020. Rumors have also suggested that Apple has worked with LG on one such concept, with the two reportedly collaborating on a flexible OLED display that could be used in such a device.

Outside of rumors, patents and applications also serve as evidence of Apple's work in the field. It has numerous such filings relating to flexible displays, wrap-around displays, and hinged devices, as well as supporting ideas such as stretchy substrates for connecting components together, and how to enable force gesture controls on flexible devices.

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27 Comments

ihatescreennames

said about 4 years ago

Maybe Huawei and Samsung can take turns delaying their foldable phones until we forget they were announced in the first place.

I still don’t really see the appeal of a foldable phone, I’m waiting to see what compelling features there are other than “here it’s small, here it’s big”.

To be fair, I also don’t see the appeal of other newer technologies like 5G and AR. Yeah! Faster! Yeah! 3D character overlayed in my camera view!

(Yes, I realize Apple (and others) is probably setting the groundwork now for something where AR makes sense in the future so I see the potential, but so far it’s been pretty meh)

melgross

said about 4 years ago

The indications from Huawei, from what they said about the delay, was that they were relieved that Samsung delayed theirs for technical reasons. That gave Huawei the excuse to delay theirs as well. No doubt, both have serious problems. If Huawei is waiting until after Samsung releases theirs, then it appears that they still have some problems, don’t feel confident in the product and they want to see how much Samsung’s fixes worked. if it’s still not really working as well as it should (and reports say that it seems better, but not good) then that could give Huawei cover for their own, not quite ready for prime time, product.

a problem for Huawei’s product is that design decisions made to overcome the tight bend have resulted in a product that is even thicker than Samsung’s, and with a totally unprotectable screen. Even if all other problems get solved, such as screen fold lifetime, that, in itself, is going to result in a device that will be easily damaged.

the problem of trying to be first when there are competitors knowing what you’re doing, and the approximate delivery date, means that products are usually inferior. When people wonder why Apple is so secretive about new designs, this is why. Samsung heard that Apple was interested in watches, from an interview Cook gave at a RECODE conference, and rushed one out, to be first. They then claimed that they sold more than 5 million, though it turned out they sold less than 800,000 of the poorly reviewed product. They would have been better off waiting.

MplsP

said about 4 years ago

melgross said:

the problem of trying to be first when there are competitors knowing what you’re doing, and the approximate delivery date, means that products are usually inferior. When people wonder why Apple is so secretive about new designs, this is why. Samsung heard that Apple was interested in watches, from an interview Cook gave at a RECODE conference, and rushed one out, to be first. They then claimed that they sold more than 5 million, though it turned out they sold less than 800,000 of the poorly reviewed product. They would have been better off waiting.

Most often, the hard part isn’t building the design, it’s coming up with the design. The sooner your competitors know, the sooner they can copy it. Of course, the other side of the coin is that very rarely is the first product to market the best. Most often it takes design iterations and modifications. Even for a company like Apple that typically excels at designs, the 2nd or 3rd version is usually the product you really want.

StrangeDays

said about 4 years ago

Oh but our local chinese-knockoffs guy said they were ready! Because he knows! (don’t ask how, he just does!)

avon b7

said about 4 years ago

melgross said:

The indications from Huawei, from what they said about the delay, was that they were relieved that Samsung delayed theirs for technical reasons. That gave Huawei the excuse to delay theirs as well. No doubt, both have serious problems. If Huawei is waiting until after Samsung releases theirs, then it appears that they still have some problems, don’t feel confident in the product and they want to see how much Samsung’s fixes worked. if it’s still not really working as well as it should (and reports say that it seems better, but not good) then that could give Huawei cover for their own, not quite ready for prime time, product.

a problem for Huawei’s product is that design decisions made to overcome the tight bend have resulted in a product that is even thicker than Samsung’s, and with a totally unprotectable screen. Even if all other problems get solved, such as screen fold lifetime, that, in itself, is going to result in a device that will be easily damaged.

the problem of trying to be first when there are competitors knowing what you’re doing, and the approximate delivery date, means that products are usually inferior. When people wonder why Apple is so secretive about new designs, this is why. Samsung heard that Apple was interested in watches, from an interview Cook gave at a RECODE conference, and rushed one out, to be first. They then claimed that they sold more than 5 million, though it turned out they sold less than 800,000 of the poorly reviewed product. They would have been better off waiting.

I don't know where you got that from. Huawei executives have been very open on the reasons for the delays.

There is another folding phone coming from Huawei in early 2019. If we are going to speculate, it is far more likely that, given the delays to the original version and the now shorter gap between the two releases, that the hinge tweaks from the second iteration are being implemented in the original version.

Either way it is obviously a technical challenge to produce such a device but Richard Yu already made it clear months ago that the phone could 'ship tomorrow' if needed but that they were finalising the tuning to different 5G networks (which hadn't even gone live at that time) and taking the extra time to polish the software. EMUI 10 will probably ship in September and could be the default system to run on the Mate X (instead of EMUI 9.1).

Huawei wasn't 'trying to be first'. It had planned to show at MWC2019 with a summer release. According to Huawei, it looked like it was Samsung that tried to be first and rushed their product. Huawei was on its own roadmap but had other constraining factors to deal with such as 5G carrier availability which is entirely out of its hands.

"The other ones? I don’t know. It’s because they’re not ready for commercial [use]. Because they heard that we are launching, so they hurried to launch ahead of us. I heard that they got the information that we were launching foldable phones, and they wanted to do it earlier than us. But I think they are not ready.
But we are not ready. Currently, with 4G, we can sell it, and allow everyone to use it. But with 5G, we need more time to guarantee the 5G networks are in calibration. This is a 4G phone today, and everyone I deal with in the media, each one of you, is fortunate, you can use that. But this is 5G, so we need more testing to guarantee there are no issues."
https://www.t3.com/features/huawei-ceo-richard-yu-talks-to-t3-about-its-pioneering-5g-mate-x-foldable-phone
It also had geopolitical issues to deal with which are also beyond its control. Being on your own roadmap in no way means products are usually inferior. They are simply first generation and will be improved upon in later generations. In this particular case there is a whole lot more to be considered that goes well beyond the typical release of the phone. All of it out of the hands of Huawei. To the point that they still aren't clear if Android will even be the system or not.

As for screen durability. It's clear that was one of the very first considerations and it is therefore patently evident that protecting it is going to be a major consideration to whoever buys one. This shouldn't be a surprise or a negative. If you aren't in a position to treat it adequately you definitely won't be getting one. This makes it a non-issue. Just like when you buy a glass fronted and backed device and know that if you drop it it could end up far worse than scratched.

It is also worth noting that the Mate X has been the daily driver for Huawei executives and various employees for some time now
and without cases. The most recent sighting was precisely of Richard Yu at an airport.

https://m.gsmarena.com/huawei_mate_x_spotted_in_hands_of_huawei_ceo-news-38327.php

Yes, the design makes it more susceptible to scratching but purchasers won't have an issue with that any more than purchasers of glass sandwiched phones have with the risk of shattered screens.

The real question on durability is only if the hinge, screen fold and resistance of the design is enough to get it through the normal lifespan of a phone but to evaluate that, it has to be released and monitored closely. We can be sure that this phone will be scrutinised exactly for that reason.

Where did you get the idea that the Mate X is even thicker than the Galaxy Fold?