If you love foldable phones but aren't completely sold on the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4, there should soon be another one of those innovative devices available to buy: the Huawei Mate X3 is apparently now ready for mass production and is expected to show off. early.
That's according to insider Wangzai Knows All (Opens in a new tab) (via Notebookcheck (Opens in a new tab)), and the word is that it will closely follow Samsung's established design aesthetic, and it will potentially cost much less than its rival.
There may be compromises down the road, with rumors that the phone will have to make do with 4G instead of 5G. However, it should be powered by the latest high-end Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor.
What we know so far(*4*)
In fact, we don't know much about what the Huawei Mate X3 will bring, although some clues may be offered by what we've already seen in the Huawei Mate X2, which debuted in February 2021.
That was almost two years ago, so the follow-up to the Mate X3 is somewhat behind the times at this point. The Mate X2 came with an 8-inch main screen and featured the Kirin 9000 processor along with up to 12GB of RAM and a quad-lens rear camera.
These are next-level specs and it looks like the Mate X3 will continue that trend, aside, perhaps, from the lack of 5G connectivity. According to the new leak, the phone could appear sometime in the first half of 2023.
Analysis: more competition please (*4*)
While we really like the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4, and indeed the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4, we'd also like to see a few more options for consumers who want to pick up a foldable phone without parting with a significant chunk of their savings. . .
Of course, there are already decent alternatives out there, like the Motorola Razr and Xiaomi Mix Fold, but no one else seems willing to invest as much in the future of foldable devices as Samsung currently is.
The Huawei Mate X3 may well help give Samsung more to do in the foldable space, but Huawei needs to improve in terms of international distribution. The Mate X2 isn't easy to come by if you live outside of China.
We expect the foldable iPhone and Pixel Fold to appear sooner rather than later, which will go a long way in improving the options available. These two main phones will most likely appear in 2023.