Huawei Mate X officially goes

Visitors take images of Huawei’s new foldable 5G smartphone HUAWEI Mate X at the Mobile World Congress (MWC), on the eve of the world’s biggest mobile fair, on February 24, 2019 in Barcelona. – Phone makers will focus on foldable screens and the introduction of blazing fast 5G wireless networks at the world’s biggest mobile fair starting tomorrow in Spain as they try to reverse a decline in sales of smartphones. (Photo by Josep LAGO / AFP)

Huawei Mate X officially goes on sale in China

The Mate X is finally available for purchase, albeit only in China at the moment. The device has had to endure a nine-month wait since it was announced.

Huawei Mate X officially goes

Visitors take images of Huawei’s new foldable 5G smartphone HUAWEI Mate X at the Mobile World Congress (MWC), on the eve of the world’s biggest mobile fair, on February 24, 2019 in Barcelona. – Phone makers will focus on foldable screens and the introduction of blazing fast 5G wireless networks at the world’s biggest mobile fair starting tomorrow in Spain as they try to reverse a decline in sales of smartphones. (Photo by Josep LAGO / AFP)

At the time of release, the consensus seemed to be that the Mate X with folding external screen was superior to the Galaxy Fold in design and function.

However, due to Huawei’s struggles to secure the use of Google apps and services, it seems likely the Galaxy Fold will win this first round of the fight for foldable phone supremacy. 

A hefty price tag

The Mate X is selling for 16 999 yuan in China, which is about R36 000 at the current exchange rate. This is a bit cheaper than the Galaxy Fold, which is retailing for R44 000 in South Africa. 

Don’t get overly excited, though as the Mate X is notably priced higher than the Galaxy Fold in China. So it’ quite likely that if the Mate X ever makes it onto our shelves, it will be priced quite similarly to the Galaxy Fold. 

The long and drawn out story of the Mate X, like much of Hauwei’s recent struggles, are tied to the US trade ban. The US government has stopped local companies from doing business with the Chinese company. 

The USA-Chine Trade War

Trump first introduced the restriction on trade with Huawei and other Chinese companies in response to concerns about Huawei’s ties with the Chinese government. There were concerns that specifically, Huawei’s networking hardware could pose an espionage risk. 

No final decision has been taken on Huawei with the US commerce department twice granting 90-day reprieves.

Many industry insiders are however convinced that Huawei will eventually be allowed to resume trade with some US companies, most likely those related to its’ handset business. 

This uncertainty has still left the company in limbo as it is unable to ship any of the products scheduled for release this year using US hardware or Software.

A powerful Huawei device

The Mate X is powered by the HiSilicon Kirin 980 chipset rather than a Qualcomm Snapdragon variant. Qualcomm, which is actually a European based company has indicated that despite the fact they have offices in the US, they will resume trade with Huawei.

So the major stumbling block for Huawei remains its reliance on Google apps and services for its core functionality. The Mate X going on sale in China isn’t a massive surprise as Google apps aren’t allowed on handsets sold in China.

As a result, Huawei’s sales in China have managed to remain strong as android devices in the country had already been shipping with Chinese alternatives prior to the trade ban. 

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