7 Ways the Huawei Mate X Beats the Galaxy Fold

There’s a war brewing among a new breed of foldable phones, and the two biggest heavyweights slugging it out are Samsung and Huawei.

Huawei Mate X

Huawei Mate X

Both the Galaxy Fold and Mate X promise to morph from phone to tablet and back again with ease. Both devices also promise to be very expensive at nearly $2,000 for the Fold and $2,600 for the Mate X.

But at least based on what we know so far, Huawei’s foldable beats Samsung’s in several ways. Here’s why.

A much bigger screen in phone mode

Galaxy Fold (left) and Huawei Mate X (right)

Galaxy Fold (left) and Huawei Mate X (right)

If you’ve seen the Galaxy Fold photos and videos, there’s a huge black border around the screen in phone mode. The screen measures only 4.6 inches on Samsung’s phone when it’s closed. Compare that to a 6.6-inch main display for the Huawei Mate X, which is a huge difference in terms of everyday usability.

A secondary display on the back

Huawei Mate X

Huawei Mate X

Unlike the Galaxy Fold, the Huawei Mate X has a secondary screen on back that measures 6.5 inches. This allows you to shoot selfies or share what’s on your display with someone else.

Larger and sharper screen in tablet mode

Galaxy Fold

Galaxy Fold

It’s not that the Galaxy Fold is small at 7.3 inches when fully unfurled, but it’s still smaller than the 8-inch unfolded display on the Mate X. The screen on Huawei’s phone has a resolution of 2480 x 2200 pixels, compared to 2152 x 1536 pixels for the Galaxy Fold.

It’s thinner with no gap

Huawei Mate X

Huawei Mate X

The Mate X measures a pretty svelte 11 millimeters thick when closed, thanks in large part to its Falcon Wing design that folds outward instead of inwards like a book like the Galaxy Fold. The Fold is reportedly 17 millimeters thick.

No ugly notch

Galaxy Fold

Galaxy Fold

The Galaxy Fold has a huge swooping notch in the upper right corner to accommodate two cameras on that inside display. But Huawei positioned the three Leica cameras for the Mate X on the back of the device right on the hinge, so they shouldn’t get in your way.

Big battery with very fast charging

Huawei Mate X

Huawei Mate X

Samsung’s foldable has a 4,380 mAh battery (actually it’s two batteries), but Huawei packs an even larger 4,500 mAh dual-battery setup in its phone. Even better, Huawei promises to deliver 85 percent of a charge in 30 minutes. (We don’t know the charge time for the Galaxy Fold yet.)

5G comes standard

Galaxy Fold

Galaxy Fold

While the Galaxy Fold will come in both 4G and 5G variants, the Huawei Mate X will ship with 5G connectivity included. And if you’re paying two grand or more for a phone, it should be future proof when it comes to networking. Then again, you probably won’t be able to get the Mate X in the U.S. The Galaxy Fold is coming to U.S. carriers.

Credit: Samsung; Huawei

Mark Spoonauer

Mark Spoonauer is the global editor in chief of Tom's Guide and has covered technology for over 20 years. In addition to overseeing the direction of Tom's Guide, Mark specializes in covering all things mobile, having reviewed dozens of smartphones and other gadgets. He has spoken at key industry events and appears regularly on TV to discuss the latest trends, including Cheddar, Fox Business and other outlets. Mark was previously editor in chief of Laptop Mag, and his work has appeared in Wired, Popular Science and Inc. Follow him on Twitter at @mspoonauer.

Latest in Android Phones
Galaxy Z Fold 6 shown in hand
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 just got these major upgrades with One UI 7
Pixel 9a vs Pixel 8a
Google Pixel 9a vs. Pixel 8a: Biggest changes to expect
Honor Magic V teaser image
Watch out, Galaxy Z Fold 7 — Honor Magic V4 leak just revealed a killer foldable
Google Maps
Google Maps just got a huge iPhone-inspired upgrade with Android 16 beta — here's how it works
Google Pixel 9a render
Google Pixel 9a leak just confirmed a major design change — here's the new look
android 16 lock screen widgets for android tablets
Google’s bringing lock screen widgets back to Android phones this summer — here's what we know
Latest in Face Off
Pixel 9a render next to iPhone 16e
iPhone 16e vs. Pixel 9a: which mid-range phone could win?
iPhone 16e review.
iPhone 16e vs iPhone 17: Everything we know so far
The eero Pro 7 next to the eero Max 7 on a desk
Eero Pro 7 vs Eero Max 7: Which Wi-Fi 7-powered eero mesh system should you buy?
Google Pixel 9a render
Google Pixel 9a vs Pixel 9: Which phone should you buy?
Gemini Live
I tested Gemini 2.0 Flash vs Gemini 2.0 Pro — here's the winner
Pixel 9a vs Pixel 8a
Google Pixel 9a vs. Pixel 8a: Biggest changes to expect