Huawei Mate X3 test: a foldable smartphone without Google services

Huawei delivers a good to very good foldable with the Mate X3. At least when it comes to the areas in which the manufacturer has a free hand. For software and 5G connectivity, US sanctions continue to prove a disadvantage.

One display becomes two

The Huawei Mate X3 is a smartphone that folds open. You have two screens at your disposal: one on the outside for classic smartphone use, and a large one on the inside.

When folded, the Mate X3 is 11.8 millimetres high. That’s slightly thicker than most current classic smartphones, but still wieldy. On the outside, you’ve got a lengthened OLED display. It measures 6.4 inches diagonally and offers pleasing colours. The brightness is strong enough for use in direct sunlight. 2504 × 1080 pixels provide a detailed image at a maximum refresh rate of 120 hertz.

You’ll need both hands to unfold it. The hinge is a bit stiff. I don’t immediately find enough grip with my fingers to apply the necessary force to open it. This isn’t perfect, but it’s no reason to avoid the foldable smartphone either.

The inner display measures 7.85 inches and is almost square. 2496 × 2224 pixels are distributed over its surface, ensuring a sharp image. The refresh rate also reaches up to 120 hertz and it too is bright enough for use in sunshine. When opened, the touchscreen is nice and flat and the crease in the centre is barely noticeable. This applies both to when I swipe my fingers over the display and when I look at it. The same can’t be said for the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4.

Despite the moving parts, the Mate X3 is IPX8 waterproof. This means it should survive 30 minutes in 1.5 metres of water without damage.

Enough power, but no 5G

Huawei uses a special variant of the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 in the Mate X3. It doesn’t have access to the 5G network and only uses LTE instead. Not that this was a voluntary decision. US sanctions against the manufacturer led to this move. Lucky then that Qualcomm produced a custom chipset just for Huawei, then. The default Snapdragon chip supports 5G.

Mobile networks notwithstanding, the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 possesses enough processing power for everyday use. It’s decently situated among other smartphones using the same chip set. Unsurprisingly, the newer Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 does perform better. Not that you’ll notice it during your day to day.

Huawei includes twelve gigabytes of RAM in the Mate X3. For internal storage, you can choose between 256 or 512 gigabytes or 1 terabyte. It can even be expanded, though only with a Nano Memory Card, that is, a Huawei exclusive. It occupies the slot that can alternatively be used for a second SIM card.

The display affects battery runtime

The Mate X3’s battery has a 4,800 mAh capacity. Among foldable smartphones, it’s one of the biggest batteries around. For example, the Galaxy Z Fold 4 only delivers 4,400 mAh here. The included power supply unit provides the smartphone with up to 66 watts and can fully charge the battery in 45 minutes. Wireless charging for the X3 is a bit slower at 50 watts, but that’s still speedy for being wireless. However, this’ll only work with Huawei’s SuperCharge Stand. The foldable can also reverse charge other devices with up to 7.5 watts.

Battery life can definitely vary depending on which display you use.

I got this data from a PCMark battery test, which continuously runs a smartphone. I set display brightness to maximum during the test. In other words, these are minimum run times. Using automatic brightness, your battery will last longer.

No Google services, but features for big displays

With the Mate X3, you’ll once again have to do without Google services out of the box. They’re included in the US sanctions. Instead, Huawei uses its own EMUI 13.1 operating system, itself based on an open-source version of Android. Huawei hasn’t released exact information regarding future updates as of yet.

But even without Google services, Huawei is trying to offer a wider variety of apps. Almost every feature you could think of is included. However, just one missing app could be the deal breaker for any smartphone. For me, it’s my banking app.

Putting aside these central operating system problems, the Mate X3 offers multiple specialised features for its big display. This begins with design adjustments to the Mail app or the settings.

A feature not exclusive to foldables yet still very useful with them is separate screens. You can place to apps next to each other and use them simultaneously. No more annoying back-and-forths. On the outer display, the same function displays one app on top of the other.

You can also use free windows, a sort of smaller, movable preview. To not only view but also use them, you’ll need to enlarge them. Your window will then overlay your main app, as opposed to a split screen where both apps are side to side.

You can even use multiple free windows in Multi-Window mode. Still, you’ll only ever see two apps at the same time with it – no matter how big the windows are. Still, you can always reach other ones via a small button at the side. You can then make each window full screen or close it as needed.

Visually, Huawei has partially adapted its user interface to the large display and provides features that facilitate multitasking. But I’m not quite convinced yet. I’m still missing functionality for using the smartphone in a half-folded state. And not just software, the hinge too.

A good camera system

The Huawei Mate X3 has a total of five cameras, three on the back and one in each of the displays:

• Main camera: 50 megapixels, 23 mm, f/1.8
• Ultra wide-angle camera: 13 megapixels, 13 mm, f/2.2
• Telephoto camera: 12 megapixels, 125 mm, f/3.4, 5x zoom
• Front camera: 2x 8 megapixels, f/2.4,

Colours/contrast

The main camera of the Mate X3 is very satisfying in its colour reproduction as well as its level of detail. There’s no loss of quality at the edges and even strong contrasts are no problem.

Wide-angle camera

The wide-angle camera also offers a high level of detail and decent colour reproduction. The software factors out any distortions at the edge of the image.

Zoom

The telephoto lens of the Mate X3 has a focal length of 125 millimetres converted to 35 mm. Compared to the main camera with 23 millimetres, this is slightly more than the fivefold zoom claimed by Huawei. This isn’t enough to recognise people across the Elbe, but the level of detail is still high. You can use the telephoto camera in daylight without hesitation.

Losses in quality only occur when the zoom goes digital. At ten times magnification, they aren’t as noticeable on the smartphone, but they are visible. The maximum fiftyfold magnification, on the other hand, is also pixelated on the Mate X3’s display.

Nighttime

Only the main camera convinces me at night. Whereas I’m not sure if I like the automatic or night mode better. They aren’t completely identical, but I don’t see a clear advantage from the longer exposure.

With the ultra-wide-angle camera, on the other hand, night mode is useful. However, it doesn’t manage to provide a sharp picture either. Even if it doesn’t look quite as bad as in automatic mode.

Selfies

The front camera delivers very good selfies with strong detail accuracy. At most, they have a little too much yellow mixed into the picture. This is especially noticeable when I compare them with selfies from the main camera. The camera app can be switched to the outer display. However, it isn’t really comfortable to hold the square smartphone with only one hand while pressing the shutter button.

Verdict: a good phone with two big buts

The Huawei Mate X3 is a good smartphone, but it has several drawbacks. The display, performance, battery and camera stand out positively. The software also offers some options to make good use of the large screen inside. They could go even further, though. It will also be exciting to see what the improvements promised by Google in Android 14 for large displays will bring – and which of them Huawei can adopt in the future.

The fact that Huawei has to do without 5G and Google services speaks against the smartphone. This is accompanied by a somewhat stiff hinge. A price of just over 2,000 euros/francs, which is within the usual range for foldables, is too high for me. I’d rather see what Samsung has to offer with the Galaxy Z Fold 5 or how the Pixel Fold performs.

Header image: Jan Johannsen