Samsung Galaxy Fold vs. Huawei Mate X: Foldable Face-Off

It's been a long time coming, but Samsung and Huawei both have foldable smartphones set to hit shelves before the year is out. In one corner we've got the Samsung Galaxy Fold, in the other, the Huawei Mate X.

While both phones certainly fold, they're almost completely different beasts. We've been hands on with both this week, so we're going to take a look at how they compare.

Galaxy Fold vs. Mate X: Design

The biggest difference between the Galaxy Fold (pictured above) and the Mate X is how they fold.

The Galaxy Fold is made up of two displays: a small display on the outside of the phone, and a larger display hidden inside. It's almost like opening a book. On the other hand, the Mate X is just a single display that folds in half. Both approaches have their pros and cons.

Straight up, the Mate X (pictured above) is the sleeker device. When folded down, it looks and runs like a regular smartphone. It's still a full-sized display, and you don't necessarily need to open it to get the most of it. It's a seriously slick piece of hardware.

When you open up the Fold, you're confronted by a sizeable notch in the top right hand corner of the screen, or as we like to call it, a slotch. It can a little off putting in photos, but like with most notches and camera cut-outs, it's becomes less noticeable when you're actually using the phone.

The Mate X looks much cleaner in comparison, as it has no front-facing cameras. This does however mean you can't take a selfie when the screen is unfolded.

There is of course more to foldable smartphones than looks.

From initial experiences, the Galaxy Fold seems like the more practical of the pair. While both foldables make a productivity pitch by letting you run multiple apps side-by-side, the Fold's large screen is more rectangular, which makes it better for watching video. When unfolded the Mate X is almost a square, leading to significant black bars around your content. 

In addition, the fact the Galaxy Fold's primary display is hidden away most of the time should give it a bit more protection. Both the Galaxy Fold and Mate X have plastic displays, because glass doesn’t bend. Plastic is however less resilient than glass, and as such more prone to scratches.

Since the Mate X display is exposed constantly, it seems like it would pick up wear and tear a little easier. The unit I got my hands on already had a few scuffs and micro-abrasions, but these were only visible in direct sunlight.

Galaxy Fold vs. Mate X: Specs

Both the Galaxy Fold and Mate X are pretty beastly phones, packed with high-end everything. Here's quick look at how they compare in terms of pure specs:

When it comes to cameras, the Galaxy Fold rear-facing camera configuration is identical to the Galaxy S10+, while the Mate X rear-facing camera configuration seems to be identical to the P30 Pro. The Galaxy Fold has a 12MP primary lens, 12MP 2x zoom lens, and a 16MP wide-angle lens. The Mate X should be shipping with a 40MP primary lens, 20MP wide-angle lens, 8MP 5x zoom lens, and a Time of Flight sensor, although Huawei has yet to confirm the exact camera configuration.

Based on this, the Mate X will be the better of the two, as P30 Pro is still the undefeated kind of smartphone photography thanks to its lowlight prowess and powerful zoom.

Both foldables will have a 5G variant, but we know the 5G Galaxy Fold isn't coming to Australia at this stage.

Galaxy Fold vs. Mate X: Price

We don’t have local pricing and availability for the Galaxy Fold or Mate X yet, but the Mate X will be the more expensive of the two. Based on international pricing, we're expecting to see the Galaxy Fold sell for around $3,000 in Australia, and the Mate X for somewhere around $4,000. No matter which device you're after, it's not going to come cheap.

Want to know more? Check out our preview of the Galaxy Fold here and our preview of the Mate X here. 

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Alex Choros

Managing Editor + Group Telco Editor | X | Instagram | Threads | LinkedIn

Alex Choros is the Managing Editor of WhistleOut Australia and an award-winning journalist. He's been writing about consumer technology for over a decade and is an expert on the Australian telco sector, to the point where he knows far too many phone and internet plans by heart. In addition to leading the WhistleOut editorial team, Alex is responsible for ruining the office Sonos with his troubled taste in music.

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