Huawei Mate X7 hands-on review

Introduction

Huawei's flagship foldable Mate X7 was launched officially last month in China, exactly a year after its predecessor, the Mate X6. And today, the phone is launching outside China too, though the exact details on which markets will get it remain to be unraveled.

Despite the near-identical design to the Mate X6, the newer Mate is lighter, thinner and has higher ingress protection. Quite impressive one at that, given that it's a foldable. The Mate X7 now bags IP58 and IP59 certifications, allowing the phone to withstand water immersion over 2 meters.

Both displays get a little bit of attention, too. The cover and the main display are now (marginally) bigger and supposedly brighter.

Huawei Mate X7 specs at a glance:

• Body: 156.8x144.2x4.5mm, 235g; Glass front, nylon fiber or silicone polymer back (eco leather), aluminum frame; IP58/IP59 dust protected and water resistant (high pressure water jets; immersible up to 2m for 30 min), Aerospace-grade aluminum.
• Display: 8.00" Foldable LTPO OLED, 1B colors, 120Hz, 1440Hz PWM, HDR Vivid, 2500 nits (peak), 2210x2416px resolution, 9.84:9 aspect ratio, 409ppi; Cover display:, LTPO OLED, 120Hz, 1440Hz PWM, HDR, 3000 nits (peak), 6.49 inches, 1080 x 2444 pixels, Kunlun Glass 2.
• Chipset: Kirin 9030 Pro (6 nm): 9-core (1x2.75 GHz & 4x2.27 GHz & 4x1.72 GHz); Maleoon 935.
• Memory: 256GB 12GB RAM, 512GB 12GB RAM, 512GB 16GB RAM, 1TB 16GB RAM, 1TB 20GB RAM; UFS.
• OS/Software: HarmonyOS 6.0, EMUI 12.
• Rear camera: Wide (main): 50 MP, f/1.4-f/4.0, 24mm, PDAF, OIS*; Telephoto: 50 MP, f/2.2, 81mm, PDAF, OIS, 3.5x optical zoom; Ultra wide angle: 40 MP, f/2.2, 13mm, 120˚, PDAF;
• Front camera: Wide (main): 8 MP, f/2.2; Cover camera:; Wide (main): 8 MP, f/2.2.
• Video capture: Rear camera: 4K, 1080p, 1080p@960fps, HDR, gyro-EIS, OIS, HDR Vivid; Front camera: 4K, 1080p.
• Battery: 5525mAh; 66W wired, 50W wireless, 7.5W reverse wireless, 5W reverse wired.
• Connectivity: 5G; Wi-Fi 7; BT 6.0, L2HC; NFC; Infrared port.
• Misc: Fingerprint reader (side-mounted); stereo speakers; BDS Satellite and Messaging - China only.

Performance is promised to be on another level, thanks to the newly released Kirin 9030, based on the 6nm node.

Perhaps the camera department gets the biggest upgrade this year. The already-excellent 50MP main camera remains the same, but the telephoto unit is upgraded to a bigger 50MP sensor paired with a larger aperture.

The battery also gets a healthy bump to 5,525 mAh, supporting the same 66W and 50W wireless charging.