Huawei clearly knows what it’s doing when it comes to foldables, and the tri-folding Mate XT continues to be the most innovative phone around. While the Mate XT is so much more than a technical showcase, Huawei still makes regular book-style foldables, and its latest model — the Mate X7 — brings a bigger battery and better cameras.
Huawei unveiled the Mate X7 in China on November 25, and introduced the foldable globally at a launch event in Dubai on December 11. The foldable will go on sale in select regions in Southeast Asia in the coming weeks, where it will cost the equivalent of €2,099 ($2,459).
I’ve always liked Huawei’s design aesthetic, and the Mate X7 looks similar to its predecessor. The foldable has a ultra-sleek profile that’s in line with the Vivo X Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Fold 7, and Huawei switched to a newer camera housing at the back that makes the X7 stand out. The foldable has a great in-hand feel, and at 235g, it isn’t heavy in the least; Huawei somehow managed to bring down the weight by 4g while adding a bigger battery.
I’m using the red variant of the Mate X7, and it has a vegan leather back that’s terrific to hold and use. Huawei also has the device in black, but if you need a model that will turn heads, the leather variant is the one to get.
The camera module juts out quite a bit, but as it is centered, there’s now wobble whatsoever when using the Mate X7 on a table, and in this area, it has a key advantage over the Z Fold 7. I like the in-hand feel thanks to the rounded edges and beveled sides, and the weight distribution is ideal.
The Mate X7 also gets IP58 and IP59 ingress protection, making it that much more durable — only Google delivers better protection on the Pixel 10 Pro Fold. Coming in at 4.5mm unfolded and 9.5mm folded, the Mate X7 isn’t quite the thinnest foldable around, but honestly, it feels just as great to use as the Z Fold 7 or X Fold 5.
Where the X7 differentiates itself is the panel; both the 6.49-inch cover screen and the inner 8-inch OLED panels have better brightness than previous years, and it makes a genuine difference in outdoor use. Color rendition is better as well, and there’s increased vibrancy. You get 120Hz refresh on either screen, and they both include 1,440Hz PWM as standard.
The hinge itself has a smooth articulation and stays unfolded at various angles, and this hasn’t proved to be an issue at all. Huawei has been making foldables for well over half a decade now, and continual tweaks to the hinge over the years has resulted in a lighter and better design. There is a marginal crease along the inner panel, but it isn’t as evident as previous years, and with just a day of use, I don’t notice it.
What you will notice is the cameras. Huawei always did a great job in this area, and the Mate X7 takes things to another level. The foldable gets a new 50MP main camera and 50MP 3.5x tele lens, with both modules featuring OIS. The 40MP wide-angle lens is the same as last year.
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I used the Mate X7 in Dubai, and was able to take photos of the Burj Khalifa along with other landmarks. Foldable cameras have come a long way in the last two years, and having used the Vivo X Fold 5 and Z Fold 7 extensively this year, I can say with some confidence that the Mate X7 takes better photos than any other device in this category.
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The main camera does an incredible job in any lighting scenario, delivering photos with good vibrancy, dynamic range, and great detail. The tele lens is significantly better than what you get on any other foldable, and while the wide-angle has issues maintaining the same color balance at times, it is a reliable shooter as well.
If anything, the only limitation on the Mate X7 has to do with the internals; the foldable is powered by Huawei’s in-house Kirin 9030 Pro, and while it uses a nine-core design, it is built on a 6nm node, and doesn’t quite has the same efficiency as Qualcomm or MediaTek powered devices. I didn’t see any issues in the day I used the Mate X7, and to Huawei’s credit, it did a great job optimizing the foldable to the platform. But there’s no denying the fact that it isn’t as powerful as the Z Fold 7 or X Fold 5; I’ll test how it holds up in gaming and other intensive tasks in the review.
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Where it does a better job is the battery; even with heavy use that involved taking hundreds of photos and a few dozen videos, the Mate X7 managed to last the entirety of the day. Huawei’s 66W charging standard is a known quantity, and I’ll test charging times and battery longevity in my review.
Switching over to the software, the Mate X7 runs EMUI 15 out of the box. It has a clean UI with plenty of usable features, and you don’t see any AI-assisted utilities on the device — which in itself feels refreshing. The software build I’m using isn’t final, and while Huawei’s devices don’t include the Play Store, the brand lets you pre-install MicroG and GBox while setting up the Mate X7, and that makes it easier than ever to then sideload the Play Store and install all the Google services you use.
I’m just getting started with the Mate X7, and will have more to share on the phone over the coming weeks. There’s clearly a lot to like with the foldable, and Huawei isn’t letting trade limitations come in the way of delivering a fabulous overall device.
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