The foldable smartphone race has begun.

After the initial offerings by lesser known companies.

Two of the top smartphone makers have announced foldable phones within a week of each other.

First, it was Samsung with their S$2,676 Galaxy Fold.

Here it is.

Here is how it works.

New challenger

That spotlight might soon shift once again, after Huawei announced their very own foldable phone, the Huawei Mate X.

They announced the phone, along with a slew of other offerings at the Mobile World Congress (MWC), over at Barcelona, Spain.

Here it is.

Like the Galaxy Fold, it will be a 5G foldable smartphone.

Here is what it will look like, from the front, the back, and when it is folded.

Here are some of the specs revealed at MWC.

Ultra slim and ultra compact. Opening to just 5.4mm thick and folding to a slimline 11mm, the #HUAWEIMateX. #ConnectingTheFuture #MWC2019 pic.twitter.com/9MG3Kjsypi

— Huawei Mobile (@HuaweiMobile) February 24, 2019

No time to waste. With the 55W HUAWEI SuperCharge the #HUAWEIMateX can reach 85% battery in just 30 mins. #ConnectingTheFuture #MWC2019 pic.twitter.com/dQ0H46AIal

— Huawei Mobile (@HuaweiMobile) February 24, 2019

A high-capacity 4500mAh battery fulfils the demand for better performance in the 5G era. #HUAWEIMateX #ConnectingTheFuture #MWC2019

— Huawei Mobile (@HuaweiMobile) February 24, 2019

It is powered by Blaong 5,000 and the Kirin 980, with downlink speeds of up to 4.6bps @sub-6GHz

Which, as they helpfully pointed out in MWC, is quite a bit faster than Apple.

Another cool feature is that you can see your picture as it is being taken.

Perfect your pose. Mirror shooting lets you see your picture as it's being taken. #HUAWEIMateX #ConnectingTheFuture #MWC2019 pic.twitter.com/FMt0vAZVtK

— Huawei Mobile (@HuaweiMobile) February 24, 2019

While the phone doesn't appear to have a release date for Singapore yet, they did reveal the price for their European customers, 2,299 Euros (S$3,523).

It will apparently be available mid-2019.

Related

Image from Huawei and Kane