Huawei Mate X6 hands-on

12 December 2024

Introduction

Today's the day - the Huawei Mate X6 just began its global rollout.

Huawei says its newest book-style foldable is its first true flagship foldable. That means that it packs impressive cameras, a capable battery, and is both elegant and well-made. Well, a true flagship also has the best chipset, but Huawei refuses to discuss that part of the hardware.

We had some time with the new Mate X6, took some photos of the phone, took some more with the phone, so here come our first impressions.

Design

The Huawei Mate X6 is one of the slimmest and lightest book-style foldables on the market. It's very similar to the Honor Magic V3, though the two differ here and there.

The Mate X6 is a bit heavier at 239g (vs 230g), and a tad thicker at 4.6mm/9.9mm (unfolded/folded) but those differences won't be tangible side by side.

The fact remains the Mate X6 feels ultra-thin in the hand. It's easy to open and closes with a neat magnetic snap. The phone can stand on its own when folded and it wobbles a lot if you use it unfolded and flat on a desk.

The displays on the Mate X6 look nearly identical to the ones on the Honor Magic V3. You have a 6.45-inch LTPO OLED cover screen with a standard aspect of 20:9. On the inside is a 7.93-inch LTPO OLED with a close to 1:1 aspect.

But the Honor Magic V3 is an outlier in the world of foldables. If you compare the Huawei Mate X6 to the likes of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6 and Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold - the go-to choices of foldable in Europe and North America, Huawei's device stands out with its far superior hardware.

The difference in thickness is evident. The Mate X6's hinge is much smaller and its frame is much thinner. We'd admit that the flat frames on the other two feel slightly more comfortable during opening and closing, though.

Looking at the displays, the Huawei Mate X6 is the best phone to use in folded mode. Its 6.45-incher is the best here. We'd say the main screen battle is a tossup between the Pixel and the Mate - the Galaxy is the smallest.

The crease isn't huge or obtrusive but it is there. We'd say that it doesn't stand out either for the right or the wrong reasons.

Camera

The Mate X6 has an impressive camera system (not only for a foldable). The main unit is a 50 MP unit with a variable f/1.4-f/4.0 aperture with 8 in-between steps (f/1.6, 1.8, 2.0, 2.2, 2.5, 2.8, 3.2, 3.5). The sensor size is unclear at this point but expect it to be respectable.

There's a 40 MP ultrawide camera with a 13mm f/2.2 lens and PDAF, as well as a 90mm f/3.0 periscope telephoto camera with a 48 MP sensor. Selfies are captured by two 8 MP units.

We'll continue with a few samples captured with the main and telephoto cameras of the Mate X6 (and a few selfies). We'll reserve our detailed analysis for our review. Enjoy and stay tuned for more on the Mate X6 when the phone lands back at the office!