Huawei continues to hold its own in the ever-evolving foldable smartphone market. The Chinese manufacturer dominates this segment in its home country with models like the Mate X6 and the Mate XT, which folds in three. The brand has just unveiled the Pura X, a new smartphone that also stands out for its innovative approach.
Besides the relatively high price of many models, foldable models haven't necessarily been completely convincing. The screen ratio is sometimes criticized, whether with Fold or Flip devices, for different reasons. The flagship format since the beginning of foldable devices has been the Fold, or "book" format, found on the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6, the Honor Magic V3, the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold, and the Huawei Mate X6. It includes a large internal screen designed for productivity, but less so for entertainment and video playback. Video formats aren't really suited to its more square screens, and black bars are visible on both sides.
The Flip doesn't solve the problem by offering "elongated" screens at all. The choice is relevant for vertical content, a little less so for landscape videos, with the appearance of black borders on the sides.
A revolutionary format for foldables?
After adding a second fold to approximate the tablet format with the Mate XT, Huawei has a new idea for the Pura X. While it doesn't look much different from a classic clamshell folding smartphone, it has a 16:10 screen ratio, offering a wider and more immersive viewing experience. Once unfolded, the user enjoys a 6.3-inch OLED screen with a resolution of 2120 x 1320 pixels for a versatile experience.
Indeed, the 16:10 format proves practical for multitasking by allowing the simultaneous use of two applications side by side. It also remains quite close to the 16:9 format used for video, which reduces black borders when watching videos in this format. This choice gives the Pura X a distinctive and unusual design, as it is rare to find smartphones this wide.
According to Huawei, this format is "the most practical for users" and it's not the only advantage of the Pura X. On the outside, there's a 3.5-inch square screen (980 x 980 pixels) for quickly checking notifications and accessing widgets. Both screens of the smartphone benefit from HDR technology and a brightness of up to 2500 nits.
HarmonyOS, AI and no longer Android at all
Under the hood, the Pura X has Huawei's in-house developed Kirin 9000s chip. It comes with 12 to 16 GB of RAM and 256 GB, 512 GB or 1 TB of storage, enough to run HarmonyOS 5.01 and AI functions. Along with the latest version of the Chinese giant's operating system, there's an AI assistant called "Harmony Intelligence." It's based on the company's proprietary Pangu language model, in collaboration with DeepSeek.
The presence of HarmonyOS Next is an opportunity for the Pura X to definitively cut ties with Android. Indeed, this folding smartphone does not support Android applications.
The camera section is not left out with the presence of four sensors on the back. The Huawei Pura X offers the following configuration:
- 50 MP main sensor with f/1.6 aperture and optical stabilization
- 40 MP ultra-wide angle
- 8 MP telephoto lens with 3.5x optical zoom
- 1.5 million channel Ultra Chroma sensor for improved color accuracy
It adds a 10.7MP front camera with f/2.2 aperture. Finally, it adds a 4720 mAh battery compatible with 66W wired and 40W wireless fast charging. It adds IPX8 certification, as well as support for 5G and Wi-Fi 7 in the Chinese market.
Price and availability
With the Pura X, Huawei once again demonstrates its ability to innovate in terms of folding smartphones. Launched in China, this model starts at 7,499 yuan (around 950 euros) for the standard model (12 GB + 256 GB). A collector's edition (tricolor back, satellite communication, up to 1 TB of storage) starts at 8,999 yuan (around 1,150 euros) with 16 GB of RAM and 512 GB of storage.
For now, there is no indication that the Chinese brand will launch this smartphone in Europe. Remember that Huawei still cannot offer Google services, such as the Play Store, and that you have to use alternatives to install YouTube or Gmail. In addition, the latest flagship models sold in France do not have 5G.
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