If you’ve kept away from folding phones because the unfolded shape isn’t great-looking because it lacks the proportions of a tablet, Huawei has just launched the Pura X Max, the first phone that’s so wide when folded, it’s a proper tablet shape when opened. Its launch beats Apple and Samsung to the punch.
It unveiled the Pura X Max in China and it’s already available to buy there.
It’s not the first wide phone — Microsoft released the Surface Duo in 2020 but that was made up of twin screens rather than one flexible display.
And the passport shape is nothing new: BlackBerry even released a model called the Passport because it exactly matched the shape and size of a paper passport. That 2014 phone had a QWERTY keyboard at the base of the display, and it didn’t fold.
Samsung’s Galaxy Z TriFold also opened out to be a tablet shape, thanks to its two-fold design, but that’s already sold out and unavailable to buy. And it wasn’t wide when it was folded shut.
The Shift To Wide: Challenging Apple And Samsung
However, Huawei’s launch of the Pura X Max begins the move to wider foldables, a design that it’s thought is already enchanting designers at both Apple and Samsung.
The Samsung wide phone could launch as soon as August, followed just weeks later by the iPhone Fold (which may be called the iPhone Ultra).
The Huawei design is noticeably different from rivals, with a squat shape because of its width when closed. There’s a 5.4-inch cover display that opens to a 7.7-inch internal screen.
Huawei’s Triple Cameras
The rear of the phone has a horizontal camera panel with three cameras — the same number of snappers as on the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7, but possibly one more than is expected for the iPhone Ultra. There are two 50-megapixel cameras, the main and telephoto, with a 12.5-megapixel ultra-wide.
Huawei has used its homegrown Kirin brand processor (Kirin 9030 Pro) and there’s a big battery, 5,300mAh on board.
It will come in five colors: Interstellar Blue, Olive Gold, Phantom Night Black, Zero Degree White and Vibrant Orange.
It’s not yet clear how much this phone will be restricted to the domestic market but if it does sell globally, Samsung and Apple, among others, will be watching closely.
In any event, the Chinese brand has beaten its rivals to market by months.
