Is This Phone The Future Of Foldables? [Into The Fold Episode 7] By MrMobile [Michael Fisher]

- This video is sponsored by HelloFresh. America's number one meal kit. (soft music) So this episode of "Into the Fold" was going to be a traditional first impressions video. But then something happened to the foldable phone I carry every day. Something that made me wonder whether the Huawei Mate X2 might just be a preview of the future of foldables. (upbeat music) Now, when I first heard that Huawei was following up its first foldable design with something that looked an awful lot like a Samsung folding phone, I'll admit, I was a bit disappointed.

I just thought, "Isn't it a little bit early "in foldable development for the industry "to be coalescing around one or two form factors?" But frankly, it had to happen. I said as much when I covered Huawei's original Mate X in the first episode of "Into the Fold" As ambitious as that design was, material science just hasn't yet given us a screen that's both flexible enough to fold and durable enough to double as a defacto phone casing. And yes, I will come back to this. Now, while the Mate X2 looks a lot like Samsung's Fold 2, there are more differences than you think. Stand the Mate up alongside the Fold and you'll see that Samsung's phone still resembles a diving board with its tall 25 by nine aspect ratio, while Huawei has gone with a wider 21 by nine.

What does that mean to you? When the Mate X2 is closed, it better approximates a conventional smartphone. It's a bit easier to type on and it solves some of the scaling problems I've found on some apps on the Fold 2. Instagram. Now, whether it's better overall, depends on personal preference. See, from my perspective, going to the full width of a 21 by nine phone and adding the Z-depth and weight of a foldable means that Huawei basically made the Mate X2 tougher to use one-handed.

And if you're gonna use two hands, you might as well unfold the thing and use the main display. So for me, the Fold 2 still strikes the better balance even if it doesn't look as nice as the Mate X2. Inside, Huawei's main screen is nearly half an inch bigger on the diagonal than Samsung's with about 10% more pixels per inch as well. Refresh rates are different too. The Fold 2 has the slightly smoother screen inside while Huawei takes the cake on the cover.

And of course, the more obvious difference is the Mate X2's utterly uninterrupted canvas made possible by the absence of an internal camera. Tally this one up as another decision I'm siding with Samsung on. Yes, the outside camera should suffice for selfies, but now that video calling is more popular than ever, I like that Samsung gives me the option to take those calls on the larger screen. A screen that can hold itself open at any angle you like. On the Mate X2, you have to take your video calls outside, which just seems like a big sacrifice to ask people to make when your phone costs as much as this one does.

(indistinct) the deletion of wireless charging and the use of glossy glass instead of Samsung's satin. Now, fortunately, Huawei respects that cost in other areas that Samsung totally whiffed on. If you saw my Fold 2 review, you'll remember I took him to task for not including any accessories beyond the charger in the box. On the flip side, the Mate X2 comes with the best complimentary case I've seen in years, maybe ever. It looks great.

It solves for the slippery glass problem. And it offers a convenient kickstand, which works whether the phone's open or closed. That's taking care of your customer. And it's something I hope Samsung emulates with the Fold 3. Huawei also kept in mind the importance of being ergonomic.

The Mate X2's casing is divided diagonally, which means that when you open it, the phone takes on the wedge-like form of a doorstop. That design choice pushes its center of gravity toward the thicker side, making it easier to hold one hand up like the similarly asymmetric Kindle Oasis. And when it's closed, the same design allows the phone to collapse to a thinner profile than the Fold 2. In the process, eliminating the gap between halves. It's an elegant, beautiful implementation, which given Huawei's design history is really no surprise.

Now, what did surprise me, speaking of Huawei's history, is how these cameras stacked up. See, this far, Samsung has recycled cameras from previous generations of phones for its Fold family. But Huawei threw almost everything it had into this monster camera module, including a Periscope telephoto camera. That means that while the Fold 2 can only get you this close to the freedom tower, even then with quite a lot of grain, Huawei can take you hundreds of feet closer. They Mate X2 also has an easier job in low light at least where the wide angle lens is concerned.

Less noise, better colors. The surprising part comes in where the shots from the Samsung tend to be the pics I prefer. For one thing, the Huawei missed focus a lot of the time, which really shouldn't be happening at this price point. And for another, I wasn't always happy with Huawei's color processing. You can really see that in these sunset selfies.

In one set, Huawei does a better job with the portrait effect, but not in the other. And in both cases, it's definitely misrepresenting my skin tone. So I hear you're asking, if this is the possible future of foldables, why does it sound like such a mixed bag? The answer after this. Okay, so as a so-called influencer, the sponsored part of my job is to influence. But what do you call it when an influencer influences himself? That's exactly what happened with today's sponsor.

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Again, go to hellofresh. com and use code MRMOBILE12 to get 12 free meals including free shipping. Thanks to HelloFresh for sponsoring this video. True story. The night before I was to edit this video, I was doing what I've done almost every night since I bought the Galaxy Fold and Fold 2.

I was laying in bed reading on the Kindle app. And I noticed as I drag my finger across the display, barely discernible rough patch under my fingertip that had not been there before. When I woke up the next morning and micro-fibered away a week's worth of fingerprints, my fears were confirmed. My Fold 2 had spontaneously developed a length of tiny cracks in the display, perfectly following the trough of the flex point where the ultra thin glass folds over itself. No, I didn't drop it.

No, I didn't freeze it. I didn't bake it. I didn't beam it through a dubious transporter. It just happened, seven months into my ownership. And frankly, it wasn't a surprise.

Since the Fold 2 and its sibling the Galaxy Z Flip have been on sale, reports of similar cracking incidents have been a fairly common sight on some of the subreddits I follow. Now, this is speculation, but to me, it seems like fatigue fractures, which is supported by the fact that the Fold 2 is the phone I've been using literally every day, while my other two foldables are mainly weekend and off hours phones. Now, fortunately, when you buy a foldable from Samsung, you do get something called premier service on top of the standard warranty. And as this video goes live, I'm actually in the process of sending my phone in to get repaired. That's partly why I do this series, folks, showing you what it's like to own a foldable even when that reality is inconvenient or painful.

I'll tell you how premier Samsung service was on an upcoming episode of "Into the Fold" and make sure you're subscribed to the Mr. Mobile so you don't miss it. What does all this have to do with the Mate X2? Well, you may have noticed that not all foldables bend quite the same way. While Samsung tends to prefer a narrow and deep gutter groove, Motorola's Razr line kind of spreads the fold across three smaller creases. Over in the laptop world, the ThinkPad X1 Fold from Motorola's parent company, Lenovo, does something similar, but with firmer material and support structure.

And the Huawei Mate X2's double helix drop hinge seems to have more in common with the Motorola and Lenovo approach than Samsung's. Huawei is deservedly proud of that hinge mechanism going so far as to compare it to the strength of one of the safest cars in the world, cue the fake applause. - (speaks in foreign language) (applause) - I do miss ridiculous phone launch events, I got to say. But anyway, the real story isn't actually in the hinge, it's in how the screen folds. Just like on the Razr, Huawei's display curls up into a water drop shaped cavity that results in a much gentler curve than the harsh bend of the Samsung approach.

To be clear, I have no evidence that Samsung's tight radius crease is what caused the fracture on my Fold 2. And in any event, the materials are different. Huawei uses this more traditional plastic compared to Samsung's ultra thin glass. Plus, we don't know how well the Mate X2 display will age. After seven months, My Motorola Razr 5G review unit is nowhere near as smooth as it was when I first unboxed it.

It's actually getting quite distracting. So I'm not saying Huawei's approach is some kind of silver bullet sure thing. But when combined with the other advantages of the Mate X2, the lower profile, the complete closure, that ergonomic asymmetry, that addictive snap the phone makes when you open or close it, it all makes for a package that I think will heavily inform the future of foldables. That's good news for we foldy folks who like to buy these things, but not great news for Huawei, which due to fraught relations between the US and China is still unable to offer the full range of Google apps or mobile services on the Mate X2 or any of its other phones. Yeah, that means that even though it's somewhat easier to find the apps you need on Huawei phones these days, I still can't recommend the Mate X2 to anyone in the States who needs reliable access to Gmail, Google maps, et cetera.

And who doesn't wanna source their apps from APK sites instead of the Google Play Store. But the Mate X2 is a fresh reminder that the foldable world needs the kind of innovation that companies like Huawei can bring, especially given the recent departure of LG from the mobile space. I hope to see Huawei's wears make a return to the West someday. In the meantime, I'm sure foldable manufacturers the world over are taking notes on what the company produces. This video was made after six days with the Mate X2 review sample provided by Huawei.

After I sent my Fold 2 off for service, I contacted Samsung for comment concerning its display failure. And if the company offers one, I'll include it in the description. As always, neither Huawei nor Samsung was given editorial input or an early preview of this video nor did either company pay anything for this coverage. And finally, if you enjoyed this video, there's a whole playlist of other "Into the Fold" episodes. Check them out at the Mr.

Mobile on YouTube. Until next time, thanks for watching and remember to stay safe and mask up when you're around others. As you stay mobile, my friends. (upbeat music).

Source : MrMobile [Michael Fisher]