Huawei has been doing great in the smartphone market across the world. Despite the ban they got in the US for carriers to feature their devices, they still managed to surpass Apple in the sales department. As the world’s second most sold smartphone brand, they surely have to offer excellent devices. Now, the Chinese company announced their latest devices in the Mate series. The long-rumored refresh to the lineup is here, and they do look exciting. Here, we’re taking a look at the surprise from the event – the Huawei Mate 20 X. Let’s begin!

Design

Starting with the design, Huawei delivered in this department again. There are some features and design choices other smartphones have. However, there is one that makes it stand apart – the camera setup on the back. Unlike the P20 Pro’s placement in the top corner, here they’re placed in a box right in the upper-middle part of the device. Not that this is something special, but it does make it unique, especially in a world where everyone is copying their competitors. While we’re at the back, the device also comes in the signature Emerald Green and Twilight color options. This time around, the glass back on these colors will have a special pattern which will make the device more grippy and less fingerprint-prone. Sadly, the standard Black, Pink Gold and Blue color options will be excluded from this.

The biggest feature on the Huawei Mate 20 X is the display. The 7.2” OLED panel has 1080 x 2244 resolution and 18.7:9 aspect ratio. This enormous display is built with media consumers and gamers in mind, giving you more screen estate to enjoy your content on. There is still a notch here, and its similar to the one on the regular Mate 20. The bezels are still thin – even the bottom one.

Features

Going inside, the Huawei Mate 20 Pro packs a big punch. Starting with the chipset, the device feature’s the company’s own Kirin 980 processor. Accompanied by the Mali-G76 MP10 GPU, they will handle any task you throw at them. Unlike the Mate 20 or the Mate 20 Pro, here they’re cooled using a special vapor cooling system. That should push out constant performance during those long gaming sessions. For memory, the device comes with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage. The storage can be upgraded further using the special NM card slot, up to 256GB.

Jumping over to the cameras, you can find three sensors on the back and a single one on the front. First, you have the primary 40MP wide sensor with f/1.8 aperture. Next, you have the 20MP ultrawide sensor with f/2.2 aperture. Finally, the last one is the 8MP telephoto sensor with f/2.4 aperture. All of these lenses are Leica branded and take excellent photos. Images are sharp, with good color saturation and great dynamic range. As for the front, you get a single 24MP shooter with f/2.0 aperture. It’s perfect for all of your selfies or video calls. Speaking of video, the device can shoot up to 2160p in 30fps.

Finally, the Huawei Mate 20 X runs on the newest Android Pie 9.0 out of the box, skinned using their own EMUI 9.0. The skin is decent and packs a lot of useful features, but it does have a slightly hard learning curve.

Pricing and availability

The Huawei Mate 20 X will be available for purchase on October 26th. The device will be priced at 900 euros.

So, what are your thoughts on the Huawei Mate 20 X? Share them in the comments below.