Despite the buzz surrounding the Samsung Galaxy Z TriFold, in reality the world’s first three-fold foldable was Huawei Mate XT. Just like its Galaxy rival, the device debuted in a few selected markets, with a limited rollout. Despite the US ban, the Chinese tech giant remains at the forefront, albeit with all the problems stemming from the US blockade.
And today the brand continues to demonstrate its capabilities with the launch of Huawei Pura X Max: this is the world’s first wide-format foldable, a strategic launch that outpaces competitors such as Samsung and Apple.
Huawei Pura X Max: everything there is to know about specifications, price and release
Over the next few months we should see the launches of iPhone Fold and Galaxy Z Fold Wide, both at the center of a slew of rumors. The bar for foldables is set to move toward the wide format, which introduces new proportions for the category. The end result is a chunkier design, which favors a 16:10 aspect ratio: the first taste was given by Pura X and now Huawei has chosen to bring what was achieved with its atypical flip phone to the horizontal format.
Thanks to the wide form factor, you can have a more tablet-like experience, while current foldables – with their elongated look – seem more like giant phones.
The new Huawei Pura X Max looks almost like a passport, with its distinctive “wallet-style” design: on the outside there is a 5.4″ display with a peak brightness of 3,500 nits, ideal for traditional smartphone use. The real highlight is inside, with a large 7.7″ diagonal display and a format that offers a true tablet-like viewing experience. In this case the maximum brightness drops to 3,000 nits, while both panels support the adaptive LTPO refresh rate from 1 Hz to 120 Hz.
As anticipated by the leaks, Pura X Max fixes the major flaw of its predecessor: the slick Pura X, even though it is a flip phone, would have greatly benefited from stylus support, which was sadly absent. The new model works with Huawei’s M-Pencil 3, featuring gesture support.
On the foldable device there’s room for the chipset Kirin 9030 Pro, the same SoC of the Mate 80 family. It is a 5 nm solution produced by SMIC, endowed with a maximum frequency of 2.75 GHz. To power everything there is a 5,300 mAh battery with 66W charging and the support for 40W wireless charging (also reverse wireless charging at 7.5W).
Even though it’s a phone aimed at multitasking and a tablet-like experience, the camera system remains unfazed. Huawei Pura X Max mounts a 50 MP sensor with variable aperture (f/1.4-4.0), accompanied by a 12.5 MP ultra-wide-angle and a 50 MP periscope telephoto lens. A multispectral sensor for color fidelity is also included, as well as the XMAGE proprietary imaging system.
Price and availability
The new Huawei Pura X Max has just debuted in China at a starting price of around €1,371 at the current exchange rate. For the moment it is a novelty available only at home, and we don’t yet know if and when a global version will arrive. Below you will find all configurations and their respective prices.
- 12/256 GB – 10,999 yuan (€1,371)
- 12/512 GB – 11,999 yuan (€1,496)
- Collector’s Edition, 16/512 GB – 12,999 yuan (€1,621)
- Collector’s Edition, 16 GB/1 TB – 13,999 yuan (€1,745)
Huawei Pura X Max – Technical specifications UPDATE IN PROGRESS
- Dimensions and weight: /
- Color options: Phantom Night Black, Zero Degree White, Interstellar Blue, Olive Gold, Vibrant Orange
- Durability: /
- Display
- external – OLED 5.5"
- internal – OLED 7.69" WQHD+ in 16:10
- Security: side fingerprint sensor
- Cooling: /
- SoC: HiSilicon Kirin 9030 Pro, 5 nm SMIC
- CPU: 9 cores and 14 threads
- 1 x 2.75 GHz Taishan
- 4 x 2.27 GHz Taishan
- 4 x 1.72 GHz Taishan
- GPU: Maleoon 935
- RAM: 12/16 GB LPDDR5X
- Storage: 256/512 GB/1 TB UFS 4.0 non-expandable
- Battery: 5,300 mAh
- Charging: 66W, wireless 40W, wireless reverse 7.5W
- Camera: 50 + 12.5 + 50 MP, variable aperture (f/1.4-4.0), XMAGE imaging system with sensors RYYB, OIS, ultra-wide and macro, periscope telephoto (f/2.2) and Red Maple (multispectral)
- Selfie camera: /
- Connectivity and others: Dual SIM 5G (5A), Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth, NFC, Dual GPS, stereo speaker, USB-C, M-Pencil support
- Operating system: HarmonyOS 6.1
