HORIZON TOP 10
The latest folding phone formats and Canon’s new mirrorless flagship
If you looked on in envy as Huawei launched its beautiful folding 5G phone the Mate X in China last year, we have some good news for you. A second edition of the handset, called the Xs, is coming to Europe – and it’s even better than the original. Okay, in many ways it’s the same: there are still two exterior OLED screens – 6.6 inches at the front and 6.4 inches at the back – that fold out to make a 5.4mm-thick, almostsquare eight-inch tablet; and also present and correct is the Mate X’s quad camera set-up (40MP wide-angle, 16MP ultra-wide-angle, 8MP telephoto, TOF lens), designed in conjunction with Leica. However, Huawei has improved the Falcon Wing hinge, making it more robust and protective against dirt and debris; upgraded the Mate X’s Kirin 980 processor with the faster, more powerful Kirin 990 (which also supports a greater number of 5G bands); and introduced an innovative new cooling system that’ll enable you to stream videos and play the latest games without fear of overheating. Finally, though the phone still doesn’t have any Google apps due to trade restrictions imposed by the USA, Huawei has installed its very latest EMUI 10 operating system – which, lest we forget, runs on an open source version of Android 10. But the very best thing about this new handset? You’ll be able to own it, although the price has gone up even further from the already-expensive first version. Given that cost, is the all-round screen a durability concern? Well, not if you don’t drop it. But it will also come with the fetching leather folio case pictured to the right, if you want to protect it when it’s in a bag with your keys.
“The lack of Google apps is a shame, but we love the design and tech on offer here”
Matt Bolton, Editor