Huawei Mate XT Ultimate review

Introduction

Huawei has been the company to experiment the most with the foldable form factor through the years. It was just recently that we reviewed the Mate X6, one of the thinnest mainstream foldables, and with the Mate XT Ultimate here, Huawei has yet again redefined what a foldable is.

And while the Mate X6 is a foldable phone, the Mate XT Ultimate is more like a foldable tablet! It features a whopping 10.2-inch LTPO OLED screen with 360ppi resolution, 90Hz refresh rate, and 10-bit color depth. This large 16:11 display can be folded one or two times, depending on your preferences and use case.

Huawei has invented two different high-precision hinges for the purposes of the XT design, which are durable yet incredibly thin, and allow the device to remain as thick as a recent Galaxy Z Fold when completely closed. But when it's completely open, this new Mate is only 3.6mm thin!

The Mate XT Ultimate runs on Huawei's own Kirin 9010 - it's a step back from the Kirin 9020, which powers the Mate X6. It's coupled with 16GB RAM and you can get the device with up to 1TB of storage.

Huawei phones have been known for their solid photographic chops and we expect that to be the case with the Mate XT. The rear setup, which can also be used for selfies, has a 50MP primary camera with OIS and a variable aperture, a 12MP 5.5x zoom camera with a periscope telephoto lens, and a 12MP AF ultrawide camera. Laser assistance and a color spectrum sensor complement the back cameras. There is also a small 8MP imager inside a cutout in the screen.

The Mate XT has what appears to be three connected batteries with Si/C composite anode and a total capacity of 5,600mAh. There is 66W wired and 50W wireless charging support, as well as reverse wireless charging.

This innovative foldable tablet boots EMUI 14.2 or Harmony OS 4.2, depending on your region.

Huawei Mate XT Ultimate specs at a glance:

• Body: 156.7x219.0x4.8mm, 298g; ultra-thin glass, vegan leather back, metal frame.
• Display: 10.20" Tri-foldable LTPO OLED, 1B colors, 90Hz, 2232x3184px resolution, 12.84:9 aspect ratio, 381ppi; Cover display (1/3 of the main display): 6.4 inches, 1008 x 2232 pixels, Dual display (2/3 of the main display): 7.9 inches, 2048 x 2232 pixels.
• Chipset: Kirin 9010 (7 nm): Octa-core (1x2.3 GHz Taishan Big & 3x2.18 GHz Taishan Mid & 4x1.55 GHz Cortex-A510); Maleoon 910.
• Memory: 256GB 16GB RAM, 512GB 16GB RAM, 1TB 16GB RAM.
• OS/Software: HarmonyOS 4.2 (China).
• Rear camera: Wide (main): 50 MP, f/1.4-f/4.0, 24mm, PDAF, OIS; Telephoto: 12 MP, f/3.4, 125mm, PDAF, OIS, 5.5x optical zoom; Ultra wide angle: 12 MP, f/2.2, 13mm, 120˚, PDAF.
• Front camera: 8 MP, f/2.2, (wide).
• Video capture: Rear camera: 4K, 1080p, gyro-EIS, OIS, HDR; Front camera: 4K, 1080p.
• Battery: 5600mAh; 66W wired, 50W wireless, 7.5W reverse wireless, 5W reverse wired.
• Connectivity: 5G; Wi-Fi 6; BT 5.2, L2HC; NFC; Infrared port.
• Misc: Fingerprint reader (side-mounted); stereo speakers; BDS Satellite Calling and Messaging - China only.

The Kirin 9010 offers mid-range performance compared to other chipsets and it is limited to 4G connectivity outside China. Another potential setback is the lack of water resistance.

Of course, the biggest omission in the eyes of a Western reader will remain the lack of a newer Android version and Google Mobile Services. While Google apps and services can be installed easily via something like GBox or microG, sooner or later, you will run into an incompatible app there.

Unboxing the Huawei Mate XT Ultimate

The global version of the Mate XT Ultimate arrives in a large box that contains the phone, a USB-C cable and an Aramid Fiber Case with an integrated rotating stand.

This stand certainly comes in handy, especially if you make use of the built-in kickstand, but overall, it's not the most convenient as it has a flap covering the part of the exposed part of the folded screen. The flap gets in the way of conveniently unfolding the screen from a fully closed to a fully unfolded position.

Finally, some markets will also get a 66W power adapter in the retail box so do check with your retailer.