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Huawei today confirmed it is delaying the launch of its Mate X foldable smartphone from June to September for quality assurance purposes.

mate-x-huawei.jpg
Huawei's Mate X

A spokesperson for Huawei said the Chinese smartphone maker is being more "cautious" after some reviewers experienced embarrassing display issues with Samsung's foldable smartphone, the Galaxy Fold. "We don't want to launch a product to destroy our reputation," the spokesperson told CNBC.

Samsung delayed the launch of the Galaxy Fold back in April and plans to announce a new release date "in the coming weeks," according to CNET.

Last month, the Trump administration added Huawei to a trade blacklist over alleged national security concerns, effectively forbidding U.S. companies from doing business with the Chinese smartphone and telecom giant, but a Huawei executive said that supply chain issues are not behind the delay.

Huawei is instead postponing sales of the Mate X in part to improve the quality of the device's folding screen, said Vincent Peng, a senior vice president at Huawei, on the sidelines of a Wall Street Journal tech conference in Hong Kong.

Adhering to the ban, Google parent company Alphabet previously said it will no longer license Android to Huawei for its smartphones after a 90-day reprieve granted by the U.S. government expires in August. In this event, Peng said Huawei could have its own Hongmeng operating system ready by early next year.

"Our preference will of course be Google and Android as we have been partners for many years," said Peng, according to Reuters. "But if the circumstances force us to, we can roll out Hongmeng in six to nine months."

It is unclear if Apple will ever release a folding iPhone, but it has certainly explored the idea in patents. The technology is not cheap, with Huawei's Mate X expected to start at $2,600 in the United States, and clearly is not without its issues either as evidenced by Huawei's and Samsung's struggles.

Article Link: Huawei Delays Launch of Foldable Smartphone, Being More 'Cautious' After Samsung's Galaxy Fold Issues
 
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Rogifan

macrumors Penryn
Nov 14, 2011
24,069
30,941
I remember months ago when I was saying these looked like crap and the quality and technology wasn’t there yet and I was getting told I was an Apple “fanboy”. Sure is looking like I and those who shared that view were right.

So they can resolve the fundamental problems with this tech in a couple of months? Laughable. I stil don’t get who this is for other than bored tech writers at The Verge. Are there that many people who need a tablet that can fold into the size of a phone?
 
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pweicks

macrumors 6502
Dec 23, 2016
261
589
USA
Respect to Huawei for being honest about why it’s being delayed. It would’ve been so easy for them to simply blame it on politics.
 
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IIGS User

macrumors 65816
Feb 24, 2019
1,086
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A gimmick, that brings nothing to the table technologically. The engineering is mature enough to support it, the introduction of moving parts to the device invites wear, tear, and defects, and who the HEIL is paying $2600 for a phone that won't be able to run Android as either a phone or a tablet, when you can get a new Android tablet and phone for less than half.

This is quite possibly the most hairbrained tech idea I ever saw. Why large corporations would pursue bringing it to market is beyond me.

Kind of reminds me of the electronic shifter Ford used in the Edsel. You can do it, but why?
 

sinsin07

macrumors 68040
Mar 28, 2009
3,606
2,662
Techno speak for "Our S*** ain't ready for prime time."

Like the design though, hope I get to see one.
 
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TMRJIJ

macrumors 68040
Dec 12, 2011
3,461
6,432
South Carolina, United States
Said it before about the Galaxy Fold and I’ll say it again.
What problem merit you having a foldable screen device? Our current phones were working fine. It did not solve any problems nor is it changing the way we use smartphones and tablet; just something cool to have. Nobody will be losing any sleep if this product got delayed.
 

Mansu944

macrumors 6502a
Mar 11, 2012
746
1,921
I had forgotten about both of these. I think I assumed they were vapor ware even though they had release dates.
 

bambooshots

Suspended
Jul 25, 2013
1,414
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I wonder if this is a speed bump on the way to the future of foldable phones or if the foldable space has crashed and burned already with these two products.
 
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ipponrg

macrumors 68020
Oct 15, 2008
2,309
2,087
So they can resolve the fundamental problems with this tech in a couple of months? Laughable. I stil don’t get who this is for other than bored tech writers at The Verge. Are there that many people who need a tablet that can fold into the size of a phone?

You never know. It could become the next Apple Watch. No one in the industry thought people would adopt it despite its early shortcomings. ;)
 
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