Huawei folding phone launch delayed to September

Huawei has revealed that the launch of the folding Mate X — which was originally supposed to happen this month — won’t take place until September.

On Friday, Huawei told CNBC that the company is delaying the launch of the Mate X, which was first unveiled in February, until September to extend product testing — not because of its US blacklisting.

After observing Samsung’s Galaxy Fold debacle from the sidelines, a spokesperson admitted that, “We don’t want to launch a product to destroy our reputation.”

Huawei is allegedly taking extra time to ensure that the device is fully functional no matter which mobile carrier it is running on.

Because the Mate X was launched before the blacklisting, it will probably be the last device by the company to run Android unless allowed to work again with the US.

A Huawei-branded operating system is currently in the works as backup and is slated to be rolled out in China this year; however, the company has reiterated several times that they would rather continue their collaboration with Google if possible.

According to the spokesperson, Huawei intends to launch the device globally prioritising markets that are rolling out 5G, as the Mate X is 5G compatible.

When the phone is released in September, it will start at around €2 299 euros (R38 150).

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