Huawei unveiled a brilliant foldable. The Pura X Max is likely to set a new trend that Samsung and Apple will also adopt.

The foldable phone market is likely to undergo a significant transformation this year. Instead of the hitherto prevailing format, where a folded phone looks like a regular smartphone and unfolded almost resembles a square, a new concept is emerging – the wide foldable. The pioneer is Chinese Huawei, which has just unveiled the Pura X Max model. When unfolded, it transforms into a tablet with a more traditional aspect ratio, and when folded, it resembles more of a compact device than a regular mobile phone (personally, it reminds me of an AI recorder like the Plaud Note Pro). Samsung and Apple are reportedly also working on a similar design.

A wider format that could change the game

The Huawei Pura X Max differs in design from most current foldable phones. When folded, the device is significantly wider than we are used to with foldables, but when unfolded, it offers a display with an aspect ratio of approximately 16:11. This brings it much closer to classic tablets.

On the back of the Pura X Max, we find a horizontally oriented, pill-shaped camera module in black, housing a trio of cameras. A selfie camera is present on both the outer and inner displays. In addition to purple, which the manufacturer highlights the most, four other color versions will also be available. Among them, we find orange, for which inspiration was likely drawn from the iPhone 17 Pro series.

It’s interesting to note that this very format is reportedly going to be adopted by several other manufacturers. Samsung is said to be working on a model referred to as the Galaxy Z Fold8 Wide, which could arrive as early as this summer. A similar concept is also expected for Apple’s long-speculated foldable iPhone.

Specifications not yet confirmed

Huawei has not yet revealed the official specifications, but at least the memory configurations are known from the manufacturer’s official store. The Pura X Max will be available in variants of 12 GB + 256 GB, 12 GB + 512 GB, 16 GB + 512 GB, and 16 GB + 1 TB.

Huawei unveiled a brilliant foldable. The Pura X Max is likely to set a new trend that Samsung and Apple will also adopt. Adam Kurfürst News Adam Kurfürst News

According to speculation, the phone should be powered by the Kirin 9030 chipset, Huawei’s latest in-house processor. Specific data on display sizes or battery capacity are not yet available – these should be revealed during the official presentation.

Will it come to Europe?

The Huawei Pura X Max will be officially unveiled on April 20 in China, alongside the Pura 90 Pro series. Interested buyers can already pre-order it from the manufacturer’s official Chinese e-shop.

Currently, there is nothing to suggest that the phone will make its way outside of China, and personally, I wouldn’t bet on it much. At first glance, the device seems more like an experimental endeavor, and if it garners sufficient interest in the domestic market, we might see its successor on store shelves there. However, like other products from the brand, it will lack Google services due to the US sanctions imposed years ago.

Do you like the wide foldable concept more than the current format?

Sources: GSMArena, 9to5Google, Mashable