Introduction
Huawei has recently unveiled its next flagship foldable phone – the Mate X7. It comes a full year after the Mate X6 and brings improvements to design, screens, performance, cameras, and battery. Huawei has succeeded in miniaturizing the chip manufacturing process, probably the most significant upgrade, allegedly bridging the gap between the Kirins and the US-designed chips.
The Mate X7 may be more powerful and feature-rich, but it has also become slightly thinner and tougher. It is now IP58 and IP59 rated for dust resistance and waterproofing. The international versions are offered with an eco-leather back cover.
The inner screen is a bit larger now – it’s an 8-inch foldable LTPO OLED with 2,210 x 2,416 pixels, 1B colors, and 120Hz refresh rate. The cover screen relies on a 6.49-inch LTPO OLED with extended 1080p resolution and 120Hz refresh rate. It is protected by Huawei’s Kunlun Glass version 2.
The most interesting bit of Huawei Mate X7 is the new Kirin 9030 Pro chip, now manufactured on a 6nm node. It features a proprietary 9-core processor with multi-threaded support for the prime and high-speed cores (hence often read by apps as 14-core). The Maleoon 935 GPU should bring a notable improvement over the older generation, too.
Huawei has always put a lot of effort into the camera department. The main camera features a large 1/1.26″ RYYB sensor with variable aperture, followed by a 50MP telephoto and telemacro camera with native 3.5x magnification and up to 10x hybrid zoom, and there is a 40MP ultrawide-angle camera.
Finally, the Mate X7 is powered by a 5,600mAh battery with 66W wired and up to 50W wireless charging.
Huawei Mate X7 specs at a glance:
- Body: 156.8×144.2×4.5mm, 235g; Glass front, nylon fiber or silicone polymer back (eco leather), aluminum frame; IP58/IP59 dust protected and water resistant (high pressure water jets; immersible up to 2m for 30 min), Aerospace-grade aluminum.
- Display: 8.00″ Foldable LTPO OLED, 1B colors, 120Hz, 1440Hz PWM, HDR Vivid, 2500 nits (peak), 2210x2416px resolution, 9.84:9 aspect ratio, 409ppi; Cover display:, LTPO OLED, 120Hz, 1440Hz PWM, HDR, 3000 nits (peak), 6.49 inches, 1080 x 2444 pixels, Kunlun Glass 2.
- Chipset: Kirin 9030 Pro (6 nm): 9-core (1×2.75 GHz & 4×2.27 GHz & 4×1.72 GHz); Maleoon 935.
- Memory: 256GB 12GB RAM, 512GB 12GB RAM, 512GB 16GB RAM, 1TB 16GB RAM, 1TB 20GB RAM; UFS.
- OS/Software: HarmonyOS 6.0, EMUI 12.
- Rear camera: Wide (main): 50 MP, f/1.4-f/4.0, 24mm, PDAF, OIS*; Telephoto: 50 MP, f/2.2, 81mm, PDAF, OIS, 3.5x optical zoom; Ultra wide angle: 40 MP, f/2.2, 13mm, 120˚, PDAF;
- Front camera: Wide (main): 8 MP, f/2.2; Cover camera:; Wide (main): 8 MP, f/2.2.
- Video capture: Rear camera: 4K, 1080p, 1080p@960fps, HDR, gyro-EIS, OIS, HDR Vivid; Front camera: 4K, 1080p.
- Battery: 5525mAh; 66W wired, 50W wireless, 7.5W reverse wireless, 5W reverse wired.
- Connectivity: 5G; Wi-Fi 7; BT 6.0, L2HC; NFC; Infrared port.
- Misc: Fingerprint reader (side-mounted); stereo speakers.
A couple of general limitations of Huawei phones due to the US ban are still valid here as well. The Mate X7 boots EMUI 15, which is the latest EMUI, but it’s based on what is essentially an Android 12 AOSP core. There are no Google Mobile Services pre-installed, but you can add those and the Google Play Store with varying degrees of success. Also, there is no 5G support either.
Unboxing the Huawei Mate X7
The Mate X7 ships inside a large black box, inside which the phone ships fully unfolded.
Aside from the phone, you also get a matching protective case with an integrated kickstand made of metal. The case shields only the back and not the cover screen.
The other thing found inside the box is a 6A-rated USB-C cable. There is no charger. The Mate X7 supports 66W charging, and the company offers a corresponding charger for purchase, but you could also get one of their 100W dual-port chargers.