After Samsung’s Galaxy Fold Disaster, Huawei Is Delaying Its Foldable Phone, Too

After Samsung’s Galaxy Fold Disaster, Huawei Is Delaying Its Foldable Phone, Too

The Samsung Galaxy Fold was originally supposed to go on sale April 26, but after some early struggles and concerns about durability, Samsung postponed the Galaxy Fold’s launch in an attempt to fix those issues.

But now, the Fold’s biggest bendy competitor — the Huawei Mate X — has been delayed, and somehow, it’s Samsung’s fault.

Back at Mobile World Congress in February, Huawei said the Mate X would go on sale this June. However, after seeing the response to the Galaxy Fold’s failed launch, Huawei said in interviews with The Wall Street Journal and CNBC that it has now decided to take a more “cautious” approach.

A spokesperson for Huawei told CNBC, “We don’t want to launch a product to destroy our reputation.” Instead, Senior Vice President Vincent Peng told WSJ, Huawei will release the Mate X “as early as we can”.

[referenced url=”https://gizmodo.com.au/2019/04/the-samsung-galaxy-fold-review/” thumb=”https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/t_ku-large/ltoacdpwinefj4cdu9jp.jpg” title=”The Samsung Galaxy Fold Is A Flawed Start To Something Amazing” excerpt=”In a lot of ways, doing a traditional review of the Samsung Galaxy Fold is pointless. Anyone who buys one isn’t doing so because it’s a good value or a sound purchasing decision. It’s not. They’re buying one because it’s new, innovative and exciting.”]

For a phone that’s slated to start at €2300 (around $3760) and come with 8GB of RAM, 512GB of storage, support for 5G and that all-important 8-inch foldable screen, postponing the Mate X’s launch to make sure any kinks have been addressed before it goes on sale is certainly a prudent decision.

But at the same time, I have to wonder why, on a product this important, Huawei wasn’t already putting out the best possible device. Of course, the same can be said of Samsung, whose delay of the Galaxy Fold means Huawei no longer has to rush out of the gate.

At least it seems the Mate X’s release won’t be effected by the US government’s recent decision to place Huawei on the Entity List, which prohibits US companies from supplying good or services to organisations seen as a national security risk.

Huawei told CNBC that because the Mate X was announced before being added to the US’s Entity List, it will still be able use Android as its primary OS. This stands in contrast to the recently announced Honor 20 Pro, which has now been delayed indefinitely because of Huawei’s inability to licence Android for use on future phones.

Still, now that this year’s two most important foldable phones have been delayed, it feels as though the whole bendable phone trend has suffered a serious setback. But in the end, these delays may simply mean consumers end up with more reliable foldable devices in the future.


The Cheapest NBN 50 Plans

It’s the most popular NBN speed in Australia for a reason. Here are the cheapest plans available.

At Gizmodo, we independently select and write about stuff we love and think you'll like too. We have affiliate and advertising partnerships, which means we may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page. BTW – prices are accurate and items in stock at the time of posting.