Despite saying the Mate 20 X would be its first 5G phone, Huawei has just had its Mate X (that’s the foldy one — Huawei, please sort your naming conventions out) EU-certified as 5G compliant.
That doesn’t mean the Mate 20 X won’t be 5G, just that the bendable Mate X has beaten it to certification. Possibly because Huawei would rather have headlines for its fancy new folding phone than its older, supermassive gaming phone.
The certificate comes from independent inspectors TÜV Rheinland, designated Notify Body of the European Union (in other words, officially sanctified to CE-certify phones on behalf of the EU). Phones have to be CE certified before they can be imported and sold in the EU, because the tests verify that the device meets “series of directives such as wireless, safety, electromagnetic compatibility, health, environmental protection and consumer protection.” Which is a good thing, but let’s opt out of it anyway.
The Mate X is the first phone to pass the “rigorous test and evaluation” process required to get the 5G seal of approval.
Bruce Lee (not that one), Vice President of Handsets for Huawei said at the ceremony (yes, they have a ceremony apparently):
“It is an unprecedented challenge to evaluate 5G smartphones. Through the collaboration of Huawei and TÜV Rheinland teams, the two sides have made significant breakthroughs in many key certification technologies.
In the future, Huawei will continue to work with TÜV Rheinland on the research of communication product certification technology and promote the scale of 5G terminals for commercial use.”
He sounds thrilled.
Meanwhile, Stefan Kischka of TÜV Rheinland commented:
“I’m glad that TÜV Rheinland has witnessed Huawei’s global 5G technological strength, which is exciting news for both industry and consumers. TÜV Rheinland has been working hard in the field of wireless communication technology for many years. We look forward to continuing to work closely with Huawei to create, promote and witness a new era of 5G.”
You can’t actually buy the Mate X yet, let alone the 5G version, but you wouldn’t be able to do much with it even if you could because 5G hasn’t been switched on in most places yet. Still, won’t be long before it all starts happening, and you can officially call yourself a 5G OG.