Chinese Tech Giant Huawei has yet again postponed the release of its new foldable phone – Mate X, which is now set to release by the end of the year.
After a press event at the company’s headquarters in Shenzhen, China, the company told TechRadar that the phone is now anticipated to release in November.
The Mate X was first unveiled in February, but was still undergoing some technical issues, which is why the date was pushed to June. However, this time round, no clear explanation has been provided as to why Huawei failed to launch its highly-awaited invention.
One possible reason behind this seems to be the blacklisting of the Chinese company by the USA earlier in May. Under this, smart phone companies like Google were not permitted to provide components and software to Huawei without a license, reported the Business Insider. This has become a setback for the tech giant, which can no longer use Google’s Android operating system, which powers most smart phones in the world today.
Huawei displayed its latest foldable technology alongside Samsung’s ‘Galaxy Fold’ which was also due to launch in February. However, both companies failed to do so owing to some major issues in the phones’ screens.
Apart from a faulty launch attempt, both phones share the feature of a foldable screen, the first of its kind, which allows the phone screen to expand. However, Mate X’s 6.6-inch display is located on the outer part of the device, which converts into an 8-inch tablet when unfolded.
While the Galaxy Fold has a relatively smaller screen in its phone and tablet mode, TechRadar revealed that Mate X may have multiple screens, giving it an edge over Samsung.
Huawei already pushed back the launch of its Mate X from summer to September, but it seems the $2,600 foldable phone is being delayed again. The Chinese company told TechRadar we're unlikely to see the phone before November, but is confident it'll be out before the end of 2019. The report doesn't give a reason for the delay. Foldable phones have been the subject of much hype and struggled with technical issues this year. Samsung's $1,980 Galaxy Fold was meant to go on sale in the US on April 26, but the Korean phone-maker hit the brakes right before the phone's launch, due to numerous screen problems on review units
The redesigned Galaxy Fold is expected to arrive in September, so it'll likely beat Huawei to market.
Huawei didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Mate X delays seem like a secondary concern for Huawei, which has been a target of US lawmakers over concerns about its coziness with the Chinese government and fears that its equipment could be used to spy on other countries and companies. President Donald Trump blacklisted the company in May, stopping US companies from selling equipment to it, but he's since said he'll reverse the ban.
Last week, Huawei unveiled HarmonyOS, an operating system for smart devices, which the company says can be used in its phones if the US blocks it from Google's Android.
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