It seems like the WIDE smartphone craze is getting out of hand.

Surprise, surprise! Out of nowhere, HUAWEI reveals the Pura X View — 2026’s first WIDE smartphone that does not fold at all.

Tied to WIDE

With the massive success of HUAWEI’s Pura X Max as well as the newly-released Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8, it’s hard to ignore the sudden trend behind WIDE smartphones. Let alone, Apple’s much-awaited iPhone foldable (dubbed the “iPhone Ultra”) will be announced in less than a month.

Graphics by Vincenz Lee | GadgetMatch

Opposed to the usual tall and narrow form factor, the Pura X View comes in a wider body with a 16:9.5 aspect ratio. Display bezels are extremely narrow too at just 1.09mm and StB (Screen-to-Body) ratio reaches a whopping 96.1%.

This wider than usual body means better ergonomics with better content consumption — from images, books, documents, all the way to movies and shows, as well as games.

While it has a smaller 6.39-inch display, the Chinese electronics giant says it has greater content area compared to 6.9-inch flagship smartphones.

Other display feats include a 2160Hz PWM Dimming, resolution of 2232 × 1320, and max brightness of up to 6500 nits.

Graphics by Vincenz Lee | GadgetMatch

Despite all these, HUAWEI still managed to put a monstrous 7000mAh battery capacity inside its super slender 6.68mm chassis — which also happens to be lightweight at only 201 grams.

The much-needed updates

After 17 long days, HUAWEI finally releases the rest of Pura X View’s specs.

First and foremost, it’s powered by HUAWEI’s very own Kirin 9030S 8-core chipset based on a 5nm process.

Furthermore, it has a triple-rear camera system powered by XMAGE.

• 200MP f/1.8 1x wide (main)
• 8MP f/2.2 UWA (ultra-wide angle)
• 50MP f/2.6 Telephoto  (3.7x optical ~ 100x digital zoom)

There’s even the second-gen Red Maple Multispectral Sensor for better color accuracy.

Up front is where the 50MP f/2.4 selfie shooter sits.

Both cameras are capable of shooting up to 4K or 1080p at 960 / 120fps respectively.

That beastly battery can be filled up with HUAWEI’s 66W SuperCharge speeds plus 50W wireless SuperCharge.

Durability wasn’t forgotten with its dual IP68 and IP69 water and dust resistance ratings.

Pricing and Availability

The HUAWEI Pura X View comes in four colorways: Illusion Dark Night, Zero-degree White, Leap Shadow Red, and Linen Ash.

It’s currently open for pre-orders in China alongside three configurations:

• 12+256GB = CNY 5999 (US$ 845 / EUR 730 / GBP 635 / SG$ 1095 / MYR 3560 / PhP 49,085 / INR 74,715)
• 12+512GB = CNY 6999 (US$ 980 / EUR 835 / GBP 730 / SG$ 1260 / MYR 4130 / PhP 56,440 / INR 87,110)
• 12+1TB = CNY 8499 (US$ 1185 / EUR 1020 / GBP 870 / SG$ 1520 / MYR 4925 / PhP 67,670 / INR 101,930)

Much like any China-exclusive release, there’s no word on international availability.

Hopefully, HUAWEI brings this to global markets this time.

TECNO has been focused on making super-slender smartphones for the masses.

Their first “Slim” phones made their debut with the SPARK and POVA series. This time, it has also arrived towards the CAMON line.

Same slimness but with differences

The TECNO CAMON Slim was announced not too long ago. ICYMI, it’s rocking a MediaTek Helio G200 Ultimate SoC. That also meant that this phone is limited to 4G.

That’s about to change with the newer TECNO CAMON Slim 5G.

Despite the same slim chassis at 6.39mm, they changed the core to MediaTek’s Dimensity 7300e chipset. This enables faster 5G speeds in a more powerful octa-core processor.

Definitely, the battery of the CAMON Slim 5G is quite bigger at 6000mAh over the 5600mAh. Albeit, charging speed is slower at 45W versus 60W of its 4G counterpart.

Utmost durability was also given importance with its quadruple IP66, IP68, IP69, and IP69K water and dust resistance ratings. It has passed military-grade MIL-810-STD certifications as well as a TÜV SÜD certification for 60 months of sustained fluidity.

Back-to-back changes

The changes don’t end just with internals alone.

While both share the same 6.78-inch 1.5K 144Hz AMOLED screen, the CAMON Slim 5G possesses a flat display over the curved ones of the regular CAMON Slim.

Other display feats remain such as TÜV Rheinland’s low blue light certification, as well as Rain Touch, Waterproof Case Touch, and even Wet & Oily Hand Touch Recognition 2.0 Rain Touch that boosts touch sensitivity even under watery conditions.

Flipping to the back, you’ll see the biggest change.

TECNO CAMON Slim 4G

The fun-looking camera bar with its AI Mood Light was removed in favor of a vertical-styled camera placement together with the iconic swan-neck curve design like the rest of the CAMON 50 line.

The reason? TECNO CAMON Slim 5G features a better 1x main camera courtesy of Sony’s LYTIA 700C Ultra (LYT-700C) 1/1.56-inch sensor. The CAMON Slim 4G relies on a smaller 1/2-inch Sony LYT-600 Ultra shooter.

For context, the better camera module was used in a lot of recent midrange and flagship phones — including the latest TECNO CAMON 50 Ultra.

Multi-focal length portraits are supported at 24mm, 35mm, and 50mm. Speaking of Super-Zoom FlashSnap is also supported for those fast-filled action shots.

Selfie cameras of both phones are capped at 32MP.

Colors are similar yet different as well. Retained are the special Neo Mondrian and Van Gogh Blue colorways.

There’s also the hero Burgundy Red shade along with Rebel Pink and Matisse Black shades.

The CAMON Slim 5G runs the latest HiOS 16 based on Android 16 with all the latest AI Tools that TECNO has to offer. The brand is also promising five years of security updates and three major Android OS upgrades.

Pricing and Availability

TECNO did not release any specific pricing for the CAMON Slim 5G. However, they say the phone is rolling out across various markets with local pricing yet to be announced.

In select markets, prospective buyers can also receive a 3-month trial of Google AI Plus’ 2TB subscription plan at no extra charge.

I’m not ashamed to admit that I had fun with Civilization VII. Despite spanning seven generations already, the 4X game series is now going through a rough patch with the current entry, riddled as it is with lackluster reviews. Again, I had fun with it, but I can see that it’s still lacking in some respects. Next year, Civilization VII is finally plugging in some of those gaps with a free update and a paid expansion.

Coming in 2027, the upcoming “Arc of Tomorrow” will introduce something that every fan is wishing for: a fourth Age. Currently, the game has three playable Ages: Antiquity, Exploration, and Modern, spanning from ancient prehistory to the 1950s. Now, the Atomic Age will span from the 1950s to the 2050s.

As the name implies, the Atomic Age will introduce the nuclear arms race, pitting nations against each other in a race to disarm or escalate the accumulation of nuclear warheads. The update also teases a “fun twist on mutually assured destruction.” Likewise, new Civs, leaders, and units are coming. Oh, and series favorite Gandhi is coming back with the nukes.

Then, adding a bit more mystery into the future of the series, the upcoming paid expansion, Earthrise, will introduce astronomy and spacefaring as mechanics. Starting from the early Ages, players can ponder the stars and discover space-themed mechanics to help conquer the world. The Modern Age will then have the standard operations to the Moon. Finally, the Atomic Age will have players engage in interplanetary missions to get new resources and help life back on Earth.

Love the game or not, Civilization VII is proving that it is a dynamic game still pushing for perfection. There’s hope that this upcoming update will be a state of completion that everyone is happy with.