Just a week after the HUAWEI Mate 60 series’ surprise launch, the Chinese brand has surprised us again and silently rolled out the Mate X5.

In HUAWEI’s typical calendar of events, the Mate X series is being refreshed at least two years apart. However, the gap between the announcement of the Mate X3 and Mate X5 is just five months.

HUAWEI Mate X3 (2023)

Most of us would question the company’s uncanny decision, but maybe this is hinting us that we should expect more surprises — especially now that other phone brands decide to rival the upcoming iPhone 15 launch by barraging us their new devices

Mate X3 Revamped

Even though there’s a big gap in number, the HUAWEI Mate X5 isn’t much of a massive Mate upgrade. And just like any Chinese brand, skipping number “4” is a must — or the company might just get unlucky.

Graphics by Vincenz Lee | GadgetMatch

The HUAWEI Mate X5’s thinnest point is still at 11.08mm — making it one of the slimmest foldables. Still, the HONOR Magic V2 owns the crown for being the world’s current thinnest foldable at just 9.9mm.

Graphics by Vincenz Lee | GadgetMatch

Display tech hasn’t changed, too: still that 6.4-inch screen outside and an OLED display that unfolds onto a 7.85-inch screen when unfolded. Other display feats from the Mate X3 also remain such as the resolution, supported color space and calibration, 426ppi pixel density, 1440Hz PWM Dimming, among others.

Graphics by Vincenz Lee | GadgetMatch

Battery capacities are similar as well: a 5060mAh Silicon-carbon battery for both variants. This was only reserved last time for the Mate X3 Collector’s Edition as the regular (and global) version of the Mate X3 only ships with the smaller 4800mAh Li-Po battery.

Charging? Still capped at 66W for wired, 50W for wireless, and 7.5W using reverse wireless charging.

IPX8 rating also remains for that extra protection against splashes and water immersion.

Graphics by Vincenz Lee | GadgetMatch

While the camera bump design may look (ever so slightly) different, its triple camera setup with XMAGE imaging system are all the same: 50MP f/1.8 main (wide) lens, 13MP f/2.2 ultra-wide, and an 8MP f/3.4 periscope telephoto lens that optically zooms in up to 5x. The outer and inner selfie cameras remain similar nonetheless: 8MP f/2.2 to be precise.

So with all these similarities, are there even any changes at all?

Five changes in five months

They didn’t market it this way but I noticed five noticeable changes in the new HUAWEI Mate X5 (in contrast with the Mate X3).

1. Change of heart

The most obvious change is found within the very heart of the HUAWEI Mate X5.

Again, while it was never stated in their official website, it’s very evident that this sudden launch means to replace the powerful Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset of the Mate X3 with a very limiting 4G connection and upgrade it to a chip with better benefits, especially in the data connection segment.

Graphics by Vincenz Lee | GadgetMatch

As it already made its debut in the newest Mate 60 series, it would be a huge miss not to use it on their latest foldable. Thus, the Mate X5 was a Mate X3 reborn — now with 5G support.

This would greatly benefit its loyal Chinese fanbase as the nation heavily relies on fast 5G connectivity not just for the internet but for other private and public services as well. Moreover, for the continuous usage and expansion of HUAWEI’s promising satellite communication technology.

2. Two phone models, two different configurations

As expected, the Mate X5 comes with the usual 12GB RAM. But unlike the Mate X3, it has double the base memory option at 16GB.

Graphics by Vincenz Lee | GadgetMatch

Meanwhile, the Mate X5 Collector’s Edition is only limited to 16GB RAM but has an extra 1TB storage option other than the 512GB variant (which is limited to the regular model).

If you’re still worried about filling up a 1TB-worth of disk space, it can still be expanded with up to 256GB of NM (Nano Memory) card.

3. Different inner displays

While the display sizes weren’t different, the two Mate X5 models actually use different display tech in their foldable display.

Graphics by Vincenz Lee | GadgetMatch

The Mate X5 Collector’s Edition has an adaptive 1 to 120Hz LTPO display while the regular Mate X5 12GB version has ditched that adaptive refresh rate feature — which is a bummer when you want to squeeze in more battery life. The product site even says it can achieve up to 1800 nits of brightness.

4. Even tougher glass

The Collector’s Edition is equipped with HUAWEI’s new glass protection technology called “Xuanwu Kunlun Glass” that’s essentially a lot stronger than the regular Kunlun Glass of the regular Mate X3 and X5. It promises an enhanced scratch resistance of up to 300% as well as a 100% drop resistance improvement from its counterpart.

Graphics by Vincenz Lee | GadgetMatch

While we may not know how tougher it is than the world-famous Gorilla Glass Victus 2 by Corning, HUAWEI is proud to say that the Xuanwu Kunlun Glass bags the title of having the world’s first Swiss SGS gold standard 5-star scratch-resistant and drop-resistant certification.

We’ll just leave the drop tests to the torture-loving TechTubers you have in mind.

5. Five new shades

Graphics by Vincenz Lee | GadgetMatch

Just like its older sibling, the HUAWEI Mate X5 is still being offered in five different colors with two familiar finishes — albeit in different names and shades.

Graphics by Vincenz Lee | GadgetMatch

Feather Sand White and Feather Sand Black still remain but a new shade has joined the club: there’s now the Feather Sand Gold in (obviously) a cleaner-looking, more refined feather-sanded finish. For comparison, the Mate X3’s Dawn Gold colorway has a leather-textured back.

Graphics by Vincenz Lee | GadgetMatch

Speaking of, the leather-textured color options are now replaced by Aoyama (Green Mountain) Dai and Phantom Purple which both replaces the Mate X3’s Qingshandai and Dawn Gold colorways like aforementioned.

Pricing and availability

The HUAWEI Mate X5 is available for pre-orders in China starting on September 9, 2023 (Saturday) at around 10:08AM.

There are a total of five different configurations to choose from:

• Mate X5 (regular)
  • 12GB+256GB = CNY 12,999 (US$ 1786 / EUR 1676 / GBP 1439 / SG$ 2434 / PhP 101,584 / INR 148,516)
  • 12GB+512GB = CNY 13,999 (US$ 1924 / EUR 1805 / GBP 1550 / SG$ 2622 / PhP 109,399 / INR 159,941)
  • 16GB+512GB = CNY 14,999 (US$ 2061 / EUR 1934 / GBP 1661 / SG$ 2809 / PhP 117,213 / INR 171,367)
• Mate X5 Collector’s Edition
  • 16GB+512GB = CNY 15,999 (US$ 2198 / EUR 2063 / GBP 1771 / SG$ 2434 / PhP 125,028 / INR 182,792)
  • 16GB+1TB = CNY 16,999 (US$ 2336 / EUR 2192 / GBP 1882 / SG$ 3183 / PhP 132,843 / INR 194,217)

The pre-ordered Mate X5 units are promised to be shipped before September 24, 2023 (Sunday).

There’s no word on global availability for now. But with the recent news of HUAWEI confirming that the Mate 60 and 60 Pro will not come to international markets with the thought of its new 5G Kirin chipset most likely says the same for the rest of the line.