Unlike other popular phone brands, HUAWEI doesn’t focus much on delivering new flips to the table.

As a matter of fact, the Pocket 2 was launched more than a year ago. It was also exclusively sold to the Chinese market.

However, the Chinese company pushes the boundaries by unveiling the first-ever flip in this very odd and unusual form factor.

Other than scrapping the “Pocket” branding, HUAWEI brings their very first flip that brings the “Pura” pride. Meet the HUAWEI Pura X.

Odd New Flip

Most modern-day flips are very accustomed to the nearly widescreen 22:9 aspect ratio. However, HUAWEI gets back to their drawing board and reimagines how they want their latest flip to look.

The HUAWEI Pura X is a flip and a fold at the same time! Flipping open the Pura X reveals its inner screen with a 16:10 aspect ratio — which is closer to the aspect ratio found on laptops — MacBooks even.

Going by the numbers, it’s actually a smaller 6.3-inch flexible display with 2500 nits of peak brightness and a resolution of 2120 x 1320 — which (again) oddly sits between Full HD and 1.5K.

This all-new aspect ratio may look weird and stretched out compared to the usual flips. However, this is very beneficial when consuming content — regardless if it’s playing a game, reading an e-book or multi-tasking altogether.

Flipping it close gives us a 3.5-inch cover screen with a 980 x 980 resolution and a cutesy 1:1 (square) aspect ratio.

This gives the future Pura X user the ability to do more without flipping open the device itself.

Both screens are LTPO 2.0 OLED panels with an adaptive 1 ~ 120Hz refresh rate, 1440Hz high-frequency PWM dimming, 1.07 Billion Colors, and DCI-P3 wide color gamut support.

Rightfully Light

The Pura X might not be the thinnest at 15.1mm, but it only weighs below 200 grams. That’s 193.7 grams for the leather version while 195.9 grams with the glass back.

This is all thanks to the combination of titanium alloy support layer and a soft yet rigid UTG (Ultra Thin Glass) that are all made to last.

Graphics by Vincenz Lee | GadgetMatch

The new Xuanwu water drop hinge also contributes to the overall durability of the flip that can withstand 1900MPa of pressure.

Lastly, the Pura X is IPX8-certified which makes it resistant to water below two meters.

Powerful Pura

Just like any other new HUAWEI smartphone, the heart within the Pura X wasn’t mentioned.

Still, it’s clear that this isn’t a nova Flip-like successor with its set of system configurations: Either 256 or 512GB of storage options with a typical 12GB RAM on the base Pura X.

Meanwhile, the Pura X “Classic Edition” gives you even more memory at 16GB paired with either 512GB or 1TB storage.

The Pura X Classic Edition also supports Tiantong Satellite Connectivity that its other twin doesn’t. Still, both editions readily support Wi-Fi 7 out of the box.

HUAWEI has also ditched the idea of expandable memory. Even their very-own NM cards didn’t survive the fate.

The Pura X has 4720mAh Silicon-Anode battery with support for 66W wired SuperCharge plus 40W wireless SuperCharge. 7.5W wireless reverse charging is also possible.

Graphics by Vincenz Lee | GadgetMatch

The Pura X also runs HarmonyOS 5 with AI features such as AI Call Assist, AI Teleportation, AI Smart Cache, AI Eye Protection, and AI Eye Tracking.

There are also more AI-related goodies in the camera app like AI Portrait, AI Protagonist Moment, AI Motion Trajectory, and more.

Modern problems require modern solutions

The most common problem brands face when making flip phones is the lack of space to bring more cameras. HUAWEI then solves this issue with the new form factor.

This makes the Pura X the first flip-style foldable to rock a triple rear camera system.

GIF by Vincenz Lee | GadgetMatch

There’s the 50MP f/1.6 main (wide) camera with OIS and RYYB sensor, a 40MP f/2.2 ultra-wide angle lens that also doubles as a macro camera.

Lastly, there’s an 8MP f/2.4 telephoto shooter that finally brings 3.5x optical zoom in a flip phone. It can zoom digitally up to 30x.

The Pura X is also the first Pura phone to feature Red Maple color that’s based on a 1.5 million multi-spectral channel. It already made its debut on the Mate 70 Pro series as well as the Mate X6.

Inside, there’s a 10.7MP f/2.2 front camera that can also capture ultra-wide selfies.

Pricing and Availability

The HUAWEI Pura X is available in multiple colorways: Stylish Red, Stylish Green, Moon Shadow Gray, Zero White, and Phantom Night Black.

Graphics by Vincenz Lee | GadgetMatch

The Pura X is currently being sold in China along these configurations:

• 12+256GB = CNY 7499 (US$ 1037 / EUR 952 / GBP 800 / SG$ 1383 / PhP 59,350 / INR 89,530)
• 12+512GB = CNY 7999 (US$ 1106 / EUR 1015 / GBP 854 / SG$ 1475 / PhP 63,304 / INR 95,498)
• 16+512GB = CNY 8999 (US$ 1245 / EUR 1142 / GBP 960 / SG$ 1660 / PhP 71,218 / INR 107,437) 
• 16+1TB = CNY 9999 (US$ 1383 / EUR 1269 / GBP 1067 / SG$ 1844 / PhP 79,132 / INR 119,375) 

HUAWEI already sells in-house cases that are honestly stylish and #OOTD-ready.

Graphics by Vincenz Lee | GadgetMatch

Currently, there’s no word whether this will be a China-exclusive or not.

But, seeing how HUAWEI has decided to bring the Mate X6 and Mate XT outside the mainland, we’re wishfully thinking they would do the same to the Pura X.