Huawei Mate X6 full review

Peter CholakovDecember 31, 2024

The Mate X6, which Huawei has introduced to the world, is a fascinating device. The book-style foldable boasts gorgeous LTPO screens, high-end cameras, and an incredibly slim construction.

Since the Mate X5 was a smartphone that was only available in China, the Mate is once again a worldwide gadget. It has the most high-end construction available: an IPX8-rated design with a second-generation Kunlun Glass front, a metal frame, a vegan leather or fiber back, and carbon-fiber support for the folding screen.

The phone is built on a 7.93-inch LTPO foldable 120Hz OLED that supports HDR and has a 10-bit color depth. A typical 6.45-inch LTPO OLED with 1080p resolution and a refresh rate of 120 Hz is used for the cover screen.

The Mate X6 is built on top of the latest Kirin 9020 chipset, which is an upgrade from the Pura 70 series’ Kirin 9010. The Mate 70 phones run on the same one. Only the 512GB + 12GB RAM configuration of the Mate X6 is offered in international countries.

Huawei Mate X6 Package

Like the Huawei Mate series, the Mate X6 comes in a large black box. The package includes a SIM ejection tool, a protected two-piece case, a 66W charger, and a suitable USB cord. A thin protective film is pre-applied to the cover screen in the manufacture.

Huawei Mate X6 Package

Body & design

With an IPX8 water resistance rating, the Mate X6 may survive for up to 30 minutes at a depth of 2 meters in still water. Sand and dust are still major no-nos for this kind of phone.

Both the hinge and chassis of the Mate X6 are made of aluminum. Huawei says that its aerospace-grade aluminum is 37% stronger than standard 6-series aluminum. When compared to other well-known foldables, like as the Galaxy Z Fold6 and the Pixel 9 Pro Fold, the Mate X6 boasts a distinctly better design, which may convert into a more comfortable holding experience.

The front glass panels are second-generation Kunlun glass, which has better resistance to drops, with a nearly 1:1 ratio, the foldable inner display is as immersive as they get. It features the typical thin film protection and plastic frame that you can’t remove. The 8MP interior camera has a tiny hole in the upper right corner.

Huawei refers to the rear panel of our Nebula Gray evaluation model as vegan fiber. It’s somewhat textured and matte. Additionally, there are Black and Nebula Red eco-leather versions.

Numerous components are located along the extremely thin frame, including a SIM tray, two speakers, an IR blaster, a power key with an integrated fingerprint scanner, and a microphone.

With a superb overall grip, the Huawei Mate X6 is wonderfully pleasant to use. Although the large camera island was the one thing we didn’t like, it will be worthwhile if the image quality lives up to the hype.

Software and performance

The latest version of the Huawei operating system, known outside of China as Harmony OS 4.3, or EMUI 15, features new and improved lockscreen customization, better multitasking, and new gestures and emojis. First introduced with EMIU 14, the interactive and magazine themes, new and improved features for Celia assistant, better security, a better Health app, and support for Ark Engine are all here to stay.

The Android (12) core is included into the worldwide EMUI 15. Gbox functions flawlessly if you wish to run Google apps, and the OS still enables APK installs using Huawei’s AppGallery, APK Pure, or other methods. It also resembles the company’s EMUI-labeled builds.

Since EMUI hasn’t changed all that much throughout the years, it appears to be rather familiar. A bar beneath the program icon indicates the widgets you may add for in-house apps, which include lovely little stuff like cards and huge folders.

The Mate X6 has support for air gestures and smart sensing, which were similar features of earlier Huawei and Honor devices.

GBox is the best way to get the majority of Google-dependent programs to function on the Mate X6. It is a tiny virtual computer that runs on the most recent version of Android and has access to all Google services. You may install some applications from the integrated Play Store if you want to, but you also have a list of apps that you can install immediately (simply click back on any of the suggested apps). Updates may also be made through the Google Play Store.

Let’s finally discuss multi-tasking. Of course, a large screen provides a lot more space for work and play. EMUI 15 has a fantastic multi-window implementation with easy-to-use actions, splits that are both horizontal and vertical.

During calls, AI noise cancellation is also available to automatically filter out background noise so that your voice is heard clearly on the other end.

Performance

In China, the Huawei Mate X6 has 1TB of UFS storage and up to 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM. Ours is the only variant that will be offered in international markets, and it has 12GB of RAM and 512GB of storage.

When compared to the Kirin 9010, the Kirin 9020 within the Mate X6 exhibits a discernible increase in CPU performance. It has good Geekbench and AnTuTu scores, but its GPU performance is still in the middle range, with unimpressive frame rates (for a flagship) and no raytracing or other contemporary capabilities.

As with other foldables, the Mate X6’s sustained performance is a mixed bag. The Mate X6’s first CPU and GPU scores were 51% and 78%, respectively. The phone’s closed-state CPU and GPU scores were 30% and 48%, respectively. When the phone is closed, it obviously throttles heavily to avoid overheating, but when it is open, the situation does not improve as much as we would have liked.

Flagship camera features

Huawei Mate X6 back view

The Mate X6’s flagship camera system, which is remarkably strong, is quite comparable to the Honor Magic V3’s. A spectrum sensor for improved color accuracy, a 48MP OIS 4x telephoto/telemacro, a 50MP OIS main camera with variable aperture, and a 40MP AF ultrawide shooter are all included. Additionally, there are some clever camera gimmicks and laser aid for improved focus precision.

The primary shooter has a 24mm focal length and a variable f/1.4-4.0 lens. Both the telephoto and ultrawide cameras include macro settings, but the telephoto—also known as telemacro—is designed for close-up photography.

Speaking about macro, a future firmware update from Huawei will include eDOF capabilities. More of the subject will be in focus thanks to the ability to automatically record closeup scenes at several focus points and merge them into a single shot with a greater depth of field.

Similar to iPhones, there is a choice to save 25MP images rather than 12MP ones. The outcomes are comparable; additional sharpening is used to make up for the loss of detail. We don’t believe you get more information, at least not one that makes sense to shoot at that resolution. It is up to you to determine whether this is the best way to view some complex objects. Personally, we would continue to use 2x zoom and standard resolution.

The telephoto camera takes excellent pictures with its preset zoom of 4X. Everything is authentic rather being over-processed, and the rendering is really pleasing. All of the images have a large dynamic range, good contrast, no discernible noise, and color accuracy and white balance that are on par with the other cameras. Global sharpness and detail are marginally less than those of the primary camera, but still quite good.

Selfie camera

With two identical 8MP selfie cameras, one housed inside a punch hole on the cover screen and the other inside a punch hole on the inner display, the Huawei Mate X6 offers stunning 8MP selfies with beautiful subject rendition, thanks to its incredibly high detail, low noise, accurate colors, and wide dynamic range. Although we were initially skeptical of these cameras’ quality, we were pleasantly surprised.

Let’s take a final look at some ultrawide photos, which are great because they have a lot of detail, minimal noise, and colors, contrast, and dynamic range that match the main camera. However, this camera can’t provide the same per-pixel sharpness as the primary shooter, and it has some artifacts and over-sharpening, which further enhances the appearance of an oil painting without ruining the image.

Huawei Mate X6’s Video quality

All of the Huawei Mate X6’s rear cameras can record films in 4K at 60 frames per second, and the stabilization process is always active. 8MP selfies can only be taken in 4K at 30 frames per second.

Please pardon the fog and pollution in the area, which cause the characteristic haze to appear in every video.

Sadly, since the P40 and P50 series, Huawei’s video quality has declined and has never fully recovered. While not the best in the class, the daylight footage are decent. We expected more, but the resolved detail is sufficient. The footage is a little washed out and soft. Apart from that, there is no discernible noise, the colors are accurate, and the dynamic range is broad.

Battery life

The Mate X6 has a 5,110mAh Si/C battery. Regretfully, some unimpressive results were posted by the new hardware, including the new battery and software. The Mate X6 received a below-average score in the call, web, and gaming tests, a solid score in video streaming, and an Active Use Score of 8 hours and 56 minutes when using the foldable display.

Huawei’s 50W Wireless SuperCharge and 66W SuperCharge are compatible with the Huawei Mate X6. A proprietary 6A-rated USB cable and a 66W power adapter are included in the retail package.