Huawei’s new flip phone is unusually wide and doesn’t run Android
The Huawei Pura X is flipping the script.
Flip-style foldable phones have come a long way since Samsung's first Galaxy Z Flip, but even now, most of them still follow the same blueprint—long, narrow, vertical screens that fold like a powder compact. But it seems Huawei’s new Pura X wants to flip that script.
At first glance, the Pura X plays by the rules: it folds vertically, has a square outer display, and looks palm-sized when shut. But flip it open and you’re looking at a 6.3-inch 16:10 display that feels more like a tablet than a typical phone. That alone sets it apart from the Galaxy Z Flip 6 and Motorola Razr (2024), which lean on taller, slimmer screens.
Camera-wise, the Pura X packs a 50MP main sensor, a 40MP ultrawide, an 8MP telephoto with 3.5x optical zoom, and even a color sensor—something you’d more likely expect on a DSLR camera than a flip phone. Plus, its battery, which sits at 4,720mAh with 66W fast charging, outpaces what Samsung or Motorola currently offer in their flip phones.
While the Pura X would be powered by the Kirin 9020 chip, Huawei says it would ship without Android support. Instead, the Pura X runs HarmonyOS Next—Huawei’s fully in-house operating system—which means no access to Android apps. That’s a big leap as it might limit appeal outside China.
Still, the phone brings new things to the table, like Huawei’s Harmony Intelligence AI assistant, which they say handles everything from voice prompts to image recognition using Huawei’s own Pangu model and DeepSeek’s LLM. But we’ll need to see how it holds up against the likes of Gemini or Galaxy AI first.
For now, the Pura X is only available in China, starting at around $1,037. But seeing as the Huawei Mate XT (the world's first tri-fold phone) finally made its global debut this year, there's likely hope for the same outcome here.
Kelechi Edeh
