HUAWEI launched its new flagship phone – the P60 Pro – and flagship foldable phone – the Mate X3 – at an event in China in March 2023, and, more recently at a European launch in Munich on 09 May 2023.
Just one day later, the brand is bringing these, and other devices, to the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region, with a splashy unveiling at an event held at Atlantis: The Royal in Dubai.
“We have showcased a promising return with our back-to-back launches of flagship lineups, including the HUAWEI Mate 50 Pro last year, and the HUAWEI P60 Pro and HUAWEI Mate X3 today,” said Pablo Ning, President of Huawei Consumer BG, Middle East and Africa. “Even though our road ahead is still full of challenges, our investment in innovation will not change, nor will our determination to continue developing the Middle East and African markets. Huawei will never give up overseas markets and we remain committed to high-end global brand building. With all these flagship devices available locally, we are keen to provide the industry-leading and intelligent user experience to our customers.”
As is the case with Huawei phones released after the US sanctions, neither the P60 series nor the Mate X3 ship with Google Mobile Services (GMS), however, you are able to use services like GBox which, according to one South African tech journalist, is something that you’re prompted to do during the device setup stage.
Another area impacted by these sanctions is connectivity with neither the P60 series nor the Mate X3 shipping with 5G connectivity and both powered by a 4G version of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1.
HUAWEI Mate X3
Samsung might be the current king of the foldable phone market but the Mate X3 is a glimpse of what could have been had the US not imposed sanctions on HUAWEI.
While the Mate X3 might boast a similar design style to the Galaxy Fold 4, that’s only because they’re both book fold style devices. Not only is the HUAWEI Mate X3 thinner and lighter than the Fold 4 (the Mate X3 weighs 239g for the leather-backed variant and 241g for the glass-backed one while the Fold 4 weighs 263g), it also has a better camera, a bigger battery, faster charging speeds and a bigger display (both external and when unfolded). The Mate X3 has a triple rear camera setup consisting of a 50MP main lens + 13MP Ultra-Wide lens + 12MP periscope lens with an 8MP camera on the external display and an 8MP sensor on the internal display.
The device has a 6.4-inch external display and a 7.85-inch internal display, both sporting a 120Hz variable refresh rate.
Besides the 4800mAh battery with 66W charging, one of the other main features of the device is the fact that it has an IPX8 rating, making it the only non-Samsung foldable to ship with the water-resistance rating.
The handset has 12GB RAM with 512GB expandable (via HUAWEI’s NM memory card) storage, 60W wireless charging and Kunlun Glass.
HUAWEI P60 Pro
Consisting of three devices, the P60, P60 Pro and P60 Art, it’s the P60 Pro that most people will be drawn to.
Sporting a fairly traditional design with a very noticeable main camera, quad curved display and the XMAGE camera capabilities first unveiled with Mate 50 Pro, the P60 series is a premium flagship in every sense of the word.
Other than the P60 Art edition which sports a pebble-shaped camera bump, all three devices are very similar in design and specs.
Coming to the MEA region is the P60 Pro in two colourways, namely Rococo Pearl or Black.
Having spent the past 3 weeks with the Rococo Pearl P60 Pro and being stopped by numerous strangers asking “what phone is that”, the device definitely lives up to the attention-grabbing hype.
Huawei claims that due to the manufacturing and design process of the Rococo Pearl finish, no two devices will have the same design on the back. Having compared numerous Rococo Pearl variants, this indeed appears to be true.
On paper the Black variant seems less enticing but having experienced it in person there’s something to be said for the more subtle, understated look, while the “Anti-Fingerprint Feather-Sand Glass” as Huawei calls it, has a satisfying feel that contributes towards making the device less slippery.
Design aside, the stand out feature of the P60 Pro is the camera.
Sporting what Huawei calls the “Eye of Light” design for its camera bump, the main focus is on the 48MP “Ultra Lighting Main Camera”. This is complemented by a 13MP Ultra-Wide Angle lens and a 48MP Ultra Lighting Telephoto Camera.
In ideal lighting conditions the P60 Pro camera performs admirably producing images that are often more detailed than those of its competitors, however, it’s during low-light and nighttime that the camera truly shines.
Thanks to its XMAGE imaging capabilities, the P60 Pro is able to not only take in more light than many other smartphone cameras, but it’s also better equipped to handle all that light.
Surprisingly, the P60 Pro feels incredibly comfortable and lightweight in the hand despite all the technology crammed into the handset. Not only does this make the device something you want to carry around with you, it also contributes to you wanting to take more pictures because the handset isn’t a burden to carry around.
Other notable features include the 88W SuperCharge capabilities (with the required charging brick included in the box), the 6.67-inch LTPO OLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate and the 4815mAh battery.
Both the Mate X3 and the P60 Pro appear to be coming to South Africa however no confirmed launch date or pricing has been announced by the company.
