Days after the re-launched Galaxy Fold went on sale in China, embattled Huawei today released its Foldable Mate X for sale in its home country – China. The 16,999 yuan (US$2,403) priced Huawei Mate X was earlier today available for sale on Vmall, and from the look of its, it got the much-needed reception from its Chinese fans. The Chinese firm also announced a 50% discount on the first time display replacement of Huawei Mate X.
Much like the Fold from its main rival – Samsung, the Huawei MateX according to Huawei sold out under a minute. It, however, didn’t disclose the number of units sold but admitted that very limited units were available for sale. The second and next sale is scheduled for November 22 at 10:08 China time.
Gizchina News of the week
Unlike the rival Galaxy Fold, the Mate X is at the moment only available in China. A global launch is, however, under review. Huawei at its October 23rd launch event in China had said that the ”Mate X release is based on carriers’ 5G roll out in different regions.”
If you are a fan of the Foldable Mate X and lives outside of China, you might have to wait a little longer. Though the device will eventually make it out of China, the firm is perhaps testing the reception in its home market before a wider rollout. The limited launch isn’t unexpected, given that the whole foldable phone form factor is still at its infancy, and might take more time for a wider reception.
US Ban and the Huawei Mate X
Another thing that might hinder a timely global rollout is the fact that it does not ship with Google Play, which means users will not be able to access services like the Google Play app store, Gmail, or Google Maps. That is due to the on-going sanction from the US commerce department, though many may argue there are different workarounds to get the Play serves to work on the device.