Among foldables unveiled in 2019, Huawei's Mate X feels the most complete compared to Royole FlexPai or Galaxy Fold, but questions about their software remain
A foldable that folds without a gap — Samsung's Galaxy Fold announcement isn't even a week old yet, and we already have a competitor …
Context & Ripple Effects
A week after Samsung's Galaxy Fold debut, Huawei used MWC 2019 to answer with the $2,600 5G Mate X, an outward-folding design teased by a leaked banner days earlier. The Verge's verdict across the first wave — Mate X over Royole FlexPai and Galaxy Fold on completeness — was reinforced by a follow-up hands-on praising the minimal-compromise hinge while flagging unresolved UX and durability questions.
The significance is competitive positioning: Huawei entered foldables not as a follower but as the design benchmark, and Samsung's own roadmap shifted within days.
First-order effects
- Huawei's outward-folding Mate X immediately resets the design bar for the category, leaving Samsung's Galaxy Fold and Royole FlexPai looking like compromised first drafts at comparable flagship prices.
- Early adopters face a mid-2019 launch decision priced at $2,600, with reviewers explicitly withholding judgment on software polish and long-term durability.
Second-order effects
- Samsung's response came fast: sources reported it working on two new foldables, including a vertical clamshell and another that folds like the Mate X — an implicit admission that Huawei's outward-fold approach set the template.
- Royole, the nominal first mover with the FlexPai, gets squeezed between two far larger rivals now defining what a credible foldable looks like.
Third-order effects
- Five years on, the pattern held: global foldable shipments grew 49% YoY in Q1 2024, with Huawei holding a 35% share and overtaking Samsung — suggesting the early hardware bet translated into durable market leadership even as software remained the open question.
- If hardware designs converge while UX and durability lag, differentiation shifts from hinge engineering to software experience — the exact gap reviewers flagged in 2019.
The trend: Foldables are maturing from experimental first-generation hardware into a scale market where Huawei's early design leadership has overtaken Samsung's incumbent position.