This major foldable competitor delivers durability rating the Fold 7 can only dream of

Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 7 drives innovation in the Western world, but there’s no denying that Samsung had to up its game due to intense competition from Chinese brands and their cutting-edge foldables. Today, HUAWEI has launched its latest Mate X7 foldable in China, introducing key upgrades such as an improved IP rating and a new telephoto camera.

The Mate X7 gets a slightly larger 6.49-inch outer display with a resolution of 2,444 × 1,080 pixels, along with a slightly larger 8-inch inner display with a resolution of 2,416 × 2,210 pixels. Both displays are 1-120Hz LTPO displays and support 1440Hz PWM dimming. The Mate X7 is also lighter at 236g.

One significant highlight of the Mate X7 is that it features IP58 and IP59 ratings for dust and water resistance. You will still need to keep the foldable away from dust, but at least it can now handle submersion and high-pressure jets. This represents a big improvement over the Mate X6’s IPX8 rating and is also quite ahead of the Galaxy Z Fold 7’s IP48 rating.

HUAWEI has also upgraded the rear telephoto camera on the Mate X7, now featuring a 50MP, f/2.2, RYYB sensor with OIS for 3.5x optical zoom, compared to the 48MP, f/3.0 sensor on the Mate X6, which could provide 4x zoom. The rest of the camera setup remains the same: there’s a 50MP RYYB primary camera with an f/1.49 – f/4 variable aperture and OIS, a 40MP ultrawide angle RYYB camera with f/2.2, and a second-generation color sensor. The cover display and the inner display also sport an 8MP camera each.

HUAWEI has also equipped the Mate X7 with the new Kirin 9030 SoC. Details about this SoC are scarce at present. The foldable is available in 12GB and 16GB RAM variants, with storage options of 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB.

The Mate X7 also features a larger 5,600mAh battery, supporting 66W wired and 50W wireless charging. The phone runs Harmony OS 6 in China.

HUAWEI Mate X7 pricing and availability

The HUAWEI Mate X7 is available in five colors: Black, Purple, White, Light Blue, and Red. You can buy the foldable in China starting at CNY 12,999 (~$1,830) for the 12GB RAM and 256GB storage variant. Sales in China are scheduled to begin on December 5, 2025.

There’s no word on international release for the Mate X7 yet. We’ll keep you updated when we learn more.