The HUAWEI Mate X7 has the best cameras I’ve ever used on a foldable

As some readers might know, I have a soft spot for foldable phones, and my daily driver is the Pixel 10 Pro Fold. While it’s not the best foldable out there, at least not on paper, I enjoy having a foldable that includes the benefits of a Pixel. It’s not without its flaws, though. However, there’s a new foldable phone on the block that’s caught my attention.

Whenever HUAWEI releases a new foldable, I get excited. One of the big issues with my Pixel 10 Pro Fold is that its cameras aren’t up to the quality of typical flagship phones. The new HUAWEI Mate X7 foldable, however, promises cameras that rival those of flagship slab-style phones. So, does it deliver?

Let’s first touch on the design. Currently, the race is on to create the thinnest foldable phone with no visible crease. HUAWEI claims the X7 has no significant crease, but you can still see it. It might not be as pronounced as on some other book-style foldables, but it’s there. The X7 weighs only 236 grams and measures 4.5mm when unfolded and 9.5mm when folded, making it feel nicer in the hand than the Pixel 10 Pro Fold.

The Mate X7’s build quality is also commendable, especially in the Nebula Red vegan leather finish I have. While I’m not usually a fan of vegan leather, I quite like it on this phone. However, the hinge feels a bit loose compared to the Galaxy Z Fold and the Pixel 10 Pro Fold, and it offers less resistance.

HUAWEI’s claims about the camera being as good as flagship slab phones seem to hold some truth. The 50MP main sensor, 50MP telephoto lens, and 40MP ultrawide lens deliver great results, especially with the telephoto lens. However, I noticed that photos of food were a bit soft in low light. Overall, I enjoyed using the Mate X7’s cameras throughout the afternoon.

The dynamic range is impressive, and the phone handles difficult lighting well, at least according to a rather impressive sunset I snapped. The ultra-chroma sensor and true-to-color camera produce accurate colors and great nighttime photos, though the 3.5x zoom requires a steady hand to avoid blurry shots.

The video quality is also impressive, with excellent stabilization and smooth lens switching. Video performance at night is also commendable, with minimal noise and good stabilization.

If you want to see samples, check out the video at the top of this article.

The Mate X7’s specs are also impressive, with IP58 and IP59 water- and dust-resistance ratings, second-gen Kunlun glass, and a vibrant 6.49-inch display with 3,000 nits of peak brightness and a 120Hz refresh rate.

As for the battery, the 5300mAh capacity is larger than the 10 Pro Fold and the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7, while the Mate X7’s charging speed is impressive, with 66W wired and 55W wireless charging. During a three-hour yacht trip, the battery only dropped to 81%, which is remarkable. After a full day of use, the battery was still at 69%, which is impressive.

The chipset leaves a lot to be desired. The Kirin 9030 Pro limits the phone to 4G, not 5G, which will hamper those who rely on mobile internet speeds.

And, as this is a HUAWEI phone, there’s always the question of Google Play services availability. Officially, you can’t use them, which means no Play Store or other crucial Goolge services like Google Pay.

There is a workaround for app installation: by installing microG on your HUAWEI device, you can access almost any app from the Google Play Store via the Aurora Store. It’s not an official method, and Google Wallet still won’t work. Logging into apps like Instagram, Spotify, and Netflix was straightforward, though I couldn’t sign in to a Google Workspace account with microG. Personal accounts worked seamlessly, though, which was a pleasant surprise.

Notably, I did encounter a few app issues. While most work, Google Chrome took a while to install, and RCS chats wouldn’t work, which is a deal-breaker for me.

Despite these drawbacks, the Mate X7 is probably the best-built foldable phone I’ve used. However, without native Google app support, I can’t fully switch to it, even if the cameras are the best I’ve tried on a foldable.