Remember Huawei? The US banned the company from using Google apps and services or collaborating with US companies, but it has made a comeback and has continued selling phones, even without Google services. And it also makes foldable phones, too, even as its latest one might look a bit unique.
Huawei has introduced a new flip phone, the Pura X, featuring a unique sideways folding mechanism. Instead of flipping vertically, it flips horizontally and makes for a slightly wider device that’s more appropriate to be used as a tablet. It has a 16:10 aspect ratio and the screen itself is 6.3 inches—if you remember how huge and wide phones were when 16:9 displays were over 6 inches, you can get a rough idea of the dimensions of this device. It’s not quite a tablet, but it’s not really a one-handed phone, either.
When it’s closed, the phone resembles other flip phones like the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip or the Motorola Razr. The only difference here is the hinge placement and the unique aspect ratio. You can think of this as something similar to the extinct Microsoft Surface Duo in a way, except it has one foldable screen instead of two internal displays.
The phone is also notable for a number of other reasons. The Pura X is, for one, the first Huawei phone to apparently completely move away from Android. It operates on HarmonyOS Next, a new operating system developed in-house by Huawei that, according to the company, does not utilize any Android Open Source Project (AOSP) code. HarmonyOS has been sold for a while as Huawei’s non-Android OS, but it was still based on Android (even as the company denied ties to Android and kept saying that it was its own thing), and with some technical know-how you could even manage to load Google apps onto the company’s phones. The eventual goal was to move to a distinct, non-Android OS, and Huawei says it finally got there with this software. Since it’s not Android, you shouldn’t be able to sideload any Android apps, including Google Play, on it.
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HarmonyOS Next was initially launched in November 2024 alongside the Mate 70 series. However, Mate 70 series owners had the option to choose between HarmonyOS Next and the Android-based HarmonyOS. The Pura X, on the other hand, is exclusively available with the new software. We’re not sure if Huawei is ready to completely move off Android now, and we’ll have to see whether it keeps using this software or the legacy HarmonyOS in future releases over the next months. But for now, this is a noteworthy move.
The Pura X also introduces Harmony Intelligence, Huawei’s new AI assistant. This assistant is powered by Huawei’s own Pangu model and enhanced by DeepSeek. Huawei is also investing in its own Ascend AI chips, so the experience should get even better down the road.
The Huawei Pura X is currently available only in China, with a starting price of 7,499 yuan (approximately $1,037). As you probably expect, I don’t think there’s a phone that’s more banned in the US than Huawei’s lineup, so this will never launch in the United States, but you might be able to grab one on a trip to Europe if it ever makes it out of China.
Source: The Verge
