Huawei's Pura X is an intriguing new foldable – if you're outside the US

The Star

2 days ago

In most of the world, the smartphone market is dominated by two players: Alphabet Inc's Android and Apple Inc's iOS. But China's Huawei Technologies Co is looking to challenge that long-held reality with its in-house mobile platform, HarmonyOS. Since launching late last year, the software has already become the most credible contender to that duopoly in China. The company has even unveiled a companion laptop-grade operating system to replace Windows.
Huawei's new phone embodies Beijing's efforts to reduce its reliance on the US tech industry. But its efforts to establish independence in the software realm won't mean much without cutting-edge devices that can serve as vehicles to showcase its new platform. The recently launched Pura X foldable isn't just a hardware novelty; it's also the company's first flagship smartphone to run HarmonyOS out of the box, making it an early test of how willing users will be to jump ship for a largely untested – and still incomplete – ecosystem.
The Pura X is only being sold in China, a market where most of the top-selling smartphone brands are local players. The way some Huawei salespeople are pitching the Pura X to consumers is to suggest they think of this as their second phone. At least to begin with. Stick with whatever you already have, add the Pura X as a multimedia and content consumption device, and give Huawei time to flesh out the HarmonyOS experience. That requires a measure of faith.
The hardware
With a 3.5-inch external screen (that's small, even for a foldable), the 7,499 yuan (US$1,042/RM4,420) Pura X looks at first glance like a pocket-friendly clamshell. But unlike modern flip phones, which unfold into the same rectangular shape as a flat handset, the Pura X opens to a significantly wider 6.3-inch display with a 16:10 aspect ratio.
The novel ergonomics take some getting used to – the device's hinge and external display are arranged so that it opens like a book – but there are benefits to the squarer shape, whose expansive screen real estate is useful for viewing photos, browsing the web, going through notes, playing video games, watching video and reading.
For those using the device as an e-reader, Huawei's built-in ebook app flips pages automatically by tracking when the reader's eyes move from the bottom of a page back to the top. It's an example of how Huawei sees itself marrying hardware and software development in the new operating system.
The screen has benefits for third-party apps, too. The popular Chinese social media app Xiaohongshu, also known as RedNote, displays content on the Pura X in three columns simultaneously, compared with the standard two-column layout on conventional smartphones.
The smaller exterior panel allows users to handle calls, watch video or show their Alipay QR code for making payments. With WeChat, for example, it's easy to send a text message or take video calls without unfolding the device. In that scenario, the rear camera acts as a selfie shooter.
The downside of the wider screen is that it's not easy to fold or unfold the phone with one hand. Typing on the enlarged keyboard one-handed is also tricky. Huawei offers a single-handed mode on the Pura X for typing on a smaller layout, but that's not much of an improvement.
The Huawei-designed processor inside the Pura X is an upgraded Kirin chip, which makes the device feel smooth and quick during use. The 4,610mAh battery lasts for a full day with typical usage.
The Pura X has three cameras on the back plus a fourth lens for gauging color temperature. The image quality feels natural, with low-light performance being a standout compared with other flip phones.
The software
Huawei debuted an earlier version of the OS on Mate 70 smartphones last year and has since been migrating more of its existing device lineup to the platform. Every new gadget from the company will run the software. Unlike with the new Pura X, people who own older handsets can still choose between the in-house OS and an Android-compatible system.
When Bloomberg tested out the earliest publicly available iteration of HarmonyOS four months ago, it was evident Huawei had work to do behind the scenes to get more app makers and service providers on board. Since then, more developers have joined the ecosystem. And for some apps that were already in place, their engineers added missing features to bring them closer to the fuller-featured versions offered on iOS and Android. Yet challenges still lie ahead.
The most used consumer apps in China are on HarmonyOS, including selections for online shopping, messaging, food delivery, banking, ride-hailing and train tickets. Messaging apps commonly used at workplaces in China are here, and so are popular live-streaming platforms and some video games. As electric vehicles gain ubiquity across China, EV drivers can also download apps connecting to their cars.
Progress since Bloomberg's last review of the OS includes the arrival of chatbots from Chinese artificial intelligence firms, like ByteDance Ltd.'s Doubao. For people who work for Chinese government agencies, some essential daily tools are also newly available. For everyday consumers, several public services have been added, including one for carrying digital versions of driving licenses and paying fines for traffic violations.
But there are still some holdouts, like Xiaomi Corp and Tesla Inc's electric-vehicle apps, and NetEase Inc.'s email and music offerings. Meanwhile, some applications that are technically available are missing features offered on other mobile platforms.
Huawei knows its ecosystem is incomplete. For certain software that isn't available yet, the company offers a tool called DroiTong for people to download Android-compatible alternatives to bridge the gap. And on the Pura X page of Huawei's e-commerce website, a warning written in red type reminds people that "This device comes pre-installed with HarmonyOS 5 and cannot be downgraded to earlier OS versions.'
The takeaway
The Pura X is not Huawei's first attempt at a quirky foldable. Last year, it launched the Mate XT, a device it billed as the first "trifold' phone – which is to say, depending on how you folded it up, it could be a large widescreen tablet, a smaller 8-inch one or a more regular handset. The design was intriguing as a proof-of-concept, but at US$2,800 (RM 11,877) it was a tough sell for real-world consumers.
To be sure, the Pura X is more practical and affordable than the Mate XT. Even so, looking at an operating system still under construction, potential buyers will have to weigh the benefits of a unique hardware design against the tradeoffs of an incomplete ecosystem. Patience is required – but Huawei's pace of improvement shows it's at least on its way. – Bloomberg