APRIL 2019 PCWorld 11somewhere around
2152x1536 pixels. The
Huawei Mate X offers an
8-inch display with a 8:7.
aspect ratio and
2480x2200 resolution. On
the outside, Huawei’s main
screen is 6 inches
diagonally, with an aspect
ratio of 19.5:9 and a
resolution of 2480 x 1148.
The Fold’s outside display
is a tiny 4.6-inch,
1960x840 screen with a
12:9 aspect ratio. That means we’re gong to
have to learn all-new ways of holding these
unconventionally shaped phones, and apps
might look a little funky at the start.
Beyond the ratios, the screens themselves
look and feel a little weird. If I hadn’t seen the
Mate X with my own eyes, I’d have thought
the screen was a high-quality printout—it’s
that glossy. Touching it was equally weird.
While it doesn’t feel cheap per se, I could
definitely feel that it wasn’t a completely flat
screen like a tablet. I don’t know whether it
was the thinness, the flexibility, or just my
imagination, but I swear I could feel the
ridges and imperfections as my finger moved
across the display. Scrolling and tapping
worked pretty much as expected, but the
tactile sensation was quite a bit different
than it is on a phone like the Galaxy S
(go.pcworld.com/gs10).
The Mate X display also feels more like
plastic than glass, so much so that I was afraid
I would dent it if I pressed too hard. I’m sure
Samsung and Huawei will go through
countless revisions of their displays before
they find a manufacturing method that’s feels
right, but these earliest models will definitely
show some growing pains.
Then there’s the seam (go.pcworld.com/
seam). Both companies have gone to
considerable lengths to hide the center of
their folding display in product shots and
display units, but it’s definitely there. We saw
it during the Samsung Unpacked demo, and I
saw it during my hands-on with the Mate X. I
have to assume it’ll only get worse with
repeated folds. Display durability is definitely
an area of concern with these early folding
phones, and the fact that seams are already
visible isn’t a comforting sign.We all saw the seam during the Galaxy Fold demo.