maximumpc.com OCT 2019 MAXIMUMPC 55
BACKGROUND
While the US-China trade dispute drags on and we ponder
Huawei’s future, the company charges into the 5G arena
with its new Mate 20 X 5G. We’re curious to see what this
plus-sized phablet conceals, and how independent the
hardware might be—even as Huawei faces the possibility
of being banned from doing business with US companies.MAJOR TECH SPECS
- 7.2-inch 1080×2244 OLED multitouch display
- Octa-core Huawei Kirin 980 chipset, with 8GB RAM
- 256GB onboard storage
- Balong 5000 multimode 5G modem
- 4,200mAh battery with 40W SuperCharge 2.0 support
- Triple rear cameras: 40MP f/1.8, 20MP f/2.2, and 8MP f/2.4
lens with 5x optical zoom
KEY FINDINGS
- On the bottom we recognize the usual suspects: a USB-C
port, two mic holes, and a speaker grille. Along the top, we
find another mic hole, the infrared blaster, and a sliver of a
grille for the earpiece speaker. Compared to the already-
large Mate 20 Pro, the X 5G looks colossal. On the back,
we note the fingerprint sensor beneath the camera array.
Although this Mate is only rated IP53, the SIM card tray is
equipped with a rubber gasket—something we usually see
on “waterproof” smartphones. To our surprise, we get the
glued-down back cover off lickety-split—no heat required. - A generous fingerprint flex cable keeps the back cover
tethered for now, but it’s so long that we don’t mind. A
flock of screws hold the NFC coil, antenna, and graphite
heat conductor pad in place. With those out of the way, we
can disconnect the fingerprint sensor and get our first
good look inside. The 24MP front-facing peeper comes out
with a simple pry. We’ll never grow tired of repair-friendly
press-fit connectors. The mobo also comes out easily,
allowing us to unplug the three-eyed rear camera block. - It looks like the 5G modem comes with its own block of
LPDDR4X memory. To access the battery, we remove the
board interconnect cable. We also pry up the glued-in
loudspeaker, and the daughterboard with the USB-C port. - We follow the built-in battery removal instructions step
by step. This is the same battery used in the Mate 20 Pro,
weighing in at 16.04Wh. That’s a monster compared to
the iPhone XS Max’s dual-cell 12.08Wh powerplant. - The display adhesive holds on tighter than the back cover
adhesive, but gives way after some heat and halberd
slicing. There’s no fancy under-display fingerprint sensor,
just a blank OLED screen and the aluminum frame. As in
the standard Mate 20 X, there’s a big vapor chamber hiding
on the aluminum frame behind the graphite foil. - Repairability score: 4 out of 10 (10 is easiest to repair).
Many components are modular and can be replaced
independently. The battery is accessible after removing
the rear cover and midframe, and has pull tabs. Standard
Phillips screws are used along with an average amount of
adhesive. The midframe covers the battery and fingerprint
sensor connectors, and is obstructed by camera sensors
and flash. Glued-down front and back glass means more
risk of breakage, and makes all repairs difficult to start.
Screen repairs will require near-complete disassembly.
Although we didn’t
need heat this time
around, we are still
rewarded with a clean
battery extraction.This triclops
carries the same
technology as the
Mate 20 Pro.iFixit is a global community of tinkerers dedicated to
helping people fix things through free online repair
manuals and teardowns. iFixit believes that everyone
has the right to maintain and repair their own
products. To learn more, visit http://www.ifixit.com.
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