SpecEagle
SpecEagle review · Huawei

Huawei Mate X5 review: Refined book-style foldable with Kirin 9000S and 5G.

SpecEagle Editorial·Sep 2023·$1900
Overall
86/100
Class rank
#3 of 8
Tier
Foldable
Buy?
Yes
The verdict, up front

Huawei's sanctions comeback.

Mate X5 quietly marked Huawei's return to 5G — the Kirin 9000S was built domestically by SMIC, sidestepping US sanctions. Add a 5x periscope, variable-aperture XMAGE main and IPX8, and it was the most loaded foldable of 2023 in China.

01Display

90/100

90/100 — right at the average for foldable phones of 2023.

Main7.85" OLED, 120Hz, 2496 x 2224
Cover6.4" OLED, 120Hz, 1080 x 2504
FoldInward book fold, gapless hinge

02Camera

84/100

84/100 puts it above the 81-point average for foldable phones of 2023.

Main50 MP XMAGE, f/1.4-4.0 variable, OIS
Ultrawide12 MP, 100 deg
Periscope12 MP 5x optical, OIS
Selfie8 MP on both screens

03Performance

86/100

86/100 puts it above the 83-point average for foldable phones of 2023.

ChipsetHiSilicon Kirin 9000S (7nm SMIC)
GPUMaleoon 910

04Battery

86/100

86/100 puts it above the 81-point average for foldable phones of 2023.

Capacity5060 mAh
Charging66W wired, 50W wireless

05Build

86/100

86/100 puts it above the 83-point average for foldable phones of 2023.

What works
  • Domestic-silicon 5G — Huawei's sanctions comeback
  • 5x periscope rare in foldables + variable aperture
  • IPX8 water resistance
What doesn't
  • HarmonyOS without Google globally
  • 243 g heavy
  • Limited to Chinese market
Cross-shop it against
Samsung W2024 (China Z Fold 5 variant)
$2300 · score 90/100

How this review is built: every section score, spec row and comparison on this page comes from SpecEagle's tracked catalogue — scores weight measured specs against the 8-phone cohort of foldable devices released around the same time. We don't publish invented lab anecdotes. Spot an error? .