Huawei
A smartphone with the Huawei and 5G network logo is seen on a PC motherboard in this illustration picture taken January 29, 2020. Photo: Reuters / Dado Ruvic

With the rising competition in the foldable segment, smartphone brands are expected to launch new versions of their foldable smartphones this year. One of these is the Huawei Mate X3, which is rumoured to be launching this year and bringing improvements to the specs and features of the brand's Mate X line.

Huawei Mate X3 release date speculation

There is no official announcement from Huawei bout the Mate X3 release date. However, a number of sites such as Huawei Central claim that the foldable phone could launch early in 2023. One Weibo leaker said that the phone would be launched ahead of the P60 series, according to TechAdvisor.

This speculation is possible considering that the Huawei Mate X2 made its debut in February 2021, though it was only launched for the Chinese market at that time. The Huawei Mate Xs 2 was later launched for international markets in May 2022.

Of course, the Huawei Mate X3 won't likely make its way to the U.S. market. In fact, its availability in Europe is still questionable with a recent Politico article claiming that Huawei is about to give up on other markets and focus on Asia.

Huawei Mate X3 specs and design

Again, there is no official word from the manufacturer on the Huawei Mate X3 specs so everything is speculation for now. However, a number of outlets have reported that the Mate X3 will be powered by the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, a popular chip for 2023 flagships. The upcoming foldable smartphone will reportedly only support 4G due to the company's ongoing dispute with the US government.

The upcoming foldable may feature support for satellite communications, which Huawei first introduced in the Mate 50 Pro. A similar feature is present in the iPhone 14 series and Qualcomm's Snapdragon Satellite.

In terms of design, the Huawei Mate X3 will likely have some similarities to the designs of the Mate X2 and Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 as the new phone is expected to feature a large screen that folds like a book. While the X2 has a 90Hz maximum refresh rate, it wouldn't be surprising if the upcoming Mate X3 had a 120Hz refresh rate, which has become the norm for flagships these days.