Huawei Launches the Most Affordable Folding Phone to Date

Huawei has launched a watered-down version of its clamshell foldable at a recent launch event in China. The Huawei Pocket S has the same footprint as the P50 Pocket that came out last year, but with downgraded cameras and chipset.

Design and Display

The Pocket S has the same design and display as the P50 Pocket. The main screen is a 6.9-inch OLED panel with a 120Hz refresh rate, 1080p resolution, and a 300Hz touch sampling rate. It has support for up to 1 billion colors and 1440Hz PWM.

The secondary screen on the outside is a unique circular display sized at 1.04-inches with 340 x 340 pixels resolution and 328 PPI pixel density. It can be used to show notifications, date and time, and more.

Internals and Software

Instead of last year’s flagship SoC, the Snapdragon 888, this one has an upper mid-range Snapdragon 778G chip with 128 GB/265 GB/512 GB storage options and only a single 8GB RAM variant. It even has a memory card slot for expansion, but it only works with Huawei’s proprietary nano memory cards.

For software, it boots Harmony OS 3.0 in China but will come with EMUI 12 in the global market.

Cameras

It has the same 40MP main camera as the original model alongside a 13MP ultrawide sensor, but it loses the additional 32MP wide-angle shooter. It gets a dedicated laser AF module instead. It can record 4K 60 FPS videos as well as 1080p slow motion clips.

The 10.7MP selfie camera also remains unchanged.

Battery and Pricing

The 4,000 mAh battery has support for 40W wired charging and 5W reverse charging, but there is no wireless charging.

The Huawei Pocket S is now the cheapest foldable phone to date, starting at $820 in China, but it will likely cost more in the global market. It will be available in five color options including Mint Green, Gold Yellow, Rose Pink, Ice Crystal Blue, and Black.

Huawei Pocket S Specifications

• Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G
• CPU: Octa-core (4×2.4 GHz Kryo 670 & 4×1.8 GHz Kryo 670)
• GPU: Adreno 642L
• OS: Harmony OS 3.0
• Supported Networks: 2G, 3G, 4G LTE
• Display:
  • 6.9″ Foldable OLED with 1188 x 2790 pixels resolution, 120Hz, 1B colors
• Memory:
  • RAM: 8 GB
  • Internal: 128 GB, 256 GB, 512 GB
  • Card slot: yes
• Camera:
  • Rear (Dual): 40 MP, f/1.8, (wide), PDAF, Laser AF
    13 MP, f/2.2, 120˚ (ultrawide), AF
  • Front: 10.7MP
• Colors: Mint Green, Gold Yellow, Rose Pink, Ice Crystal Blue, and Black.
• Fingerprint sensor: Side-mounted
• Battery: 4,000 mAh, 40W fast charging, 5W reverse charging
• Price: $820