Huawei MateBook Fold: The Foldable Laptop That Is Rewriting the Rules
An 18-inch flexible OLED screen, a body thinner than most smartphones, and an operating system built entirely from the ground up — this is not a gimmick. This is a statement.
In This Article:
Introduction: A Different Kind of Laptop
Design & Build Quality
Display: 18 Inches of Pure OLED
Performance & Processor
HarmonyOS 5: A Platform Built for Folding
Battery Life & Charging
Audio, Camera & Connectivity
Full Specifications Table
Pros & Cons
Verdict & Who Should Buy It
Frequently Asked Questions
Introduction: A Different Kind of Laptop
Every few years, a product arrives that forces you to rethink what a device category is even supposed to look like. The Huawei MateBook Fold is that kind of product for 2025. At first glance, it resembles an ordinary, oversized laptop — a sleek, leather-finished notebook you might spot in the hands of a business traveler. But the moment you unfold it, everything changes.
What you are actually holding is an 18-inch foldable computing canvas — one that can shift between a massive tablet, a dual-screen notebook, and a traditional laptop orientation without breaking a sweat. Huawei officially unveiled this machine in May 2025, making it not only the company's first foldable PC but also the first laptop on earth to ship with HarmonyOS 5 as its native operating system.
This is a bold move. And after spending considerable time with the device — examining it from a design, performance, and practical usability standpoint — I can tell you: the boldness is justified, even if a few rough edges remain.
Quick Take: The Huawei MateBook Fold is a genuine engineering achievement. It is not the right device for every person, but for those who live at the intersection of mobility and productivity, it offers something no other laptop currently can.
Design & Build Quality: Thin, Purposeful, and Unmistakably Premium
Open the MateBook Fold and you are greeted by something that looks deceptively normal from the outside. The rear panel is wrapped in a soft, stain-resistant silicone-coated leather that feels warm and tactile in a way most aluminum laptops simply do not. Forged carbon detailing runs along the edges, giving the device a sense of engineered precision rather than mass-produced sameness. It is available in three color options: Forged Shadow Black, Cloud Blue, and Sky White — each with a distinct texture and personality.
The numbers behind the construction are equally impressive. When fully unfolded, the MateBook Fold measures just 7.3mm thick. To put that into perspective, that is roughly as thin as many modern flagship smartphones. When closed and ready to carry, it folds to 14.9mm — still remarkably compact for a machine with this screen real estate. The total weight sits at 1.16 kilograms, which is actually around 80 grams lighter than the 2025 MacBook Air, a device that does not fold at all.
The Hinge: Engineering That Earns Its Name
The hinge — which Huawei calls the Xuanwu Water Drop Hinge — deserves its own paragraph. Built from high-temperature vacuum die-cast zirconium-based liquid metal, it is the mechanical heart of the entire product. The hinge allows the screen to rest at any angle between 30 and 150 degrees, which means you can use the device fully flat as a tablet, prop it at a traditional laptop angle, or hold it somewhere in between depending on the task. The movement is smooth, satisfying, and silent — there is none of the creaking or hesitation that has plagued early foldable experiments from other brands.
Durability has also been taken seriously. The hinge and display assembly are rated for at least 200,000 open-and-close cycles, which translates to roughly five or more years of daily use even at a generous 100 folds per day. Huawei has additionally confirmed that the device meets MIL-STD-810H military-grade shock resistance standards, covering vibration, drops, and extreme temperature conditions.
An integrated kickstand on the rear allows the MateBook Fold to stand upright in landscape mode without requiring any additional support — a thoughtful detail that makes desk use more versatile and spontaneous.
Display: 18 Inches of Brilliant, Bendable OLED
The screen is the product's single most defining feature, and Huawei has not held back here. The MateBook Fold sports an 18-inch flexible dual-layer (tandem) OLED panel with a resolution of 3,296 × 2,472 pixels — which Huawei refers to as 3.3K. The aspect ratio is 4:3, which provides a taller, more balanced canvas compared to the widescreen displays typical of mainstream laptops. This matters in practice: you get more vertical room for documents, spreadsheets, and web pages without constant scrolling.
The display's screen-to-body ratio reaches 92%, meaning bezels are thin enough to feel almost nonexistent. The peak brightness of 1,600 nits ensures the screen remains legible and vivid even in direct sunlight. The panel supports the P3 wide color gamut and offers a contrast ratio of 2,000,000:1 — figures that put it firmly in the same tier as the finest displays currently available on any portable device.
The LTPO backplane enables an adaptive refresh rate, meaning the display conserves power during static content and ramps up when you need smoother visuals — a genuinely intelligent feature that helps the battery hold up through a working day.
In practice, viewing content on this display — whether reading PDFs, editing photos, watching video, or multitasking across two apps simultaneously — feels immediately superior to what any conventional 13 or 14-inch laptop screen can offer. The size advantage is real and meaningful.
Folded into laptop mode, the lower half of the display becomes the screen area you primarily work with, while the upper half functions as a large, comfortable virtual keyboard. Touch input on both halves is responsive and accurate. Huawei has also included a gesture shortcut — tap eight fingers simultaneously — to call up the virtual keyboard on demand from anywhere in the interface.
Performance: Powered by Kirin, Constrained by Context
Under the hood, the MateBook Fold runs on Huawei's in-house Kirin X90 processor — a chip fabricated on SMIC's 7nm (N+2) process node. This is an important point to understand clearly: the chip is capable and well-optimized for HarmonyOS, but it sits several generations behind what Intel, AMD, Qualcomm, and Apple are currently producing in their flagship chips. Independent teardown analysis and supply-chain reports have confirmed this, and it is a direct consequence of international trade restrictions that limit Huawei's access to leading-edge semiconductor fabrication.
For the tasks this machine is designed for — document creation, web browsing, video calling, multitasking across productivity apps, creative work in supported applications — the Kirin X90 performs adequately and, in many cases, quite well. The device comes standard with 32GB of RAM and is available in either 1TB or 2TB of SSD storage, which is generous by any measure.
Thermal management is handled by an ultra-thin PCB design paired with a three-layer diamond aluminum structure and a vapor chamber cooling system backed by dual fans. The result is a machine that stays reasonably cool and quiet during sustained workloads — a non-trivial achievement given how little physical volume the engineering team had to work with.
Where the performance picture becomes more complicated is in software compatibility. Because the MateBook Fold runs HarmonyOS rather than Windows or macOS, access to legacy Windows applications is not available natively. This is a significant consideration for users who depend on specific professional software — whether that is Adobe's full suite, Microsoft's desktop Office applications, or industry tools from any number of vertical markets.
HarmonyOS 5: A New Platform That Takes the Foldable Seriously
The MateBook Fold is the first PC in the world to ship with HarmonyOS 5 installed out of the box, and the operating system has been thoughtfully built around the foldable form factor in ways that genuinely show in daily use.
When you unfold the device, the OS reorganizes application windows automatically to take advantage of the expanded screen. When you fold it back down, it contracts gracefully. Multi-window management is a first-class feature — you can layer applications on top of one another, resize them with a five-finger pinch gesture, and maintain two completely separate workflows across the display at once.
HarmonyOS 5 also brings deep integration with other devices in the Huawei ecosystem. Cross-device file sharing, app continuation (picking up where you left off on a phone or tablet), and multi-screen collaboration are built in at the operating system level rather than added on as third-party workarounds. For users already invested in the Huawei product ecosystem, this connectivity creates a genuinely cohesive experience.
The AI features bundled under the HarmonyOS AI 4 layer are worth noting separately. The Xiaoyi Meeting Assistant can transcribe conversations in real time, alert you when it is your turn to respond, and automatically organize recordings and notes into structured summaries afterward. The Xiaoyi Document Assistant scans across your files to generate insights, pull out key points, and even draft presentations on request. These tools are built into the system rather than bolted on, which gives them access to deeper context and more consistent performance than standalone AI apps typically manage.
Battery Life: Respectable for the Screen It Is Powering
The MateBook Fold carries a 74.69Wh lithium-polymer battery — a capacity that comfortably exceeds the 14-inch MacBook Pro (72.4Wh) and is dramatically larger than the 13-inch iPad Pro (38.99Wh). Given that the device is powering an 18-inch OLED panel, this is a meaningful number.
Real-world battery life will vary significantly based on screen brightness, how many apps are running simultaneously, and whether the LTPO adaptive refresh rate is doing its job. For general productivity use at moderate brightness, users can reasonably expect somewhere between six and nine hours of mixed-use performance. That is not the 15-hour claims of a closed MacBook Air, but it is entirely workable for a full professional workday with access to an outlet available by evening.
Audio, Camera & Connectivity
The six-speaker audio system is one of the more pleasant surprises the MateBook Fold offers. Given how rarely laptop speakers are worth mentioning, it is worth noting that this setup produces clear, spatially separated sound with genuine low-end presence — a result of the larger physical volume the device has to accommodate drivers compared to thinner, smaller machines.
The front-facing camera is an 8-megapixel sensor, supported by a quad-microphone array optimized for voice clarity in conference calls. In practice, the microphone captures voice well while attenuating keyboard and background noise — a useful feature in open office environments or shared spaces.
Connectivity is relatively simple: two USB-C ports — one on the upper edge and one on the right side — handle all wired data and charging needs. Wireless connectivity comes via Bluetooth 5.2 and dual-band Wi-Fi 6. Biometric security is handled by a fingerprint scanner integrated into the power button. The absence of additional ports like Thunderbolt, HDMI, or a USB-A will matter to some users and can be partially addressed through a hub, though that does add bulk to an otherwise beautifully minimal setup.
Full Specifications at a Glance
Specification Details
Display (Unfolded) 18-inch Dual-Layer LTPO OLED, 3,296 × 2,472 (3.3K), 4:3
Display (Folded) 13-inch, 2,472 × 1,648, 3:2
Peak Brightness 1,600 nits
Contrast Ratio 2,000,000:1
Screen-to-Body Ratio 92%
Color Gamut DCI-P3 Wide Color
Processor Kirin X90 (SMIC 7nm N+2)
RAM 32GB LPDDR
Storage 1TB or 2TB SSD
Operating System HarmonyOS 5
Hinge Xuanwu Water Drop Hinge, 30°–150°, 200,000+ fold rated
Thickness (Unfolded) 7.3mm
Thickness (Folded) 14.9mm
Weight 1.16 kg
Battery 74.69Wh Li-Po
Camera 8MP front-facing
Audio Six speakers, four microphones
Connectivity Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2, 2× USB-C
Durability Standard MIL-STD-810H
Colors Shadow Black, Cloud Blue, Sky White
Starting Price ¥23,999 (~$3,300 USD)
Availability China (June 2025); limited international via third-party
Our Rating Breakdown
Design & Build
9.5 / 10
Display Quality
9.6 / 10
Performance
7.2 / 10
Software & OS
7.8 / 10
Battery Life
8.0 / 10
Value for Money
7.0 / 10
Overall Score — Impressive Pioneer with Real-World Caveats
Pros & Cons: The Honest Breakdown
✓ What Works Well
The 18-inch OLED panel is among the finest displays ever fitted to a portable device
Build quality and material choices are genuinely premium — the leather and carbon finish feels luxurious
The Xuanwu hinge is smooth, reliable, and rated for years of daily folding
At 1.16kg, it is lighter than the MacBook Air despite the significantly larger screen
HarmonyOS 5 adapts intelligently to the foldable form factor in ways that feel native
The six-speaker audio system is far above average for a laptop
32GB of RAM and up to 2TB of storage is highly competitive at this price tier
AI-powered tools like real-time meeting transcription are genuinely useful in daily work
✗ Things to Consider Carefully
No Windows support means professional software compatibility is significantly limited
The Kirin X90 chip lags behind Intel, AMD, and Apple in raw processing power
Currently only officially available for purchase in mainland China
The $3,300+ starting price puts it firmly in premium-only territory
Only two USB-C ports — no legacy USB-A, no HDMI, no SD card slot
Typing on the virtual keyboard requires an adjustment period for touch typists
HarmonyOS app ecosystem, while growing, is still smaller than Windows or macOS
Verdict: Who Is This Device Actually For?
The Huawei MateBook Fold is not a device for everyone — and it does not try to be. It is a device for a specific type of person: someone who travels frequently, values screen real estate above all else, wants one device that handles both immersive content consumption and serious productivity, and is either already within the Huawei ecosystem or willing to build toward one.
For creative professionals who sketch, annotate, and present on the go, the large OLED canvas is genuinely transformative. For senior executives who move between cities and need something that feels as polished as the meetings they are attending, the design makes an impression. For early adopters who want to experience what personal computing might look like in three to five years, this is as close as you can currently get.
For users whose work depends on specific Windows applications, this is not the right purchase — at least not yet. And for budget-conscious buyers, the $3,300 price point is a significant ask for a first-generation product, even one this accomplished.
Bottom Line: The Huawei MateBook Fold is the most ambitious laptop released in 2025. Its display alone is reason enough to pay attention. The hardware engineering is remarkable, the design is genuinely beautiful, and the concept works better in practice than it has any right to at this stage. What holds it back from being an unambiguous recommendation is the software reality of HarmonyOS and the chip constraints Huawei is working within. Consider it a compelling preview of where laptop computing is heading — available right now for those willing to accept the trade-offs.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can the Huawei MateBook Fold run Windows?
No. The MateBook Fold runs exclusively on HarmonyOS 5, Huawei's proprietary operating system. It does not support Windows natively. Users who need Windows applications will need to look at alternative devices or explore any virtualization options as the HarmonyOS ecosystem continues to develop.
Is the MateBook Fold available outside of China?
As of mid-2025, the device is only officially sold in mainland China. Some international third-party resellers on platforms like AliExpress do carry the device, but official warranty support and after-sales service outside China may be limited or unavailable. Huawei has not made a confirmed announcement regarding global availability.
How durable is the foldable display?
Huawei rates the hinge and display assembly for a minimum of 200,000 open-and-close cycles. At 100 folds per day — already a heavy usage pattern — that equates to more than five years of daily operation. The device also meets MIL-STD-810H military-grade standards for shock and vibration resistance.
Does it come with a physical keyboard?
Yes, Huawei bundles an optional ultra-thin wireless magnetic keyboard called the Xingyue Portable Keyboard with the device. This keyboard is leather-wrapped, magnetically attaches for transport, includes a pressure-sensitive touchpad, and offers 1.5mm key travel. The device also features a built-in virtual keyboard on the lower half of the display when used in laptop orientation.
What is the MateBook Fold's starting price?
The MateBook Fold starts at ¥23,999 Chinese Yuan, which converts to approximately $3,300 USD at current exchange rates. The higher-tier configuration with 2TB of storage carries a premium above that base price.
How does the battery life compare to a MacBook?
The MateBook Fold carries a 74.69Wh battery, which is larger than both the 14-inch MacBook Pro (72.4Wh) and the 13-inch MacBook Air (53.8Wh) in raw capacity. However, it is powering a significantly larger OLED display, so real-world battery life is expected to land in the six to nine hour range for productivity use rather than the ten-plus hours a closed MacBook Air can produce.
Is the crease visible on the foldable display?
As with all flexible OLED panels, a subtle crease is present along the fold line when the screen is fully flat and viewed at certain angles. Huawei has worked to minimize this through the water-drop hinge design, and most users report that the crease becomes unnoticeable during regular use — particularly when the screen is at a typical viewing angle and content is displayed.
Specifications sourced from Huawei and verified through multiple independent reviews. Prices listed reflect launch pricing and may vary.
