Huawei South Africa picked Thursday, 18 May as its chosen day to launch its latest crop of flagship devices in the country — the Mate X3 and the P60 Pro. Those are joined by the MateBook X Pro and D 14 for your office needs, the Watch Ulitmate for when you fancy a really deep swim, and the Watch 4 series for regular wrist-based activities.
Stuff was lucky enough — or unlucky, if you don’t fare well in hot weather — to attend the Middle East and Africa launch last week in Dubai. Before that, the devices had their time in the European limelight, after their launch in Huawei’s domestic market, China.
What a Huawei to go
Both the Mate X3, Huawei’s latest foldable, and the P60 Pro pack a Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset, albeit a custom 4G variant thanks to those pesky US sanctions. In the Mate X3, that chipset is paired with 12GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, whereas the P60 Pro features 8GB and 256GB of RAM and storage respectively.
Judging from Huawei’s marketing material, the company really wants people to know that the Mate X3 is “the world’s thinnest and lightest foldable smartphone” at 239g and measuring only 11.08mm when folded. Take that Samsung, Google, Xiaomi, Oppo, and any other foldable smartphone makers.
With the P60 Pro, the focus is firmly pointed at the camera array, and with good reason. During the MEA launch presentation, Huawei’s MEA regional president, Pablo Ning, proudly announced that the P60 Pro topped DSOMark’s smartphone rankings.
Powered by Huawei’s XMAGE imaging system, the main 48MP camera sensor features the same adjustable aperture lens that debuted in the Mate 50 Pro. It’s joined by another 48MP telephoto sensor that boasts a 3.5x optical zoom and optical image stabilisation, and a 13MP ultrawide sensor.
What’s the damage?
There is, however, one very important distinction between the devices launched around the world and those in South Africa — the price. It’s no secret that South Africans are subject to relatively high tech prices. Strangely, while both devices are more expensive locally than the rand-equivalent price announced in Dubai, for the P60 Pro at least, it isn’t as bad as it’s been in the past.
Where the P60 Pro costs 4,400 AED (R23,220) in the Middle East, on Huawei’s South African e-commerce store (and anywhere else that will stock it) the P60 Pro comes with a price tag of R25,000.
Unfortunately, for interested South Africans, the Mate X3’s local price lands further away from its Middle Eastern Rand equivalent. Buying a Mate X3 in Dubai will cost you 7,300 AED (R38,520). If you’re picking one up in South Africa, you can add R6,480 to that for a suggested local retail price of R45,000.
Although, in classic Huawei fashion, pre-ordering either device will net you a few extra goodies along with a couple thousand rand shaved off the top. Both devices will be available from 1 June.