I tried Huawei’s strange Pura X foldable, and it’s made me rethink every other flip phone

For much of the past year, I’ve been using the Huawei Pura X flip phone. I brought it back home from a trip to China in April, and the biggest surprise is how much I’ve continued to enjoy its oddball form factor since then.

In particular, as rivals like Motorola and Samsung have stuck to their tried-and-tested flip phone designs, Huawei, with the Pura X, is still the only flip phone manufacturer to rethink what the flip phone form factor should be.

I’ve returned to the Pura X several times over the past few months, and despite having all of the best flip phones at my disposal, its form factor has become my favorite. So, here’s why the Pura X proves that everyone else is getting flip phones wrong, and why I think Huawei could be onto something.

Motorola Razr Ultra 2025 and the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7, one thing becomes immediately clear: both phones take the same approach.

Motorola and Samsung have so far looked at the flip phone as a way to make a big phone smaller. And while compact devices undoubtedly have major appeal to some users – my sister, for instance, has fallen in love with her Razr Ultra 2025 – downsizing a phone has thus far required trade-offs in the camera department and, in Samsung’s case, further concessions when it comes to battery and performance.

In comparison, Huawei takes a different approach. First, the main screen of the Pura X has a 16:10 aspect ratio, which is reminiscent of the iPad mini and other smaller tablets. This makes it better for multitasking – although the Pura X isn’t going to challenge one of the very best tablets in that respect – as well as better for watching movies versus a regular flip phone.

Huawei Pura X main display on a table next to the Razr Ultra 2025

(Image credit: Nirave Gondhia)

Second, the main screen measures 6.3 inches, making it much more comfortable than the 7-inch displays used by Samsung and Motorola. Yes, the Pura X is noticeably smaller in that respect, but the aspect ratio of its screen makes it feel more like a portable tablet than a folding big phone. It also makes it feel like a notebook you’d carry, rather than a phone, which is a feeling unique to the Pura X.

The added benefit of the Pura X

Huawei Pura X on a table — (Image credit: Nirave Gondhia)

There’s another key reason why I like the Huawei Pura X: the 3.5-inch front screen. It isn’t as large as that of the Motorola Razr Ultra, nor is it as capable, but the Pura X’s front display does have three cameras. This makes the phone more versatile than all of its key rivals, and it’s the closest we’ve come to seeing a true flagship camera on a flip phone.

Honor Magic V Flip 2, which has a 200MP main camera and a 50MP ultra-wide camera. Comparatively, the Pura X has a slightly less capable 40MP ultra-wide camera, but the 50MP camera is just as good (on paper, at least).

The standout feature is its 8MP telephoto lens, which offers 3.5x optical zoom and OIS (Optical Image Stabilization). Samsung, Honor, and Motorola all offer 2x zoom via in-sensor cropping on their respective flip phones, but this approach doesn’t have the same reach as a dedicated telephoto lens, so, in my view, the Pura X is the best flip phone camera you can buy right now.

For many people, a 2x ‘optical’ zoom through in-sensor cropping is satisfactory, but there’s little doubt that a dedicated telephoto will always take better photos.

It also means there’s a longer zoom range with AI and more detail to work with when you do need a zoom lens. Yes, the Pura X’s 8MP telephoto lens doesn’t compare to the telephoto lens you’ll find in many of the best camera phones (think the Galaxy S25 Ultra and iPhone 17 Pro Max), but it does push the boundaries forward for flip phones specifically.

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Huawei Pura X in White in landscape on a table — (Image credit: Nirave Gondhia)

There’s one additional benefit to the Pura X, and it’s specific to the front screen: unlike its key rivals, the unique design of the Pura X means its Cover Display works in both horizontal and vertical orientations. This adds a further level of versatility that’s totally missing from its key rivals.

Google apps and services (though many Google services are available via third-party container apps).

Yet, despite these obvious downsides, my overall hardware experience has been extremely positive. I love the Razr Ultra 2025, but I’ve found myself turning to the Pura X more often than not because I really like its form factor. It’s not a phone I could use as a daily device, especially as it lacks the core underlying architecture to offer an Android-like experience, but it is the most unique flip phone right now.

The Pura X is not as integrated nor as streamlined as an Android phone – and I do wish that Huawei had kept the Android kernel libraries so I could easily install native Google apps, as on the tri-folding Huawei Mate XT – but with a few workarounds, this is certainly a compelling device.

Take notes, Samsung and Motorola

Huawei Pura X cover display on a table next to the Razr Ultra 2025 — (Image credit: Nirave Gondhia)

As I’ve spent more time with the Pura X, one thing has become clear: whether this form factor replaces the flip phone as we know it or helps launch another category of folding phones, I want other phone makers to copy the Pura X’s form factor.

The aspect ratio is better, the cover display makes the Pura X feel like a regular phone, and Huawei’s cameras outpace the competition. The phone’s 4,720 mAh battery isn’t the largest, its 66W charging isn’t the fastest, and it has some obvious software-related pitfalls, but I’m convinced that this is a form factor that other phone makers should consider adopting in 2026.

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