Once again, my desired foldable smartphone is unavailable in the United States, which is truly unfortunate. Huawei, a well-known smartphone brand that has been in the news for various reasons, is no longer selling devices in the US, but the company is actively launching new products overseas. The latest offering is a folding smartphone that not only flips but also folds out into a book-style design, known as the Pura X. The response to this device has been mixed, mainly due to its unusual aspect ratio, but I believe it’s almost the perfect all-in-one form for a foldable smartphone.

The front side of the Pura X features a 3.5-inch display, allowing users to tap on apps, send messages, and perform various tasks without needing to open the device. Similar to Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip 6 and Motorola’s Razr series, the Pura X also includes a 50-MP primary camera, a 40-MP ultrawide camera, and an 8-MP macro camera in the front camera bar. The base model starts at around $1,040, featuring 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage.

Upon opening the device, the Pura X becomes slightly confusing due to its unique design. The 6.3-inch display opens like a book, with a 16:10 aspect ratio that is more similar to a tablet than a traditional foldable device, such as the Galaxy Z Fold 6. A major concern is how non-native apps and content will appear on the inside screen, as well as the need to rotate the phone to achieve the same usability as a traditional book-style foldable. The Pura X runs on HarmonyOS, which is no longer an Android fork and lacks access to the Google Play Store, making it essential for Huawei to encourage app developers to support the platform.

However, what I appreciate about the Huawei Pura X is that it combines the best of both worlds in a foldable smartphone, relying on software to enable the rotation feature. I think it’s a great one-size-fits-all design, and I would be more inclined toward the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold if it had a similar design. I prefer a device that is shorter and less wide when closed, but since the Huawei Pura X won’t be available in the US, I’ll have to consider the Galaxy Z Fold, which folds into a more compact size. I hope the rumors about the next-generation Galaxy Z Fold are true, and it will feature a slightly wider design.