We and other cell phone enthusiasts are eager to see what Samsung is up to with the Galaxy Z Flip 5G. However, Huawei may challenge Samsung with a new series of foldable phones that have just been leaked.

An image published on Twitter by Ben Geskin claims to be of a new Huawei phone called the Mate V. The design, including the clamshell form factor, blocky hinge, and perhaps even its size, seems to be strongly reminiscent of Samsung's Galaxy Z Flip, but there is no mention of scale in these rendered images.

On the back/outside of the phone, we see a large camera block running down the left side of the phone, a Huawei design trademark. We don't know how many sensors are present, but there appears to be a time-of-flight sensor and other depth-sensing modules on the side, and we expect the Mate V to have excellent photography capabilities like the Huawei P40 Pro.

The camera bump seems to extend below the mini exterior display like the Z Flip has. This is presumably not meant to replace the main screen like the Galaxy Fold-style foldable external display, but to serve as a handy window for notifications or as a viewfinder for the camera if you want to take a selfie with the main camera.

On the inside, we see something not seen on previous foldable models: an internal notch like on the iPhone 11. According to Geskin, this notch is for 3D facial recognition. We have seen this before on the Huawei Mate 30 and Huawei P40, and it works just like its Apple and Google equivalents.

Inside the Mate V is likely to be a Kirin 990 chip, or whatever the latest version of this chipset is when it is released. This is a 5G-enabled chip that offers performance comparable to the Snapdragon 865, although it loses in benchmark comparisons.

This is not Huawei's first foray into folding. The Mate X, a book-shaped foldable with the display wrapped around the outside, was unveiled in 2019 but was never sold in the US or UK. Huawei revealed an updated version, the Mate Xs, earlier this year and quietly launched it in the UK in May; at £2,000, it's as expensive as Samsung's Galaxy Fold, but without Samsung's name cache or basic Google apps.

So we shouldn't get too excited about the Mate V right away. It looks like a great design for a foldable, but unfortunately it's a Huawei foldable. That said, due to a U.S. government ruling that Huawei is a dangerous company, it will not be able to use any Google-made apps and will not have access to the Google Play store. However, Huawei is getting back on its feet, introducing localized content to the App Gallery app store and recently offering Petal Search, an app that allows users to download Android app APK files from trusted sources.

But even with improved adaptation to life without Google and excellent sounding hardware, Huawei has a major challenge on its hands if it wants to dethrone the Galaxy Z Flip. Samsung's clamshell foldable phone is our favorite foldable phone thanks to its strong design, well-implemented features, and affordable price. And we're about to get an even better version with the Z Flip 5G.

Rumors of a 5G version of the Z-Flip have been around for some time, and many now believe that Samsung will show off this new foldable at the big Galaxy Unpacked event next month on August 5. While using the same chassis, Samsung will be equipping the Z Flip with a 5G-enabled Snapdragon 865 chipset (hence the new name). The battery may also be smaller, and we hope that Samsung has optimized it so that battery life will not be shortened.