Technologies

I Tested the Huawei Pura X: This Wide-Screen Flip Phone Is Refreshing and Fun

Huawei’s Pura X is the wildest flip phone to exist and one of the only two foldable phones that I’ve loved watching videos on.

I’ve tested several flip phones in the past, but I never stuck to any. My lifestyle doesn’t require a phone that folds into a smaller footprint to fit inside my pocket. There’s a market for them, no doubt, but when I’m using a foldable phone, I want it to expand the capabilities of my current phone. And that’s why I’ve loved using the Huawei Pura X.

Most flip phones are narrower and taller than traditional smartphones. They have big 6.9-inch screens with a 21:9 aspect ratio, but the Pura X is unique by design. It has a smaller 6.3-inch display with a wider 16:10 aspect ratio, making it an ideal screen for reading and video consumption. The Huawei Pura X is a refreshing take on flip phones. It is closer to a mini book-style foldable than a flip phone. In fact, I have enjoyed using it more than the Motorola Razrs and Galaxy Z Flips of the world.

Huawei Pura X: What’s it like to use a wide-screen flip phone?

I couldn’t use the Pura X as my primary phone because it is a China-only device. So, most of its preloaded apps are in Chinese. I installed a few Google apps like Chrome and YouTube, among others, to make the experience as close as possible to my main device.

In the last 10 days, I’ve loved consuming content, both video and written, on the Huawei flip phone. It combines the pocketability of a flip phone with the readability of a book-style fold in a single device — while also delivering a better video-watching experience than both of them.

The Pura X unfolds to a 6.3-inch AMOLED display with support for a dynamic 120Hz refresh rate, 2,120×1,320-pixel resolution and 2,500 nits peak brightness for supported HDR content. These specs might seem similar to the iPhone 17, Galaxy S25 and Google Pixel 10, but the Pura X has a wider 16:10 aspect ratio (versus 20:9 on slab phones). Its biggest benefit is immediately noticeable when watching movies and YouTube videos.

The video consumption experience on foldable phones typically isn’t ideal. They usually have huge letterboxing (thick black borders) on either top and bottom (on the Galaxy Z Fold 7) or left and right (on the Galaxy Z Flip 7). Movies shot in 21:9 fare better on flip phones but worse on book-style foldables. The Huawei Pura X minimizes this letterboxing with its 16:10 screen, while also offering a similar on-screen watchable area.

This might surprise many, but as you can see from the above photo, you get a larger video viewing area on Huawei’s 6.3-inch display than Samsung and Motorola’s 6.9-inch flip phone screens. In fact, 16:9 YouTube videos on the Pura X are almost as big as on the Galaxy Z Fold 7 (in the slightly wider horizontal orientation). This is only the second time I’ve loved watching videos on a foldable phone (the first was the Huawei Mate XT trifold phone, also for its increased viewing area with a 16:11 aspect ratio, when fully unfolded).

It also provides a pleasing reading and web browsing experience — you just need to rotate the phone in vertical orientation. By design, the Pura X is slippery, and its wider design doesn’t help the in-hand grip. Thankfully, it weighs under 200 grams, so it isn’t as heavy as modern flagship phones. I got used to it within a few hours.

Another learning curve was getting used to the placement of buttons and unfolding it like a Fold (from the right side) instead of a Flip (from the bottom). The latter was easy, but I still struggle with the former.

When you unfold the Pura X, you need to rotate it by 90 degrees to change its orientation to use vertically. Huawei’s user interface doesn’t allow you to use the phone horizontally. So, every time I open the Pura X, its volume rockers and power button (with a built-in fingerprint scanner for biometric authentication) swap places.

The fingerprint sensor that resides on the natural resting place on my thumb (when the phone is folded) moves to the top of the phone when it is unfolded. I have added my index finger data to unlock the phone, and it might not be a big deal in the long term, once my muscle memory has gotten used to it. But so far, it has been slightly bothersome to get a mention here.

The rest of the specs and features

The Huawei Pura X has a 3.5-inch OLED cover screen with a 980×980-pixel resolution and the same dynamic 120Hz refresh rate. It isn’t as large as Samsung and Motorola flip phones, but it can run a full-fledged browser and multiple first-party apps. This 1:1 display is also good enough to capture selfies using the rear cameras, of which you get three.

Huawei has included a 50-megapixel primary camera with an f/1.6 aperture. It is accompanied by a 40-megapixel f/2.2 ultrawide-angle sensor and an 8-megapixel telephoto camera with support for a 3.5x optical zoom.

For context, most flip phones have only two rear cameras, but the Pura X’s optics are as versatile as a slab phone. The camera performance is similar to what you’d expect from a Huawei phone: smooth and brightened skin tones, good dynamic range and rich details.

The Huawei Pura X is powered by last year’s Kirin 9020 chipset and has up to 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage. My unit runs on HarmonyOS 6.0, which is smooth and fluid in day-to-day use. It packs a 4,720-mAh battery with support for 66-watt wired superfast charging and 40-watt wireless fast charging.

The Pura X is for those who want the best video consumption experience on a foldable phone, without compromising portability and cameras. It was launched earlier this year at a starting price of 7,499 yuan (roughly $1,065) for the 12GB RAM and 256GB storage version. However, it received a price cut recently and is now selling for 6,899 yuan (roughly $980).

After using the Huawei Pura X, I can confidently say that wide-screen foldable phones have their own place in the niche category. It has made me more excited for the rumored 4:3 iPhone Fold and Samsung «Wide Fold» in 2026.

Technologies

Ring Finally Goes Wire-Free for Its Latest 4K Video Doorbells

The launch of battery-powered versions of the company’s powerful AI doorbells has been highly anticipated.

Security company Ring on Wednesday announced a significant expansion of its video doorbell line, notably battery-powered versions of both its 4K and 2K models, priced from $80.

Both Amazon’s Ring and Google Nest debuted high-resolution video doorbells with new AI features in the fall of 2025. But they were wired only, and in my tests, I kept thinking, «I sure wish there were battery models available.»

Wireless video doorbells are far better for most front doors than models that require connecting to your existing doorbell wiring, which is often poorly positioned for a security camera. Mine, for example, is located on a wall beside my door that’s useless for any kind of video views, no matter how you angle a lens.

«Enhancing image quality in battery-powered doorbells means customers can enjoy reliable performance with the flexibility to install devices in a way that suits their space, whether renting or living in homes without existing wiring,» a Ring spokesperson said.

At first, I wondered whether the higher 4K resolutions and more advanced AI features would use too much power to support batteries. If so, Ring is the first to fix that issue with this suite of doorbells, including these models available for preorder right now:

Ring Battery Doorbell Pro — $250: This model offers up to 4K resolution and 10x zoom, and Ring says it features a redesigned internal architecture to support battery power.
Ring Battery Doorbell Plus (2nd-gen) — $180: This model includes a quick-release battery pack along with 2K video.
Ring Battery Doorbell (2nd-gen) — $100: This video doorbell includes 2K video, a 6x zoom and what Ring calls a «streamlined, rechargeable design,» which means you take the entire video doorbell to charge it, not just the battery — a design I greatly prefer, since Ring’s battery packs can get fiddly.

There’s also a new version of a Ring wired doorbell with 2K resolution, starting at $80. It wouldn’t be Ring without a plethora of doorbell devices to confuse newcomers, which is why I have a guide specifically for Ring video doorbells that will need some updating once I finish testing these new models.

Resolution plus an intelligence upgrade

Ring’s ordinary subscriptions of the Ring Protect plan give you cloud video storage and intelligent alerts for people, packages and vehicles, which are important but not really advanced AI. But spring for the $20-per-month Ring AI Pro cam, and this new generation of cameras opens up other capabilities.

Ring’s AI features include AI video descriptions, so if you get an alert, you can also get a summary of what the doorbell saw, including people and activities. A similar feature lets you search your video history with specific terms, such as «bike,» «truck» and so on. You also get the beta version of Ring’s Familiar Faces feature, which can ID logged faces of people who approach.

If these AI features make you uneasy and you’d rather protect your privacy, the best option is to avoid a subscription altogether or choose a lower-tier plan that gives you cloud storage without AI.

I also have a guide on how to turn off Ring’s detection and data-sharing features that might make you nervous, so you can keep what you like while ditching what you don’t.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Thursday, March 26

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for March 26.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Baseball is back! You’ll see baseball images patterned throughout today’s Mini Crossword grid, and when you solve the puzzle, they’ll spell out a certain word. Play ball! Er, read on for all the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Degrees for boardroom execs
Answer: MBAS

5A clue: «___ want for Christmas …»
Answer: ALLI

6A clue: What Hamlet holds while giving his «Alas, poor Yorick!» speech
Answer: SKULL

7A clue: Wild, as an animal
Answer: FERAL

8A clue: Sphere
Answer: ORB

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Word after «match» or «mischief»
Answer: MAKER

2D clue: Bit of writing on a book jacket
Answer: BLURB

3D clue: Penne ___ vodka
Answer: ALLA

4D clue: Window ledge
Answer: SILL

6D clue: Bay Area airport, for short
Answer: SFO

Technologies

McDonald’s KPop Demon Hunter Meals Include Bright Purple Nugget Sauce

The Derpy McFlurry mixes popping boba pearls and berry sauce into a soft-serve dessert.

McDonald’s has seen success with themed combo meals, including its holiday Grinch Meal. Now, the fast-food chain is capitalizing on Netflix’s Oscar-winning animated film, KPop Demon Hunters, with new upcoming menu items and both a breakfast meal and a lunch/dinner offering. Let’s hope you like the color purple.

The HUNTR/X Meal, named for the K-pop girl group in the movie, is a 10-piece chicken McNuggets meal that includes a medium drink and three special menu items.

Ramyeon McShaker fries come with a small bag of soy, garlic, sesame and spice seasoning, along with regular McDonald’s french fries. You sprinkle the seasoning into the provided bag, dump in the fries, shake it all up and eat.

The meal includes two new sauces for the fries and nuggets. Hunter sauce is a sweet chili sauce mixing notes of chili, garlic and pepper. But my favorite item on this new menu is Demon sauce, a bold mustard sauce with some heat and a bold purple color. There’s just not enough dark purple food out there.

There’s also a new dessert, the Derpy McFlurry, which blends creamy vanilla soft serve with berry-flavored popping boba pearls, served with a swirl of wild berry sauce. McDonald’s named it for the supernatural feline, Derpy Tiger, from the movie.

If breakfast is your bag, the new morning meal is the Saja Boys Breakfast Meal, named for the movie’s boy band.

It includes a Spicy Saja McMuffin sandwich, which is a sausage McMuffin with egg and a spicy Saja sauce, hash browns and a small drink.

Both meals come with a photocard for one of the bands and a Derpy card. The Derpy card includes a QR code you can scan to unlock online content about the film.

The full KPop Demon Hunters menu should be available at participating McDonald’s beginning March 31.

The McDonald’s Grinch meal (and its accompanying patterned socks) sold out quickly, so KPop Demon Hunters fans may want to mark their calendars and nab a meal when they are released.