Huawei will delay the launch of the Mate X foldable phone until September

Huawei announced that its foldable phone will be launched in September, slightly later than expected, because it performs additional tests following the debacle suffered by Samsung with its competitor device.

A spokesman for the Chinese technology giant told CNBC on Friday that the company was trying to launch Huawei Mate X worldwide, focusing on markets that deploy next generation mobile networks, called 5Gs. The Mate X, which starts at around 2,299 euros, about $ 2,600, is a 5G-compatible device.

The Mate X was unveiled in February but has not been released yet. Huawei initially targeted a launch date in mid-2019 and in April, Chinese media reported that things were going on in June. But the spokesman confirmed that the official launch would take place in September. He added that the company is doing additional testing with mobile operators around the world and developers to make sure their applications are working once the device is fully deployed.

Huawei spokesman said the company was more "cautious" after Samsung's foldable device, the Galaxy Fold, started breaking after being tested by reviewers in April. Samsung and some of the operators selling the Galaxy Fold have canceled pre-orders already made by consumers.

"We do not want to launch a product that will destroy our reputation," the spokesman told CNBC.

The launch will give Huawei a boost after CNBC announced that it had been forced to abandon the planned launch of a new laptop because it was unable to deliver the product because it was on a blacklist. The so-called list of entities prevents US companies from selling components, software and other technologies to Huawei.

Experts said the decision would threaten Huawei's global smartphone ambitions. Shao Yang, chief executive of Huawei's consumer division, said Tuesday that achieving its ambition to become the world's largest smartphone player would take longer than expected. He is currently in second place, behind Samsung in South Korea.

Huawei's spokesman said that even with the blacklist, he was "confident" that he could deliver the device to consumers. He added that Mate X will run Google's Android operating system because it was launched before Huawei was placed on the list of entities.

The Chinese company has put in place contingency plans, including the creation of its own operating system, which could replace Android if the software was prohibited. Huawei Chief Executive Officer Richard Yu told CNBC that the operating system could be deployed in China this year, but that it was a "plan B "and that the company would prefer to use Google. Huawei's spokesman repeated this on Friday.

"We do not want to use our own systems, we still love cooperation with Google in the last few years, and if we have to do it ourselves, we're ready, we can do it in the next few years, six to nine months. ", the spokesman told CNBC.