Stuff - UK (2020-04)

FIRST TEST HUAWEI MATE XS

Huawei to the

danger zone

he Huawei Mate

Xs seems like

the first truly

uncompromising

model of the new generation

of foldable phones.

Closed, it’s a huge-screened

smartphone with stellar specs,

including a sensational camera

co-engineered by Leica. Open

it up, and the Xs transforms into

a Galaxy-Fold-beating 8in tablet

that’s low on bezel and high on

resolution... and doesn’t need

a notch. Huawei achieves this

2-in-1 design by making the

Mate Xs fold with the screen

on the outside. That’s why, unlike

the competition, this is a killer

phone and tab.

But that’s not the full story,

as three things put Huawei’s

foldable supremacy in question:

the screen, the software and,

ouchy, that price.

First, the screen. It’s plastic,

as on most foldable phones,

and thus more fragile than glass

ones. This means the Mate Xs

is a bit of a daredevil with its

always-exposed display.

Next, the software. Huawei

has done a bang-up job of

unshackling itself after it was

banned from buddying up with

Google... but while it runs loads

of Android apps, many you may

take for granted just don’t work

properly on the Mate Xs.

There’s a lot to weigh up here,

especially given the final issue –

that insane price – but there’s no

denying the tech in this thing is

groundbreaking.

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£2299 / stuff.tv/MateXs

A big-screened superphone that transforms into a tiny-bezelled tablet

sounds great... but the Mate Xs has a display that dices with disaster