Huawei Mate XS review
The world of mobile devices is forever breaking new ground year upon year, with new innovation and technology it gets pushed to the absolute limits to create a device that will wow customers and generate massive sales. In recent years Samsung have led the way in releasing innovative products from the Galaxy S series to the highly popular Galaxy Note series, and recently with the Galaxy Fold device which is where people started to get serious about folding devices.
Enter the Huawei Mate XS!
I have been very interested in the Huawei Mate XS after seeing the first iteration (Mate X) last year but only sold in China, so after realising there was going to be an upgraded model, I became interested straight away.
In conjunction with Huawei UK I managed to obtain the Mate X for review purposes and after one month of testing I can put my views forward for people to decide if they too would like the experience, a big thanks to those involved to make this happen!
The Huawei Mate XS arrived in a well-presented box with separate little compartments for each item included with the phone. The included items were USB Type-C headphones which seem to be standard across the flagship Huawei devices, a 55-Watt super charger, USB Type-C to USB Type-C cable and a slip on case which covers the outer edges of the Mate XS.
On powering up the phone I was welcomed by the traditional Huawei logo and sound and setting up the phone was a breeze I had used the Phone Clone app which brough most of the data from my previous Galaxy Note 10+
As you will be reminded before you purchase the phone, you will not be able to use Google services and Apps on this phone, instead you have Phone Clone for transferring your data from the previous phone, Huawei App Gallery for lots of well-known Applications and then you can use Petal Search which will find direct links to legitimate Apps that you may also want. In my case for the likes of YouTube and Gmail etc... I just created a link to my homepage to each app, which is basically the same but a web version.
Once set up the phone looked amazing, when closed it was exactly the same size as my Samsung Galaxy Note 10+ (with the Protective Standing Cover on) but when opened it then became almost twice as wide, giving me a tablet like experience. There is a small button just below the camera array which when pressed releases the screen to be opened, then when the screen is closes it latches back until the button is pressed again, this is very neat, also the button has a red line in the middle so that you can easily find it.
In some reviews of the Mate XS online, the reviewer mentioned creaking on the hinge when opening the device but I didn’t experience this at all, it was clean opening and the same when closing and not once did I feel that I was forcing anything, it was a natural movement.
I have some size comparisons below,
Firstly, the front comparison with the Galaxy Note 10+...
The rear...
The thickness….
And finally compared to the Note 10+ and the iPad 4th Gen
Setting up included the biometrics, which in the case of the Mate XS, was a fingerprint scanner within the power button on the right-hand side, this works great and very rarely fails to open first time. The only other buttons on the outer casing of the Mate XS are the volume up/down. The phone itself is lag free and scrolls quickly and smoothly through the menus, it incorporates the Kirin 990 5G chip which is high spec and competes with the best out there, together with 8gb Ram, 512gb storage and a 4500mah battery to power this thing. Battery life for this type of device is really good and I had rarely got close to 50% usage on a full day and night, to charge that battery Huawei have included a 55 Watt super charger which tops the battery up in no time and another nice touch is the length of the charge cable, other manufacturers usually supply around 1 metre long but the Mate XS comes with nearly double that at around 1.8 metres. I didn’t get the chance to test 5G as it is not available in my area right now.
The phone itself is surprisingly comfortable to hold, however I do have large hands but below the camera array on the back makes for a comfortable holding area...
And on to that camera, the 40mp wide angle lens, 16mp ultra-wide angle lens and the 8mp telephoto lens all combine to make a terrific camera. Low light shots are very good and the 3x telephoto is as good as any I have used. When the screen is opened the phone becomes even easier to use when taking photos. There are plenty of options in the camera setting for even pro users to mess around with but overall, the camera is excellent and right up there with the best! One thing I would add to the camera however is a moveable camera shutter button so that it could be easier to take those awkward one-handed shots.
Using the Mate XS is very easy and the Android EMUI 10.0.1 software runs very smoothly. A couple of things to note, I couldn’t set a personalised message tone to each of my favourite contacts or set different wallpaper to message backgrounds, minor issues but this is a Huawei thing, not just this phone, also there doesn’t seem to be a native spam caller alert but there is an option to block the caller, also no option to block spam email.
Due to the nature of this device it is obviously going to be a fingerprint magnet but at least the non-screen part of the back is a matt finish, I can live with that!
One thing that I found that I haven’t seen advertised anywhere is the ability to project the screen on to a compatible TV, much like the Samsung Dex system and it works just as good in my view.
Phone calls on the Mate XS are clear and easy to navigate, an option for the phone to vibrate if you missed a notification/call would be a handy addition.
Connectivity is good, I have my Samsung Galaxy watch connected and it all works fine but I cannot get the Huawei native health/fitness app to sync steps with my Galaxy watch, my Samsung Galaxy Buds Live connect to and work great on the Mate XS, no issues there.
Private Space is another great idea from Huawei, it basically gives you a completely new phone when you log into it and can be very useful.
One other feature which I have not seen since my Sony Ericsson days is an option to power the phone off but still wake up and have the alarm wake you up, this is a great feature to have.
Not many phones these days come with an Infrared sensor but the Huawei Mate XS does, to add to the already massive list of features. The people that have seen me using the Mate XS have been very intrigued and to say they were very jealous is an understatement!
One thing I have noticed with the factory fitted screen protector is that it is starting to lift at the top of the screen right on the fold…
I have searched this issue and come across one or two people with the same issue and have been assured this can be changed under warranty at a Huawei service centre.
So, to round up
The Huawei Mate XS is a very neat device with all the benefits of a normal high spec mobile phone but with the added feature of opening out into a tablet sized device which makes it a pleasure to navigate.
I would definitely recommend the Huawei Mate XS and have no problem in using it as a daily phone for work and leisure.
The only things that may put people off purchasing this device would be the lack of Google Apps/Services and the hefty price tag, which currently sits at an eyewatering £1,999.99
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