Huawei Mate Xs: Expensive construction site, but an exciting glimpse into the future

The Huawei Mate Xs is a good foldable smartphone that with its display on the outside, has chosen a different approach to the concept than the Galaxy Fold. As a result, the display and its screen protector are stressed more than on the Samsung counterpart. However, this is not a huge issue thanks to the complimentary care service, provided there is a service center closeby.

While its $2,700 price points hardly makes the Huawei Mate Xs a bargain, the device does come with many high-end features. Apart from the 5G chipset, this also includes the camera and the fast storage. In spite of its already massive capacity, the latter can even be expanded. Here, users will be limited to Huawei's own Nano Memory cards. Huawei also has not skimped on the included accessories and included both a powerful charger and a long cable. Although we expected more in terms of the display's maximum brightness, the lack thereof is not a huge surprise in light of the fairly high energy consumption and likely a compromise that was necessary in order to achieve acceptable runtimes.

Furthermore, we criticize the Chinese manufacturer for the phone's build quality. The hinge creaks fairly loudly and makes a less robust impression than we had anticipated. On top of that, the back of the case is too flexible in some areas. Moreover, there are limitations due to the trade war with the US such as the omission of Google services.

The Huawei Mate Xs certainly is not a device for everyone. The high price will likely be enough to deter most prospective buyers. That being said, it is more than just a strong concept smartphone, there is certainly a niche for it and those who cannot wait to get a glimpse at what the future of smartphone holds will find a lot to like about the Mate Xs.