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Huawei Mate Xs Smartphone Review - Foldable with Drawbacks

Upgraded. After a lot of noise, the predecessor failed to make the jump to the international market. Now, with the Mate Xs, Huawei claims to have fixed all the issues and even updated the foldable smartphone's hardware. In our test, we will determine if it is $2,700 well spent.

Last year, the Mate X was Huawei's quick response to the Samsung Galaxy Fold. While the Korean manufacturer was fighting with the first generation of its foldable smartphone, the first problems with the Mate X began to surface in the summer, as the highly regarded hinge was possibly damaging the display. On top of that, the trade war, which begun in early 2019 between the US and China, was an added obstacle that prompted Huawei to ultimately hold off on shipping the Mate X to Western markets.

Despite the restrictions, the upgraded successor named Mate Xs has now been released and offers an improved hinge, more storage, a more powerful SoC and 5G capabilities. Simultaneously, the price has climbed up to a staggering 2,499 Euros ($2,700).

Huawei Mate Xs (Mate X Series)
Processor
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G 8 x - 2.9 GHz, Cortex-A76/-A55
Graphics adapter
Memory
8 GB 
, LPDDR4x
Display
8.00 inch 10.15:9, 2480 x 2200 pixel 414 PPI, capacitive touchscreen, 10 multi-touch points, OLED, Folded: primary 6.6" display (2480x1148 pixels, 19.44:9), secondary 6.38" display (2480x892 pixels, 25:9), glossy: yes, 60 Hz
Storage
512 GB UFS 3.0 Flash, 512 GB 
, 496.35 GB free
Connections
1 USB 3.0 / 3.1 Gen1, 1 HDMI, 1 DisplayPort, Audio Connections: USB Type-C, Card Reader: Nano Memory card (up to 256 GB), 1 Fingerprint Reader, NFC, Brightness Sensor, Sensors: Accelerometer, proximity sensor, RGB sensor, hall effect sensor, gyroscope, g-force sensor, digital compass, barometer, OTG, infrared transmitter
Networking
802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (a/b/g/n = Wi-Fi 4/ac = Wi-Fi 5/), Bluetooth 5.0, GSM/GPRS/Edge (850, 900, 1800 and 1900 MHz), UMTS/HSPA+ (bands 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8 and 19), LTE Cat. 20 (bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 12, 17, 18, 19, 20, 26, 28, 32, 34, 38, 39, 40 and 41), 5G (bands N1, 3, 28, 38, 41, 77, 78 and 79), Dual SIM, LTE, 5G, GPS
Size
height x width x depth (in mm): 11 x 161.3 x 146.2 ( = 0.43 x 6.35 x 5.76 in)
Battery
4500 mAh Lithium-Polymer
Charging
fast charging / Quickcharge
Operating System
Android 10
Camera
Primary Camera: 40 MPix (f/1.8, 27 mm) + 8MP (Telezoom, f/2.4, 52 mm) + 16MP (ultra-wide angle, f/2.2, 17 mm) + ToF camera, Camera2 API level: Limited
Additional features
Speakers: Dual speakers, Keyboard: onscreen, Charger, USB cable, headset, foldable case, SIM tool, documentation, EMUI 10.0, 24 Months Warranty, Hybrid SIM, head SAR: 0.49 W/kg, body SAR: 0.99 W/kg, fanless
Weight
300 g ( = 10.58 oz / 0.66 pounds) ( = 0 oz / 0 pounds)
Price
2700 Euro
Note: The manufacturer may use components from different suppliers including display panels, drives or memory sticks with similar specifications.

 

Competing Devices

Rating
Date
Model
Weight
Drive
Size
Resolution
Best Price
82.6 %
04/2020
Huawei Mate Xs
Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16
300 g512 GB UFS 3.0 Flash8.00"2480x2200
86.4 %
10/2019
Samsung Galaxy Fold
SD 855, Adreno 640
276 g512 GB UFS 3.0 Flash7.30"2152x1536
82.5 %
03/2020
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip
SD 855+, Adreno 640
183 g256 GB UFS 3.0 Flash6.70"2636x1080
87.1 %
09/2019
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU
226 g64 GB SSD6.50"2688x1242
84.6 %
11/2019
LG G8X ThinQ
SD 855, Adreno 640
192 g128 GB UFS 2.1 Flash6.40"2340x1080
89.4 %
04/2020
Huawei P40 Pro
Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16
209 g256 GB UFS 3.0 Flash6.58"2640x1200

Case - Creaky Construction

When opened, the Huawei Mate Xs is an almost square 8-inch tablet that is very slim and comfortable to hold thanks to its thick bump in the center. When folded, the smartphone is not exactly a lightweight at 300 g and although it is fairly thick at 11 mm, it is still significantly thinner than the Fold (17.1 mm).

The foldable plastic panel is covered by a screen protector that should not be removed. The borders of the latter are clearly noticeable, and they collect dust relatively quickly. The hinge produces a crunch sound with every fold and the plastic cover covers the folds on the back. The plastic cover and the folds yield to small amounts of pressure in some places and the back can be slightly lifted, which does not inspire confidence in the robustness or dirt resistance of the construction. The build quality is good otherwise.

The display is spread apart by a fairly powerful spring mechanism that makes it almost impossible to use the hinge of the Mate Xs as a stand. The battery is fixed and there is no certification for water and dust protection.

Size Comparison

167.3 mm / 6.59 inch 73.6 mm / 2.9 inch 7.2 mm / 0.2835 inch 183 g0.4034 lbs161.3 mm / 6.35 inch 146.2 mm / 5.76 inch 11 mm / 0.4331 inch 300 g0.661 lbs160.9 mm / 6.33 inch 117.9 mm / 4.64 inch 6.9 mm / 0.2717 inch 276 g0.608 lbs159.3 mm / 6.27 inch 75.8 mm / 2.98 inch 8.4 mm / 0.3307 inch 192 g0.4233 lbs158 mm / 6.22 inch 77.8 mm / 3.06 inch 8.1 mm / 0.3189 inch 226 g0.4982 lbs148 mm / 5.83 inch 105 mm / 4.13 inch 1 mm / 0.03937 inch 1.5 g0.00331 lbs

Features - Mate Xs Supports NM Cards

Despite its sizeable internal storage, the total storage capacity of the Huawei Mate Xs can also be expanded via a Nano Memory card with up to 256 GB. While the cards are smaller than traditional microSD cards, their maximum capacities are lower and they are more expensive.

The USB 3.1 port is useful for fast data transfers and also for wired video output to HDMI and DisplayPort interfaces. Similarly, there is a desktop mode available.

There is also a wide range of additional features. Bluetooth 5.0 and NFC are supported, and there is an IR blaster for controlling electronic devices and DSLRs as well as wired quick-charging with up to 55 watts. By contrast, there is no headphone jack, FM receiver or notification LED and the tasks of the latter are instead handled by the optional always-on display feature.

Top edge (closed): microphone, card slot, speaker, infrared
Top edge (closed): microphone, card slot, speaker, infrared
Left edge (closed): No connectivity
Left edge (closed): No connectivity
Right edge (closed): power button/fingerprint sensor, volume control
Right edge (closed): power button/fingerprint sensor, volume control
Bottom edge (closed): microphone, speaker, USB port
Bottom edge (closed): microphone, speaker, USB port
Top edge (opened): card slot, infrared, microphone
Top edge (opened): card slot, infrared, microphone
Left edge (opened): panel cover
Left edge (opened): panel cover
Right edge (opened): volume control, power button/fingerprint sensor
Right edge (opened): volume control, power button/fingerprint sensor
Bottom edge (opened): USB, microphones, speaker
Bottom edge (opened): USB, microphones, speaker

Software - Huawei Phone with EMUI 10.0 and AppGallery

The Huawei Mate Xs uses Android 10 as its operating system with Huawei's own AppGallery instead of Google services. Due to this, many popular apps are not available. AppSearch partially makes up for this by searching for apps on freely accessible stores including the Amazon app store and APK web pages. A handy feature of the AppGallery allows users to update apps downloaded from external sources. Additionally, Huawei offers many alternative apps from other developers.

Since there is no DRM certification, protected content cannot be viewed in HD quality.

Communication and GNSS - World Phone with 5G and Wi-Fi 5

The Wi-Fi module of the Mate Xs supports Wi-Fi 5 with VHT160 and its transfer rates in conjunction with our reference router Netgear Nighthawk AX12 are above average, at least when it comes to receiving data. The range is good as well.

In terms of mobile networking, the foldable Huawei phone is compatible with all modern mobile communications standards and supports a very wide frequency range. As a result, users should be able to use the smartphone worldwide without any issues.

Networking
iperf3 transmit AX12
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
A13 Bionic GPU, A13 Bionic, 64 GB SSD
589 (461min - 625max) MBit/s +9%
Samsung Galaxy Fold
Adreno 640, SD 855, 512 GB UFS 3.0 Flash
576 (544min - 601max) MBit/s +6%
Huawei Mate Xs
Mali-G76 MP16, Kirin 990 5G, 512 GB UFS 3.0 Flash
542 (479min - 631max) MBit/s
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip
Adreno 640, SD 855+, 256 GB UFS 3.0 Flash
474 (405min - 541max) MBit/s -13%
LG G8X ThinQ
Adreno 640, SD 855, 128 GB UFS 2.1 Flash
343 (290min - 411max) MBit/s -37%
iperf3 receive AX12
Huawei Mate Xs
Mali-G76 MP16, Kirin 990 5G, 512 GB UFS 3.0 Flash
963 (471min - 1110max) MBit/s
Samsung Galaxy Fold
Adreno 640, SD 855, 512 GB UFS 3.0 Flash
662 (623min - 679max) MBit/s -31%
LG G8X ThinQ
Adreno 640, SD 855, 128 GB UFS 2.1 Flash
651 (539min - 678max) MBit/s -32%
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip
Adreno 640, SD 855+, 256 GB UFS 3.0 Flash
605 (299min - 640max) MBit/s -37%
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
A13 Bionic GPU, A13 Bionic, 64 GB SSD
580 (550min - 597max) MBit/s -40%
Average of class Smartphone
  (last 2 years)
376 MBit/s -61%
06012018024030036042048054060066072078084090096010201080Tooltip
Huawei Mate Xs; iperf3 receive AX12; iperf 3.1.3: Ø947 (471-1110)
Huawei Mate Xs; iperf3 transmit AX12; iperf 3.1.3: Ø542 (479-631)
Indoors
Outdoors
GNSS

The Mate Xs supports the satellite networks GPS, QZSS, Galileo, GLONASS and BeiDou for locating purposes with the first three supporting dual-band. Outdoors, the satellite uplink is established very quickly, whereas indoors, it requires slightly more time and the accuracy is lower as well.

We also compared the foldable smartphone to the Garmin Edge 500 on a short bike ride and the test device performed admirably with very precise locating capabilities and only minor deviations from the traversed route.

Garmin Edge 500 - Overview
Garmin Edge 500 - Overview
Garmin Edge 500 - Lake
Garmin Edge 500 - Lake
Garmin Edge 500 - Turn
Garmin Edge 500 - Turn
Huawei Mate Xs - Overview
Huawei Mate Xs - Overview
Huawei Mate Xs - Lake
Huawei Mate Xs - Lake
Huawei Mate Xs - Turn
Huawei Mate Xs - Turn

Telephony and Call Quality

While Huawei generally delivers a good experience on its premium devices in terms of the call quality, the Mate Xs is unfortunately an exception. Voices captured by the foldable smartphone sound slightly distorted and very dull, while also being accompanied by a permanent high-pitched sound on our test device. The excellent ambient noise cancelling makes this even more disappointing.

While the voices of Mate users sound slightly brighter when using the speakerphone, the clarity still leaves something to be desired. Furthermore, there is a fairly noticeable echo. That being said, the range of the microphone is good and we did not observe a drop-off in terms of the call quality after putting the phone down on a table or on a surface even farther away.

The Wi-Fi calling and VoLTE features are supported. The Mate Xs has a hybrid SIM slot, which accepts either two nano-SIM cards or a memory card instead of the second SIM card. There is no integrated eSIM.

Cameras - Strong Quad-camera System for All Directions

Mate Xs selife

On paper, the camera setup of the Huawei Mate Xs is reminiscent of that of the P30 with an extra ToF sensor. The zoom optics is capable of 3x optical zoom, 5x hybrid zoom and an up to 30x digital zoom. Furthermore, the telephoto lens is the only sensor to support optical image stabilization.

Thanks to the foldable display, the main camera doubles as a front camera, which not only offers a better quality but also more options in general. Additionally, the secondary screen can be activated when the phone is closed, allowing both the person in front of and behind the camera to get a look at the potential picture.

The quality of the Leica quad-camera is very good and certainly comparable to that of the aforementioned P30. For dark scenes in particular, an extra OIS for the main optics would have been desirable, although the software features are fairly good at hiding the effects of the missing OIS.

The Mate Xs is able to capture video at up to Ultra HD and up to 60 frames per second, although then, the recordings are limited to 10 minutes. The autofocus is very fast and quickly brings visible faces into focus. The microphones showed themselves to be very sensitive during video recordings, providing clear mono sound with little static and a slight echo in some cases. Additionally, the zoom between the individual optics is infinitely variable from the ultra-wide-angle lens all the way to 10x zoom.

Image Comparison

Choose a scene and navigate within the first image. One click changes the position on touchscreens. One click on the zoomed-in image opens the original in a new window. The first image shows the scaled photograph of the test device.

Scene 1Scene 2Scene 3Scene 4

Under controlled lighting conditions, the Mate Xs also performs well. However, at its full 40 MP, the test chart does not look extraordinarily sharp. In dark environments, the optics is still able to capture a vast amount of light.

There are no severe deviations in terms of the color representation. In daylight, the colors are brightened fairly aggressively, which tends to result in a bigger discrepancy between the image and the actual color than in the dark.

ColorChecker
11.4 ∆E
5.7 ∆E
9.6 ∆E
14.7 ∆E
7.8 ∆E
6.3 ∆E
3.7 ∆E
8.3 ∆E
5.3 ∆E
4.5 ∆E
6.8 ∆E
6 ∆E
7.7 ∆E
13.1 ∆E
8.4 ∆E
2.7 ∆E
3.5 ∆E
16.1 ∆E
3.8 ∆E
2 ∆E
5.5 ∆E
5.8 ∆E
4 ∆E
6.4 ∆E
ColorChecker Huawei Mate Xs: 7.03 ∆E min: 2.03 - max: 16.1 ∆E
ColorChecker
7.3 ∆E
10.3 ∆E
9 ∆E
7 ∆E
10.6 ∆E
10.2 ∆E
10.7 ∆E
6.6 ∆E
9.6 ∆E
8 ∆E
10.6 ∆E
14 ∆E
6 ∆E
8 ∆E
5.2 ∆E
12.5 ∆E
9.9 ∆E
11.4 ∆E
11.6 ∆E
11.1 ∆E
10.9 ∆E
13.5 ∆E
13.8 ∆E
12.3 ∆E
ColorChecker Huawei Mate Xs: 10.01 ∆E min: 5.16 - max: 14.01 ∆E

Accessories and Warranty - Strong Charger Included

The package of the Huawei Mate Xs includes a flexible protective frame for the smartphone, a USB Type-C headset, a charger, a USB cable (Type-C to Type-C), a SIM tool and documentation. The charger can deliver up to 65 watts, making it very powerful and suitable for charging even smaller laptops, and at around 1.8 meters the USB cable is relatively long.

Huawei offers a two-year warranty to customers in Europe and China. In a warranty case within this period, pick-up and returns are free. Additionally, users have the option to bring the Mate Xs to a Huawei service center for free maintenance and display protection replacement. Users who accidentally damage the display will receive a one-time 50% discount in the first year or a 30% discount in the second year on a display replacement.

Input Devices & Handling - Mate Xs with a Good Fingerprint Sensor

The screen protector on the Huawei Mate Xs has decent gliding properties and the touchscreen below it responds to inputs quickly and reliably. SwiftKey has been chosen as the keyboard app and offers very large keys when the phone is opened and oblong keys when the smartphone is closed. Alternatively, other layouts can be set up.

Furthermore, the Mate Xs also comes with familiar accessibility tools such as a glove mode and a one-handed mode. However, neither the three-key navigation nor gestures of the latter work after the smartphone has been opened. While knuckle gestures do work, the display visibly yields to knocking, which never quite feels right.

The fingerprint sensor on the side works quickly and reliably, whereas facial recognition is not available. Users who like to multi-task can display up to three apps simultaneously, although this is not possible with all apps and sometimes is slightly cumbersome to set up.

 

Display - Flexible, But Not Particularly Bright

Subpixel array

The 8.0-inch foldable OLED display of the Huawei Mate Xs has a resolution of 2480x2200 pixels, which results in an overall high sharpness. While the nearly square aspect ratio can be advantageous during daily use when viewing a lot of text, there are big black bars shown when watching videos.

The maximum brightness of the panel is not particularly high, and here it is unable to match current high-end competitors. In our comparison, the iPhone 11 Pro Max is the frontrunner in this discipline with a brightness that is almost twice as high as that of our test device. Even when displaying evenly distributed bright and dark areas (APL50), the brightness only increases to up to 474 cd/m². At least there are no additional limitations when controlling the brightness manually.

As per usual, the OLED panel uses pulse-width modulation to control the brightness and the frequency of our Mate Xs fluctuates slightly between 235.8 Hz and 242.7 Hz. Thus, we expect that sensitive users will experience issues. Under the menu item eye care, there is not only a blue-light filter but also a so-called flicker reduction feature (DC dimming), which puts the panel into a consistent 60-Hz mode.

418
cd/m²
417
cd/m²
415
cd/m²
421
cd/m²
417
cd/m²
417
cd/m²
420
cd/m²
418
cd/m²
421
cd/m²
Distribution of brightness
tested with X-Rite i1Pro 2
Maximum: 421 cd/m² (Nits) Average: 418.2 cd/m² Minimum: 1.57 cd/m²
Brightness Distribution: 99 %
Center on Battery: 417 cd/m²
Contrast: ∞:1 (Black: 0 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 2.6 | 0.5-29.43 Ø5
ΔE Greyscale 2 | 0.57-98 Ø5.3
96.3% sRGB (Calman 2D)
Gamma: 2.31
Huawei Mate Xs
OLED, 2480x2200, 8.00
Samsung Galaxy Fold
Infinity Flex-Display (Dynamic AMOLED, 7,3") und Super AMOLED (4,6"), 2152x1536, 7.30
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip
Dynamic AMOLED, 2636x1080, 6.70
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
OLED, 2688x1242, 6.50
LG G8X ThinQ
OLED, 2340x1080, 6.40
Screen
24%
19%
47%
-48%
Brightness middle
417
531
27%
705
69%
790
89%
570
37%
Brightness
418
532
27%
709
70%
790
89%
581
39%
Brightness Distribution
99
97
-2%
97
-2%
97
-2%
90
-9%
Black Level *
Colorchecker dE 2000 *
2.6
2.3
12%
3.1
-19%
1.4
46%
6.27
-141%
Colorchecker dE 2000 max. *
7.7
3.7
52%
5.4
30%
3.4
56%
9.75
-27%
Greyscale dE 2000 *
2
1.5
25%
2.7
-35%
1.9
5%
5.7
-185%
Gamma
2.31 95%
2.15 102%
2.11 104%
2.23 99%
2.37 93%
CCT
6276 104%
6631 98%
6264 104%
6466 101%
7309 89%

* ... smaller is better

Screen Flickering / PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation)

To dim the screen, some notebooks will simply cycle the backlight on and off in rapid succession - a method called Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) . This cycling frequency should ideally be undetectable to the human eye. If said frequency is too low, users with sensitive eyes may experience strain or headaches or even notice the flickering altogether.
Screen flickering / PWM detected 242.7 Hz ≤ 99 % brightness setting

The display backlight flickers at 242.7 Hz (worst case, e.g., utilizing PWM) Flickering detected at a brightness setting of 99 % and below. There should be no flickering or PWM above this brightness setting.

The frequency of 242.7 Hz is relatively low, so sensitive users will likely notice flickering and experience eyestrain at the stated brightness setting and below.

In comparison: 53 % of all tested devices do not use PWM to dim the display. If PWM was detected, an average of 18100 (minimum: 5 - maximum: 3846000) Hz was measured.

We further analyzed the color accuracy of the Mate Xs with the software CalMAN. Like with the Chinese manufacturer's other phones, users of the foldable phone can choose between the two color profiles vivid and normal with the former being the default. Unlike its siblings however, the Mate Xs does not use the smaller sRGB color space when the mode normal is selected to achieve a more accurate representation. Instead, it uses the larger DCI-P3 color space, which is also targeted by the vivid mode. Consequentially, the Mate Xs achieves slightly less precise deltaE values and reaches the most accurate colors with a combination of the mode vivid and the color balance setting warm. Although the color accuracy is quite good overall, it is just average compared to the other devices in our comparison.

Grayscale (mode: Vivid, color balance: Standard, target color space: P3)
Grayscale (mode: Vivid, color balance: Standard, target color space: P3)
ColorChecker (mode: Vivid, color balance: Standard, target color space: P3)
ColorChecker (mode: Vivid, color balance: Standard, target color space: P3)
Color space (mode: Vivid, color balance: Standard, target color space: P3)
Color space (mode: Vivid, color balance: Standard, target color space: P3)
Saturation Sweeps (mode: Vivid, color balance: Standard, target color space: P3)
Saturation Sweeps (mode: Vivid, color balance: Standard, target color space: P3)
Grayscale (mode: Vivid, color balance: Warm, target color space: P3)
Grayscale (mode: Vivid, color balance: Warm, target color space: P3)
ColorChecker (mode: Vivid, color balance: Warm, target color space: P3)
ColorChecker (mode: Vivid, color balance: Warm, target color space: P3)
Color space (mode: Vivid, color balance: Warm, target color space: P3)
Color space (mode: Vivid, color balance: Warm, target color space: P3)
Saturation Sweeps (mode: Vivid, color balance: Warm, target color space: P3)
Saturation Sweeps (mode: Vivid, color balance: Warm, target color space: P3)
Grayscale (mode: Normal, color balance: Standard, target color space: P3)
Grayscale (mode: Normal, color balance: Standard, target color space: P3)
ColorChecker (mode: Normal, color balance: Standard, target color space: P3)
ColorChecker (mode: Normal, color balance: Standard, target color space: P3)
Color space (mode: Normal, color balance: Standard, target color space: P3)
Color space (mode: Normal, color balance: Standard, target color space: P3)
Saturation Sweeps (mode: Normal, color balance: Standard, target color space: P3)
Saturation Sweeps (mode: Normal, color balance: Standard, target color space: P3)

Display Response Times

Display response times show how fast the screen is able to change from one color to the next. Slow response times can lead to afterimages and can cause moving objects to appear blurry (ghosting). Gamers of fast-paced 3D titles should pay special attention to fast response times.
       Response Time Black to White
3.2 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined↗ 2 ms rise
↘ 1.2 ms fall
The screen shows very fast response rates in our tests and should be very well suited for fast-paced gaming.
In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.1 (minimum) to 240 (maximum) ms. » 9 % of all devices are better.
This means that the measured response time is better than the average of all tested devices (21.6 ms).
       Response Time 50% Grey to 80% Grey
5.2 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined↗ 2.8 ms rise
↘ 2.4 ms fall
The screen shows very fast response rates in our tests and should be very well suited for fast-paced gaming.
In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.2 (minimum) to 636 (maximum) ms. » 12 % of all devices are better.
This means that the measured response time is better than the average of all tested devices (33.9 ms).

Outdoors, we recommend that users of the Huawei Mate Xs should remain in the shade. The screen is not bright enough to be usable in direct sunlight and its contents are then hard to discern.

When viewing the display from steep angles, the perceived colors quickly become warmer and the brightness decreases slightly. The display is otherwise solid with typical OLED characteristics.

Viewing angles of the Huawei Mate Xs

Performance - Kirin 990 5G without Turbo

Huawei has consistently equipped all of its premium products from the first half of 2020 with the Kirin 990 5G and the Mate Xs is no exception. Compared to the non-5G 990, the maximum clock rate of this SoC is slightly higher. However, Huawei has not opted to give users access to the performance mode this time around, and although this is inconsequential for day-to-day use, it also means that the full potential of the chipset is locked away.

In our benchmarks, this results in a noticeable difference when compared to the P40 Pro, which uses the same SoC but with the performance mode available. As the 3DMark results show, this also heavily affects the graphics performance.

Geekbench 5.5
Single-Core (sort by value)
Huawei Mate Xs
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
766 Points
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ / 855 Plus, Adreno 640, 8192
738 Points -4%
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
Apple A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU, 4096
1326 Points +73%
Huawei P40 Pro
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
779 Points +2%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (755 - 783, n=4)
771 Points +1%
Average of class Smartphone
  (119 - 2138, n=211, last 2 years)
900 Points +17%
Multi-Core (sort by value)
Huawei Mate Xs
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
2972 Points
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ / 855 Plus, Adreno 640, 8192
2665 Points -10%
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
Apple A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU, 4096
3476 Points +17%
Huawei P40 Pro
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
3165 Points +6%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (2972 - 3183, n=4)
3077 Points +4%
Average of class Smartphone
  (473 - 6681, n=211, last 2 years)
2944 Points -1%
OpenCL Score 5.1 (sort by value)
Huawei Mate Xs
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
3600 Points
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ / 855 Plus, Adreno 640, 8192
2365 Points -34%
Huawei P40 Pro
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
4511 Points +25%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (3600 - 4586, n=4)
4076 Points +13%
Average of class Smartphone
  (516 - 18876, n=39, last 2 years)
6770 Points +88%
Vulkan Score 5.1 (sort by value)
Huawei Mate Xs
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
2757 Points
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ / 855 Plus, Adreno 640, 8192
2096 Points -24%
Huawei P40 Pro
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
3979 Points +44%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (2693 - 3979, n=4)
3350 Points +22%
Average of class Smartphone
  (281 - 18656, n=45, last 2 years)
7243 Points +163%
Geekbench 4.4
64 Bit Single-Core Score (sort by value)
Huawei Mate Xs
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
3915 Points
Huawei P40 Pro
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
3935 Points +1%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (3915 - 3935, n=2)
3925 Points 0%
Average of class Smartphone
  (800 - 9574, n=90, last 2 years)
5063 Points +29%
64 Bit Multi-Core Score (sort by value)
Huawei Mate Xs
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
12324 Points
Huawei P40 Pro
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
12774 Points +4%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (12324 - 12774, n=2)
12549 Points +2%
Average of class Smartphone
  (2630 - 26990, n=90, last 2 years)
13549 Points +10%
Compute RenderScript Score (sort by value)
Huawei Mate Xs
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
8309 Points
Huawei P40 Pro
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
11557 Points +39%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (8309 - 11557, n=2)
9933 Points +20%
Average of class Smartphone
  (2053 - 18432, n=70, last 2 years)
10590 Points +27%
PCMark for Android
Work performance score (sort by value)
Huawei Mate Xs
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
10628 Points
Samsung Galaxy Fold
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 12288
12276 Points +16%
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ / 855 Plus, Adreno 640, 8192
12665 Points +19%
LG G8X ThinQ
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 6144
11795 Points +11%
Huawei P40 Pro
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
14352 Points +35%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (10628 - 14814, n=4)
12766 Points +20%
Average of class Smartphone
  (10884 - 19297, n=2, last 2 years)
15091 Points +42%
Work 2.0 performance score (sort by value)
Huawei Mate Xs
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
8512 Points
Samsung Galaxy Fold
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 12288
9655 Points +13%
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ / 855 Plus, Adreno 640, 8192
10261 Points +21%
LG G8X ThinQ
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 6144
9259 Points +9%
Huawei P40 Pro
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
11341 Points +33%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (8512 - 11509, n=4)
10025 Points +18%
Average of class Smartphone
  (9101 - 12871, n=4, last 2 years)
10872 Points +28%
3DMark
1280x720 offscreen Ice Storm Unlimited Score (sort by value)
Huawei Mate Xs
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
46141 Points
Samsung Galaxy Fold
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 12288
68675 Points +49%
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ / 855 Plus, Adreno 640, 8192
80419 Points +74%
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
Apple A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU, 4096
96826 Points +110%
LG G8X ThinQ
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 6144
68517 Points +48%
Huawei P40 Pro
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
70593 Points +53%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (46141 - 70593, n=4)
58351 Points +26%
1280x720 offscreen Ice Storm Unlimited Graphics Score (sort by value)
Huawei Mate Xs
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
60860 Points
Samsung Galaxy Fold
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 12288
106066 Points +74%
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ / 855 Plus, Adreno 640, 8192
108418 Points +78%
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
Apple A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU, 4096
206190 Points +239%
LG G8X ThinQ
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 6144
103509 Points +70%
Huawei P40 Pro
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
82652 Points +36%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (60860 - 82652, n=4)
72875 Points +20%
1280x720 offscreen Ice Storm Unlimited Physics (sort by value)
Huawei Mate Xs
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
24989 Points
Samsung Galaxy Fold
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 12288
30743 Points +23%
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ / 855 Plus, Adreno 640, 8192
42240 Points +69%
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
Apple A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU, 4096
33898 Points +36%
LG G8X ThinQ
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 6144
31384 Points +26%
Huawei P40 Pro
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
46731 Points +87%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (22857 - 46731, n=4)
35317 Points +41%
2560x1440 Sling Shot OpenGL ES 3.0 (sort by value)
Huawei Mate Xs
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
4076 Points
Samsung Galaxy Fold
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 12288
7479 Points +83%
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ / 855 Plus, Adreno 640, 8192
7363 Points +81%
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
Apple A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU, 4096
7893 Points +94%
LG G8X ThinQ
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 6144
6780 Points +66%
Huawei P40 Pro
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
6739 Points +65%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (3973 - 6739, n=4)
5362 Points +32%
Average of class Smartphone
  (712 - 7285, n=52, last 2 years)
3548 Points -13%
2560x1440 Sling Shot OpenGL ES 3.0 Graphics (sort by value)
Huawei Mate Xs
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
4044 Points
Samsung Galaxy Fold
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 12288
9918 Points +145%
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ / 855 Plus, Adreno 640, 8192
9480 Points +134%
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
Apple A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU, 4096
11302 Points +179%
LG G8X ThinQ
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 6144
9806 Points +142%
Huawei P40 Pro
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
7499 Points +85%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (3894 - 7499, n=4)
5702 Points +41%
Average of class Smartphone
  (618 - 9451, n=52, last 2 years)
3905 Points -3%
2560x1440 Sling Shot OpenGL ES 3.0 Physics (sort by value)
Huawei Mate Xs
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
4192 Points
Samsung Galaxy Fold
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 12288
4019 Points -4%
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ / 855 Plus, Adreno 640, 8192
4133 Points -1%
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
Apple A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU, 4096
3839 Points -8%
LG G8X ThinQ
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 6144
3260 Points -22%
Huawei P40 Pro
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
4975 Points +19%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (4192 - 4975, n=4)
4605 Points +10%
Average of class Smartphone
  (1093 - 4525, n=52, last 2 years)
3005 Points -28%
2560x1440 Sling Shot OpenGL ES 3.0 Unlimited (sort by value)
Huawei Mate Xs
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
4213 Points
Samsung Galaxy Fold
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 12288
7434 Points +76%
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ / 855 Plus, Adreno 640, 8192
6601 Points +57%
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
Apple A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU, 4096
Points -100%
LG G8X ThinQ
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 6144
6795 Points +61%
Huawei P40 Pro
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
7286 Points +73%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (4213 - 7286, n=4)
5793 Points +38%
Average of class Smartphone
  (704 - 23024, n=115, last 2 years)
9038 Points +115%
2560x1440 Sling Shot OpenGL ES 3.0 Unlimited Graphics (sort by value)
Huawei Mate Xs
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
4064 Points
Samsung Galaxy Fold
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 12288
9489 Points +133%
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ / 855 Plus, Adreno 640, 8192
7751 Points +91%
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
Apple A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU, 4096
Points -100%
LG G8X ThinQ
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 6144
9724 Points +139%
Huawei P40 Pro
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
7905 Points +95%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (4064 - 7905, n=4)
6024 Points +48%
Average of class Smartphone
  (607 - 45492, n=114, last 2 years)
15757 Points +288%
2560x1440 Sling Shot OpenGL ES 3.0 Unlimited Physics (sort by value)
Huawei Mate Xs
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
4836 Points
Samsung Galaxy Fold
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 12288
4228 Points -13%
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ / 855 Plus, Adreno 640, 8192
4344 Points -10%
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
Apple A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU, 4096
Points -100%
LG G8X ThinQ
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 6144
3308 Points -32%
Huawei P40 Pro
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
5718 Points +18%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (4836 - 5721, n=4)
5318 Points +10%
Average of class Smartphone
  (1075 - 8749, n=114, last 2 years)
4335 Points -10%
2560x1440 Sling Shot Extreme (ES 3.1) (sort by value)
Huawei Mate Xs
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
5689 Points
Samsung Galaxy Fold
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 12288
5722 Points +1%
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ / 855 Plus, Adreno 640, 8192
5679 Points 0%
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
Apple A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU, 4096
5471 Points -4%
LG G8X ThinQ
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 6144
5743 Points +1%
Huawei P40 Pro
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
6060 Points +7%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (5651 - 6069, n=4)
5867 Points +3%
Average of class Smartphone
  (286 - 7890, n=102, last 2 years)
2685 Points -53%
2560x1440 Sling Shot Extreme (ES 3.1) Graphics (sort by value)
Huawei Mate Xs
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
6265 Points
Samsung Galaxy Fold
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 12288
6350 Points +1%
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ / 855 Plus, Adreno 640, 8192
6314 Points +1%
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
Apple A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU, 4096
6088 Points -3%
LG G8X ThinQ
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 6144
6275 Points 0%
Huawei P40 Pro
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
6465 Points +3%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (6244 - 6472, n=4)
6362 Points +2%
Average of class Smartphone
  (240 - 9814, n=102, last 2 years)
2675 Points -57%
2560x1440 Sling Shot Extreme (ES 3.1) Physics (sort by value)
Huawei Mate Xs
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
4305 Points
Samsung Galaxy Fold
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 12288
4250 Points -1%
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ / 855 Plus, Adreno 640, 8192
4201 Points -2%
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
Apple A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU, 4096
4038 Points -6%
LG G8X ThinQ
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 6144
4429 Points +3%
Huawei P40 Pro
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
4971 Points +15%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (4242 - 4983, n=4)
4625 Points +7%
Average of class Smartphone
  (858 - 4679, n=102, last 2 years)
3127 Points -27%
2560x1440 Sling Shot Extreme (ES 3.1) Unlimited (sort by value)
Huawei Mate Xs
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
4422 Points
Samsung Galaxy Fold
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 12288
6227 Points +41%
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ / 855 Plus, Adreno 640, 8192
5141 Points +16%
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
Apple A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU, 4096
Points -100%
LG G8X ThinQ
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 6144
5851 Points +32%
Huawei P40 Pro
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
6508 Points +47%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (4422 - 6508, n=4)
5895 Points +33%
Average of class Smartphone
  (317 - 20131, n=174, last 2 years)
6545 Points +48%
2560x1440 Sling Shot Extreme (ES 3.1) Unlimited Graphics (sort by value)
Huawei Mate Xs
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
5672 Points
Samsung Galaxy Fold
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 12288
7114 Points +25%
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ / 855 Plus, Adreno 640, 8192
5424 Points -4%
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
Apple A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU, 4096
Points -100%
LG G8X ThinQ
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 6144
6857 Points +21%
Huawei P40 Pro
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
6771 Points +19%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (5672 - 6771, n=4)
6451 Points +14%
Average of class Smartphone
  (267 - 33376, n=173, last 2 years)
9330 Points +64%
2560x1440 Sling Shot Extreme (ES 3.1) Unlimited Physics (sort by value)
Huawei Mate Xs
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
2497 Points
Samsung Galaxy Fold
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 12288
4336 Points +74%
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ / 855 Plus, Adreno 640, 8192
4348 Points +74%
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
Apple A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU, 4096
Points -100%
LG G8X ThinQ
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 6144
3866 Points +55%
Huawei P40 Pro
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
5728 Points +129%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (2497 - 5766, n=4)
4729 Points +89%
Average of class Smartphone
  (938 - 8480, n=173, last 2 years)
4158 Points +67%
2560x1440 Sling Shot Extreme (Vulkan) Unlimited (sort by value)
Huawei Mate Xs
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
3948 Points
Samsung Galaxy Fold
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 12288
4974 Points +26%
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ / 855 Plus, Adreno 640, 8192
3981 Points +1%
LG G8X ThinQ
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 6144
4838 Points +23%
Huawei P40 Pro
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
5648 Points +43%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (3948 - 5648, n=4)
5174 Points +31%
Average of class Smartphone
  (365 - 6439, n=96, last 2 years)
2611 Points -34%
2560x1440 Sling Shot Extreme (Vulkan) Unlimited Graphics (sort by value)
Huawei Mate Xs
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
4046 Points
Samsung Galaxy Fold
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 12288
5884 Points +45%
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ / 855 Plus, Adreno 640, 8192
4250 Points +5%
LG G8X ThinQ
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 6144
5733 Points +42%
Huawei P40 Pro
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
6360 Points +57%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (4046 - 6360, n=4)
5773 Points +43%
Average of class Smartphone
  (298 - 8601, n=96, last 2 years)
2775 Points -31%
2560x1440 Sling Shot Extreme (Vulkan) Unlimited Physics (sort by value)
Huawei Mate Xs
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
3638 Points
Samsung Galaxy Fold
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 12288
3228 Points -11%
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ / 855 Plus, Adreno 640, 8192
3259 Points -10%
LG G8X ThinQ
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 6144
3128 Points -14%
Huawei P40 Pro
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
4057 Points +12%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (3638 - 4057, n=4)
3857 Points +6%
Average of class Smartphone
  (1667 - 3525, n=96, last 2 years)
2671 Points -27%
GFXBench (DX / GLBenchmark) 2.7
T-Rex Onscreen (sort by value)
Huawei Mate Xs
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
58 fps
Samsung Galaxy Fold
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 12288
60 fps +3%
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ / 855 Plus, Adreno 640, 8192
60 fps +3%
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
Apple A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU, 4096
59 fps +2%
LG G8X ThinQ
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 6144
60 fps +3%
Huawei P40 Pro
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
60 fps +3%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (58 - 60, n=4)
59.5 fps +3%
Average of class Smartphone
  (22 - 165, n=177, last 2 years)
83.6 fps +44%
1920x1080 T-Rex Offscreen (sort by value)
Huawei Mate Xs
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
139 fps
Samsung Galaxy Fold
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 12288
115 fps -17%
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ / 855 Plus, Adreno 640, 8192
166 fps +19%
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
Apple A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU, 4096
287 fps +106%
LG G8X ThinQ
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 6144
151 fps +9%
Huawei P40 Pro
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
152 fps +9%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (139 - 152, n=4)
148.5 fps +7%
Average of class Smartphone
  (19 - 791, n=177, last 2 years)
243 fps +75%
GFXBench 3.0
on screen Manhattan Onscreen OGL (sort by value)
Huawei Mate Xs
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
47 fps
Samsung Galaxy Fold
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 12288
58 fps +23%
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ / 855 Plus, Adreno 640, 8192
56 fps +19%
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
Apple A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU, 4096
60 fps +28%
LG G8X ThinQ
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 6144
60 fps +28%
Huawei P40 Pro
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
59 fps +26%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (46 - 60, n=4)
53 fps +13%
Average of class Smartphone
  (6.8 - 165, n=178, last 2 years)
71.3 fps +52%
1920x1080 1080p Manhattan Offscreen (sort by value)
Huawei Mate Xs
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
81 fps
Samsung Galaxy Fold
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 12288
90 fps +11%
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ / 855 Plus, Adreno 640, 8192
73 fps -10%
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
Apple A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU, 4096
157 fps +94%
LG G8X ThinQ
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 6144
85 fps +5%
Huawei P40 Pro
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
118 fps +46%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (81 - 118, n=4)
104 fps +28%
Average of class Smartphone
  (9.2 - 363, n=178, last 2 years)
137.9 fps +70%
GFXBench 3.1
on screen Manhattan ES 3.1 Onscreen (sort by value)
Huawei Mate Xs
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
26 fps
Samsung Galaxy Fold
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 12288
46 fps +77%
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ / 855 Plus, Adreno 640, 8192
41 fps +58%
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
Apple A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU, 4096
60 fps +131%
LG G8X ThinQ
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 6144
36 fps +38%
Huawei P40 Pro
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
52 fps +100%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (26 - 57, n=4)
47.5 fps +83%
Average of class Smartphone
  (3.7 - 158, n=178, last 2 years)
60.2 fps +132%
1920x1080 Manhattan ES 3.1 Offscreen (sort by value)
Huawei Mate Xs
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
51 fps
Samsung Galaxy Fold
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 12288
62 fps +22%
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ / 855 Plus, Adreno 640, 8192
51 fps 0%
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
Apple A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU, 4096
100 fps +96%
LG G8X ThinQ
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 6144
51 fps 0%
Huawei P40 Pro
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
75 fps +47%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (33 - 75, n=4)
58.5 fps +15%
Average of class Smartphone
  (6.2 - 279, n=178, last 2 years)
97 fps +90%
GFXBench
on screen Car Chase Onscreen (sort by value)
Huawei Mate Xs
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
17 fps
Samsung Galaxy Fold
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 12288
32 fps +88%
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ / 855 Plus, Adreno 640, 8192
25 fps +47%
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
Apple A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU, 4096
48 fps +182%
LG G8X ThinQ
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 6144
33 fps +94%
Huawei P40 Pro
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
31 fps +82%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (17 - 36, n=4)
29.5 fps +74%
Average of class Smartphone
  (5 - 117, n=178, last 2 years)
42.9 fps +152%
1920x1080 Car Chase Offscreen (sort by value)
Huawei Mate Xs
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
32 fps
Samsung Galaxy Fold
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 12288
42 fps +31%
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ / 855 Plus, Adreno 640, 8192
31 fps -3%
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
Apple A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU, 4096
63 fps +97%
LG G8X ThinQ
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 6144
36 fps +13%
Huawei P40 Pro
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
44 fps +38%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (32 - 44, n=4)
40.5 fps +27%
Average of class Smartphone
  (2.9 - 166, n=178, last 2 years)
58.6 fps +83%
on screen Aztec Ruins Normal Tier Onscreen (sort by value)
Huawei Mate Xs
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
60 fps
Samsung Galaxy Fold
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 12288
32 fps -47%
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ / 855 Plus, Adreno 640, 8192
23 fps -62%
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
Apple A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU, 4096
58 fps -3%
LG G8X ThinQ
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 6144
38 fps -37%
Huawei P40 Pro
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
36 fps -40%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (36 - 60, n=4)
44.5 fps -26%
Average of class Smartphone
  (3.6 - 123, n=218, last 2 years)
43.3 fps -28%
1920x1080 Aztec Ruins Normal Tier Offscreen (sort by value)
Huawei Mate Xs
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
165 fps
Samsung Galaxy Fold
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 12288
42 fps -75%
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ / 855 Plus, Adreno 640, 8192
16 fps -90%
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
Apple A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU, 4096
75 fps -55%
LG G8X ThinQ
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 6144
42 fps -75%
Huawei P40 Pro
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
50 fps -70%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (49 - 165, n=4)
78.5 fps -52%
Average of class Smartphone
  (2.3 - 229, n=218, last 2 years)
62.9 fps -62%
on screen Aztec Ruins High Tier Onscreen (sort by value)
Huawei Mate Xs
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
46 fps
Samsung Galaxy Fold
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 12288
21 fps -54%
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ / 855 Plus, Adreno 640, 8192
34 fps -26%
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
Apple A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU, 4096
46 fps 0%
LG G8X ThinQ
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 6144
25 fps -46%
Huawei P40 Pro
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
23 fps -50%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (23 - 46, n=4)
30.5 fps -34%
Average of class Smartphone
  (2.8 - 105, n=218, last 2 years)
32.2 fps -30%
2560x1440 Aztec Ruins High Tier Offscreen (sort by value)
Huawei Mate Xs
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
68 fps
Samsung Galaxy Fold
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 12288
17 fps -75%
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ / 855 Plus, Adreno 640, 8192
39 fps -43%
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
Apple A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU, 4096
29 fps -57%
LG G8X ThinQ
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 6144
16 fps -76%
Huawei P40 Pro
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
19 fps -72%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (19 - 68, n=4)
33.8 fps -50%
Average of class Smartphone
  (0.85 - 94, n=218, last 2 years)
25 fps -63%
AnTuTu v8 - Total Score (sort by value)
Huawei Mate Xs
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
470692 Points
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ / 855 Plus, Adreno 640, 8192
463291 Points -2%
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
Apple A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU, 4096
510245 Points +8%
LG G8X ThinQ
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 6144
418779 Points -11%
Huawei P40 Pro
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
496966 Points +6%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (450373 - 527856, n=4)
486472 Points +3%
Average of class Smartphone
  (last 2 years)
101336 Points -78%
VRMark - Amber Room (sort by value)
Huawei Mate Xs
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
4980 Score
Huawei P40 Pro
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
5037 Score +1%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (4980 - 5037, n=2)
5009 Score +1%
Average of class Smartphone
  (1010 - 10071, n=14, last 2 years)
5281 Score +6%
BaseMark OS II
Overall (sort by value)
Huawei Mate Xs
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
4640 Points
Samsung Galaxy Fold
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 12288
4835 Points +4%
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ / 855 Plus, Adreno 640, 8192
4998 Points +8%
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
Apple A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU, 4096
5607 Points +21%
LG G8X ThinQ
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 6144
4841 Points +4%
Huawei P40 Pro
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
5589 Points +20%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (4640 - 5595, n=4)
5232 Points +13%
Average of class Smartphone
  (411 - 11438, n=158, last 2 years)
5704 Points +23%
System (sort by value)
Huawei Mate Xs
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
8823 Points
Samsung Galaxy Fold
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 12288
8825 Points 0%
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ / 855 Plus, Adreno 640, 8192
8507 Points -4%
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
Apple A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU, 4096
14189 Points +61%
LG G8X ThinQ
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 6144
9113 Points +3%
Huawei P40 Pro
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
9782 Points +11%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (8823 - 9806, n=4)
9351 Points +6%
Average of class Smartphone
  (2376 - 16475, n=158, last 2 years)
9621 Points +9%
Memory (sort by value)
Huawei Mate Xs
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
6453 Points
Samsung Galaxy Fold
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 12288
4945 Points -23%
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ / 855 Plus, Adreno 640, 8192
5434 Points -16%
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
Apple A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU, 4096
2350 Points -64%
LG G8X ThinQ
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 6144
5140 Points -20%
Huawei P40 Pro
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
6038 Points -6%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (6038 - 6942, n=4)
6382 Points -1%
Average of class Smartphone
  (670 - 12306, n=158, last 2 years)
6230 Points -3%
Graphics (sort by value)
Huawei Mate Xs
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
8570 Points
Samsung Galaxy Fold
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 12288
9510 Points +11%
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ / 855 Plus, Adreno 640, 8192
9334 Points +9%
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
Apple A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU, 4096
16996 Points +98%
LG G8X ThinQ
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 6144
9339 Points +9%
Huawei P40 Pro
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
10138 Points +18%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (8570 - 10138, n=4)
9350 Points +9%
Average of class Smartphone
  (697 - 58651, n=158, last 2 years)
13900 Points +62%
Web (sort by value)
Huawei Mate Xs
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
950 Points
Samsung Galaxy Fold
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 12288
1317 Points +39%
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ / 855 Plus, Adreno 640, 8192
1446 Points +52%
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
Apple A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU, 4096
1745 Points +84%
LG G8X ThinQ
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 6144
1256 Points +32%
Huawei P40 Pro
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
1629 Points +71%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (950 - 1631, n=4)
1368 Points +44%
Average of class Smartphone
  (10 - 2145, n=158, last 2 years)
1487 Points +57%
Basemark GPU 1.2
1280x720 OpenGL Simple Offscreen (sort by value)
Huawei Mate Xs
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
275.8 (45min - 1209.83max) fps
Huawei P40 Pro
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
280.1 (94.33min - 1378.32max) fps +2%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (276 - 280, n=2)
278 fps +1%
Average of class Smartphone
  (195.7 - 549, n=11, last 2 years)
332 fps +20%
1920x1080 OpenGL Medium Offscreen (sort by value)
Huawei Mate Xs
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
63.9 (19.8min - 113.76max) fps
Huawei P40 Pro
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
63.2 (17.4min - 89.51max) fps -1%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (63.2 - 63.9, n=2)
63.6 fps 0%
Average of class Smartphone
  (7.65 - 13860, n=54, last 2 years)
328 fps +413%
OpenGL Medium Native (sort by value)
Huawei Mate Xs
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
21.38 (8.63min - 39.25max) fps
Huawei P40 Pro
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
48.88 (15.26min - 70.77max) fps +129%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (21.4 - 48.9, n=2)
35.1 fps +64%
Average of class Smartphone
  (9.3 - 9309, n=53, last 2 years)
238 fps +1013%
1280x720 Vulkan Simple Offscreen (sort by value)
Huawei Mate Xs
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
265.5 (28.03min - 1953.21max) fps
Huawei P40 Pro
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
258.4 (94.23min - 1893.49max) fps -3%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (258 - 266, n=2)
262 fps -1%
Average of class Smartphone
  (2.12 - 39496, n=54, last 2 years)
1381 fps +420%
1920x1080 Vulkan Medium Offscreen (sort by value)
Huawei Mate Xs
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
54.4 (22.66min - 105.26max) fps
Huawei P40 Pro
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
53.3 (13.18min - 90.75max) fps -2%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (53.3 - 54.4, n=2)
53.9 fps -1%
Average of class Smartphone
  (7.51 - 15712, n=54, last 2 years)
412 fps +657%
Vulkan Medium Native (sort by value)
Huawei Mate Xs
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
22.56 (9.84min - 36.21max) fps
Huawei P40 Pro
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
40.52 (8.72min - 66.83max) fps +80%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (22.6 - 40.5, n=2)
31.5 fps +40%
Average of class Smartphone
  (10 - 14706, n=53, last 2 years)
344 fps +1425%
Basemark ES 3.1 / Metal - offscreen Overall Score (sort by value)
Huawei Mate Xs
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
2076 Points
Huawei P40 Pro
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
2122 Points +2%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (2076 - 2122, n=2)
2099 Points +1%
Average of class Smartphone
  (177 - 6114, n=61, last 2 years)
2145 Points +3%

The Mate Xs achieves good but not great results in our browser benchmarks. During daily use, web browsing is a pleasant experience and opening the phone is particularly beneficial for the readability. Unfortunately, a few URLs only show the mobile version of their site despite the big screen size. Here, it would be preferable to view the desktop version by default without having to change the settings in advance.

Jetstream 2 - Total Score
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max (Safari Mobile 13.1)
129.1 Points +131%
Average of class Smartphone (13.8 - 351, n=167, last 2 years)
104 Points +86%
Huawei P40 Pro (Huawei Browser 10.1)
70 Points +25%
LG G8X ThinQ (Chrome 78)
63.1 Points +13%
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip (Chrome 80)
63.1 Points +13%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G (55.6 - 70, n=4)
62.8 Points +13%
Huawei Mate Xs (Huawei Browser 10.1)
55.8 Points
Samsung Galaxy Fold (Samung Browser 10.1)
53.8 Points -4%
JetStream 1.1 - Total Score
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max (Safari Mobile 13.1)
301.9 Points +191%
Huawei P40 Pro (Huawei Browser 10.1)
116.6 Points +13%
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip (Chrome 80)
113.9 Points +10%
Samsung Galaxy Fold (Samsung Browser 10.1)
113.7 Points +10%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G (103.2 - 116.6, n=4)
110 Points +6%
LG G8X ThinQ (Chrome 78)
106.7 Points +3%
Huawei Mate Xs (Huawei Browser 10.1)
103.6 Points
Average of class Smartphone (66.1 - 104.3, n=2, last 2 years)
85.2 Points -18%
Speedometer 2.0 - Result
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max (Safari Mobile 13.1)
153 runs/min +142%
Average of class Smartphone (14.9 - 445, n=151, last 2 years)
104.7 runs/min +66%
Huawei P40 Pro (Huawei Browser 10.1)
71.8 runs/min +14%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G (63 - 71.8, n=4)
67.4 runs/min +7%
LG G8X ThinQ (Chome 78)
66.8 runs/min +6%
Huawei Mate Xs (Huawei Browser 10.1)
63.1 runs/min
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip (Chrome 80)
62.5 runs/min -1%
Samsung Galaxy Fold (Samsung Browser 10.1)
61.5 runs/min -3%
WebXPRT 3 - Overall
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max (Safari Mobile 13.1)
181 Points +85%
Average of class Smartphone (37 - 304, n=118, last 2 years)
130.7 Points +33%
Samsung Galaxy Fold (Samsung Browser 10.1)
129 Points +32%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G (95 - 124, n=3)
105.7 Points +8%
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip (Chrome 80)
98 Points 0%
Huawei Mate Xs (Huawei Browser 10.1)
98 Points
LG G8X ThinQ (Chrome 78)
90 Points -8%
Huawei P40 Pro
Points -100%
Octane V2 - Total Score
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max (Safari Mobile 13.1)
49388 Points +136%
Average of class Smartphone (4633 - 89112, n=202, last 2 years)
33355 Points +59%
Samsung Galaxy Fold (Samsung Browser 10.1)
24128 Points +15%
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip (Chrome 80)
23781 Points +14%
Huawei P40 Pro (Huawei Browser 10.1)
23690 Points +13%
LG G8X ThinQ (Chrome 78)
23506 Points +12%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G (20917 - 23690, n=4)
22323 Points +7%
Huawei Mate Xs (Huawei Browser 10.1)
20917 Points
Mozilla Kraken 1.1 - Total
Huawei Mate Xs (Huawei Browser 10.1)
2219 ms *
LG G8X ThinQ (Chrome 78)
2201 ms * +1%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G (1914 - 2287, n=4)
2084 ms * +6%
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip (Chrome 80)
2077 ms * +6%
Samsung Galaxy Fold (Samsung Browser 10.1)
2003 ms * +10%
Huawei P40 Pro (Huawei Browser 10.1)
1914 ms * +14%
Average of class Smartphone (388 - 9999, n=165, last 2 years)
1658 ms * +25%
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max (Safari Mobile 13.1)
571 ms * +74%

* ... smaller is better

The 512-GB UFS 3.0 storage is not only very large but also extremely fast. Similarly, the transfer rates of the integrated card reader are good and almost as high as the Nano Memory card standard allows.

Huawei Mate XsSamsung Galaxy FoldSamsung Galaxy Z FlipLG G8X ThinQHuawei P40 ProAverage 512 GB UFS 3.0 FlashAverage of class Smartphone
AndroBench 3-5
-34%
-4%
-33%
2%
1%
43%
Sequential Read 256KB
1767
1303
-26%
1443
-18%
705
-60%
1775
0%
1593 ?(1303 - 1802, n=5)
-10%
1468 ?(215 - 4512, n=210, last 2 years)
-17%
Sequential Write 256KB
402.7
394.5
-2%
523
30%
497.1
23%
395.7
-2%
565 ?(386 - 911, n=5)
40%
1078 ?(57.5 - 3678, n=210, last 2 years)
168%
Random Read 4KB
202.9
158.4
-22%
184.5
-9%
160.5
-21%
228.1
12%
211 ?(158.4 - 324, n=5)
4%
242 ?(22.2 - 543, n=210, last 2 years)
19%
Random Write 4KB
259.1
34.41
-87%
212.9
-18%
30.2
-88%
271.8
5%
196.5 ?(34.4 - 319, n=5)
-24%
266 ?(13 - 709, n=210, last 2 years)
3%
Sequential Read 256KB SDCard
82.6 ?(Nano Memory Card)
68.9 ?(Toshiba Exceria Pro M501)
-17%
82.3 ?(Nano Memory Card)
0%
82.5 ?(82.3 - 82.6, n=2)
0%
Sequential Write 256KB SDCard
72.1 ?(Nano Memory Card)
47.7 ?(Toshiba Exceria Pro M501)
-34%
68.1 ?(Nano Memory Card)
-6%
69.8 ?(67.4 - 72.1, n=2)
-3%

Gaming - Pure Gaming Joy, If It Works

The hardware of the Huawei Mate Xs delivers strong gaming performance and the large display allows for a better view on the action and more than enough space for control elements. Unfortunately, we were not able to analyze many titles with GameBench, since for example Asphalt 9 would always crash immediately and World of Tanks showed an error message indicating that Google Play services were required, even though both games were downloaded from the AppGallery. This bug can likely be traced back to the EMUI 10.0 software, since it did not occur on smartphones running EMUI 10.1.

By contrast, PUBG, which we downloaded from the Amazon app store, ran without any issues and it adjusted well to the large display despite the unique aspect ratio. The location of the speakers is optimal, since it is impossible to block both of them simultaneously, even if the user has big hands.

World of Tanks
PUBG Mobile
0510152025303540Tooltip
Huawei Mate Xs; 0.17.0: Ø39.9 (35-41)

Emissions - Mate Xs with Cool Surfaces

Temperature

T-Rex
Manhattan

Even under prolonged loads, the surface temperatures of the Mate Xs remain comfortably low. On the inside, a cooling solution consisting of flexible bionic graphite is supposed to ensure a consistent SoC performance.

We tested this claim with the help of GFXBench's battery test. During this test, the benchmark app runs the same scenario in a loop 30 times and records both the frame rate and the battery level throughout the duration. While there were no issues during the older T-Rex test, the SoC's performance dropped by around 50% over time in the more demanding Manhattan benchmark. That being said, the performance level is still very high, and there are currently only very few apps where users will be faced with limitations.

Max. Load
 33.4 °C
92 F
33.3 °C
92 F
33.2 °C
92 F
 
 33.8 °C
93 F
33.5 °C
92 F
33.1 °C
92 F
 
 33.7 °C
93 F
33.3 °C
92 F
32.8 °C
91 F
 
Maximum: 33.8 °C = 93 F
Average: 33.3 °C = 92 F
31.9 °C
89 F
32 °C
90 F
34 °C
93 F
31.8 °C
89 F
31.9 °C
89 F
31.4 °C
89 F
30.2 °C
86 F
31.8 °C
89 F
31.6 °C
89 F
Maximum: 34 °C = 93 F
Average: 31.8 °C = 89 F
Power Supply (max.)  26.9 °C = 80 F | Room Temperature 22 °C = 72 F | Fluke t3000FC (calibrated) & Voltcraft IR-260
(±) The average temperature for the upper side under maximal load is 33.3 °C / 92 F, compared to the average of 32.7 °C / 91 F for the devices in the class Smartphone.
(+) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 33.8 °C / 93 F, compared to the average of 35 °C / 95 F, ranging from 21.9 to 56 °C for the class Smartphone.
(+) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 34 °C / 93 F, compared to the average of 33.8 °C / 93 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 30.7 °C / 87 F, compared to the device average of 32.7 °C / 91 F.

Speakers

Pink noise graph

The Mate Xs is equipped with two speakers, which produce a fairly good sound at medium volume levels in particular, for media playback. Although higher frequencies become too present at higher volume levels, which makes them sound somewhat tinny, we did not observe any severe distortions.

Wired headphones can be connected via USB-C, while Bluetooth is available for wireless audio and the latter is compatible with the audio codecs SBC, AAC and LDAC.

dB(A) 0102030405060708090Deep BassMiddle BassHigh BassLower RangeMidsHigher MidsLower HighsMid HighsUpper HighsSuper Highs2030.533.32522.425.53121.422.54024.322.75028.233.56321.627.28022.324.110020.424.812518.631.816017.249.620017.548.225015.154.131515.253.34001555.350014.261.163013.160.780013.963.410001369.712501369.4160013.769.9200014.271.225001469.4315014.470400014.374.5500014.473.4630014.666.6800014.965.81000014.9611250015.262.11600015.644SPL26.481.9N0.849.6median 14.6median 62.1Delta0.89.732.244.236.234.129.127.83026.442.342.126.827.520.321252717.231.217.950.417.150.317.957.316.26116.56515.368.115.670.315.670.114.873.514.472.214.673.914.776.814.174.714.474.314.475.114.972.514.770.814.571.114.868.61559.316.658.227.185.20.963.6median 15median 70.11.37.5hearing rangehide median Pink NoiseHuawei Mate XsSamsung Galaxy Fold
Frequency diagram (checkboxes can be checked and unchecked to compare devices)
Huawei Mate Xs audio analysis

(±) | speaker loudness is average but good (81.9 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 18.4% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (11.8% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(±) | higher mids - on average 5.3% higher than median
(+) | mids are linear (5.1% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(±) | higher highs - on average 6.9% higher than median
(+) | highs are linear (6.1% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (21.2% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 33% of all tested devices in this class were better, 8% similar, 59% worse
» The best had a delta of 12%, average was 38%, worst was 134%
Compared to all devices tested
» 53% of all tested devices were better, 7% similar, 39% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 25%, worst was 134%

Samsung Galaxy Fold audio analysis

(+) | speakers can play relatively loud (85.2 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 23.9% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (12.2% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(+) | balanced mids - only 2.9% away from median
(+) | mids are linear (4.3% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 2.8% away from median
(+) | highs are linear (2.7% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (16.7% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 5% of all tested devices in this class were better, 4% similar, 90% worse
» The best had a delta of 12%, average was 38%, worst was 134%
Compared to all devices tested
» 24% of all tested devices were better, 7% similar, 70% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 25%, worst was 134%

Energy Management - Power-Hungry Display

Energy Consumption

The idle consumption is high, since the Huawei device demands more than 2 watts even at minimum brightness.

The 65-watt charger is a real advantage and comes with more than enough energy reserves for the foldable smartphone and its 4500 mAh battery, which it can fully charge within 55 minutes.

Power Consumption
Off / Standbydarklight 0.03 / 0.53 Watt
Idledarkmidlight 2.22 / 3.94 / 4.01 Watt
Load midlight 4.34 / 8.46 Watt
 color bar
Key: min: dark, med: mid, max: light        Metrahit Energy
Currently we use the Metrahit Energy, a professional single phase power quality and energy measurement digital multimeter, for our measurements. Find out more about it here. All of our test methods can be found here.
Huawei Mate Xs
4500 mAh
Samsung Galaxy Fold
4235 mAh
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip
3300 mAh
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
3969 mAh
LG G8X ThinQ
4000 mAh
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
 
Average of class Smartphone
 
Power Consumption
43%
43%
31%
32%
31%
31%
Idle Minimum *
2.22
0.6
73%
0.59
73%
0.92
59%
1.1
50%
1.24 ?(0.82 - 2.22, n=4)
44%
0.894 ?(0.42 - 2.37, n=157, last 2 years)
60%
Idle Average *
3.94
0.85
78%
0.88
78%
2.9
26%
1.49
62%
2.33 ?(1.41 - 3.94, n=4)
41%
1.452 ?(0.69 - 4.26, n=157, last 2 years)
63%
Idle Maximum *
4.01
1
75%
0.95
76%
2.94
27%
1.76
56%
2.49 ?(1.47 - 4.01, n=4)
38%
1.632 ?(0.79 - 4.45, n=157, last 2 years)
59%
Load Average *
4.34
4.47
-3%
4.97
-15%
3.65
16%
4.2
3%
3.55 ?(2.99 - 4.34, n=4)
18%
5.55 ?(2.4 - 16.5, n=157, last 2 years)
-28%
Load Maximum *
8.46
9.02
-7%
8.37
1%
6.18
27%
9.2
-9%
7.09 ?(6.37 - 8.46, n=4)
16%
8.23 ?(4.32 - 20.8, n=157, last 2 years)
3%

* ... smaller is better

Battery Life

The battery runtimes of the Huawei Mate Xs are okay and should be sufficient for one day of medium-intensity use. The foldable smartphone still has the least amount of stamina in our comparison in spite of being equipped with the biggest battery.

Particularly when browsing the web over Wi-Fi, the screen-on time is relatively low at only eight hours. Thus, users who browse the web frequently will likely have to charge their device before the evening comes.

Battery Runtime
Idle (without WLAN, min brightness)
17h 51min
WiFi Websurfing (Huawei Browser 10.1)
8h 01min
Big Buck Bunny H.264 1080p
12h 42min
Load (maximum brightness)
5h 57min
Huawei Mate Xs
4500 mAh
Samsung Galaxy Fold
4235 mAh
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip
3300 mAh
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
3969 mAh
LG G8X ThinQ
4000 mAh
Huawei P40 Pro
4200 mAh
Battery Runtime
28%
3%
81%
93%
24%
Reader / Idle
1071
1724
61%
1741
63%
2618
144%
1474
38%
H.264
762
1027
35%
527
-31%
1346
77%
1137
49%
WiFi v1.3
481
600
25%
647
35%
909
89%
930
93%
743
54%
Load
357
316
-11%
157
-56%
408
14%
198
-45%

Pros

+ appealing foldable design
+ fairly slim when folded
+ fast 5G SoC
+ lots of UFS 3.0 storage
+ good quad-camera system
+ excellent locating capabilities

Cons

- mediocre call quality
- inconsistent build quality
- creaky hinge
- no Google services
- no DRM certification
- display with low brightness reserves

Verdict - Expensive Foldable

In review: Huawei Mate Xs. Test device courtesy of Huawei Germany
In review: Huawei Mate Xs. Test device courtesy of Huawei Germany

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 the 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 nearby service center.

Technologically, the Mate Xs offers 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. In this regard, users will be limited to Huawei's own Nano Memory cards.

While the Huawei Mate Xs is an attractive foldable, it does not appear to be mature in all areas yet.

At around $2,700, the Huawei Mate Xs is far from being a bargain. Thus, buyers can expect only the best and Huawei delivers in many cases, while not skimping on the accessories, either. 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. EMUI 10.0 does not look as though it has been perfectly prepared for this situation, either. Since particularly when gaming, the ported software does not work flawlessly yet, we are hoping for a quick update to version 10.1.

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 still an appealing concept that in this case has been paired with many powerful components, which turn it into a unique smartphone that is sure to attract attention.

Huawei Mate Xs - 08/31/2022 v7
Daniel Schmidt

Chassis
66%
Keyboard
69 / 75 → 91%
Pointing Device
89%
Connectivity
65 / 70 → 93%
Weight
86%
Battery
84%
Display
89%
Games Performance
47 / 64 → 74%
Application Performance
77 / 86 → 90%
Temperature
92%
Noise
100%
Audio
72 / 90 → 80%
Camera
79%
Average
78%
83%
Smartphone - Weighted Average

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> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > Reviews > Huawei Mate Xs Smartphone Review - Foldable with Drawbacks
Daniel Schmidt, 2020-04-26 (Update: 2020-05-19)