Huawei Mate Xs 2 review: they won't tell you this about a smartphone!

A device called Huawei Mate Xs 2 appeared with me a long time ago. During this period of time I clearly

formed his opinion about the smartphone.However, in general, I’ll be honest: using the Mate Xs 2 is like living with bipolar personality disorder: today you get high on the gadget, and tomorrow it completely disappoints you.

I will not go into the history of the originthis model from the king of Peas. I think it's clear that this is the second version of the "bent" smartphone. Let me just remind you that there was Mate X, and then engineers and developers came up with a more advanced version of Mate Xs. And in between was the X2, which had a classic “fold-like” design.

Oh yes, I forgot to add that the Mate Xs 2 stands outamong the few foldable smartphones, a unique design that allows you to access the large screen not in the traditional way in the form of a “book”, but by turning the display outwards. This mechanism was called the Falcon Wing. By the way, the doors in the Tesla Model X electric car have a similar name.

And here it is fair to say about the “bipolar” with MateXs 2. Of course, I'm exaggerating, you should understand this. But the experience of working with the design of the Falcon Wing at the beginning of your journey of knowing the smartphone pleases and captivates, but then it can disappoint, and after a while you will be interested again. And so in a circle.

All this and more - in our material today.

The cost of the Huawei Mate Xs 2 smartphone is about 140,000 rubles, which is not so much for this class of devices.

Specifications
Contents of delivery
Design
About Falcon Wing
Elements
Display
Working hours
Communication options
Cameras
Memory, processor and performance
Software
Sound Features
Impression

Specifications

Dimensions and weight	Height: 156.5 mm </ p> Width: Unfolded: 139.3 mm Folded: 75.5mm Depth: Unfolded: 5.4 mm - 11.1 mm Folded: 11.1mm Weight: 255 g
Display	Unfolded: 7.8 inches Folded: 6.5 inches Type: OLED Refresh rate: up to 120Hz PWM Dimming: 1440Hz Sample rate: up to 240Hz </ p> Permission: Unfolded: 2480 × 2200 pixels Folded: 2480 × 1176 pixels
operating system	Google Android 11, EMUI 12
Platform	Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5 nm 1 core Kryo 680 Prime (Cortex-X1) at 2840 MHz, 3 cores Kryo 680 Gold (Cortex-A78) at 2420 MHz and 4 cores Kryo 680 Silver (Cortex-A55) at 1800 MHz.
Memory	8/512 GB + NM memory card up to 256 GB
Wireless interfaces	Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac/ax, 2 x 2 MIMO, HE160, 4096 QAM, 8 Spatial-stream Sounding MU-MIMO Bluetooth 5.2, SBC, AAC NFC
Network	4G FDD LTE: Bands 1/2/3/4/5/7/8/12/17/18/19/20/26/28 3G: Bands 1/2/4/5/6/8/19 2G: Bands 2/3/5/8
Navigation	GPS (two L1 + L5 bands), AGPS, GLONASS, BeiDou (three B1I + B1C + B2a bands), Galileo (two E1 + E5a bands), QZSS (two L1 + L5 bands), NavIC
Sensors and connectors	USB Type C (USB 3.1), OTG gravity sensor The fingerprint scanner Hall Sensor Barometer Gyroscope Compass Light sensor Proximity sensor Laser sensor Color temperature sensor
Main camera	50 MP True-Chroma (f/1.8) 13 MP Ultra-Wide Angle (f/2.2) 8 MP Tele 3.5x (f/2.4) with optical stabilization
Front-camera	10.7 MP, f/2.2
Battery	4600 mAh, 66 W Huawei SuperCharge
Colour	Black, purple and beige
Price	About 140,000 rubles in Russia

Miscellaneous

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Contents of delivery

Smartphone
Charger
USB Type-C cable
Quick User Guide
Card Extraction Tool
Protective polyurethane cover
Instructions for using the protective polyurethane cover
Warranty card
Safety instructions

Design

The beginning of the review told that the deviceambiguous in terms of mechanism. I will talk about it later. Now briefly about the design: it is just as unexpectedly cool and unremarkable at the same time.

On photos and in real life the devicelooks as "ponto" as possible (yes, I'm one of those old farts who still use this word). The phone lies on the table and the energy of its attractiveness simply destroys all the surrounding gadgets: smooth on all sides, with a chrome trim on the bottom, with an unusual hinge, a strange end to the bottom, with a hint that you have an unusual gadget in front of you. And if you turn the device upside down, then the surrounding smartphones automatically turn on the self-destruct mode.

Jokes are jokes, but Mate Xs 2 is reallyattractive smartphone. However, in the hand it does not seem so: heavy (255 grams), thick (11 mm), all smooth, and even with a film on the screen, which is constantly touched by fingers when swiping from right to left.

Looking ahead, I will say that this very filmmoves to the edge of the edge when the screen is unfolded! How? When you turn the display inside out, it partially goes inside the right side of the case. Just a couple of millimeters. This allows you to "stretch" the main screen to such an extent that it becomes completely flat. And when you fold it, the display slides out of the right side slightly and pulls the film along with it. Actually, that's why it is strongly felt during the movements of the swipe. It is most likely impossible to remove the film.

Important note.The film, by the way, has a very good anti-reflective coating, but weak oleophobic properties: it is wildly covered with fingerprints, especially on the reverse side, because the back panel is the main screen that has been turned the other way.

And now we come to the question of the practicality of such a design.

The back of the device is a screen.And it has a film on it. You already understand the logic. I think, God forbid, leave the gadget on some rough surface. "Hello, it's us - scratches and scuffs!" Moreover, due to the lack of protection against water, you can put your smartphone on the table, on which some liquid was accidentally spilled, and get a “brick”.

To avoid such problems, the setcover included. You can talk about it for a long time, but if the case, then it really protects from external influences. In order to open the display, the cover is not fixed on the left side. At the moment of the full opening of the screen, the case seems to be held only on the right half, and the left one will hang.

Another cover can hold the device in such a way that it takes the form of a house. Probably more convenient to watch the video.

In general, it was inconvenient for me to use the device in a case. But if you don’t need to lay out the screen, then there is no other way to protect the gadget.

And all why? Because the opening mechanism is too peculiar!

For comparison: dimensions of Huawei and Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra

About Falcon Wing

It seems to me that by creating such a mechanism,Huawei just wanted to do something new and different, not like everyone else. And for everyone - it's like Fold, when you access the big screen, laying out the phone like a book.

And here is an extremely important point.In our life, there are various things that work on an intuitive level. For example, unscrewing the cap counterclockwise on a water bottle. And to tighten it, you need to turn the cap clockwise. If you suddenly encountered a bottle where the cap is unscrewed clockwise, then this approach would be extremely surprising.

Similarly with switches: when the light turns off upwards, it is illogical and unusual.

Approximately the same story happens with the mechanismFalcon Wing: in order to open the screen, you need to turn it from the back. For me, it's like turning on a light by pushing a button down or unscrewing a cap clockwise.

In the case of Fold-gadgets, you intuitively open the device like a book to read, and to finish viewing information, close the book, pointing the two halves towards each other.

But the Mate Xs 2 has some unfinished moment in this regard. It’s as if you didn’t finish the job, because the screen, in fact, did not close, but twisted in the opposite direction.

Another important point.When you close the Fold-device (an analogy with a book), you make a natural effort: bring your palms together and slam the two halves of the screens. It is logical, convenient and understandable intuitively.

When you have a Falcon Wing in front of you, you need to makeunusual movements with the left hand, as if turning the gadget inside out. And to complete the work, you again make strange movements: wrap the display on the back.

Moreover, the Mate Xs 2 has a very tight mechanism, so every time you have to make an effort. This is not the same as easily slamming the Fold device.

One hand Mate neither open nor closeimpossible without helping other parts of the body: press the button - the screen “sticks off”, and then apply the smartphone with the back side to the stomach in such a way as to open the mechanism.

In YouTube videos, people easily demonstrate the opening and closing of the Xs 2 mechanism. But in fact, it is not as malleable as it seems.

For a month of active operation, I could not get used to the Huawei mechanism. For me it is illogical and unnatural.

And perfectionists will suffer. Indeed, in Mate Xs 2 there are two halves of different widths! The right one is larger than the left by about 10 mm!

Positive points:

Nearly flat surface
The hollow is almost not felt by the fingers
Visually, the folds are almost invisible

It all looks definitely better than the Samsung Galaxy Fold and Flip.

В закрытом виде Huawei Mate Xs 2 ощущается как a large and thick smartphone that does not show its unique abilities. The right side follows the curve of the left side, even in terms of surface feel.

By the way, bloggers on YouTube really surprised me.They say that Mate Xs 2 owners will still use the device folded 90% of the time. So you're saying that you'll only open the big screen 10% of the time? Do you really need a foldable smartphone for 150,000 rubles?

I used the Mate with the screen open 90% of the time. Apparently, that's why I had such an opinion about the mechanism.

The device is available in three colors: beige, purple and black. The texture of the back is very pleasant to the touch.

Elements

At the bottom are:

main microphone
USB Type-C
speaker
slot for SIM card and NM memory card

At the top:

additional microphone
speaker

On the right is a flat, recessed power button with a built-in fingerprint scanner, a volume rocker.

On the back side:

double flash of cold and warm glow
three lenses
microphone
laser focus
button to open the back half of the screen

On the top of the front panel there is a speaker. Very loud, bassy. There is also a selfie camera. But it is hidden under the film.

Display

In fact, it is worth talking about only one display here, since the “small” (6.5 inches) is obtained by folding one of the halves.

Diagonal 7.8 inches, aspect ratio - 8:7.1; dot density - 424 PPI (2480x2200 pixels), 120 Hz. Naturally, there are rounded edges and the screen itself.

As for the quality of the matrix, this is one of the best screens from all points of view. I don't even know what to say. The picture is incredibly colorful, clear, without any color distortion.

The maximum brightness in manual mode is 730 cd/m2. In automatic - it reaches 800 cd / m2.

The PWM ripple factor does not exceed 15% with a brightness in the range of 0 - 20%. On the rest of the KP range, no more than 7%.

There is an AOD mode. It is the same as on other Huawei devices. Works even when the phone is unfolded. Just AOD is displayed in the center of the screen.

The aspect is a little strange, in fact - a square. But the information fits more than any other smartphone of the classical design.

When the screen is opened approximately in the middle of the action of the mechanism, an image appears on the left side of the display. Likewise after closing.

The animation is as smooth as possible, not torn. The scale adjusts automatically. In fact, the icons are justified in width.

If you use a desktop picture in a vertical format, then a square crop is immediately made so that in the future the picture is displayed correctly on the big screen.

If we are talking about the keyboard and entering information,then initially you have access to the built-in "clave" Celia Keyboard. It is interesting in that it is divided into two halves, on the right and on the left - for typing with the right or left hand.

She didn't stick with me. The idea is cool, but my eyes run a little when entering text like this.

I liked the Yandex keyboard. She is big and responsive. But mostly used Microsoft Keyboard (formerly SwiftKey).

However, typing on the Mate Xs 2 is still not very comfortable, since the dimensions are still unusual: it is not a classic laptop keyboard, but it is no longer narrow, like a smartphone.

Strange, but the manufacturer did not take care ofkeyboard when the device is partially folded. If you can type text on the Galaxy Fold like on a laptop, then you can’t do this on the Mate Xs 2 – the screen immediately straightens.

In general, nothing original software was done for the Huawei mechanism, except to display data from the main cameras on the back when the screen is turned out.

Important point:when unfolding and folding, the touch part of the smartphone partially stops working. That is, the device understands that you are trying to perform an action, and turns off the sensor. And partly because the software clearly tracks your actions and in some cases the sensor still does not turn off. In short, when unfolding and folding, you are unlikely to disturb the settings of the phone or accidentally drag icons from place to place.

I would like to note that the developers of Mate Xs 2, onin my opinion, they made one mistake: they should not have made a “small” 6.5-inch screen. Such a display does not prompt you to open the device to access 7.8 inches. "Small" was supposed to be 6 inches or so. Wrong opinion that the external display should be made large. And why do you then internal? That's why it turns out that "... owners of Mate Xs 2 will still use the device in the folded state 90% of the time." No motivation to open the gadget!

Working hours

Smartphone Huawei Mate Xs 2 has two batteries with a total capacity of 4600 mAh. This is quite logical, given the thickness of the halves in the unfolded state.

I had the device on hand for almost a month, so here are the exact figures for the operating time:

"Sleep" in AOD mode - minus 5-7% in 10 hours
Games like Call of Duty in expanded form - 5-6 hours
Viewing FullHD video in expanded form - 12 hours
Viewing FullHD video in closed form - 13 hours
The glow of the screen in expanded form - 4-4.5 hours
Screen glow when closed - 4.5-5 hours
WhatsApp audio conversations - 5 hours

I would not say that the numbers are small.They are plus or minus the same as most of the flagship Huawei devices and not only. I have a small Zenfone 8 that gives out up to 4.5 hours of screen glow, and here is a huge one - 7.8 inches! shows the same amount. On other resources, autonomy was downvoted, but at the same time they gave plus or minus the same data on the Galaxy Fold and some other folding devices. And there the working time was quite adequate. Well, yes, but Huawei is bad. Clearly understood.

It is charged from proprietary charging at 66 W in 55 minutes.

Communication options

There are no revelations here.good communication device. No GPS glitches, no loss of Wi-Fi connection. The smartphone operates only with 4G. A year ago, this would have upset me, but today it’s all the same, since, in fact, the development of the 5G network in Russia has been stopped, and we are not allowed into other countries.

Separately, it is worth noting that it is on Mate Xs 2in VoWi-Fi mode, there may be problems with calls. For some reason, upon arrival home from the dacha, Mate began to lose contact: after a minute of communication, the interlocutor stops hearing me. At first he complained about the telecom operator, and then decided to turn off VoWi-Fi. And everything fell into place. By the way, with Huawei P20 Pro I had a similar problem.

Cameras

Here we see a classic set of cameras:50 MP (27 mm, f1.8) - main camera, 13 MP (13 mm, f / 2.2) - wide-angle, 8 MP - 95 mm zoom (f2.4). Note that there is no ToF module for blurring the background.

I’ll tell you right away about the camera with a magnification of 3.5x.It is difficult to shoot on it due to periodic switching to the main module. Extremely sensitive to light: if it's not a sunny day, then you will get cropped shots from the 50 MP main module, so I didn’t even try to shoot something sensible at this 3.5x zoom.

The wide-angle camera has a low resolution of 13 MP by modern standards. However, the quality is good. Mostly "takes out" due to cool photo post-processing algorithms.

The main module shoots great.That is, no worse than Xiaomi 12 Pro, Mi 11 Ultra and so on. And day and night, and in bright sunny weather - everything always comes out perfectly. I don't have any questions. Even in complete darkness, hardware and software will stretch the frame to the maximum.

The HDR mode is average, not trying to push out bright and dark scenes. For example, Xiaomi's HDR mode works more aggressively.

Traditionally for Huawei (and not only) "width"is also a macromodule. In the settings, select "macro", and the software creates a small crop from a wide angle. The minimum distance to the object is about 5 cm.

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The main camera is capable of recording 4K video at 60k / s. The quality is good, although the angle is narrow. In this case, you can switch to "width", since both resolution and frame rate are saved. But the zoom only works with 1080p 30 fps.

In general, the video quality is decent. The main thing is not to use magnification, the quality is low.

Front camera 10 MP (f / 2.2).Well, somehow so-so. Plus, it's under wraps. But here it is worth understanding that you can always turn the screen in the opposite direction and turn on the mirror mode. In this case, it is more convenient to shoot "selfies" on the main and wide-angle modules.

The interface is familiar EMUI 12.Unfortunately, software developers have not come up with any special chips for the screen folding system. Rear camera mirroring only. And then - tap on the rear screen can not be focused.

Total:the main camera is excellent, there are no questions; The “width” is good, but with a lack of light it can show “soap”; The 3.5x zoom is disappointing, it's too difficult to find the lighting, except to shoot only on a sunny day.

Examples of photos and videos:

Original photos (zip, 345 MB) >>>
Sample video (MP4, 157 MB) >>>
Sample video (MP4, 138 MB) >>>
Sample video (MP4, 110 MB) >>>
Sample video (MP4, 118 MB) >>>
Sample video (MP4, 55 MB) >>>
Sample video (MP4, 83 MB) >>>
Sample video (MP4, 101 MB) >>>

Memory, processor and performance

In Russia, the 8/512 GB version is available. Quite a normal amount, but RAM could be 12 GB. At least for show, in order to justify the cost of the device.

RAM speed - a record 50,000 MB / s. Frankly, I don’t remember what other device showed so much. The same P50 Pro has 42,000 MB / s.

The built-in memory is also as fast as possible - 1500/700 MB / s.

That is, there are no questions about memory. The manufacturer put the best!

I won’t talk about the chipset for a long time - everyone knows last year’s Qualcomm Snapdragon 888. Very powerful, but notably heated. In Antutu, the device gives out 820,000 points.

Pulls any games in any quality. I played COD at maximum speed. No frame drops even after an hour of play.

"Big" screen

"Small" screen

Is the body of the device getting hot?Yes, it heats up, but I tested the device in the summer, when the temperature rarely dropped below +25 degrees Celsius. And at the dacha, +35 was the norm at all, so I almost did not feel the heating of the case.

In general, I would not find fault with the Mate Xs 2 in terms of heating. Now, few Android smartphones remain cold.

There is throttling, but only in a special programThrottling test. With games, I did not feel it. And in general, the system has always worked very quickly, without lags and brakes, without reducing the screen brightness, without overheating the device even when shooting 4K video at 60 fps on a hot sunny day at +30 degrees Celsius.

Software

In this case, it is worth mentioning only the operation of the device with a large screen and the possibilities of windows.

In short, almost all programs can be minimized to the right or left pane. They can be presented as a floating window that can be made larger or smaller.

If programs support windowed mode, then one application is on the left and the other is on the right. Or one in full screen, and the other in the form of a window.

Some programs may not work properlydisplayed when the screen is folded or unfolded. For example, Yandex browser writes about this. If you run it in the folded state of the phone, and then expand the display, the browser will be displayed as a smartphone application. And if you start it already with a deployed display - like for a tablet. And if you close it again, then on the “small” screen the program will display the tabs crookedly, and the formatting will “fly”.

Sometimes I met glitches with Telegram. It was displayed on the “large” screen either for a smartphone (one window), or for a tablet with two windows: channels are on the left, chat is on the right.

Games accept the format quickly - there were no problems.

The system runs on EMUI 12, not the proprietary HarmonyOS.

As for programs, I found almost everything in AppGallery. The only app that didn't notify me of messages was Avito. But it is not in the store either, I had to look for w3bsit3-dns.com.

I forgot to say about tactile vibration feedback. It seems to me that it is quite powerful and not as delicate as on the P50 or P50 Pro. Probably due to the large dimensions of the device.

Sound Features

The novelty has two speakers forhands-free calls and music output in stereo sound. The volume is high, the quality is excellent: a very wide dynamic range, pleasant low frequencies, better than on Asus Zenfone 8 and Apple iPhone 12/13. The volume is felt, the sound "breathes".

The Mate Xs 2 does not have a 3.5mm jack. Audio codecs - only SBC and AAC.

Impression

The Huawei Mate Xs 2 smartphone is a unique product. It definitely evokes emotions in the one who uses it. Another question is what kind of emotions.

Here I have a "bipolar" with Mate Xs 2. On the one hand, I admired the design, but at some point I did not understand what exactly I liked about it.

With the system of unfolding and folding I havesimilar situation. If I see someone else doing it, it seems to me that this is a very cool feature. But as soon as I myself try to play with the mechanism, there is a slight rejection. Well, it’s inconveniently done: the opening movements are unnatural, the mechanism is very tight.

Nearly all reviewers praised the Mate Xs 2 for beingthat Huawei made in the folding state of the big screen. This is a mistake, because the designers removed the motivational trigger for accessing the large screen: it is reluctant to open it, since you already have a pretty good display for getting any information when folded. And to decompose, you need to make, in my opinion, not very convenient movements. It's not like with a book: open and close.

The screen itself is simply gorgeous. There are no questions here. You will definitely enjoy interacting with him: viewing photos, videos, toys!

"Iron" is not top-end, but it will last another two or three years.

The cameras are great, but I didn't like the zoom module. In addition, there are only 8 MP.

The operating time is normal for this type of device. The main thing is to remember when specifying the data: “And what about the competitors?”

The price in the region of 140,000 rubles is not prohibitive. I would say market.

In general, Huawei turned out to be an ambiguous smartphone, but definitely extremely interesting!

Samsung Galaxy should be considered the main competitorZ Fold 3. Why not Fold 4? Well, because it has a more powerful and modern chipset. You can find Fold 3 from 100,000 rubles. In OZON, SberMegaMarket - from 150,000 rubles.

If you still aim at Fold 4, you will have to pay about 145,000 rubles for a “gray” device. For example, in BigGeek.

Regarding Xiaomi Mix Fold 2. Here you should look at Avito. There it can be found from 120,000 rubles. Yes, it's pre-order. Or contact AliExpress.

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