Huawei Mate S review: Precision styled

Two web browsers

Like most droids nowadays, the Huawei Mate S comes with two browsers to handle your web surfing needs. The stock browser offers largely the same functionality as Google's bundled Chrome browser, but we found the latter to be a more capable performer. Chrome also lets you sign in with your Google account and access open tabs and history from other sessions.

The Stock browser and Google Chrome offer similar functionality

Apps and more

Perhaps the highlight of Huawei's homebrewed apps is the Phone Manager. It lets you control all sorts of features from call/message privacy and Do Not Disturb settings, to phone optimization and app permissions, to network and battery usage.

The app features a one-touch optimization feature that frees up memory space and gives you settings recommendations for maximum battery performance. It's quite a slick feature that few manufacturers offer.

The Phone Manager app houses many important features under one roof

The Mate S comes with WPS Office (apparently Huawei has moved away from Polaris). It handles documents with ease and supports Word, Excel and PowerPoint docs (both the 2003 and 2007 versions), it also opens PDF files.

WPS Office

You do get a proper file explorer too - it has two tabs that divide your content between categories and a file explorer for internal and external storage. The app also handles ZIP and supports batch operations. It comes with a very useful Safe folder, for fingerprint protected storage. Nice!

The File Manager

Huawei has included some nifty camera features in the Huawei Mate S, some of which are accessed as individual apps. The Magnifier is especially nifty for looking at stuff up close, while the markedly female-targeted Mirror apps lets you get a quick look at yourself, with included brightness adjustments and zoom options. Also, for some reason, it artificially fogs up when you blow into the microphone.

The Magnifier and Mirror apps offer some additional camera functionality

Another interesting camera mode is hosted inside the Director app. With it, you can easily connect up to three additional phones wirelessly and switch between the video streams dynamically as you please while you record.

Director mode is loads of fun

There are also the standards, such as calendar, world clock with stopwatch and timer and a calculator. Nothing really special to point out here.

Calendar • Clock • Calculator

The notes app does come with voice memo options, which utilizes the Mate's three microphone setup. You can easily switch between a meeting setup, which would require capturing voices from all around, but you can also switch it to interview, which will try to capture only you and your participant and tone out the surroundings. Nifty!

Neat voice recording • Flashlight

When it comes to getting around, the Huawei Mate S comes with Google Maps and Navigation. The app offers much of the same functionality as its web-based counterpart, although you will need a data connection to take full advantage of the navigation features. Street view mode with digital compass enabled is an especially cool trick.

Google Maps

The best part of owning a smartphone is getting new apps, and when it comes to Android, Google Play Store is the best source for getting your fill. From recommendations to top apps, it features a plethora of ways you can find new apps, and installing an app usually only takes a couple of taps.

Google Play Store