Huawei Mate Xs 2 review

EMUI 12 with foldable-specific tweaks

As is the norm with Huawei handsets thanks to the US-China trade dispute, the Mate Xs 2 is denied the latest Android, so it runs Android 11. There's an in-house overlay on top - EMUI 12 for the global version of the phone we have here, or HarmonyOS 2.0 for China-bound units.

We got to meet that combo on the P50 Pro and the P50 Pocket, and what we're seeing here is very similar to the experience on those phones. There are some touches to account for the different form-factor, but we'll get to those in a bit.

There's an AoD feature with numerous designs and the usual display mores - always, scheduled, or tap to show. You can set up a magazine lockscreen style that changes the wallpaper every time you wake up the screen and swiping up from the bottom of the lockscreen will bring up quick shortcuts to some commonly used utilities.

The side-mounted fingerprint sensor on the Mate Xs 2 works without issues. Face unlock is also available thanks to the newly incuded selfie camera - the Mate Xs didn't have that. As usual, the fingerprint option is more secure, since Face unlock is just camera based, with no 3D mapping of any sort.

AoD • Lockscreen • Tools • Biometrics and security

On the homescreen, you will find all installed third-party and system apps, and there's no option for an app drawer. What there is, is support for large folders, where one occupies four spaces and holds up to 9 apps. You don't need to expand the folder to launch an app - you just tap on its icon. Simple, yet clever.

The Notification Center and Control Center are handled the Apple way - two separate panes, and you swipe down from the top for each. The rightmost one third of the status bar pulls the Control Center, the rest brings down the notifications.

Homescreen • Another one • Large folder in the making • Folder view • Notification pane • Control panel

The leftmost homescreen page, if enabled, is Today, part of the Huawei Assistant suite. An infotainment place of sorts, it houses a newsfeed tailored for you, weather reports, smart suggestions for apps, health info, battery info, AppGallery suggestions, a whole lot of things. You can customize this page - there are a lot of information services available from Huawei partners; you can also add game info, scores, and whatnot.

Swiping down anywhere on the homescreen takes you to the system-wide AI Search feature. Also part of the AI suite are AI Lens (for shopping, translation and finding images on the internet), AI Tips (suggestion to maximize your grasp on the UI), and AI Touch (another shopping-focused feature). Out of the P50 Pro, P50 Pocket and this Mate Xs 2 here, only the Pocket had Huawei's voice assistant Celia (also called AI Voice).

Today • System-wide search • Huawei Assistant

The default navigation in EMUI 12 is gesture-based - swipe up for Home, swipe up and stop midway for Task switcher, or swipe from the left or right edge of the screen for Back. You can opt for the classic virtual buttons, of course.

Huawei offers a lot of pre-installed apps to get you started. There is Huawei's Gallery, Music, Video, and Health apps. A File manager is available, as well as an IR remote control app.

Gallery • Music • Video • Health • File manager • Remote control

You also get Petal Maps, Petal Search and Huawei Browser.

Petal Maps • Petal Maps • Petal Search • Petal Search • Browser

Then there's the matter of where you'll be getting your apps in the absence of the Google Play Store. Huawei's AppGallery is the default choice and it has integrated Petal search, plus it shows results from other app repositories, like APK Pure and APK Monk. It can also download the app from there and install it, no need to install the store apps first. You can install, of course, more app stores like APKPure and Aptoide (though that does keep nagging about missing Google Play services, which is a new development), or even Amazon's Appstore. Still, some things like Google Maps and YouTube are off the table, unless you turn to one of the sketchy workarounds you could read about on the internet.

AppGallery • AppGallery • AppGallery • APKPure • APKPure • Aptoide

Large screen experience, multi-tasking and productivity

The Mate Xs 2 in its unfolded state looks and behaves just like a small tablet. The 10.1:9 aspect ratio does not appear to be causing any issues and most apps that have a dedicated tablet UI variant simply switch over to it, automatically.

Unfolded UI

A curious observation was that not all in-house apps are fully optimized for the large screen. While the settings menu, Notepad app and the email client do go into a dual-pane view, the Calendar, for example, doesn't have a different interface that can benefit from the large screen.

Settings • Petal Maps • Calendar

Also, many games don't really respond well to the combination of detecting the full resolution and aspect of the display when switching between modes and are then being forced to render at a different size. Touch controls can get misaligned, depending on how the game was developed.

In order to keep compatibility as high as possible, Huawei has included a nifty App scaling menu in the Display settings menu. This is separated out into settings for the unfolded, and the folded display on a per-app basis, though the folded one is in a pretty standard 19:9 aspect so there shouldn't be any issues. If you do experience any mishaps an app on the folded display, you can tell it not to span the full height but maintain a retro 9:16 aspect, instead.

App scaling

The Mate Xs 2 includes a familiar and functional multi-window and multi-tasking implementation, which is welcome on a device of this size.

Multi-Window gestures

Launching apps into a split-screen view is generally done via a side menu, accessible by swiping from the right edge of the display. Tapping an app from here spawns a floating window of it, and you can now have two such windows open at the same time, with every subsequently launched one minimizing one of the earlier ones to a separate icon on the side, which in turn opens a separate task switcher.

Floating window

To initiate the split-screen view, you have to long-press the app icon from the side dock, and then drag it on top of another app, which is already open. You can add any app you choose into this Multi-Window menu, and most seem to work and scale pretty effortlessly.

Something worth noting is that you can't change the sizes of the two app sides in unfolded mode. Perhaps it's a conscious limitation to keep everything working well. Adjusting the app split is possible with Multi-Window while the Mate Xs is folded, though. This looks and behaves a lot like we are used to on any regular phone.

Split screen

There are a few nifty features in Huawei's Multi-Window, which are a boon for usability. For example, you can drag and drop certain content between two apps. You can also have an app pair remain bundled together as one entry in the recent apps view, so you can easily close both of them or return to that particular side-by-side workflow.

Performance and benchmarks

The Snapdragon 888 - that's a name we hadn't heard in a while. But it's that Qualcomm chipset in particular that is the heart of the Mate Xs 2 amidst the restriction imposed on Huawei by the US government. It's also in capped at 4G connectivity since Huawei doesn't get to enjoy US-sourced 5G tech. But for benchmarking purposes, the Mate's SD888 4G should be as good as any other SD888 - it's just that by now it's more than a year-and-a-half-old silicon.

RAM and storage versions of the Mate Xs 2 are easy if you're shopping outside of China - the global variant only comes in 8GB/512GB spec. In its homeland, there's a version with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, as well as 12GB of RAM and 512GB of storage. Maybe a 'global' buyer would like to pay extra for a 12GB RAM version, but that doesn't appear to be an option.

When it comes to CPU performance, the Mate Xs 2 ranks below average for 2022 flagship smartphones, which is to be expected given its early-2021 chipset. However, the Xs 2 is underdelivering, even for an SD888, and the Kirin 9000-based X2 is posting higher numbers. The Z Fold3 is only slightly ahead of the Mate, for what that's worth.

GeekBench 5 (single-core)

Higher is better

• Xiaomi 12S Ultra
  1324
• Xiaomi 12 Pro
  1169
• Asus ROG Phone 6 Pro
  1110
• Huawei P50 Pro
  1105
• Average SD 888 (1080p)
  1104
• Galaxy Z Fold3 5G (cover display)
  1095
• Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 5G
  1095
• Oppo Find X5 Pro
  1002
• Oppo Find N (cover display)
  985
• Oppo Find N
  985
• Huawei Mate X2 (cover display)
  956
• Huawei Mate X2
  956
• Huawei Mate Xs 2
  900
• Huawei Mate Xs 2 (Unfolded)
  884
• Huawei Mate Xs
  751

GeekBench 5 (multi-core)

Higher is better

• Xiaomi 12S Ultra
  4300
• Xiaomi 12 Pro
  3682
• Average SD 888 (1080p)
  3511
• Oppo Find N (cover display)
  3478
• Oppo Find N
  3478
• Oppo Find X5 Pro
  3433
• Huawei Mate X2 (cover display)
  3389
• Huawei Mate X2
  3389
• Galaxy Z Fold3 5G (cover display)
  3239
• Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 5G
  3239
• Huawei P50 Pro
  3145
• Huawei Mate Xs 2 (Unfolded)
  3131
• Huawei Mate Xs 2
  3079
• Huawei Mate Xs
  2980
• Asus ROG Phone 6 Pro
  2659

The Antutu situation is no different and the Mate Xs 2 records numbers that are way below the current flagship level, but also lower than the average SD888 figures in our database.

AnTuTu 9

Higher is better

• Xiaomi 12S Ultra
  1039412
• Oppo Find X5 Pro
  1012896
• Xiaomi 12 Pro
  985226
• Oppo Find N
  822513
• Oppo Find N (cover display)
  799386
• Huawei P50 Pro
  786215
• Average SD 888 (1080p)
  783623
• Asus ROG Phone 6 Pro
  762090
• Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 5G
  752218
• Galaxy Z Fold3 5G (cover display)
  724906
• Huawei Mate X2 (cover display)
  661044
• Huawei Mate Xs 2
  658825
• Huawei Mate Xs 2 (Unfolded)
  641608

In the offscreen runs in GFXBench, however, the Mate Xs 2 does manage to punch above its weight, and scores a frame or two more per second than the average SD888 smartphone. It's also consistently on top of the Galaxy Z Fold3. Naturally, that's not quite Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 level performance, but it's something.

GFX Aztek ES 3.1 High (offscreen 1440p)

Higher is better

• Xiaomi 12S Ultra
  46
• Xiaomi 12 Pro
  41
• Oppo Find X5 Pro
  40
• Asus ROG Phone 6 Pro
  33
• Oppo Find N (cover display)
  31
• Oppo Find N
  31
• Huawei Mate X2 (cover display)
  29
• Huawei Mate X2
  29
• Huawei Mate Xs 2
  28
• Huawei Mate Xs 2 (Unfolded)
  28
• Average SD 888 (1080p)
  26
• Huawei P50 Pro
  22
• Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 5G
  20
• Galaxy Z Fold3 5G (cover display)
  17

GFX Aztek Vulkan High (offscreen 1440p)

Higher is better

• Xiaomi 12S Ultra
  51
• Xiaomi 12 Pro
  45
• Oppo Find X5 Pro
  44
• Asus ROG Phone 6 Pro
  36
• Huawei Mate Xs 2
  31
• Huawei Mate Xs 2 (Unfolded)
  31
• Huawei Mate X2
  31
• Oppo Find N
  30
• Huawei P50 Pro
  30
• Oppo Find N (cover display)
  29
• Huawei Mate X2 (cover display)
  29
• Average SD 888 (1080p)
  29
• Galaxy Z Fold3 5G (cover display)
  19
• Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 5G
  19

GFX Car Chase ES 3.1 (offscreen 1080p)

Higher is better

• Xiaomi 12S Ultra
  104
• Asus ROG Phone 6 Pro
  103
• Xiaomi 12 Pro
  96
• Oppo Find X5 Pro
  94
• Oppo Find N (cover display)
  75
• Oppo Find N
  73
• Huawei Mate Xs 2 (Unfolded)
  72
• Huawei Mate Xs 2
  71
• Average SD 888 (1080p)
  66
• Huawei P50 Pro
  64
• Huawei Mate X2
  61
• Huawei Mate X2 (cover display)
  56
• Galaxy Z Fold3 5G (cover display)
  55
• Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 5G
  55
• Huawei Mate Xs
  36
• Huawei Mate Xs (Unfolded)
  36

GFX Manhattan ES 3.1 (offscreen 1080p)

Higher is better

• Xiaomi 12S Ultra
  182
• Xiaomi 12 Pro
  168
• Oppo Find X5 Pro
  162
• Asus ROG Phone 6 Pro
  134
• Oppo Find N (cover display)
  125
• Oppo Find N
  125
• Huawei Mate Xs 2
  122
• Huawei Mate Xs 2 (Unfolded)
  121
• Average SD 888 (1080p)
  113
• Huawei Mate X2
  100
• Huawei P50 Pro
  99
• Huawei Mate X2 (cover display)
  72
• Galaxy Z Fold3 5G (cover display)
  71
• Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 5G
  71
• Huawei Mate Xs
  66
• Huawei Mate Xs (Unfolded)
  66

The onscreen tests prove more taxing on the Mate - less so in its unfolded state, but quite considerably when all of its 5.5 million pixels need to be fed. Having said that, the Mate does manage to outperform the Z Fold3 on most occasions.

GFX Aztek ES 3.1 High (onscreen)

Higher is better

• Asus ROG Phone 6 Pro
  58
• Oppo Find N (cover display)
  50
• Galaxy Z Fold3 5G (cover display)
  49
• Average SD 888 (1080p)
  39
• Xiaomi 12S Ultra
  38
• Huawei Mate X2 (cover display)
  36
• Xiaomi 12 Pro
  36
• Oppo Find X5 Pro
  35
• Huawei Mate Xs 2
  34
• Oppo Find N
  32
• Huawei P50 Pro
  27
• Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 5G
  25
• Huawei Mate Xs
  23
• Huawei Mate X2
  20
• Huawei Mate Xs 2 (Unfolded)
  19
• Huawei Mate Xs (Unfolded)
  12

GFX Aztek Vulkan High (onscreen)

Higher is better

• Oppo Find N (cover display)
  45
• Asus ROG Phone 6 Pro
  45
• Xiaomi 12S Ultra
  39
• Average SD 888 (1080p)
  38
• Xiaomi 12 Pro
  37
• Oppo Find X5 Pro
  36
• Huawei Mate Xs 2
  34
• Galaxy Z Fold3 5G (cover display)
  34
• Oppo Find N
  33
• Huawei P50 Pro
  26
• Huawei Mate Xs 2 (Unfolded)
  21
• Huawei Mate X2 (cover display)
  19
• Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 5G
  18
• Huawei Mate Xs
  16
• Huawei Mate X2
  12
• Huawei Mate Xs (Unfolded)
  10

GFX Car Chase ES 3.1 (onscreen)

Higher is better

• Asus ROG Phone 6 Pro
  79
• Oppo Find N (cover display)
  60
• Galaxy Z Fold3 5G (cover display)
  60
• Average SD 888 (1080p)
  55
• Huawei Mate Xs 2
  51
• Oppo Find N
  51
• Xiaomi 12S Ultra
  51
• Huawei Mate X2 (cover display)
  46
• Xiaomi 12 Pro
  46
• Huawei P50 Pro
  44
• Oppo Find X5 Pro
  44
• Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 5G
  38
• Huawei Mate Xs
  30
• Huawei Mate X2
  29
• Huawei Mate Xs 2 (Unfolded)
  28
• Huawei Mate Xs (Unfolded)
  16

GFX Manhattan ES 3.1 (onscreen)

Higher is better

• Asus ROG Phone 6 Pro
  108
• Average SD 888 (1080p)
  96
• Xiaomi 12S Ultra
  91
• Xiaomi 12 Pro
  86
• Huawei Mate Xs 2
  78
• Huawei P50 Pro
  72
• Oppo Find N (cover display)
  60
• Oppo Find N
  60
• Galaxy Z Fold3 5G (cover display)
  60
• Huawei Mate Xs
  54
• Huawei Mate X2 (cover display)
  47
• Huawei Mate Xs 2 (Unfolded)
  45
• Huawei Mate X2
  40
• Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 5G
  40
• Huawei Mate Xs (Unfolded)
  26

In 3D Mark, the distribution is similar to the offscreen GFXBench runs - slightly above average results for the chipsets from the Mate, and a victory over the Galaxy.

3DMark Wild Life Vulkan 1.1 (offscreen 1440p)

Higher is better

• Xiaomi 12S Ultra
  10533
• Oppo Find X5 Pro
  9758
• Xiaomi 12 Pro
  9664
• Oppo Find N (cover display)
  5931
• Oppo Find N
  5928
• Huawei Mate Xs 2 (Unfolded)
  5830
• Huawei Mate Xs 2
  5814
• Huawei Mate X2 (cover display)
  5751
• Average SD 888 (1080p)
  5699
• Huawei Mate X2
  5693
• Huawei P50 Pro
  5651
• Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 5G
  5635
• Galaxy Z Fold3 5G (cover display)
  5563

Under sustained load, the Mate Xs 2 performed as expected from a high-end device with some heavy thermal throttling along the way. The CPU stress test had it dip to 62% of peak performance when unfolded, though it did manage to maintain a decent 72% average. Somewhat oddly, it managed to remain more stable when closed, though admittedly only marginally so. The 3DMark Wild Life stress test returned stability ratings of 57% in either state - again, more or less par for the course.

CPU throttling test • 3DMark Wild life stress test