Huawei Mate Xs 2 review

Upgraded main camera, same tele, a step sideways on the ultrawide end

The Mate Xs 2 comes with a slightly reworked take on the Xs' camera system without introducing dramatic changes. Perhaps the single principal difference is the inclusion of a selfie camera this time around, but as we'll establish later, that's better kept for use cases outside of photography.

One of the changes is the new primary camera. Huawei doesn't disclose specifics on it other than the 50MP nominal resolution and the f/1.8 aperture. The 23mm equivalent focal length found in the fine print and reported by hardware apps is most definitely not what the pictures look like and the 27mm from the EXIF looks far more plausible. If one is a betting man, perhaps the smart money is on an OIS-less variation on the P50 Pro's setup, hinted by the BGGR reported color filter array. In any case, it's a Quad Bayer-type sensor that outputs 12.5MP images by default.

Similarly mysterious is the 13MP ultrawide camera. It has an f/2.2 aperture and supports autofocus (yay!), and all that makes it sound like the P50 Pocket's unit, but it's not like we know all that much about it to begin with. Mind you, the Xs had a 16MP ultrawide, and the drop in resolution might sound like a downgrade, but we know not to judge a camera by its megapixels.

The telephoto is somewhat more familiar, and we're pegging it to be the same as on last year's model. It features an 8MP sensor behind a stabilized 81mm equivalent lens with an f/2.4 aperture. It offers 3x or 3.5x zoom, depending on how you interpret some conflicting numbers in Huawei's documentation - in any case, it's further zoom than what you can get on a Galaxy or an Oppo foldable, with only Huawei's own X2 having proper long-range zoom capability.

The all-new entry this time around is the selfie camera - the previous two outies from the company omitted that, for one reason or another. The unit we're seeing here is a 10.7MP one with a very (but not quite 'ultra') wide 21mm reported equivalent focal length and an f/2.2 aperture. Focus is fixed on this one.

The camera app is a familiar sight if you've seen any remotely recent Huawei smartphone. You have a Mode selector on the bottom, which you can swipe left or right to change modes. You can add more options on this bar, too.

The zoom selector is always in immediate reach of your thumb, which wasn't the case on some older Huaweis that forced you to use both hands. It has four fixed steps - UW, 1x, 3.5x and 5x, the last being essentially digital zoom. You can use other zoom levels by swiping on the zoom bar, of course.

There's a Pro mode too where you can adjust parameters yourself - ISO (50 to 409,600), shutter speed (1/4000s to 30s), exposure compensation (-4 to +4EV in 1/3 stop increments), and white balance (presets and specific light temperature). You can also choose the metering mode (matrix, center-weighted, and spot), and the focus mode (single, continuous, and manual). If the phone thinks you messed up the exposure, an icon will pop up to warn you. Mind you, Pro mode is available on all rear cameras.

A toggle in the far corner of the viewfinder, enables the 'rear' display - the portion of the wraparound screen that ends on the back when the Mate Xs 2 is folded. We'll talk more about it in the selfie section on the next page, but let's quickly mention here that the lack of an actionable UI on the rear display feels like a missed opportunity.

Camera UI

Daylight image quality

Images out of the Mate Xs 2's main camera are very good. Noise is nonexistent and detail is nice and sharp. Dynamic range is wide and we're seeing well developed tonal extremes. Colors we can best describe as accurate, which is to say we'd prefer a gentle nudge in saturation and/or warmth, particularly in outdoor scenes.

Daylight samples, main camera

That's precisely what the ultrawide delivers and it does make greenery and skies look more appealing. Dynamic range is excellent in these photos as well. It doesn't hurt that these are also among the sharpest ultrawide shots we've seen, if a little overprocessed. Another highlight of this camera is its autofocusing capability which means you can use it for closeups.

Daylight samples, ultrawide camera

The telephoto is a dependable performer too. It gets you closer to the action and even though 8MP isn't a whole lot, its shots do contain a lot of detail, while keeping noise at bay. There's good contrast too - all too often teles can look washed out, but not this one. One area where we saw missteps was white balance - the auto failed pretty badly in that fourth sample and the snail in the first is way too green too.

Daylight samples, telephoto camera

The main camera's default 50MP mode produces soft result when you go into 1:1 magnification and we're struggling to see any detail benefit. The 50MP AI mode that takes a couple of seconds to shoot does produce sharper shots, but we still don't think it's worth the wait or larger file size.

Daylight samples, main camera, 50MP

Low-light image quality

Let's get one thing out of the way first, so that we don't have to say it twice - there's no difference between the results obtained in Photo mode and in Night mode when shooting on the main and ultrawide cameras. If you were to spot any, it would be more of a shot to shot variation, than a genuine advantage of one mode over the other.

With that said, the Mate Xs 2's low-light photos from its main camera are great. They have pleasingly bright exposure with a wide dynamic range and well developed shadows and highlights. Colors are on point too - we observed no desaturation and we also didn't experience white balance blunders. Detail leaves little to be desired too.

Low-light samples, main camera

Low-light samples, main camera, Night mode

The ultrawide doesn't disappoint either. It may not be quite as sharp as during the day, but it still delivers respectable detail levels. The exposures are again a bit enthusiastic and we'd argue that's our preferred approach over more 'accurate' darker shots. Dynamic range remains nicely wide and both tonal extremes have nice roll-off.

Low-light samples, ultrawide camera

Low-light samples, ultrawide camera, Night mode

When we get to the telephoto, there might be the occasional scene that is better rendered in Night mode, instead of the default Photo mode. That's in addition to Huawei's continued insistence on outputting 12MP images from the telephoto in Night mode, next to the 8MP ones in Photo mode.

For instance, in the second scene below, the zoomed in shot was captured on the main camera in Photo mode, and the Night mode shot, taken on the telephoto, is superior. We found Photo mode to be a bit less dependable in certain scenes and there was that one instance (sample 2) where the zoomed in shot got captured on the main camera. In another scene (sample 3) the photo was captured on the telephoto, but we didn't get a single keeper, while Night mode returned sharp results.

Overall, however, we're liking what the Mate Xs 2's zoom camera is capable of. It too exposes well and has good dynamic range. While not quite as proficient with shadow detail as the other two, if you give it some light to work with, it will produce very usable shots.

Low-light samples, telephoto camera

Low-light samples, telephoto camera, Night mode

Once you're done with the real world samples, head over to our Photo compare tool to see how the Huawei Mate Xs 2 stacks up against the competition.

Huawei Mate Xs 2 against the Galaxy Z Fold3 and the Oppo Find N in our Photo compare tool