It's hard to sum up the Huawei Mate XS as a single star. It is a new category of product; both a tablet and a phone: fully usable in both modes with minimal compromise. While we've seen other foldable devices like the Samsung Galaxy Fold and Galaxy Z Flip, as well as the Motorola Razr, the Huawei Mate XS may be better at combining the two product categories into a foldable hybrid. Their hardware is second to none. That said, for the foreseeable period, we won't be able to type on Huawei's Android (and actually foldable) phones and tablets, not to mention their software differences from other Android phones. Since Google cut ties with Huawei at the request of the US government, the Chinese manufacturer's devices have been disabled. While Huawei is doing the right thing – investing heavily in plugging Google-shaped holes in its software history, and mindful of how it sells and markets its new phones – it would be unwise to downplay the real implications of the absence of Google services to those out of China. It's hard for a magazine to capture all the nuances of the incredible Mate XS as a hybrid device, or the extent of Google's lack of mobile services for a Western user. That's why we wrote this diary that documents a week of one of the most complex smartphone stories of our generation.
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(Image credit: LaComparacion)
Zero day: I come from a Mate 30 Pro
Huawei tested the waters without Google before announcing the Mate XS with its Mate 30 Pro. Despite its 2019 launch, it only hit certain shelves in the west in 2020. The Huawei Mate 30 Pro launched in the UK with availability limited, as Huawei knew its status without Google would be challenging. Unsurprisingly, the theater surrounding its sale is one continuous, carefully orchestrated production. Sales people are trained on how to sell a phone without Google services and to whom. Huawei is also undoubtedly assessing how much fantastic hardware (which the Mate 30 Pro certainly is) is being held back by the software situation. You want to sell phones, but you don't want high return rates and angry customers, that would kill the value of the brand you worked so hard to build. I already had some experience with this phone, so I knew what to expect. But this story is not about the Mate 30 Pro.
First hour: configuration
I opened the box on the train, handling it like a relic that could turn to ashes if the wind changed direction. All the buzz surrounding the Mate XS mentioned that the plastic screen was still on display, so the last thing you wanted to do was scratch it before setting it on fire. Huawei has reinforced the plastic on the front with, finally, more plastic. A double layer glued, screen coating costs more, pound for pound, than gold. I wanted to try and be a bit random about how I used the Mate XS during my time with it, but not right out of the gate.
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(Image credit: TechRadar) In the box, the phone lies flat, in tablet mode, which is how I left it when I turned it on. When the Huawei logo appeared, first impressions were positive: an incredibly thin tablet that turns into a phone, a foldable screen that doesn't feel bad, it's special. The setup process was very similar to the Mate 30 Pro. Connect to Wi-Fi, connect to a Huawei account, connect to Huawei Phone Clone on an old device (at about 60 Mbps minimum) and bam - all my apps are blocking services related to Google and my application Barclays banking moves. There was one notable difference, however: a message warning me not to remove the screen protector, get the phone wet, or bend it in temperatures below -5 degrees Celsius / 23 degrees Fahrenheit. If the political situation didn't exclude half of North America, this last point would be, because -5 is not such a cold event! It didn't matter for fear of using the Huawei Mate XS in the real world. However, fear did not deter me; My week with Huawei's new super phone had begun.
Second hour: fold, unfold, repeat
Before I dove into the software, first, I folded and unfolded it, a lot. The phone screen changes from a 6.6-inch smartphone to an 8-inch tablet. It may not sound like a huge difference, but it is. This means you don't have to rotate your phone from portrait to landscape to enhance your photos, you can open it up and get a much better result, not to mention an "oooooh". The deployment mechanism is activated by hitting a latch on the back of the phone that unlocks the folded back. It comes out a bit, after which you do the rest. At first, I didn't like the brooch. If I felt like another mobile part on a device I already had more than most. However, the fact that it allows the Huawei Mate XS to fold is a big problem. The Mate XS's 11mm thickness makes it thicker than most phones, but it's still manageable, especially if you're from an already large flagship like the OnePlus 7T Pro.
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(Image credit: LaComparacion)
First day: software
My first full day with the Huawei Mate XS after the novelty of its design has died down a bit, and most of its implementation has passed me by. Huawei has invested €1 billion in its app gallery and to encourage developers to create for its non-Google devices. That said, it's clear that the associated enhancements will be phased in over the next few years, as the Huawei Mate XS app store experience is almost identical to that of the Mate 30 Pro. That means you get a handful of the ten best apps available through it, but it's not complete yet. Still, you can manually install apps, and there are other app stores out there; APK Pure and Aurora Store are the two that I consider most reliable and that I can recommend. 100% of the apps I needed were available on one or the other, with the exception of the games I bought from the Google Play Store, like Final Fantasy.
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(Image credit: TechRadar) It was the first psychological hurdle I had to face: my investments in Google Play were lost while I lived my best folding life. Regardless, I continued, configuring apps like Outlook to serve my needs for Google Calendar, Drive, and Gmail. Some Google apps even worked without a problem, especially Chrome and Maps, with the limitation that I couldn't log into my Google account. Most impressive, though, is the web browser experience. Whether through Chrome or Huawei's default browser, viewing sites in the desktop layout gives the impression that the Mate XS looks like an early Chromebook. I was able to upload files to Google Drive and even access my Gmail with a full web view. Connected to a mouse and keyboard, even if it wasn't a seamless experience, as long as you had internet access, it was much better than it would have been if it had been a traditional phone.
Second day: no side loading from Google
After loading up Google services on the Mate 30 Pro on day two with the XS, I was ready to take a stab at my old favorites on the foldable. The method I used before was quite simple; a few downloads, a few taps, mouse clicks, and a manual installation of six APK files, and you were done. Not on the Mate XS though. I tried twice to load google services but no good. Hmm Time to find solutions for Google's lack of functionality.
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(Image credit: TechRadar) The implications of Google's absence are far-reaching and go beyond standard Google apps. Uber, for example, doesn't work on the Mate XS because it uses Google's location-related APIs. WhatsApp backups don't work either because they're saved to Google Drive – the list of affected apps is long and random, so be prepared for a trip if you pick up a Mate 30 Pro or Huawei Mate XS. Given the added novelty and utility that a foldable phone brings, however, masochistically, this need to find app workarounds adds to the sense of newness that accompanies using the Mate XS. The revolutionary equipment was worth it, at least for me.