Samsung Galaxy ZFold 2 vs Huawei Mate Xs: Which is the superior 5G foldable phone?

But how does the Z Fold 2 compare against one of its more intriguing competitors, the exciting, but exotic Huawei Mate Xs? 

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Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 5G – 256GB, up to $800 off with trade-in, plus Buds Live and Watch 3 for $250

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Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 vs Huawei Mate Xs: Price and release date

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 is coming later this month, on September 18. The price tag shouldn’t really knock your socks off – Samsung wants $2,000 for the foldable, and that’s kind of normal for such a device these days. You should technically be able to get the Galaxy Fold 2 in many regions, though sufficient supply isn’t guaranteed. In the meantime, the Huawei Mate Xs isn’t available in the US and its availability is a bit limited. Then comes the price – at $2,999, it’s a much more expensive device. 

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 vs Huawei Mate Xs: Design

Although foldable, the two devices couldn’t have been more different from one another. The Galaxy Fold 2 has two displays, an smaller external one and a 7.6-inch Super AMOLED folding screen on the inside. The phone itself opens up like a book. Overall, the device is quite thick and tall even when folded; you’ll definitely be aware of the monster in your pants at all times. 

In the meantime, the Huawei Mate Xs uses just one screen but folds outwards. There’s a thicker bezel on the right side of the phone which helps with the grip in the phone’s unfolded state. The Mate Xs is thinner than the Z Fold 2 at the cost of more weight, but we should take into account that its display is also bigger. 

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 vs Huawei Mate Xs: Display

The 6.2-inch external AMOLED display of the Z Fold 2 is a regular screen, with a 2260 x 816-pixel resolution. At he same time, the main AMOLED display is a 2208 x 1768-pixel one, and most importantly, it has a 120Hz refresh rate, similar to the S20 Ultra and Note 20 Ultra. A pretty neat feature that would cost you valuable battery life. 

The Huawei Mate Xs has no high-refresh rate display, but what it has is a large, 8-inch AMOLED display with the sharp resolution of 2480 by 2200 pixels. When you fold the phone, it transforms into a front 2480 x 1148-pixel 6.6-inch display, while the rear one stands at 6.4-inches and 2480 by 892 pixels.

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Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 5G – 256GB, up to $800 off with trade-in, plus Buds Live and Watch 3 for $250

$1949

$1999

Buy at Samsung

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 vs Huawei Mate Xs: Hardware specs

A Snapdragon 865+ is powering the Galaxy Z Fold 2 and it’s every bit as impressive in terms of performance as you might imagine. The top performance is further enhanced by the 12GB of LPDDR5 RAM and 256GB of UFS3.1 storage, which is top tier hardware. A 4,500mAh battery keeps the lights on, with fast 25W wired and 11W wireless charging. 

A Kirin 990 chipset and 8GB of LPDDR4 RAM power up the Mate Xs, and users have 512GB of storage at their disposal and you can further expand on that with a proprietary nano memory card. The Mate Xs has no wireless charging, but it trumps the Z Fold 2 in wired charging: Huawei has put a 55W super-fast charger, and rest assured the phone gobbles it all up for an extremely fast recharging.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 vs Huawei Mate Xs: 5G support

Both phones have 5G support, just as we’ve come to expect from any top 2020 flagship device. The Z Fold 2 supports SA, NSA, Sub-6, mmWave, while the Mate Xs makes do with the n1, n3, n28, n38, n41, n77, n78, n79, SA, NSA bands and standards. 

The big kicker here is that the Mate Xs doesn’t support Google’s services and you will have issues if you heavily rely on Google’s services. Technically, many apps should work and you might use Gmail and YouTube from the browser, but it’s definitely a big hurdle to go completely Google-free in 2020. Aside from that, both phones come with the latest Android 10 on board, with the One UI and Emotion UI enhancing the experience on the Z Fold 2 and the Mate Xs, respectively.

Here are the best new app multitasking features that the Z Fold 2’s foldable design and Flex modes allow:

• Use Gmail, YouTube, Spotify, Outlook or native apps in a split mode between content and interface in Flex mode.
• Work on Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, or PowerPoint presentations with PC-like toolbars.
• Advanced Multi-Active Window mode lets you open 3 apps (from 11 supported) or files from the same app (Samsung Notes, Internet, Myfiles, or Office apps) in flexible layouts.
• Drag and drop content between app windows (Gallery, Internet, Message, Myfiles, Notes, Microsoft and Google apps) with the Split Screen Capture option.
• App continuity – watch a YouTube video on the cover screen, swirl the phone and continue on the main screen with the comments on the bottom half.

Here are some of the Mate Xs’ own software quirks and features:

• Apps that have tablet versions switch to the productive tablet layout when the Mate Xs is opened.
• The stock foldable interface only covers the basics in split-screen functionality.
• Google apps can be side-loaded or alternatives found, but apps that probe for Google services won’t function well, including some games and payment.
• The squarish aspect ratio of the opened display means you very rarely use the full screen during video playback.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 vs Huawei Mate Xs: Camera

It’s easy to remember the Z Fold 2’s camera setup: a 12MP main + a 12MP telephoto + a 12MP wide-angle one. There’s no selfie camera on board: you will have to make do with the main camera, but that’s actually not a bad thing at all. 

The phone sports a rather respectable camera kit, with a large 40MP main sensor, a 16MP camera with ultrawide angle lens for group photos or landscapes, and an 8MP telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom, not to mention the depth-sensing time-of-flight unit. The main sensor sports Huawei’s movel RYYB yellow pixel arrangement that is supposed to soak in more photons than the standard one with green pixels.

$50

off

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 5G – 256GB, up to $800 off with trade-in, plus Buds Live and Watch 3 for $250

$1949

$1999

Buy at Samsung