Discover the Huawei Pocket S in this in-depth review. Learn about its foldable design, camera, performance, and battery life, and whether it’s worth the premium price.

Huawei Pocket S Review: Compact Foldable with Style and Performance

Huawei has been pushing the boundaries of smartphone innovation, and the Huawei Pocket S, released on November 11, 2022, is a great example of the company’s commitment to delivering cutting-edge foldable technology. With its compact, foldable design, stunning OLED display, and premium build quality, the Pocket S is aimed at users who seek both style and functionality. This foldable phone brings the benefits of portability without sacrificing performance, making it a strong competitor in the foldable market.

In this review, we’ll dive deep into the Huawei Pocket S, covering everything from its design and camera performance to battery life and overall usability. Let’s find out if this foldable phone is the right choice for you.

Introduction

The foldable smartphone market is gaining momentum, and Huawei has taken a unique approach with the Pocket S, offering a compact, stylish device that fits easily into your pocket when folded but expands to a full-size smartphone when unfolded. Designed with a dual-screen setup, including a primary 6.9-inch foldable OLED display and a secondary 1.04-inch cover display, the Pocket S is all about convenience and practicality.

Despite being a foldable, the Huawei Pocket S offers solid specifications, including a Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G 4G chipset, up to 512GB of storage, a 40MP primary camera, and fast 40W charging. While it doesn’t support 5G, it offers robust 4G performance and comes equipped with the latest HarmonyOS 3.0. With a price tag of around 830 EUR, it’s positioned as a premium device, but is it worth the investment?

Design & Build Quality: Sleek and Compact

One of the main attractions of the Huawei Pocket S is its sleek foldable design. When unfolded, the phone measures 170 x 75.5 x 7.2 mm, offering a large 6.9-inch display that’s perfect for watching videos, browsing, or gaming. When folded, the dimensions shrink to 87.3 x 75.5 x 15.2 mm, making it extremely pocketable and convenient to carry around.

Weighing just 190 grams, the Pocket S feels lightweight yet premium in hand. The build quality is solid, with a glass front, aluminum frame, and a hinge mechanism that feels smooth and durable. Huawei has also added a small cover display (1.04 inches) on the exterior, which shows key notifications, time, and other essential information without needing to unfold the phone.

Available in a variety of eye-catching colors, including Blue, Pink, Green, Silver, Gold, and Black, the Huawei Pocket S is a fashionable device. Its slim form factor makes it perfect for users who want both portability and performance without compromising on style.

Display: Stunning Foldable OLED Screen

The Huawei Pocket S features a 6.9-inch Foldable OLED display with a resolution of 1188 x 2790 pixels, giving it a pixel density of around 442 ppi. The display supports 1 billion colors and has a 120Hz refresh rate, making it ideal for fluid navigation, gaming, and media consumption. Whether you’re watching videos or scrolling through social media, the display offers vibrant colors, deep blacks, and smooth performance.

The foldable display is complemented by a secondary 1.04-inch OLED cover screen with a resolution of 340 x 340 pixels. This smaller screen allows you to check notifications, the time, and basic information without needing to unfold the phone. The cover display is a practical addition, adding to the convenience of using a foldable phone.

The hinge mechanism feels sturdy and smooth, and Huawei has worked to minimize the crease in the middle of the screen when unfolded, providing a more seamless viewing experience. Overall, the Pocket S delivers one of the best displays in the foldable segment, with great color accuracy, brightness, and fluidity.

Performance: Snapdragon Power with HarmonyOS 3.0

Powering the Huawei Pocket S is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G 4G chipset, paired with 8GB or 12GB of RAM depending on the configuration. While it may not support 5G connectivity, the Snapdragon 778G still offers robust performance for everyday tasks, gaming, and multitasking.

The octa-core CPU consists of four high-performance Kryo 670 cores clocked at 2.4 GHz and four efficiency-focused Kryo 670 cores running at 1.8 GHz. This combination provides a smooth and responsive experience, even when running multiple apps or switching between tasks.

Running on HarmonyOS 3.0, the Pocket S offers a user-friendly interface with an emphasis on multitasking and cross-device functionality. HarmonyOS integrates well with other Huawei devices, allowing for easy file sharing and connectivity across tablets, laptops, and smartwatches. The operating system is smooth, and while it may lack the extensive app ecosystem of Android or iOS, it covers most essential apps and offers a great overall user experience.

In terms of storage, the Pocket S comes in three configurations: 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB. It also supports Huawei’s proprietary Nano Memory (NM) cards for expandable storage, although it uses a shared SIM slot.

Camera: High-Quality Shots in a Compact Device

The Huawei Pocket S offers a solid camera setup for a foldable device. It features a dual-camera system on the back, consisting of:

40 MP (wide), f/1.8: The primary camera delivers excellent performance, capturing sharp and detailed photos, especially in good lighting conditions. The f/1.8 aperture allows for solid low-light photography, making the Pocket S a capable camera phone for various scenarios.
13 MP (ultrawide), f/2.2, 120˚: The ultrawide camera provides a wider field of view, perfect for landscape shots or group photos. The image quality is solid, though it may not match the sharpness of the main sensor.

The camera also supports Laser Autofocus and offers features such as LED flash, HDR, and panorama. For video, the Pocket S can record in 4K and 1080p, with good stabilization and overall quality.

On the front, the 10.7 MP selfie camera performs well, offering wide-angle shots for group selfies. It supports 4K video recording, making it a great option for vloggers or those who frequently use video calls.

Battery Life: Fast Charging with a Compact Battery

Given its slim design, the Huawei Pocket S is equipped with a 4000mAh battery, which is smaller than what you’d find in most flagship smartphones. However, the efficient Snapdragon 778G chipset and OLED display help conserve battery life, ensuring you can get through a full day with moderate use.

The phone supports 40W fast wired charging, allowing you to charge up to 52% in just 20 minutes (as advertised by Huawei). This makes it convenient for users who need a quick top-up during the day. The Pocket S also supports 5W reverse wired charging, allowing you to charge smaller devices, such as wireless earbuds.

While the battery size may not be ideal for power users who need all-day heavy usage, the fast charging capability helps make up for it.

Connectivity & Additional Features

The Huawei Pocket S offers a wide range of connectivity features, including:

4G LTE support: While it doesn’t support 5G, the 4G LTE speeds are fast enough for most tasks, including streaming, browsing, and downloading.
Wi-Fi 6: Supports dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6 for fast and stable wireless connections.
Bluetooth 5.2: Ensures smooth connectivity with wireless headphones and other accessories.
GPS: Multi-band GPS support (L1+L5) along with GLONASS, BDS, GALILEO, and QZSS for precise location tracking.

The Pocket S includes a side-mounted fingerprint sensor, which is fast and reliable for unlocking the phone and making payments. It also comes with NFC for contactless payments and data transfer.

Conclusion: Stylish, Compact, and Feature-Rich

The Huawei Pocket S offers a compelling package for users who want the convenience of a foldable smartphone without sacrificing essential features. Its stunning OLED display, Snapdragon 778G chipset, solid camera performance, and fast charging capabilities make it a great option for those who value portability and premium design.

While the lack of 5G support and a smaller battery might be drawbacks for some, the overall performance, build quality, and innovative foldable design make the Pocket S a standout device in the foldable market.

If you’re looking for a stylish, foldable smartphone that offers great value for the price, the Huawei Pocket S is definitely worth considering.

Huawei Pocket S Full Specifications

Feature	Specification
Launch Date	November 11, 2022
Dimensions	Unfolded: 170 x 75.5 x 7.2 mm; Folded: 87.3 x 75.5 x 15.2 mm
Weight	190 g (6.70 oz)
Display	6.9-inch Foldable OLED, 120Hz, 1188 x 2790 pixels (~442 ppi)
Cover Display	1.04-inch OLED, 340 x 340 pixels (~328 ppi)
Operating System	HarmonyOS 3.0
Processor	Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G 4G (6 nm)
RAM/Storage	128GB/8GB RAM, 256GB/8GB RAM, 512GB/8GB RAM
Expandable Storage	Nano Memory (NM), up to 256GB (shared SIM slot)
Main Camera	Dual: 40 MP (wide), 13 MP (ultrawide), 4K video
Selfie Camera	10.7 MP (ultrawide), 4K video
Battery	Li-Po 4000 mAh, 40W wired charging, 5W reverse wired charging
Colors Available	Blue, Pink, Green, Silver, Gold, Black
Price	About 830 EUR
Models	BAL-AL60