Exactly one year after unveiling its first ever foldable smartphone, Huawei is back with an updated version dubbed the Mate Xs which introduces a series of hardware revisions to ensure a better experience.

Luckily for use, we had the chance to go hands-on with the futuristic product earlier today. Here are our initial impressions.

The crease is less noticeable this time around

The Huawei Mate Xs features a massive 8-inch AMOLED display with almost zero interruptions this time around. There is a slight crease in the middle, as shown in some of the photos below, but it’s really only visible in certain lighting.This area feels a little raised if you run your finger over it, although it does seem to be much less noticeable than on last year’s smartphone. Hopefully that’s because of the more mature screen technology and not because these prototypes have only just come out of the factory.

Fortunately, it won’t be too long before we know what the controversial crease looks like on retail units. The Huawei Mate Xs will be launched in Europe and Asia this spring with an extremely high €2,499 price tag attached, significantly pricier than the Galaxy Fold and €200 more than last year’s Mate X.

The refined hinge isn’t very reassuring

Huawei’s newest foldable device arguably does a better job at blending the smartphone and tablet experiences from the functionality perspective than Samsung’s Galaxy Fold. The larger 8-inch display provides a more immersive experience and the 6.6-inch folded screen is noticeably more practical.The Chinese giant has also done a pretty good job on the software, it seems. During the short time we played with the device, the animations seemed pretty smooth and apps quickly adapted to how the Huawei Mate Xs was being used.

Huawei has also introduced an improved multitasking interface that allows users to have two apps such as Browser and Mail, open side-by-side and a third one loaded up in a floating window. It is worth pointing out, however, that the smartphone doesn’t have access to Play Store or any Google services – it instead relies on the App Gallery store.

There are some other downsides to the Huawei Mate Xs too. Although the 6.6-inch display is more practical than the Galaxy Fold’s tiny 4.6-inch screen, having a flat edge on one side and a curved edge on the other feels quite weird.

The most worrying feature is the hinge, though. Huawei has made some improvements to the mechanism but folding the display is still far from smooth. It doesn’t feel very sturdy either, which raises some serious durability questions.