Huawei Mate 8 (reviews, photos are placed further in the article) is a phablet of the Chinese manufacturer of the sample in November 2015. In many ways, this device belongs to the premium class, which determines its high cost. But for the money, the buyer gets ease of use and one of the best specifications in the industry.
Huawei Mate 8: reviews, specifications
The main technical characteristics of the phone are as follows:
- 6.0 ”diagonal display, 1080 x 1920 pixels.
- Camera 16 MP, video 1080p.
- The processor is an 8-core Hisilicon Kirin 950 with a frequency of 2.3 GHz.
- The size of RAM is 3 or 4 GB, flash memory is 32 or 64 GB, and additional memory is up to 128 GB.
- 4000 mAh Li-polymer battery.
- Mass - 185 g.
- Dimensions - 157 x 81 x 7.9 mm.
Following in the footsteps of Mate 7, the phablet is also a serious and pretty smartphone. He says out loud: this is a business.
But the high price ($ 450), some characteristics that do not correspond to premium phones, as well as reviews suggest that the phablet is not worth that kind of money. The best alternatives are the Nexus 6P and Galaxy Note 5. Having the same size, they offer a sharper and brighter image and a first-class camera.
Design and build quality
Design Huawei Mate 8 customer reviews highly. The phone has an unrivaled business-class aura thanks to the precision machining of metal and glass parts, sharper, bolder edges. Available in gold, silver, gray and coffee.
For a 6-inch smartphone, the device is very compact. The phone is 4.2 mm shorter than the 5.7-inch Nexus 6P of the same manufacturer, and less by a millimeter than the iPhone 6s Plus, whose diagonal display has only 5.5 inches.
The phablet is equipped with a solid aluminum case, corresponding to its status as the flagship model. The back panel features a thin satin finish. True, it cannot be removed, there is no access to the battery.
Hybrid slot
The Mate 8 comes with a so-called hybrid DualSIM / MicroSD card slot. This means that the phone has two card slots. The first is for the main SIM card and can connect to LTE networks. The second slot can be used to connect a second SIM card (only 2G) or a microSD memory card. Depending on the needs, this can be either good or bad.
The best fingerprint scanner
One of the best aspects that distinguish the smartphone Huawei Mate 8, user reviews note the presence of a fingerprint sensor located on the rear panel. This is one of the best implementations on the market: the sensor is always on, lightning fast and rarely makes mistakes. Unlocking and displaying the start screen occurs almost instantly. In addition, the sensor can be configured to take pictures, answer calls, or turn off the alarm.
Display
The 6-inch display has Full HD resolution, which corresponds to 1080 x 1920 pixels. The density of 368 pixels per inch at the same time exceeds what Apple calls Retina, and should be easy on the battery and graphics chip.
The phablet uses an IPS-NEO LCD panel with JDI, which provides a greater depth of black. Black Huawei Mate 8 user reviews are called not as impressive as in AMOLED displays.
The maximum brightness level when displaying white is 471 nits. Although this is not an outstanding result, it is still quite a lot. The claimed contrast is nevertheless excellent - 1361: 1. In Huawei Mate 8, owner reviews indicate good readability of the display in bright sunlight.
As for the accuracy of color reproduction, the phablet screen has an average Delta E deviation of 6.1, which is slightly more than we would like ideally. But even many flagship devices show worse results, so this smartphone is located somewhere in the middle. To consider the screen properly calibrated, its maximum deviation should not exceed 4.
Battery life
The Mate 8 comes with an ultra-high capacity 4000 mAh battery. The phone supports fast charging and can recharge a battery of such a large capacity using 9V / 2A technology in just 2.5 hours. At a charge speed of 49.33 mAh / min, the phablet is one of the fastest charging smartphones. When using the standard memory, the Mate 8 is not inferior to the Galaxy S6 and Note 5. The Nexus 6P is slightly slower, and the LG G4 and Honor 7 are far behind. The speed is constant (from 0 to 85%) for about 75 minutes, and then slows down significantly. This should be remembered when you need to quickly restore your phone. Wireless charging is not supported. 30 minutes of charge should be enough for a full day of operation of the device.
Special testing showed that the Mate 8 has an endurance rating of 103 hours in single-SIM mode. This is an estimate of how long the phone will work if you use it for an hour to make calls, browse the web and play videos a day.
Such a scheme may not correspond to an individual scenario, but it allows you to compare the duration of various devices.
103 hours of work in this mode is a great result. Smartphones that can reach three-digit numbers, units. Moreover, not a single current competitor in the upper segment is able to get closer to this phone in terms of Internet surfing duration, even if there are some that surpass it in video playback mode.
The long work of the phablet is due in part to the fact that the sixth Android has an energy-saving utility called Doze. “Marshmallow” in standby mode immerses some applications in deep sleep, reducing energy consumption. In addition, the manufacturer offers the ability to block or allow individual applications to run in the background. The battery manager also determines the most energy-intensive applications.
The entire Mate line supports the ability to recharge another phone.
Audio
The design of the case with openings for two speakers can be misleading. Music lovers will be disappointed with the discovery that the sound comes only from the right, and the left serves to beauty. The phablet is equipped with a 3.5 mm jack, but the headphones, unlike the Mate S, do not reproduce DTS sound. True, this is not a big drawback, since the difference is very difficult to catch.
The speaker volume of the Huawei Mate 8 (32 GB) user reviews are rated below average. The Galaxy Note5 and LG V10 are a little louder, but the Lumia 950 XL is superior to everyone in this respect.
Nevertheless, the sound quality through the 3.5 mm jack phablet exceeded all expectations.
When connected to an active external amplifier, the output signal of the smartphone is clean, and its volume is much higher than average, which makes it one of the best among competitors.
Even more impressive was the fact that connecting the headphones does not cause distortion - even the usual crosstalk in stereo mode is very small, and the end result is excellent. Other features are also untouched, and the volume level is high.
Camera
The smartphone’s camera uses a Sony 1 / 2.8 "sensor with a resolution of 16 megapixels. There is optical image stabilization and phase detection autofocus. A dual-tone LED flash is useful in the dark and allows you to get more realistic photos.
Pictures taken by Huawei Mate 8, user reviews are called too soft. Although on paper the characteristics of the device are more than sufficient, in practice they do not find confirmation. Photos lack details and textures familiar to high-end smartphones. In addition, all parts of the image, except for the brightest, abound in noise.
Colors are displayed conservatively - you cannot call them energetic. During the day, exposure works sequentially accurately, without changes from shot to shot. The dynamic range is decent, with only a slight tendency to limit bright places.
The front 8-megapixel camera Huawei Mate 8 user reviews are positive. Detailing is good, there is little noise, good dynamic range and nice colors. There is also a beautiful blur background.
In general, compared to the pictures taken on the Galaxy S6, Sony Xperia Z5 and LG G4, the photos are faint. This is not a phone for avid amateur enthusiasts, but cameras will work for documenting everyday life and posting photos on social networks.
Video camera
The smartphone can record video in resolution up to 1080p at a speed of 30 or 60 frames per second. Oddly enough, the phablet does not support recording in the 2160p and 4K formats, although most of its competitors already offer such an opportunity.
At least when recording video, an optical image stabilization system is used, and the result is good and stable even when shooting handheld. True, stabilization in the Galaxy Note 5 functions better.
Video quality Huawei Mate 8 user reviews are called insufficient. The image lacks the details that could be expected from such clarity, they have a limited dynamic range. The good news is that there are no annoying jumps in focus, the image is smooth and stable.
Software
The smartphone uses the Android 6.0 Marshmallow operating system with its own EmotionUI v.4.0 interface. The latter, to put it mildly, has much less in common with Android than with iOS. For faithful followers of the tradition, the manufacturer has left the possibility of replacing the user interface.
The smartphone’s lock screen is filled with many things and events, starting with the alternation of screensavers after each activation of the device (each time the user is greeted by other amazingly beautiful wallpapers) and ending with many other functions.
As is customary in Chinese interfaces for Android, the application bar does not appear after the lock screen.
Tracking movements also plays a significant role. There are flip gestures, as well as picking up, tilting, and even things like joint detection and painting. All of them can be customized to the taste of the user.
The interface looks as if it is designed for a visually impaired user. The default settings include stretching the content to all 6 inches of the screen. But this can be corrected if you select medium or small display mode instead of large in the display settings.
Multi-window
Smartphone Huawei Mate 8 (32GB) customer reviews are considered good due to its potentially convenient if you use it in practice, limited multi-window. Its launch is done by sliding the finger joint or by a much more logical retention of the launch button of recent applications. Allows you to view two applications at the same time. You can resize windows and swap them. True, the choice of supported programs is limited, among them there is no much-needed browser.
Performance testing
The Mate 8 uses the Kirin 950 chipset, manufactured by HiSilicon, a subsidiary of Huawei. This is not the manufacturer’s first own chip, which is constantly making efforts to create its own electronic circuit designs. All Kirin chips have traditionally had a problem with graphics performance, but as for the integrated Mali-T880 graphics processor in the Huawei Ascend Mate 8, user reviews do not report such shortcomings.
Tests say that at the time the phablet was one of the fastest smartphones on the market. In its performance, it surpassed quite a few phones, such as the Galaxy Note5, Nexus 6P, iPhone 6s Plus and V10.
Pros and cons
Benefits:
- The size of the 6-inch phablet does not exceed the size of 5.7-inch devices.
- Long battery life.
- Android 6.0
- All-metal housing.
- Good and fast fingerprint sensor.
- Two sim cards.
- The leader in the class for subtleties of settings and granting rights to applications.
- Great headphone sound.
Disadvantages:
- The photo and video camera are mediocre.
- There are no 2160p and 4K formats.
- Low resolution.
Huawei Mate 8: reviews, review in general
At one time, the phablet was the best 6-inch smartphone, only the diagonal size is critical. The phone, of course, gives very convincing arguments in its favor. Take the display, which has high contrast and exceptional readability of the LCD panel in sunlight. Battery life is also admirable. The processor will do everything you need, and even much more.
Unfortunately, the image and video quality in Huawei Mate 8 (32GB) is called mediocre by user reviews. Not everyone will like EmotionUI, even though the interface offers best-in-class application management capabilities.