Huawei probably best symbolizes the ambition of Chinese technology scene. Passed directly third in the world without going through the previous boxes thanks to an aggressive strategy, but also qualitative, the brand does not hide its intention to replace Apple or even Samsung leads the smartphone market. And never one other company has shown much ability to achieve this goal.
the recipe for improved Mate
It should be said that Huawei’s products win year after year, in quality and performance. The frames are now mainly premium and HiSilicon chipsets offer a credible alternative to MediaTek (if Qualcomm). We made this observation there is little during our test P9. And we still reiterate the Mate 8 which is the subject of this comprehensive test, although for its PHABLET, Huawei seems to focus more on the trappings that MSDS:
- dimensions: 157 1 x 80.6 x 7.9 mm
- Weight: 185 grams
- aluminum frame at the rear and reinforced Gorilla Glass protection 4 Corning
- IPS screen LCD Full HD Neo 6 inches with a resolution of 368 pixels per inch
- ratio and screen size of the mobile: 78%
- 950 chipset HiSilicon Kirin composed of 4 Cortex-A72 cores running up to 2.3 GHz, 4 Cortex-A53 cores clocked at 1.8 GHz and a GPU ARM Mali-T880-MP4
- 3 or 4 GB of RAM
- 32 or 64 GB of internal storage (expandable by microSDXC)
- Battery 4000 mAh non-removable
- Photo 16 megapixel sensor IMX298 Sony 27mm lens opening to f / 2.0, optical image stabilizer, flash true-tone phase-detection autofocus, 1080p video
- webcam 8MP front with 26mm lens opens to f / 2.4
- fingerprint reader on the back
- supports LTE Category 6, ac dual band WiFi, Bluetooth 4.2, NFC, FM radio, GPS and Glonass microUSB
- Emotion UI 4.0 on an Android 6.0 base Marshmallow
the technical specifications of the Mate 8 is certainly in the right market average. A good photo sensor, a good quality chipset, a wide screen. We regret such a screen with the absence of Quad HD, although we’re not sure that the Kirin 950 would have been able to handle. We notice many improvements between 8 and Mate Mate 7, including the photograph. Note that the mobile received in writing is numbered NXT-L29. This is a dual SIM version with 3 GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage. So expect to very similar results to those of P9 or slightly less. And therefore well below the Galaxy S7 Edge. But we will see that in time.
finery growing premium
Let’s start with the trappings of Mate 8. As you can see from these pictures, the screen of the PHABLET is the first distinctive sign that jumps. The borders around the screen are particularly fine. Note that this was the case with Mate 7. However, Huawei has managed to optimize even more: with the same screen size, 6 inches, 8 Mate is narrower than 0.4 mm and more high of 0.1 mm. The ratio between the surface of the screen and the phone’s surface reaches 78%, against 77.6% for its predecessor.
this configuration means that the navigation keys are obviously virtual and drive D. fingerprint is offset to the rear. Huawei therefore still prefer to place the equipment in the back, requiring the use of the index and not the thumb as is customary with the front or sides readers. Overall, the front of the mobile is very simple, like the aesthetic positioning of the phone that focuses on elegance.
An elegance that is also found on the aluminum hull. The set is made of three distinct parts. First the central piece that covers the back of the top of the photo sensor to below the markings related certifications. It then overflows at the side edges (where the mechanical buttons on the right and the SIM left drawer located) away 2.5D screen and the inorganic glass Gorilla Glass 4 without protection. And it is perhaps a shame.
the second part covers the lower portion between the two separations” anti-antennagate “, which houses the speaker (right guard), microphone (certainly behind the gate left) and Type C USB Port the third part covers the opposite edge where the 3.5 mm jack and secondary mic. These last two parts do not touch the first back: the top and bottom ends of the frame are made of plastic, certainly to improve reception
Keeping two mandatory hands
There is a certain elegance in the Mate 8. the smartphone enjoys a beautiful construction with premium materials. This provides a very pleasant feeling once in hand. However, do not expect to handle it properly with one hand, even with the interface to a hand as the size of the smartphone are great. We experienced the same thing with the Mate 7 and 8 Mate does not correct this slight weakness. This PHABLET stands with both hands: you need to be
smartphone screen, IPS-NEO Full HD panel offers better than the Mate 7, although the definition and resolution their screens are the same. This is indeed a generation of IPS more advanced, with better brightness and a little more contrast. Again, the definition Quad HD would have been meaningless here, even if the resolution of the slab extended far beyond the capabilities of the human eye. However, we also know that some uses, such as reading without zoom web page, take advantage of the high resolution offered by Quad HD.
interface inspired in every way …
once on, the screen reveals Emotion UI (or EMUI) 4.0, based on Android 6.0 Marshmallow. This is not the version 4.1 that we find in the P9 or Honor 5C. This is a version very close to the one we encountered during our test of P9. We have not noticed real differences between the two interfaces, in addition to a change in the icons of the applications system that adopts here a “metallic” filter. We suspect that there are other changes, but they are minimal (such as changing settings available tools for the professional mode of the camera). Hidden applications and interactions with the touch surface of the fingerprint reader, seen in EMUI 4.1, are also there
Emotion UI takes advantage here of the width of the 6-inch screen with a fifth column for applications and widgets that are expanding. The selection of applications placed on the home screen of the interface is quite revealing positioning very “business” of this phone: calendar, email, phones and parameters. On the P9, Huawei had deported settings, email and calendar in the second half, to place the SMS / MMS messaging.
in the second screen, we find other system applications, like media players, the theme selector, Hi Care or phone manager. These are applications that are part of the Huawei / Honor ecosystem long time now. Note also that the third-party applications that have disappeared, which is not bad for more free space (the user with access to 24 GB of the 32 GB built-in).
excellent battery life …
We just come to the performance of the smartphone. There are good and less good news. First, the good is the excellent battery Mate 8. In our test sessions, when other mobile with 3000 mAh hardly stand the day, Mate 8 spent only half capacity its battery, largely leaving what end the day and start the second. We estimate the promise of independence two days is not overused.
the second news is worse and we raised during the presentation of the smartphone specifications: if the smartphone is aesthetically beautiful, it is not as good as an iPhone 6S Plus or Galaxy S7 Edge, for a price that was close yet to launch the 600 euros. Today, the 8 Mate is trading around 550 euros more in some shops, the price of a new P9. And, technically, it is not so inconsistent. The performance of the two Huawei models are very close.
… but just a little performance
In the figures, the Mate 8 reaches 92184 points AnuTu v6 or just above the Snapdragon 810 and Exynos 7420 and just below the Kirin 955. It seems logical given the configuration of each of these chipsets. Kirin Kirin 955 is identical to the 950 Mate 8 with one difference: the frequency of the Cortex-A72 cores. The Exynos 7420 and Snapdragon 810 is based on a quad-core Cortex-A57 for the most demanding tasks, less efficient hearts than the Cortex-A72. However, the Kirin 950 is 30 to 60% slower than the Exynos 8890 and the Snapdragon 820
However, the Cortex-A57 shows some hidden resources. On Basemark OS II, chipset reaches 2000 points on Geekbench 3, is over 1700 points in single-core and 6300 points by multi-core. Either scores sometimes chipsets equivalent to high end of the new year. This means that applications hearts are capable of supporting heavy tasks. So what is sin? This is the GPU. The choice of the Mali-T880 might have been interesting if the selected version had more than 4 cores (like the Galaxy S7) … The 3DMark scores are average, as with P9.
It should be a great mobile multimedia
and that little lack of power in graphics is frankly a shame, because the Mate 8 could have been an excellent multimedia platform. The width of the screen. Sufficient resolution to display high quality images. Its powerful speaker. The capacity of the battery. And sufficient power for most needs today. As with P9, Dead Trigger 2, our standard game, has positioned itself on the best graphics quality. Great news justified by exemplary behavior. The game is fluid and the screen offers a good immersion. However, on some more demanding games like Modern Combat 5, the game is set to an intermediate graphic quality, confirming our first impression.
This is not the only flaw of 8. Mate video player, for example, similar to that of P9, does not offer advanced setting, or even decoding of subtitles. We find it a pity that the PHABLET format Mate 8 lends itself extremely well to this type of exercise. Fortunately, third video players available on the Play Store to correct this defect. However it is a shame that Huawei does not align Samsung here on, the Galaxy are dressed with an excellent media player. Digression on the speaker located on the bottom edge: the mobile is much wider than the P9, the fingers are rarely obstruct the grid (if you turn your head from moving to the left)
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very accurate picture, but not always very clear
Last focus: photography. The Mate 8 not benefiting from the partnership between Huawei and Leica camera equipment Mate 8 is fairly standard, although it marks a real improvement vis-à-vis Mate 7. webcam from 5 to 8 megapixels gets Full HD compatibility. The main sensor from 13 to 16 megapixels and optical stabilization wins and a phase-detection autofocus. In addition, with the passage Emotion UI 4.x, the Mate 8 wins a photo application with an expert mode. We therefore expect the best shots with the Mate 7 (almost the same as that of the P9). And that’s the case. They are very good bills.
As you can see from the shot below, the Mate 8 is capable of bright, balanced images. The spring Parisian sky is blue and the cars parked in the street below remain visible. There are two small problems in this picture: the contrast ratio are not good and this image of the grain rather quickly when you zoom. It therefore lacks sharpness. However, the result will be more than enough for social networking and sharing with friends and family. However, we are not up to the results of a Galaxy S6 / S7 or iPhone 6 / 6S. The Mate 8 confirms our impression on the P9: it is the best camera proposed by Huawei
No level of competition … but comes close
in conclusion, Mate 8 is an ostentatious PHABLET which focuses more on the quality of its construction on the power of its technology platform. The smartphone is elegant and pleasant to handle, despite a large size that requires the simultaneous use of both hands. Its interface, still stuck between Android and iOS, improves and enriches from version to version. And premium chassis is well worth that of other brands of the global Top 5. Much more efficient that the Mate 7 Mate 8 represents a further step for Huawei to a proposal more in line with the public than the manufacturer intended with this range.
However, we can prevent us have a real regret at the end of this test. The Mate 8, sold at launch to 599 euros is certainly cheaper than the Galaxy S7 Edge and iPhone 6S face that Richard Yu, Huawei’s boss was compared during the formalization of the PHABLET. But it is not based on the same ecosystem of services and applications and it does not release an obvious scalability. If PHABLET is capable of supporting many current uses, what will happen to them tomorrow? Because at this price, it seems clear that the Mate 8 is an investment that a spontaneous purchase. An investment that will certainly lose more value than competing models mentioned above.
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