The Huawei Mate line-up is their take on the phablet, popularised by the Samsung Note series. So, let’s take a look and see if they’ve been able to whip up a formula to challenge their South Korean competitors. There is debate as to whether Huawei should have used QHD instead of FHD – they chose the latter.
Mate 8
The main issue is the quality of the camera. In the past, their cameras were not up to scratch. However, they seem to have learned from this and have equipped the Mate 8 with a 16 MP shooter, which looks fantastic on paper, but this isn’t reflected in practice: its processing of images is disappointing; photos capture a bit of blur, despite it having optical image stabilisation (OIS).
On the other hand, it’s fantastic at snapping images in low-light conditions; so, it really does depend on your preference. However, when all is considered, this is still one of the best phablets on the market.
Key specs
- 6.0” IPS-NEO LCD capacitive touchscreen
- Resolution: 1080 X 1920
- Protection: Corning Gorilla Glass 4
- 16 MP, f/2.0, 27mm, OIS, phase detection autofocus, dual-LED (dual tone) flash
- 8 MP, 1080p front-facing camera
- Android OS, v6.0 (Marshmallow)
- HiSilicon Kirin 950 chipset
- Octa-core (4×2.3 GHz Cortex-A72 & 4×1.8 GHz Cortex A53)
- microSD, up to 256 GB (uses SIM 2 slot)
- 3GB RAM 32 GB internal memory/ 4 GB RAM in the 64 GB model
- Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, DLNA, WiFi Direct, hotspot
- Bluetooth: 2, A2DP, EDR, LE
- microUSB v2.0, USB Host
- Non-removable Li-Po 4000 mAh battery
Pros: Stylish design; quality build; high resolution camera; lightweight; 3 GB RAM; dual SIM card support; Full HD resolution
Cons: Speakers aren’t great; sub-par camera
Verdict: 7/10