Huawei Mate 10 Pro camera review
Getting to know Huawei Mate 10 Pro
Content
Specifications*
- Processor: HiSilicon Kirin 970, has 8 cores (10 nm process technology, four Cortex A53 cores with a frequency of 1.8 GHz and four Cortex A73 cores with a frequency of 2.4 GHz), Mali-G72 graphics
- Memory: 6/128 GB
- Screen: 6 inches, OLED, 2160x1080 pixels
- Cameras: 12 MP color + 20 MP black and white, f/1.6 aperture; 8 MP front camera (?)
- Software: Google Android 8 + EMUI 8
- Network: Wi-Fi ac 4×4 MIMO, LTE Cat 18
- Battery: 4000 mAh, fast charging
* at the time of writing, exact data was not available
Introduction
The presentation of the Huawei Mate 10 and Mate 10 Pro smartphones took place in the capital of Bavaria on the Isar River. By the way, Munich is famous not only for its brewing traditions, but also for its large industrial and research centers, in addition, it is rightfully considered the IT capital of Germany.
I’ll immediately make a reservation that in this text we will talk about the Mate 10 Pro, since Huawei introduced us to it. The Mate 10 model was not shown before the presentation.
Returning to the device, it is worth saying that the Mate series is a traditionally large smartphone with a large screen diagonal. This time, Huawei tried to make a frameless smartphone with an 18:9 aspect ratio, that is, the company followed the path of the LG G6 and other not so well-known brands.
The main feature of this model was the use of a new chipset of its own production, HiSilicon Kirin 970. The processor was presented this year at the IFA conference. It has hardware support for the Neural Processing Unit (NPU - a unit with a neural processor). At the moment there is little information about the implementation of NPU. The chip is created using a 10 nm process technology.
Since the processor is equipped with AI technology, this allows the smartphone to recognize photographs (up to 200 frames in a few seconds) or highlight certain objects in the photo, as well as understand the scenes in the frame (night, day, trees, flowers, food, and so on). It’s not entirely clear why Huawei attributed the next feature specifically to the Kirin 970, but the chip allows you to translate (it’s unclear whether text or voice) 500 times faster than any other smartphone, and in offline mode.
At the press briefing they said that the Mate 10 Pro, thanks to the Kirin 970 CPU, will understand which applications are used more often and which ones less frequently; in what sequence they were launched, how much they consumed. As a result of the analysis, in theory, 10 Pro should open faster those applications that were launched more often than others. Plus, energy is saved, since “junk” will not accumulate in memory. I repeat once again that all these are still only theoretical indicators.
I would like to say in advance that when we got acquainted with the device (before the presentation), neither the price nor its appearance in Russia were known. Huawei believes that the gadget could be extremely expensive and selling it in a difficult economic situation will not be easy.
Appearance
The device turned out exactly the same as we saw it in numerous leaks on the Internet. The front panel is protected by glass, the frames are minimal, but the company did not make them rounded, like in the LG G6 or Samsung Galaxy S8. In my subjective opinion, this solution does not look the best.
The reverse side consists of seven layers: Super AF, Corning Gorilla Glass, OCA glue, UV film, NCVM, PET film and Ink layer. The surface is glossy, fingerprints quickly cover the panel. The camera area is highlighted with a strip of a different color. By the way, about flowers. There will be four of them: blue, brown, rose gold and gray.
Overall, the design is nice, but I can’t say it’s very original. On the other hand, now there is little to surprise: almost the entire front panel is occupied by the screen, and behind it is either glass or metal.
At the bottom there are a pair of microphones, a USB-C connector, and a speaker. On the left is a combo slot, on the right is the power button and volume rocker.
On top are an IR transmitter and another microphone.
The back side is more original: dual flash, laser autofocus, fingerprint scanner, two cameras.
The device is comfortable to hold due to its small width. Unfortunately, the weight and size parameters were not known before the announcement.
A nice addition: the Huawei 10 Pro case is made according to the IP67 standard.
Screen
The screen diagonal of the 10 Pro is 6 inches, aspect ratio 18:9, resolution 2160x1080 pixels, the matrix is made using OLED technology. In fairness, it is worth noting that the Mate 10 has a diagonal of 5.9 inches, a resolution of 2560x1440 pixels, an aspect ratio of 16:9, and an AMOLED matrix. There is support for HDR 10.
I can't say I was impressed with the 10 Pro's screen: the pixelation was noticeable. The viewing angles are maximum, the colors are pleasant and not eye-catching.
Battery
The Huawei Mate 10 Pro has a non-removable battery with a capacity of 4000 mAh. SuperCharge technology is supported - proprietary fast charging, which charges the battery by almost 60% in 30 minutes. They say that this is the safest and fastest charging, certified by TUV Rheinland (an international concern, one of the world's leading providers of independent audit services).
With Ai Power, the operating time can be up to two days with normal use.
Performance, software
At the beginning of this article it was already said that the Mate 10 and Mate 10 Pro received new Kirin 970 chips. The processor has 8 cores (10 nm process technology, four Cortex A53 cores with a frequency of 1.8 GHz and four Cortex A73 cores with a frequency of 2.4 GHz ), Mali-G72 graphics and NPU (Neural Processing Unit).
As for data transmission, there is LTE CAT 18, Wi-Fi version ac 4×4 MIMO.
The new product will work based on Google Android version 8.0 and the proprietary EMUI 8.0 shell (note that Huawei has gone through as many as 3 versions of the UI). The software on the test 10 Pro was not final, so I can’t say anything good about it.
Cameras
The smartphone is equipped with two camera modules: 12 MP color, 20 MP black and white. There is optical stabilization and laser focusing. Here we see again a partnership with Leica AG.
The advantage of the optics is f/1.6 aperture. Only the LG V30 has a similar lens.
Thanks to the Kirin 970, in particular the NPU unit, the camera should take photos faster, focus faster, take fewer blurry shots, recognize objects in the photo, and create better pictures with cool bokeh.
Software and hardware are able to recognize 14 different types of scenes and sort them into separate folders. For example: where there are flowers - in the “Flowers” folder, where there are dogs - “Dogs”, where there are cats - in the “Cats” folder and so on. The feature is cool, but it’s not entirely clear what it serves.
Conclusion
Huawei has created a modern, powerful gadget that meets all the requirements of current trends: thin frames, a powerful processor with a special AI unit, two cameras, a capacious battery, and a screen with an OLED matrix.
On paper everything looks pretty decent. I am sure that the smartphone will turn out to be cool in practice.
The only thing is that there is a question related to the originality of the device and its individual characteristics. The Mate 10 Pro seems to have them, but they are quite controversial.
If we assume the price, then it could be in the region of 50,000 – 60,000 rubles, and if the device itself goes on sale, it will not be until December of this year. At the moment, the following situation is emerging, from my subjective point of view: if you have more than 50,000 rubles, then it would be worth taking either the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 or the Apple iPhone 8 Plus. The rest of the smartphones are of interest only to fans of certain brands. Up to 50,000 rubles there are LG G6, Meizu Pro 7 Plus, Honor 8 Pro, Xiaomi Mi 5s Plus, ZTE Axon 7 Max (large screen diagonals and dual cameras).
HUAWEI Mate 10 Pro camera. Detailed review of the Huawei Mate 10 pro camera.
In the smartphone world, Huawei has long been associated with superior camera technology, and that image has only grown stronger since its partnership with Leica began. With photography dating back over 100 years, Leica is a renowned name in the world of optics and high-end cameras, so it makes sense for Huawei to partner with Leica to help differentiate smartphone photography. We're going to take a deeper dive into what makes the cameras on the HUAWEI Mate 10 Pro special and different from the standard in the smartphone world, from the optics themselves to the AI engine that powers the show photos.
As mentioned, Leica has created a dedicated optics package for the HUAWEI Mate 10 Pro, with each of its two cameras using an f/1.6 lens from the German company. A lens' f-stop rating refers to its ability to suck in light, among other things, but a lower f-stop actually pulls in more light than higher numbers. The result is low light output that previous generations of smartphones could only dream of, and it's the Mate 10 Pro hardware we're looking at first. The name on the back says it all: SUMMILUX-H 1: 1.6 / 27 ASPH. While this seems like a lot of fancy terms, let's look at what makes it special.
Dual cameras are nothing new in smartphones, but the trend has taken a significant hold on flagship phones in the last few years for a number of reasons. Huawei doesn't just slap two cameras on the back, but they've given the Mate 10 Pro a smart design for two completely different types of cameras; one is a 12-megapixel color sensor and the other is a 20-megapixel monochrome sensor. Why this massive dichotomy in both resolution and color? Simply put, having two different types of sensors allows Huawei to work some serious magic on the software, helping to harness the strengths of each sensor type and combine them for a final image that has the best of both worlds.
What's particularly interesting is how Huawei uses both cameras simultaneously, rather than simply relying on one sensor to do all the heavy lifting. The main 20-megapixel monochrome sensor is used to view a scene in greater detail thanks to its higher resolution, and also extrapolates more light and shadow detail from the scene due to the fact that it doesn't need to process color. On the other hand, the 12MP sensor is a helper in lower light scenes and provides a color base for the other sensor. Using them in tandem, you get increased levels of detail and color accuracy in a scene, not to mention better dynamic range as a result of the monochrome sensor's ability to capture lighter detail.
One of the most effective ways to use this secondary camera is in monochrome mode, as it takes what the sensor is made for and turns it into a dedicated mode.
Have you ever noticed how dramatic and beautiful black and white can be?
There's something about separating all the color from a scene that makes it more vibrant and emotional, and the same effect isn't easily achieved by simply filtering colors. Huawei's monochrome mode is simply beautiful, packing tons of detail out of the 20-megapixel sensor, which is designed to have a better range of highlights and shadow detail than a similar color sensor can provide. This also means that by having a dedicated real-time mode for these shots, monochrome images can be lined up and taken straight from the viewfinder, without any guesswork or processing having to be done after the fact.
New to the Mate 10 Pro is the Neural Processing Unit (NPU) inside the shell; a processor dedicated solely to running an artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm at any given time. The Mate 10 Pro has been designed with a dedicated processor that delivers smarter software while keeping data private and cloud-based, and improving battery life. Because this processor is dedicated to running, it uses much less power than the general-purpose processor internally when processing the same tasks. In turn, the general purpose processor can perform faster on other tasks, and the user finds the phone and its complex processing faster than ever before. Not only is Huawei making this controversial new feature, but it's also working to put these new features in a place that actually makes sense: the camera.
What about those moments when your kids take the stage, with those harsh lighting contrasting with the pitch-black conditions? Huawei has an automatic mode for this. Take a photo of the food? The camera automatically identifies all types of food and enhances things like contrast and color to make the image extraordinarily appetizing. Will you learn about the latest adventures? The Mate 10 Pro identifies everything from outdoor landscapes and panoramic views, water shots to sunsets, and even things that are hard to capture like snow. Flowers and plants come alive in spring with enhanced color, and fall foliage has never looked better.
Huawei Mate 10 Pro vs Mate 9: camera comparison
The new series of Huawei Mate 10 smartphones attracted most attention due to the presence of a dedicated neural processor, which is responsible for artificial intelligence and machine learning. However, the new products also have another important detail - a new generation of dual Leica cameras with f/1.6 lenses. Today we will look at how much better the new camera in Huawei Mate 10 has become in comparison with Huawei Mate 9.
The improved model Mate 10 Pro and last year's flagship model Mate 9 were chosen as test subjects. Considering that the Mate 10 and Mate 10 Pro have the same camera module, what is written below can also be applied to the basic version of the mobile device. Last year's and current members of the Mate family use the same sensors, but in the second case the lens aperture is f/1.6, as mentioned earlier. The advantage of Huawei Mate 10 Pro also comes from the presence of an NPU inside the HiSilicon Kirin 970 chipset, due to which the Camera application has the ability to identify 14 different scenes and automatically select parameters to obtain the best result. In addition, learning algorithms can improve the quality of hybrid digital zoom and variable aperture photography. Otherwise, the Mate 10 Pro and Mate 9 offer the same cameras with 12 MP color and 20 MP monochrome sensors, hybrid autofocus and optical image stabilization. It is worth noting that the photos were taken using a test sample of the Mate 10 Pro, and therefore the results of the commercial version may differ. All photos provided below in original resolution are available at this link - comparison of images from the Huawei Mate 10 Pro and Mate 9 cameras.
Comparison of photos of Huawei Mate 9 (top) and Huawei Mate 10 Pro (bottom) during the day:
The first sample photos were taken in daylight. You can see from them that the camera of the Huawei Mate 10 Pro is capable of capturing more details than the Mate 9, but in the pictures of the former there are losses in shadows and highlights. Most likely, this problem will be solved in commercial samples of the smartphone.
Comparison of photos of Huawei Mate 9 (top) and Huawei Mate 10 Pro (bottom) at sunset:
A noticeable improvement on the Mate 10 Pro over the Mate 9 is the camera's performance during sunset. Colors are more accurate and noise is less noticeable, but dynamic range again suffers.
Comparison of photos of Huawei Mate 9 (top) and Huawei Mate 10 Pro (bottom) in the evening:
The next set of photos was taken at night, where the Huawei Mate 10 Pro has a clear advantage given the aperture of the cameras. Shooting is done at a lower ISO while maintaining lower noise levels and more detail. The problem with low dynamic range is also observed in this case.
Photo comparison of Huawei Mate 9 (top) and Huawei Mate 10 Pro (bottom) indoors:
Inside a room with low lighting levels, the situation is similar, as in previous samples. Photos taken with the Mate 10 Pro have a lower ISO, better detail, but sometimes over-sharpening takes a toll on fine details. There is virtually no difference in dynamic range between the previous and current generations.
Comparison of photos of Huawei Mate 9 (top) and Huawei Mate 10 Pro (bottom) using a monochrome camera:
Much to my surprise, taking a black and white photo was more of a challenge on the Mate 10 Pro than on the Mate 9.
Photo comparison of Huawei Mate 9 (top) and Huawei Mate 10 Pro (bottom) in portrait mode:
In portrait mode, we do not have a clear conclusion on who should take the lead. The Mate 9 camera sample produced stronger bokeh and rendered the tree a little better, while the Mate 10 Pro provided more photographic bokeh effects.
Based on all this, we can conclude that the dual camera of Huawei Mate 10 Pro is noticeably ahead of the camera of Mate 9. Due to the larger aperture, the shooting quality is higher in low light conditions, the pictures contain more details, the colors of objects are closer to real ones. However, aggressive photo processing makes itself felt: strong contrast enhancement and excessive sharpening. However, we hope that by the start of sales, Huawei will work on the bugs and correct the shortcomings.
Review of Huawei Mate 10 and Mate 10 Pro - Updated, stylish and expensive smartphones
The Chinese company Huawei has long been encroaching on the flagship smartphone market. To beat the iPhone X and Galaxy Note 8, Huawei Mate 10 Pro has been launched, a stunning smartphone with an edge-to-edge design and loaded with features.
The standard version of Huawei Mate 10 is also available here, with a very similar design, but significant differences in characteristics. Let's take a closer look at both versions.
Design and display of Huawei Mate 10 and Mate 10 Pro
Huawei Mate 10 looks much more interesting than last year's Mate 9. The back panel is completely covered with glass, there is a reflective strip at the top, which emphasizes the two-camera system and beautifully refracts light.
Behind the Mate 10 Pro is the Huawei logo and a fingerprint scanner. On the standard model, the scanner is located on the front panel. The surface here will not become scratched if handled carefully.
The screens of the two best Huawei smartphones are noticeably different. The Mate 10 has a 5.9-inch LCD display with a standard 16:9 aspect ratio. The Mate 10 Pro has a 6-inch screen with an AMOLED panel and an 18:9 aspect ratio. Huawei Mate 10 Pro fits more comfortably in the hand, and its elongated display is great for displaying multiple applications at the same time.
The Mate 10 Pro also has thinner bezels around the edges, with the Huawei logo taking up the bottom frame. On the standard Mate 10 there is no inscription at the bottom of the screen, instead there is a fingerprint sensor.
The Pro display resolution is 2160 × 1080 pixels, the Mate 10 has 2560 × 1440 pixels. It is not clear why the model with a larger screen has a lower resolution. The images on both smartphones are sharp and colorful, with the Pro version featuring rich blacks and the standard version boasting high brightness. Additionally, both screens support HDR10, allowing you to display deeper colors when watching HDR content.
Huawei Mate 10 Pro boasts an IP67 protection rating, the same protection found on the iPhone 8 and Samsung Galaxy Note 8. This ensures that the smartphone will last under water at a depth of 1.5 meters for about 30 minutes. Unlike the Mate 10, which simply does not have a protection rating.
But, only Huawei Mate 10 has a 3.5 mm audio jack and a slot for MicroSD memory cards. The Pro model uses a USB Type-C port to connect headphones. The Bluetooth 4.2 module installed on Huawei smartphones is already outdated - some manufacturers offer newer Bluetooth 5 with an extended range and increased speed.
Performance and Specifications
The Huawei Kirin 970 processor delivers strong performance across the two phones. According to the manufacturer, the Kirin 970 chipset is 20% more powerful than the Huawei Mate 9 - Kirin 960 processor. The standard Huawei Mate 10 has 64 GB of internal memory and 4 GB of RAM, and the Pro version has 128 and 6 GB, respectively.
Navigating the interface and opening apps is quick, but on the Mate 10 the power and camera shutter buttons are a bit laggy. In this respect, Huawei flagships are inferior to Google Pixel 2 and iPhone 8.
A dedicated neural processing unit (NPU) is used to improve the performance of artificial intelligence. For example, if you receive notifications while watching a movie or playing games, the system will automatically prompt you to switch to split-screen mode. In a dark room, the gadget will advise you to turn on a blue light filter to reduce eye strain. The specially created Microsoft Translator application recognizes text through the camera and offers fairly accurate translation in real time.
Software and Operating System
Both Huawei Mate 10 run EMUI 8.0 on top of Android 8.0 Oreo. It's nice to have the most up-to-date version of Android - for comparison, the recently released LG V30 has the outdated Android Nougat OS installed.
One of the most noticeable additions to the new OS is a floating button on the home screen, which can be placed anywhere and used instead of the standard navigation bar. To go back you just need to press it, to go to the home screen - press and hold, to access the recently used applications - hold and slide left or right.
A massive 4000 mAh battery will allow Huawei smartphones to last two days without recharging. If you use the included cable, the gadgets will be charged by 50% in 30 minutes - all thanks to Huawei Supercharge fast charging technology.
Cameras Huawei Mate 10 and Huawei Mate 10 Pro
Huawei Mate 10 and Huawei Mate 10 Pro are equipped with a Leica dual lens system - a 20-megapixel monochrome camera and a 12-megapixel RGB sensor.
A unique feature of the cameras is the f/1.6 aperture. The first smartphone with f/1.6 was the LG V30, but only Huawei uses this aperture on both lenses. This improves the quality of shooting in low light conditions, allowing the system to capture more light.
Unlike the Galaxy Note 8 and iPhone 8 Plus, Huawei cameras only have optical image stabilization on the RGB sensor. During testing, I noticed minor shutter lags.
Portrait Mode's blur effect looks great, with in-focus objects clearly separated from the background.
The Huawei camera uses a dedicated neural processor to identify the subject in the frame. Unlike Samsung Bixby Vision or Google Lens, the system does not try to provide information about the object, but changes the shooting parameters for better quality. If the Mate 10 camera detects that the user is taking a photo of food, it will try to make the colors of the food more saturated. If you shoot plants, the system will increase the brightness of green tones.
Identifying the subject so quickly is impressive. There are currently 13 modes available, but the manufacturer promises to add even more in future updates.
On the front panel of Huawei Mate 10 and Mate 10 Pro there is an 8-megapixel camera with f/2.0 aperture, NPU support and artificial intelligence, which allows you to take selfies with an improved bokeh effect.
Desktop Mode in Huawei Mate 10
The Mate 10 and Mate 10 Pro have a very interesting feature - displaying images on a large screen. To do this, you only need a USB Type-C to HDMI cable, through which the smartphone is connected to a TV or monitor.
When connected to a TV, the phone's display can be turned into a touchpad for cursor control. Not all programs fully support the Desktop Mode format, but in any case they are displayed and opened on a large screen.
If a keyboard and mouse are connected, they will also be available to control input on the TV screen.
This is a clear attempt to compete with the Samsung Galaxy S8 and Note 8, which also offer Desktop Mode but require the purchase of an expensive Samsung DeX dock. In addition, Samsung smartphones do not allow you to use Desktop Mode and work on your phone at the same time.
Huawei Mate 10 costs $825 (49,000 rubles), Mate 10 Pro costs $945 (56,000 rubles). The lack of a headphone jack on the Mate 10 Pro and Bluetooth 5 on both devices is disappointing when the low resolution on the more expensive model is puzzling. But this does not prevent the new flagships from Huawei from looking stylish and surprising with their smart functions.
These are not cheap phones. If you accidentally break your gadget, the warranty will not cover all cases. If you need to restore or replace your phone, you will have to visit a Huawei service center.
Advantages of Huawei Mate 10 and Mate 10 Pro
- Vibrant screen colors
- Great design
- Long lasting battery
- Great cameras
- Desktop Mode
Disadvantages of Mate 10 and Mate 10 Pro
- Lack of 3.5mm jack on Pro version
- There is no new version of Bluetooth 5.0
- Glass scratches easily
- Low screen resolution on Pro
Updated Huawei Mate 10 Pro smartphone - video review
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Review of the new flagship Huawei Mate 10. Bet on the camera
The Chinese manufacturer Huawei a month ago (October 16, 2017) released its new flagship, which immediately became the cause of many disputes and discussions. Unlike the popular flagships from Apple or Samsung, the smartphone from the Chinese manufacturer Huawei has a price of 40,000 rubles, which is much cheaper. So you shouldn’t be surprised by the enormous popularity of the model - many users have already left positive reviews about it, and it took first place in our rating!
Appearance
The company couldn’t surprise us with anything special. Given the popular large screens, there is little room for design since the front panel is the display anyway. So Huawei looks the same as other smartphones - no better, but no worse. It is made in golden color, although there are also completely lilac and black versions (looks better in our opinion). At the back there are unusually 2 cameras. Like the iPhone X, the Huawei Mate 10 has two modules placed vertically, which many people don’t like. But that's just appearance.
The assembly is at the highest level. When viewed close up, the model gives the impression of a monolithic device, that this flagship is solid - you can’t argue with that.
Screen
There's not much to praise here. Huawei does not have any unique display technologies, so the new flagship uses a classic IPS matrix with a resolution of 2560x1440. This resolution with a diagonal of 5.88 inches gives a high pixel density of 500. Yes, there are quite large viewing angles, so the content on the display is perfectly recognizable from all sides. But this can hardly be called any advantage. But the contrast and brightness indicators are really at a high level.
"Iron"
Considering the fact that Huawei has created a real flagship, the components here are appropriate. In particular, the company uses its latest HiSilicon Kirin 970 processor with 8 cores, which runs on the classic bigLITTLE architecture:
- 4 high power Cortex-A73 cores are connected as needed.
- 4 energy-saving cores work when performance is not needed.
The chipset also includes a powerful Mali-G72 MP12 video accelerator. With such hardware, the smartphone will be able to run any applications at maximum graphics settings.
If anyone is interested, according to the results of testing in the Antutu benchmark, a smartphone with this processor shows a result of 153,000 points. And this is an excellent result, which, however, does not reach the level of the iPhone 8 and X with their Apple A11 Bionic processors (their result is 200,000 points). By the way, another Chinese smartphone, Xiaomi Mi6, scored 181,836 points, but it has a chipset from Qualcomm. Huawei, based on its own processor, was able to achieve high performance, even if it is slightly inferior to its competitors.
The smartphone also has 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of internal memory (there are versions with larger capacity). The phone runs on the latest Android 8.0 (Oreo) OS under the proprietary EMUI 6.0 shell.
Separately, it is worth noting the support for SuperCharge technology (what it is is written here) and the 4G LTE standard.
Camera
The camera deserves special attention. This is exactly what the Chinese manufacturer relied on. In collaboration with the legendary company Leica, the Mate 10 was able to implement a cool third-generation dual-module camera with a multi-level focusing system and optical stabilization. Leica specialists are rumored to have been involved in optics and software development. So there is no doubt about the quality of the camera.
A well-known resource for testing optics and cameras in general, DXOMARK, analyzed more than 1,500 photographs taken on the Huawei Mate 10. According to the results of numerous tests, the camera of this smartphone took 3rd place among all smartphone cameras existing in the world. In particular, the Huawei Mate 10 score is 97 points. The iPhone X has the same score, and the leader of the rating is Google Pixel 2 with a score of 98 points. For those who are interested in what kind of “monster” Google made, see this review.
So, according to DXOMARK, Huawei Mate 10 has one of the best cameras in the world, second only to Google Pixel 2 and iPhone X. This is worthy of respect.
Camera Feature
Unlike all other smartphones with dual optics, Huawei uses 2 cameras for useful purposes, and not for depth sensing (not only for that). Here one lens is monochrome, the other is color. The first collects information about the light of the scene, the other about color. The information received from the two lenses is then combined to produce an image that is accurate in terms of color reproduction and detail.
Photo examples
To get a visual idea of how the Mate 10 takes photos, here's a series of shots below. All of them are uploaded to the site in their original size (click to enlarge).
As you can see in the photo, the Mate 10 produces perfect colors in natural light.
They are warm and soft, the white balance is accurate, and the detail is at a high level. This is a complex portrait scene in front of a window, which is the source of light.
While another smartphone will simply light up the window (it will be white) and make the person's face dark, the Mate 10 does a great job of showing off its wide dynamic range. Even leaves can be seen in the window in the distant background, the man's face is clearly visible. A demo of the Mate 10's “Wide Aperture Mode.” In this mode, the camera detects objects in the focal plane but focuses on the main subject. The result is a nice bokeh effect (blurred background).
Video demonstration
As for video shooting, Huawei is also fine with this. The flagship boasts good exposure, low noise even in low light, and accurate white balance. Autofocus is accurate and fast, stabilization and tracking are excellent.
In general, the camera turned out to be really decent. This is the main advantage of this smartphone. But in many ways this is an achievement of Leica.
Conclusion
The smartphone has a good IPS display, new Android Oreo, an excellent camera and a new processor with high performance. At the same time, it is perfectly assembled from expensive, high-quality materials.
The disadvantages include the high price. It is worth considering that this is a Chinese flagship, and they should be cheap. 40,000 rubles is by no means a low price. Xiaomi Mi6, for example, with higher performance but a worse camera, costs only 25-26 thousand rubles, which is fair. However, even the cost of 40 thousand rubles looks attractive compared to the prices of the iPhone X or Samsung Galaxy Note 8.
Among the shortcomings we will also add a 4000 mAh battery - with normal use it will last for a day, but you will have to charge it often. However, the fast charging feature slightly mitigates this drawback.
Huawei Mate 10 Pro
Huawei Mate 10 Pro Review
Huawei Mate 10 Pro is a flagship smartphone with a truly large bezel-less display. The official announcement of the device is October 16, 2017. The same month is also set as the approximate date for the start of sales of the technological gadget.
Appearance and ergonomics
The manufacturer made a big bet on the design of this device. Therefore, Huawei Mate 10 Pro has an elegant glass and metal body that looks and feels almost perfect. The smartphone screen occupies about 90% of the area of the entire front panel. At the same time, there are no side frames at all, since the glass smoothly flows onto the edges. There is also a metal frame, which is a strong main structure of the case.
There is no fingerprint scanner on the front, which has been moved to the back. The back is also equipped with a dual camera with flash. It is noteworthy that the thin 7.5 mm body of the device is protected from dust and water according to the IP68 standard. There is also a built-in battery with a capacity of 4000 mAh with fast charging function.
Display
The Mate 10 Pro smartphone has a fairly wide 5.9-inch screen, which is completely devoid of side frames. The latest generation AMOLED matrix does an excellent job of displaying truly rich colors. The resolution of this display is 2880 by 1440 pixels, and the aspect ratio is 18 by 9. Image detail is also at the highest level. On such a screen, everything looks clear and juicy. The display is covered with Gorilla Glass on top.
Hardware and performance
Already out of the box, Mate 10 Pro greets the user with the new Android 8.0 operating system along with the EMUI 6.0 shell. The advanced 10nm Kirin 970 processor has eight cores, four (Cortex-A73) of which operate at an increased frequency of 2400 MHz. The amount of RAM is 6 GB, and the internal storage capacity can vary from 64 to 128 GB. The manufacturer took care of a slot for MicroSD cards up to 256 GB.
In terms of performance, the device is among the leaders among smartphones. Almost all games run with high frames per second, and at high graphics settings.
Communication and sound
Huawei Mate 10 Pro has a dedicated audio processor, which makes the gadget sound very high quality. This applies not only to headphones, but also to multimedia speakers. During a conversation with the interlocutor, audibility is excellent. The device supports Bluetooth 5.0, LTE and NFC.
Camera
Huawei Mate 10 Pro has an extra-class dual camera. One of its modules is 12-megapixel, and the second is 20-megapixel. This makes it possible to create real miracles by taking artistic, professional-level photographs. This should include all kinds of settings and modes with which the ideal result is achieved. There is optical stabilization, and the 1.6 aperture allows you to take high-quality pictures in any lighting. An 8-megapixel front camera with autofocus and new features is also useful for self-portraits.
conclusions
In many ways, the Mate 10 Pro can compete with real heavyweights in the smartphone market in the form of Note 8 from Samsung and iPhone 8 Plus from Apple. At the same time, the Chinese device received a number of exclusive features that make it truly unique and inimitable.
Pros:
- High-quality screen without frames.
- Elegant appearance.
- Very powerful filling.
- Progressive dual camera from Leica.
- Full protection from water and dust.
Minuses:
- Quite a high cost.
- Not all applications are optimized for the new chip.
Technical characteristics of Huawei Mate 10 Pro
| General characteristics | |
|---|---|
| Model | Mate 10 Pro |
| Date of announcement/start of sales | October 2017 / October 2017 |
| Dimensions | |
| Weight | |
| Case color range | Black |
| Number and type of SIM cards | Single SIM (Nano-SIM) or Hybrid Dual SIM (Nano-SIM, dual stand-by) |
| operating system | Android 8.0 (Oreo) |
| Communication standard in 2G networks | GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 - SIM 1 & SIM 2 (dual-SIM model only) CDMA 800 / 1900 |
| Communication standard in 3G networks | HSDPA 800 / 850 / 900 / 1700(AWS) / 1900 / 2100 CDMA2000 1xEV-DO & TD-SCDMA |
| Communication standard in 4G networks | LTE |
| Display | |
| Screen type | AMOLED capacitive, 16 million colors |
| Screen size | 5.9 inches |
| Screen resolution | 1440 x 2880, 546 ppi |
| Multitouch | There is |
| Screen protection | Gorilla Glass |
| Sound | |
| 3.5mm jack | There is |
| FM radio | No |
| Additionally | Vibration, MP3, WAV ringtones |
| Data transfer | |
| USB | 2.0, Type-C 1.0 reversible connector |
| Satellite navigation | GPS (A-GPS), GLONASS, BDS, GALILEO |
| WLAN | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, DLNA, WiFi Direct, hotspot |
| Bluetooth | 5.0, A2DP, EDR, LE |
| Internet connection | LTE-A, HSPA, EDGE, GPRS |
| NFC | There is |
| Platform | |
| CPU | Hisilicon Kirin 970 Octa-core (4×2.4 GHz Cortex-A73 & 4×1.8 GHz Cortex-A53) |
| GPU | |
| RAM | 6 GB |
| Inner memory | 64 GB / 128 GB |
| Supported memory cards | microSD, up to 256 GB |
| Camera | |
| Camera | Dual 20 MP +12 MP, f/1.6, OIS, 2x lossless zoom, Leica optics, phase detection & laser autofocus, dual-LED (dual tone) flash |
| Camera functions | Geo-tagging, touch focus, face/smile detection, panorama, HDR |
| Video recording | 2160p@30fps, 1080p@30/60fps |
| Front-camera | 8 MP |
| Battery | |
| Battery type and capacity | Li-Po 4000 mAh |
| Additionally | |
| Sensors | Proximity, ambient light, accelerometer, compass, gyroscope, barometer, fingerprint scanner (rear) |
| Browser | HTML5 |
| IMAP, POP3, SMTP | |
| Other | — Fast battery charging — DivX/XviD/MP4/H.265/WMV player — MP3/eAAC+/WMA/WAV/Flac player — Photo/video editor — Document viewer |
| Equipment | |
| Standard equipment | Mate 10 Pro: 1 USB cable: 1 SIM tray eject tool: 1 User manual: 1 Warranty card: 1 5V/1A charger: 1 |
Video reviews
Huawei Mate 10 Pro Review
This year, Huawei made a strange knight move; instead of just the flagship Mate, it released two devices. Not at all a flagship Mate and the Huawei Mate 10 Pro is a smartphone worth buying.
Design
This time everything has changed in the design. Once upon a time, the Mate series was different from the general line of Huawei devices. In 2017, one size fits all, it seems the company is striving for a unified design. In terms of looks, the Mate 10 Pro looks like the P10 on steroids.
The smartphone is tactilely cool. Good oleophobic coating, unusual color. The device is convenient even despite its size. Despite the fact that the back of the smartphone is covered with glass, it does not support wireless charging. That is, the glass surface is purely aesthetic in nature. The appearance of the Mate 10 Pro is in no way associated with moisture protection, but it is there. The IP68 standard is now what is needed for complete consumer happiness.
But for some reason I can’t say that I was hooked by this smartphone. With all my thoughts I realize that the device is of high quality, but I just can’t understand how Huawei achieved high sales in China. So far I don’t see any special features in their devices.
Screen
Fully 6 inches with small frames on top and bottom. Due to the new aspect ratio of the screen, the resolution has changed. The standard is 2160x1080 (FHD+), but to save energy you can set it to 1440x720. In addition, in the settings it is possible to switch the smartphone interface to black tones for even greater energy efficiency.
The main thing that needs to be said about the smartphone screen in 2017 is that it is defect-free. Yes, we have found ourselves in a situation where we now need to treat screens with care. Let's say thank you to Google Pixel 2 XL for this hint.
Iron
With amazing tenacity, Huawei is promoting its own mobile processor, and for good reason. The company practically does not depend on anyone.
The Kirin 970 processor is a technically powerful solution. The only caveat is that optimization of some applications for it will be done last. For example, even clients of regular social networks sometimes tend to crash. I can attribute this to a test sample of the device, but I also noticed similar things in commercial samples on the same Huawei P10.
In games, the smartphone behaves as it should, and if the optimization does not work in some places, then in general the power of this solution is enough for everything. Well, in general, writing about the speed of a flagship is strange; here you should rather look at the speed of the interface.
About the software
Mate 10 Pro runs on Android 8.0 and updated version 8 of EMUI. With the transition to new software, Huawei smartphones have become noticeably more agile. The animation works instantly, switching between applications is also carried out without hesitation, 6 gigabytes of RAM is plenty for this smartphone.
For myself, I would of course install a third-party launcher, for example, Nova, and immediately install Gboard, since the standard here uses SwiftKey, which I can’t stomach.
Huawei has a lot of settings and features in its system. For example, a signature gesture is tapping your knuckles on the screen to take a quick screenshot. It seems to me that this is the most convenient implementation for this function.
There is a separate screen lock mode, when the smartphone is placed in your pocket or bag and prevents accidental presses. And Huawei didn’t forget about the mode of working with gloves, it’s just relevant now.
About the camera
It's not easy to talk about the camera of the Huawei P10 smartphone. When there are smartphones like Google Pixel and Galaxy Note 8 on the market, the shooting quality of other automatic smartphones becomes “mediocre”. I can say one thing: of all the Chinese smartphones, Huawei Mate 10 Pro takes photographs and videos best of all.
Many people praise his camera, but I won’t do that. I'll just say that the camera is good, although there are some things to complain about in some moments. Huawei has very aggressive image processing algorithms, especially when it comes to shooting in the dark. With large crops, you can see how some objects are literally smeared like watercolors, especially for people’s faces.
But, you know, now you can find fault with anything, but overall the camera is good.
About working hours
Mate have always been champions in battery life. The large body of the devices often made it possible to place a capacious battery inside.
The Mate 10 Pro has a 4000 mAh battery. I tried to discharge this smartphone in one day, using my standard usage scenario. It didn't work out for me. Continuous correspondence in Telegram, 2 hours of music in Google Music and a ton of emails via the MyMail application did not allow this smartphone to run out of charge. In the evening, when 30 percent of the charge remained, I even played 3 cards in Guns of Boom and still the smartphone was discharged to 22%. It seems that I have found the longest-lasting smartphone in 2017.
At the same time, the Mate 10 Pro has a fast charging function and, despite its 4000 mAh battery, it charges as quickly as most competitors. It can be charged from 0% to 50% in 30-35 minutes.
Conclusion: Huawei Mate 10 Pro is not the most sophisticated smartphone among the flagships; functionally it does not differ from the same P-series. It's just a big smartphone with good battery life and other characteristics at the level of modern flagships. It cannot be called a unique offer on the market; the price of a smartphone is not low, but it cannot be called a failure either. It will find its audience, but it is clearly not a mass product that we could remember for a long time.
