Last October, the Chinese company Huawei introduced three new smartphones: Mate 10 (a more than worthy successor to the Mate 9), Mate 10 Pro and Mate 10 Porsche Edition. All three offer similar performance, although the Mate 10 has the most traditional design.
We will look at all the advantages and disadvantages of this device, as well as minor differences with other models.
Pros:
- camera;
- battery;
- performance;
- thin frame;
- Can be used as a PC.
Minuses:
- excessive body width;
- heavy weight and slippery surface;
- water and dust protection class only IP53;
- not the newest version of Bluetooth 4.2.
Release date and price
Huawei Mate 10 went on sale on November 2 last year in countries such as China, Australia, Egypt, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Spain and the Philippines. Although the smartphone is not officially available in the US market, it can be purchased from unofficial Amazon sellers for $699. In Russia, Mate 10 became available for purchase in November 2022. Today the price of this phone varies between 35-40 thousand rubles, and the buyer can choose from 4 colors: Mocha brown (brown), Black (black), Champagne gold (golden), Pink gold (pink gold).
Design and build quality
Huawei Mate 10 has a unified design with very rounded edges, with a metal and glass body. The width of the phone is 77 mm, weight – 186 grams. These metrics are important to consider when considering versatility and use. This device is equipped with a 16:9 display, which means that it stands out from the current trend among flagships. In addition, it is not easy to operate with one hand.
The glass-coated back houses a dual-camera setup with two lenses that protrude slightly from the surface. Both cameras have a metal ring to protect the Leica lenses, and running across them is a wide strip of a different shade that reflects light slightly differently and gives the phone a certain elegance.
On the front side there is a 16:9 format display. The Mate 9 has the same screen, although it's different from the Mate 10 Pro, which has an 18:9 aspect ratio display. Despite the phone's extreme width, the frame is slightly thinner compared to the Mate 9. The design of the Mate 10 feels less ergonomic in the hand, and you feel a little unsure as the device is quite heavy and slippery. However, this phone comes with a clear case that can ease that feeling.
Below the display there is a fairly narrow strip that includes a fingerprint scanner, which works very quickly. At the top there is a front camera, a proximity sensor, a speaker and an LED flash in the left corner.
The side frame is metal, varnished on top. At the top and bottom ends you can see small strips of strips designed to isolate the contact of different antennas. On the left side there is a tray for inserting nanoSIM and microSD cards.
A slight hint of retro style comes not only from the 16:9 display, but also from the presence of an infrared port and a mini headphone jack on the top of the case. By the way, the Mate 10 Pro also has an infrared port, but the mini-jack connector has been removed and an adapter for it is not included in the package.
The Mate 10 Pro is rated IP67 for water and dust resistance, meaning this smartphone can withstand complete immersion. Mate 10 is protected according to IP53 class - that is, the device is not afraid of splashes of water, but immersion in water is contraindicated for it.
Connection
Communication is what most people buy a phone for. We are talking not only about mobile communications, but also about the Internet.
With Mate 10 you will be able to clearly hear your interlocutor and you will be heard too. This device can pick up 4G networks, which is the standard in 2022. The connection will not be interrupted or lost, because this model has good modules. Of course, the quality of communication also depends on the operator. Therefore, if you have problems, then you should not blame the device, but rather look for the problem in the operator.
It is no longer surprising that the phone has a tray for two SIM cards. With a dual sim smartphone, one SIM can be used for communication, and the second for the Internet, for example.
Display
Huawei Mate 10 features a 5.9-inch FullView display, with a resolution of 2560 x 1440 and a pixel density of 499 ppi. Compared to the Pro version, there are a number of differences in the displays. The diagonals are very similar, but because the screens have different aspect ratios, they don't look the same. Both devices have very sleek bezels. The Mate 10 display occupies the front panel of the device - for comparison, this is 2% less than that of the iPhone X.
The Mate 10 Pro model is equipped with an AMOLED display, while the Mate 10 has an IPS LCD screen. Both screens have square corners and are very good, but if we place them side by side, the AMOLED will of course look more impressive. However, the Mate 10's IPS display is also worthy of praise, boasting excellent brightness, clarity and rich colors.
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.
Special abilities
Easy Projection turns Mate 10 into a PC
This is the newest feature of Mate 10 that allows you to use your smartphone as a desktop computer. Among previous experiments in bringing the smartphone and PC closer together, I think this option is the most convincing, since the BQ Aquaris M10 tablet was paired with Ubuntu Touch.
Huawei's Easy Projection is much more practical than Samsung's DeX.
Unlike Samsung DeX, you don't need an expensive accessory with the Mate 10. All you need is a USB-C adapter and a wireless mouse and keyboard. There are also some HDMI and USB adapters for using a keyboard and mouse combination. Just connect your device to your screen and you're ready to go. You can also use your smartphone display as a trackpad to move the cursor around the big screen and use the virtual keyboard to enter characters. All this is easy, simple and fast. The best part is that you can use your phone as normal, even if you are in a desktop session.
There are just two things to keep in mind: the HDMI port can't send audio, and information that isn't saved during your desktop session will be lost if you unplug the on-screen cable. The desktop doesn't run quite as smoothly if you're using a phone, plus there are a number of aspects that need improvement, but it's one of the best efforts we've seen with technology like this to date.
Rest
While all other smartphones are dragging something out with the new Android, Mate 10 is already quietly working on “Oreo cookies” (version 8.0.0).
Are there any glitches, slowdowns or lags? Not at all.
In two weeks of active use, the smartphone never became dull, not a single application crashed (even Instagram), not a single animation slowed down - in general, everything was set up perfectly.
The proprietary shell has a dark theme - what is needed to save energy when the smartphone has an OLED screen. By the way, the Always on Display function (similar to Samsung and LG) is present here. In standby mode, the time and date are displayed on the screen. Unfortunately, you cannot configure this option as you wish.
The device supports connection to a monitor via DisplayPort 1.2 (you need a compatible cable, which is not included). In this mode, the smartphone is transformed into a computer with an interface familiar to PC users: Explorer, applications in a menu similar to “Start”, and so on. Overall, this is a clear answer to Samsung's DeX dock.
As for the sound quality, everything is fine with it. This is true both for the sound in headphones and in relation to external speakers.
There is a stereo effect, but it is minimal, because although the earpiece tries to echo the main one, it doesn’t do it very well.
The main speaker is located next to the USB C port and boasts quite loud and clear sound.
Software
The Mate 10 runs Android 8.0 Oreo, paired with Huawei's proprietary EMUI skin, which has both fans and critics. The eighth version of this interface is a good update and introduces the main features of Oreo. The Mate 10 processor includes a Neural Processing Unit (NPU) that should benefit future applications, but it's too early to draw any conclusions.
Those of you who are already familiar with Huawei's user interface won't see much new. One of the most interesting features that the hero of our review offers, in addition to the ability to use it as a computer, is the ability to duplicate applications with different accounts. On the Mate 10, you can use the fingerprint scanner as a replacement for the on-screen navigation keys. Swipe it to the right to start multitasking. Swipe left to go back. By the way, this feature does not work as well as Motorola's versions, but it is a good solution for better use of the display. If you keep the start button pressed, the handy Google Assistant digital assistant will be available to you.
Performance
The three Mate 10 models include the company's new AI processor. The Kirin 970 is the most powerful chipset on the market today and is a competitor to the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 in terms of performance. In terms of technical parameters, Kirin 970 is based on 10nm technology. This chipset has eight cores: 4 Cortex-A73 ARM cores with a frequency of 2.36 GHz and 4 Cortex-A53 ARM cores with a frequency of 1.8 GHz. There is also a dedicated neural processing unit (NPU). The 12-core Mali G72 graphics accelerator is responsible for graphics processing.
In the near future, machine learning and artificial intelligence will play a very important role in Huawei devices, and the Mate 10 is the first link. With 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage (with microSD support), the Mate 10 offers performance almost identical to the Mate 10 Pro with 6GB of RAM. Everything works quickly and smoothly, making this phone an absolute pleasure to use.
Sound
Sound plays a very important role in a smartphone. Without sound, you simply cannot enjoy your device. For example, you won’t be able to listen to your favorite music or watch a movie comfortably. Even if you discard purely audio content, you will not be able to hear a call normally on the street.
I would like to say right away that the sound in the speakers is not worth evaluating especially, at least in terms of listening to music. This is due to the fact that any speaker tends to sag. Even professional equipment has this problem. But it’s worth considering that a smartphone is not professional equipment, so its sound will fade very quickly. If you regularly listen to music through a speaker, you will hear the first wheezing within a month. But if you do not take into account the wear and tear of the speaker, the sound of the new Huawei Honor Mate 10 is at a decent level. It's clean and loud. The Mate 10 has a Lossless Hi-Res audio 384k/32bit audio chip.
In terms of sound in headphones, the gadget does not stand out with anything special; it transmits information to headphones in the same way as any other flagships, and the sound quality in headphones depends only on the headset itself.
Benchmark test results
| 3D MARK SLING SHOT EXTREME | GEEKBENCH 4 MULTI CORE | PC MARK WORK 2.0 | |
| Huawei Mate 10 Pro | 2919 | 6743 | 6822 |
| Huawei Mate 10 | 2933 | 6740 | 6903 |
| Samsung Galaxy Note 8 | 2591 | 6816 | 5152 |
| Google Pixel 2 XL | 3571 | 6262 | 7190 |
Audio
To the delight of many users, the Mate 10 retained the mini-jack for headphones, which the Mate 10 Pro, alas, parted with. More and more people are switching to wireless audio every day, but for those who are nostalgic for the analog days like us, this is a big plus for this phone. The smartphone only offers Bluetooth 4.2 for wireless audio, and in this regard we expected more from a Huawei flagship.
Devices manufactured by Huawei are always characterized by high-quality sound from the earpiece speaker. For Mate 10, both the emitted and received waves are modulated thanks to an artificial intelligence processor.
Like the Mate 9, the external speaker is also of very good quality and doesn't produce sounds with a metallic tone, as you might expect from a smartphone like this.
BY
Software is the connecting link of all components of a smartphone, and it is how everything is optimized in software that determines whether the hardware will reveal its potential. In addition, the quality of the firmware affects the speed of the device, because if the system is poorly designed, then no amount of hardware will save such a smartphone. Well, the most important thing that depends on the software shell is the comfort of using the interface. The version and quality of the firmware determines what features and pre-installed programs will be in your smartphone. Even the design of the OS itself greatly affects the user.
And in this aspect, the smartphone we are considering is doing well. Huawei Mate 10 runs on Android 8, which is the latest version of this OS. The software shell is well balanced and has a beautiful and user-friendly interface. Google really put a lot of effort into this version of the OS, so the firmware has proven itself well. If you have never used a G8-based smartphone, you will be pleasantly surprised by its quality.
Camera
All three models are equipped with cameras with the same parameters. At the back of the Mate 10 are two Leica Summilux-H lenses, hiding two sensors. One of them - black and white - has a resolution of 20 megapixels, the other, RGB format, has optical image stabilization and a resolution of 12 megapixels. The aperture of these two sensors is f/1.6. There is also a laser sensor for phase detection focusing.
Pictures from the main camera impress with good brightness levels and dynamic ranges. Color reproduction is quite natural, although photos look very bright in high-light conditions. The color range in low light causes noise effects, since in such conditions the focus is on the contours of the objects being photographed.
The front camera has an 8-megapixel sensor with an f/2.0 lens aperture, plus it can do bokeh effects, although this has its limitations if there are any gaps in the foreground when the background of the scene is displayed. This main camera also has some problems. By the way, the main camera also has a similar problem.
The camera is the area where we can best see the NPU's neural processing unit at work. This artificial intelligence unit is capable of recognizing 13 different objects and optimizing the quality of pictures accordingly. It can do all this without having to resort to complex settings. This results in stunning photos in virtually any situation, captured at extremely fast shooting speeds.
Battery
Mate 10 and Mate 10 Pro are equipped with 4000 mAh batteries that support fast charging. When the device is turned off, it takes only 26 minutes to charge from 0% to 50%, and a full charging cycle is no more than 90 minutes. This speed is very impressive, considering that the battery of the above devices has a capacity of about 1000 mAh more than the batteries of many other smartphones.
The situation changes in a completely different direction when it comes to battery discharge. With very intensive use, the Mate 10 can stay afloat for 6 hours. With battery optimization settings enabled, the phone will give you 5 hours of use throughout the day, with 50 percent remaining charge.
Battery life
Smartphone operating time is a very important aspect when choosing a device. The battery determines how long you will use your smartphone without recharging. Almost all smartphones have the problem of low battery life, regardless of whether it is a flagship or a cheap budget device. Often developers install seemingly good batteries, but at the same time overdo the screen, which is why they get unsatisfactory battery life.
But Mate 10 does not have such a problem, since long battery life is provided by a large 4000 mAh battery. It is very rare to find a smartphone with such a capacitive battery. Today, batteries with a capacity of no more than 3500 mAh are most often found.
But don’t think that the device will work for two days on one charge. This is wrong. The Huawei Mate 10 certainly has a large battery, but with a large screen that consumes a lot of power (more than average-sized displays), sometimes you may need an external battery. Of course, the smartphone works adequately, you will not encounter the fact that it is discharged in the middle of the day, but it obviously will not work for 2 days.
Specifications
| Dimensions: | 150.5 x 77.8 x 8.2 mm |
| Weight: | 186 g |
| Battery capacity: | 4000 mAh |
| Display Size: | 5.9 inches |
| Display technology: | LCD |
| Display: | 2560 x 1440 (499 PPI) |
| Front-camera: | 8 MP |
| Main camera: | 20 MP |
| Flash: | Dual-LED |
| Android Version: | 8.0 – Oreo |
| Interface: | Emotion UI |
| RAM: | 4 GB |
| Inner memory: | 64 GB |
| Expandable Memory: | MicroSD |
| Chipset: | HiSilicon Kirin 970 |
| Number of Cores: | 8 |
| Clock frequency: | 2.36 GHz |
| Connections: | HSPA, LTE, NFC, Dual-SIM, Bluetooth 4.2 |
