Huawei
Mate 8
Huawei
has just taken the wraps off its next ‘big’ thing and by big, we literally mean
huge: the new Huawei Mate 8 features a large 6-inch display and is the
spiritual successor to the Mate 7. It comes with thinner edges and 2.5D,
slightly curved towards the edges glass that would make it more ergonomic to
hold and hopefully, more comfortable to handle.
There
are a few things worth going through here: first, the display. At its large, 6”
size, it’s a bit of a surprise to see a resolution lower than Quad HD. The 1080
x 1920-pixel resolution works out to a pixel density of around 367ppi on this
screen, which is below most of the competition.
Also,
the rear camera is a fairly capable Sony IMX298 unit with phase detection
auto-focus for faster locking. Having 16 megapixels of resolution at its size
means that pixel size is 1.12 micron, the lowest end on the market, and
typically this would result in some issues with low light sensitivity. Interestingly, Huawei has also opted for tri-axis optical image stabilization
(OIS), which should minimize hand shake in video and allow for faster shutter
speeds and sharper images.
There
is a new and improved fingerprint scanner on the back: Huawei says erroneous
recognition rate on it is just between 2% and 1%, and the sensor is a
360-degree all-round reader that takes just 0.5 seconds to complete a one-touch
unlock. It also packs added functionality: you can use it to pay for stuff, to unlock
securely documents, to lock applications, stop the alarm, access private
photographs, and even answering calls (via a long press).
Finally,
the combination of a 4,000 mAh battery and the HiSilicon Kirin 950 will be what
determines the performance and battery longevity of the Mate 8. Huawei
officially says Mate 8 battery life will be 2.36 days with 'normal' use, while
HD video playback time stands at up to 17 hours. The phone will also support
QuickCharging, getting a day worth of battery life with a 30-minute charge. On
the SoC side, the Kirin 950 is an octa-core chip with four high performance
Cortex A72s running at up to 2.3 GHz, it should deliver more than sufficient
oomph. The chip itself will be built on 16nm FinFET silicon.
The
Huawei Mate 8 will be available in China in the first quarter of 2016, while
more details about the handset will be presented at CES in early January.
