Huawei Mate 20 Lite hands-on: Lots of AI features, middling specs

Huawei just launched a new Mate device at IFA 2018, but it’s probably not what you were expecting. Instead of the top-shelf Mate 20, the Chinese giant revealed the more accessible Mate 20 Lite. It’s a phone that’s pretty much guaranteed to sell well, thanks to the strong association with the aspirational Mate 20.

This is the first time Huawei has introduced the Mate Lite model first, but what else is interesting about it? Let’s find out in our Huawei Mate 20 Lite hands-on preview.

The Mate 20 Lite looks premium, even if the design is a little generic. The body is covered in sleek glass, front and back, with a metal frame going around the edges. The phone is quite slippery, but it’s fairly light and easy to handle with one hand, despite the expansive 6.3-inch display.

Editor’s Pick

Sony Xperia XZ3 hands-on: Keeping up with the times

If you can’t keep up with Sony’s releases, you’re not alone. The Japanese manufacturer is known for the rapid cadence at which it launches new smartphone iterations, and we’ve come to expect a (slightly) revamped …

The clean back of the Mate 20 Lite is dominated by the dual camera module and fingerprint sensor, which are framed in a discreet hatched pattern. The deep black version that we got to test looks sleek and stealthy, but if you prefer a flashier design you can look into the Sapphire Blue and Platinum Gold models.

The bottom of the phone houses a single speaker, the USB Type-C port, and a 3.5-millimeter audio jack.

The screen is framed by some sizeable bezels and a notch – at 81 percent, this is no screen-to-body ratio champion, but Huawei still increased it significantly compared to the Mate 10 Lite. Thanks to the dark-themed user interface, the bezels just “bleed” into to the screen, making for a pleasant experience.

Huawei’s big proposition for the Mate 20 Lite is AI

The display is more than adequate for a mid-range device. It’s a tall 19.5:9 LCD of Full HD+ resolution. You really can’t see the pixels in regular use, but colors are a little washed out.

Huawei’s big proposition for the Mate 20 Lite is AI. The manufacturer is taking AI technology to its mid-range lineup, adding tons of features that use machine learning technology to the Mate 20 Lite. Unfortunately, there’s no dedicated hardware to back them up. The Mate 20 Lite uses the Kirin 710 processor, which lacks a dedicated neural processing unit. Instead of the NPU, AI calculations are handled by the octa-core CPU, which is definitely powerful enough for the task.

Read: Cheaper Huawei phones are set for a big boost with Kirin 710 chipset

Other core specs include 4GB of RAM and 64GB of expandable storage, powered by a 3,750mAh battery. That’s a nice 10 percent upgrade compared to last year’s Mate 10 Lite, and enough to keep you going for more than two days of average use.

We would’ve liked to see better RAM and storage specs, seeing that Huawei’s own Honor has some better offerings for cheaper. Still, Huawei may get away with it, especially in the markets where customers are less concerned about having the best specifications.

Getting back to the AI-powered features, they include AI Shopping Assistant (tap on images of products to get quick shopping links); Enhanced Communication (AI-assisted noise cancellation during phone calls); and AI Smart Gallery (automatically sort photos into albums). We’ll have to see whether these features actual add value or are just gimmicks designed for the sweet marketing potential of the “AI” buzzword.

More AI features can be found in the camera app. Both the front and the rear cameras feature AI-powered scene recognition that should select the best settings from hundreds of categories. AI Assisted Composition guides users to get the best angles in each scene, and the bokeh effect is also generated using AI.

The Mate 20 Lite features four cameras in total. On the back, you get a 20MP main sensor, with a 2MP sensor for depth sensing. Features include intelligent scene detection, smart composition, and 480 fps slow motion video capture. On the front, the main sensor is 24MP, coupled with a 2MP sensor for depth sensing. The selfie cams support real-time HDR Pro, Studio Lighting, and 3D animated emoji.

Read: After beating Apple, Huawei wants to overtake Samsung by end of 2019

The Huawei Mate 20 Lite will go on sale in the UK for 380 pounds (~$500), starting in October. That’s not exactly cheap, in comparison to devices like the Pocophone F1 or the Honor Play, but Huawei clearly hopes that its brand cachet and AI features will help the Mate 20 Lite stand out in the market.

What are your thoughts on the Huawei Mate 20 Lite? Let us know in the comments!

Samsung Galaxy Watch review: The smartwatch that tries to do it all

The brand new Samsung Galaxy Watch could be considered the Swiss Army knife of smartwatches. It tries to do a little bit of everything, from sleep tracking, to fitness tracking, to mobile payments, to all the other typical smartwatch functions. It even looks good doing it.

But does Samsung nail the execution? Find out in our full review of the Samsung Galaxy Watch.

Design

Editor’s Pick

Best smartwatches (July 2018)

Smartwatches are still a very new thing to a lot of people, and for good reason. You don’t absolutely need one to get through the day, and some of the best smartwatches are much too expensive …

Samsung has come a long way with its smartwatch design since the original Galaxy Gear. The Galaxy Watch elegantly disguises itself as a normal watch. It comes in 46mm and 42mm watch face variants. The one I’ve been testing and using for the past week is the 46mm version in silver, with Bluetooth connectivity. The smaller 42mm version is available in black and rose gold. Some might consider the 46mm option too large, but it felt perfect despite my small wrists. It has some heft to it and the profile is quite chunky, but that didn’t bother me. The 42mm will be a much better choice if you want a lighter watch that takes up less space on your wrist.

The metal design is sturdy and the silver finish looks very classy. Its neutral coloring helps the Galaxy Watch match a variety of different outfits. It even looks good enough for formal attire. Samsung’s signature rotating bezel is coated in a matte-black finish that contrasts very well with the silver.

The rotating bezel is intuitive as ever and such a joy to use.

The rotating bezel is intuitive as ever and a joy to use. It makes for fast and easy navigation through your notifications and widgets, and the mechanical clicks you feel when you rotate the bezel are extremely satisfying. On the right side, two buttons protrude slightly, and their textured rubber finish makes them easy to find by feel. The top button functions as a back button and the bottom one is a home button.

The default watch strap of the 46mm Galaxy Watch is made of black silicone. It’s durable, water-resistant, and comfortable, but may not be right for every outfit. Samsung sells additional watch straps of different colors and materials through its website, if you want to spice up the look of the watch. The bands are standard 22mm bands which makes them easy to swap.

Don’t miss: Fitbit Charge 3 is here: Water resistant, Fitbit Pay support, and a working SpO2 sensor

The silicone bands are the most functional, as you can take advantage of the Galaxy Watch’s IP68 water resistance. The watch is water-resistant up to 50 meters, meaning it will easily survive swims in the pool and wearing it in the shower. The Galaxy Watch is also MIL-STD-810G-certified for durability against drops, high temperatures, dust, and high altitude. You can take it pretty much anywhere and it will have a high chance of surviving.

Display

The 46mm version comes with a 1.3 inch AMOLED display and the 42mm model is slightly smaller at 1.2 inches. Both sizes have the same 360 x 360 resolution. On a display of this size, it’s more than enough for text and graphics to look sharp. The screen is also vibrant, colorful, and easy to see in direct sunlight. The inky deep blacks look great and provide for plenty of contrast. Having an AMOLED display on a smartwatch just makes sense as it allows the content to pop and the watch faces with black backgrounds to look much cleaner.

Performance & battery

The watch is quick to respond to all of my taps and gestures and nothing ever felt slow to load.

The Galaxy Watch uses Samsung’s Exynos 9110 dual-core processor clocked at 1.5GHz. The Bluetooth version has 768MB of RAM while the LTE model will double it at 1.5GB. Talking about performance on a smartwatch is quite strange and while I can’t speak for the LTE version, the Bluetooth model has been smooth. The watch is quick to respond to all of my taps and gestures and nothing ever felt slow to load.

The 46mm variant comes with a 472mAh battery, while the smaller 42mm has a 270mAh cell. According to Samsung, the 46mm version of the Galaxy Watch lasts up to seven days. The most I’ve gotten from it is four days. Four days is quite good, but you’ll still have to charge it twice a week.

Hardware

Moving on with our Samsung Galaxy Watch review, the device comes with a very impressive set of hardware features. There’s a built-in altimeter and barometer for gauging atmospheric pressure and altitude. Not everyone will find this useful, but it can come in handy if you enjoy activities like mountain hiking. On the underside of the watch is the heart rate sensor, which can also gauge your stress levels — a new feature on the Galaxy Watch. If the watch senses your stress levels are too high it will have you do a series of breathing exercises.

There’s an integrated speaker and microphone for sending and receiving phone calls, text messages, and voice dictation. The Galaxy Watch comes with 4GB of internal storage, but only half that space is usable. It’s not much, but it’s enough for locally storing a couple songs or photos and downloading additional apps.

If you’re a fan of Samsung Pay, the Galaxy Watch supports it. Sadly, the Galaxy Watch will only work at NFC terminals, as it doesn’t support magnetic secure transmission (MST). MST was available on the Gear S3 and allowed it to work at virtually any terminal. It’s very unfortunate the Galaxy Watch doesn’t have it.

MST was available on the Gear S3 and allowed it to work at virtually any terminal. It’s very unfortunate the Galaxy Watch doesn’t have it.

Software

The software and its plethora of features is really what makes the Galaxy Watch such a powerful smartwatch. The Galaxy Watch runs on Tizen 4.0, which is intuitive and well optimized for Samsung’s rotating bezel. It isn’t much different from previous versions of Tizen and will be a familiar experience if you’re coming from a Gear S3 or Gear Sport. Apps can be downloaded through the Galaxy Apps store and there are plenty of additional watch faces for added customization.

As a fitness tracker, the Galaxy Watch is excellent.

As a fitness tracker, the Galaxy Watch is excellent. It’s capable of tracking a total of 39 different workouts including weight training, cardio, and circuit training. Certain exercises are tracked automatically such as walking, running, or cycling simply by starting the workout. Weight training is my preferred method of exercise when I go to the gym and I found the weight training workouts to be extremely useful. The watch can’t track every type of weightlifting exercise, but it easily picks up common ones like bench presses, shoulder presses, deadlifts, and arm curls. The watch can keep track of how many sets and reps you want to do per set. It will also count the reps for you so you don’t have to.

New to the Galaxy Watch is the integration of Samsung’s AI assistant, Bixby. This is a first for Samsung, replacing S Voice. However if you didn’t like Bixby before, you’ll like it even less here. Bixby is the Galaxy Watch’s biggest weakness. Most of the time it did not understand my questions or threw out errors. I even asked some of the recommended questions Bixby suggests and it still wouldn’t answer them. Hopefully, it’s a feature Samsung can improve. For now, it’s better left ignored.

Pricing & final thoughts

The Bluetooth-only version of the Galaxy Watch starts at $329.99 for the 42mm and $349.99 for the 46mm. Pricing for the LTE models are slightly higher, but they will vary from carrier to carrier. It’s a price competitive with the Apple Watch — likely Samsung’s biggest competition.

The Samsung Galaxy Watch is compatible with Android and iOS, but you lose out on some of the Bixby health integration when using a non-Samsung device.

The Galaxy Watch is very well executed. Bixby issues aside, it nails the balance between being a smartwatch and being a health and fitness tracker.

Read next: The best fitness trackers

There you have it — our Samsung Galaxy Watch review. If you’re in the market for a new smartwatch, the Galaxy Watch is definitely worth considering.

Top 5 Australian Money Management Apps

One of the benefits of living in the digital age is that there is an app for literally everything. When it comes to managing money, it’s important to understand that global currencies are an integral part of managing your finances. If you are a foreign national living and working in Australia, you’ll need to download and use Australian money management apps while abroad. You can always file your tax return online but for such things as making budgets and keeping track of investments, you’ll probably want to use an app on your smart device. With that said, here are the top five Australian money management apps of 2018.

1. Pocketbook

What would a money management programme be without a budgeting app? Pocketbook is a handy little budgeting app available for both Android and iOS mobile devices. Here you can create your budget by tracking your expenses and then set limits on spending. If you have trouble sticking to a budget, Pocketbook will help you by tracking what you’ve spent to date and giving you a warning when you’ve exceeded your limits.

2. Bank Apps

Every bank now has a downloadable app – or at least they should if they keep up with the times! These can help you avoid overdraft charges by keeping a running balance of your accounts and you can usually even pay bills while mobile with most bank apps. While most banks will offer their apps for Android and iOS, there may be some banks that offer a Windows Phone version as well.

3. TrackMyGoals

Sometimes it’s difficult to keep your savings goals in mind without visual reminders of where you want to be at some future date. TrackMyGoals is a Money Smart app from the developers of TrackMySpend, but this particular app helps you to set goals and then manage your savings so that you don’t lose sight of those goals. TrackMyGoals, like TrackMySpend, is available for Android and iOS devices.

4. Australian Taxation Office App

Even if you are a foreign national working in Australia, the one thing you will need to do is pay income tax. This particular app lets you calculate any deductions and come up with calculations based on figures in real time. Available for Windows Phone, Android and iOS, this app was designed to be a true cross platform tool for individuals and small businesses.

5. Acorns AU

It is free to download this investment app for Android or iOS devices but there will be a monthly fee of $1.25 on any balances below $5,000. This figure may change over time, but at the time, that is the fee the developers are charging. How Acorns works is to round any amount you spend when using your bank card up to the nearest dollar and then it invests that amount into a diversified managed investment portfolio. This is one handy way for those who have trouble saving money to invest. Acorns is designed to teach you how to save so that you have money to invest – it is NOT a get rich quick investment scheme.

So, there you have the top five money management apps for Australians. If you have trouble budgeting and managing your money, these are the apps you need to take charge of your financial affairs.

Huawei’s new Kirin 980 chip is so fast, it can probably slow down time

When talking about the new Kirin 980 processor, Huawei mentions a lot of world firsts, a lot of percentages, and a lot of very big numbers. We’re going to get to those, but they all boil down to one thing: This is a fast, ultra-high-performance mobile processor, and likely one of the most advanced we’ve ever seen. It’s not just the promised raw speed, but the new artificial intelligence features that entice here. What’s more, it won’t be long until we see it in a phone.

Let’s do the world firsts. The Huawei Kirin 980 is the world’s first 7nm mobile system-on-a-chip (SoC), with the first Dual Neural Processing Unit (NPU), the first Cortex A76 cores, the first Mali G76 graphics processing unit (GPU), the first example of a 1.4Gbps Cat.21 modem, and the first to use LPDDRX4 RAM running at 2133Mhz. What does all this mean? Huawei repeated it over and over again: More performance, and better efficiency.

The Kirin 980 is the result of 36 months work from a team of more than 1,000 design and process experts, and it contains a dizzying 6.9 billion transistors. Compared to the 10nm Kirin 970 seen in everything from the P20 Pro to the Honor Play, the Kirin 980 has a 20 percent speed improvement, and a 40 percent reduction in energy draw. The Cortex A76 cores alone provide 75 percent higher performance than the Kirin 970’s cores.

It is made up of eight cores in total, the two big Cortex A76 cores, along with two middle cores, and four little cores. These split tasks up according to needs. For example, the little cores deal with music and video streaming, while social and messaging apps bring in the middle cores for assistance, and playing games sees all eight cores working hard. Huawei has added a degree of artificial intelligence to this process, which if calls A.I. Loading Prediction. The system understands where and when power is needed, and adjusts the output accordingly ahead of time, ready to provide the best experience, particularly when playing games.

More A.I. capabilities

The Kirin 970 introduced the world to the NPU, which takes care of A.I. processing on the device, rather than messing around in the cloud. It’s faster, and more efficient, in case you hadn’t guessed. The Kirin 980 has two NPUs, and can recognize 4,500 images per minute, compared to the 2,371 recognized each minute by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845. Huawei claims the overall performance is 135 percent faster than the Snapdragon 845, and 88 percent more efficient. The Dual NPUs also add real-time image processing to video, rather than solely on stills with the single NPU, and can recognize the particulars of an image too.

A new dual Image Signal Processor (ISP) for the camera is also part of the Kirin 980. In some demonstration images, we saw more detail, better white balance, and an overall sharper image than one taken without the Kirin 980 chip. Again, expect a 46 percent performance increase and 33 percent reduction in latency. Repeat the mantra: More performance, better efficiency. This even applies to a new Wi-Fi chip for higher peak speeds, and a new dual-frequency GPS chip for 10 times greater positioning accuracy.

Numbers, especially when related to processors, are rarely exciting. But the prospect of such a big boost over the already impressive Kirin 970 makes us really keen to try one out. We need to see if all these comparisons and percentages translate into real life gains. The great news is, we don’t have long to wait. Huawei will use the Kirin 980 in the forthcoming Mate 20 smartphone, which it will launch in October.

Once more, for Huawei, repeat after me: More performance, better efficiency, more performance, better efficiency.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Here’s everything you need to know about the Huawei P20
• Huawei might be making a powerful phone for mobile gamers
• Moto Z3 Play vs. Honor View 10: Which midrange phone should be in your pocket?
• Arm’s future CPU designs may finally catch up with Intel in laptops by 2020
• Samsung Galaxy Note 9 vs. Huawei P20 Pro: Two high-end phones clash

There is nothing even slightly cube-like about the Huawei AI Cube smart speaker

Previous

Next

1 of 7

Andy Boxall/Digital Trends

Andy Boxall/Digital Trends

Andy Boxall/Digital Trends

Andy Boxall/Digital Trends

Andy Boxall/Digital Trends

Andy Boxall/Digital Trends

Andy Boxall/Digital Trends

No, we haven’t published the wrong pictures, this really is the Huawei AI Cube, which as you can see isn’t a cube at all. It’s a puzzling naming decision. When we asked Huawei about it, the company chose to leave it as one of those great unanswered questions. Maybe the sequel will be called the AI Cylinder, and be shaped like a cube, or maybe we’re just looking at it wrong?

Apart from calling it a cube, the name gives away what this product is all about. It’s Huawei’s smart speaker, incorporating an AI assistant, a speaker system, and unusually a 4G LTE connection too. You’re expecting us to say it uses Google Assistant for the smart capabilities aren’t you? It doesn’t. Amazon’s Alexa has been called up for duty aboard the AI Cube. This allows you to control your smart home devices, take advantage of Alexa’s many Skills, and ask it general questions throughout the day.

Huawei indicated it added its own artificial intelligence expertise in some form to Alexa.

Why not Google Assistant? Huawei was cagey about its reasons, but it’s not the first time Amazon and Huawei have collaborated, having previously added Alexa in the form of an app to the Huawei Mate 10 Pro smartphone. Huawei indicated it added its own artificial intelligence expertise in some form to Alexa on the AI Cube too, although in what capacity isn’t clear.

About twice the size of a Google Home, the AI Cube stands tall on a table, and comes with either grey or red cloth covering the speaker array at the base of the unit. A 15-watt mono driver with an aluminum diaphragm is matched with passive radiators to generate the sound, but we only heard Alexa speak during our brief time with the speaker, so we cannot comment on its ability as a music player. Huawei’s own Histen audio technology — usually seen on Huawei and Honor phones — is included, along with four microphones and far-field voice recognition technology so you can speak to Alexa from across the room.

4G LTE, but no battery

If the name has confused you, prepare to furrow your brow further, because the AI Cube has 4G LTE enabled with a SIM card. This doesn’t really make it portable though, as we were told it doesn’t have a battery. We understand the need for portable Bluetooth speakers, but not the need for portable smart speakers, especially when they still need to be plugged into a wall socket. It supports Cat.6 LTE at speeds up to 300Mbps though, and has 802.11AC dual-band Wi-Fi, along with an an Ethernet port under the speaker. On the top you’ll find volume keys and a mute button, and the surrounding around the controls glows when the speaker is active.

Andy Boxall/Digital Trends

The AI Cube is joined at IFA 2018 with the Huawei Locator, a location tracker with a battery that provides 60 days of standby and 15 days of actual tracking, which is done using various GPS systems, Assisted GPS, and global roaming. It’s designed so you can keep watch over misbehaving children, errant senior citizens, annoying pets, and easily lost baggage. The unit is matchbox-small, has an IP68 rating for water resistance, and a built-in SOS button. In addition to the GPS, which is accurate down to 5 meters, Bluetooth Low Energy takes over within a 10 meter range, and geo-fences can be setup for alerts.

Taken with the idea of either the AI Cube or Huawei Locator? The AI Cube will be out in Europe around Christmas time, and the price will be announced when it’s ready for sale. There was no comment on a U.S. release, and the AI Cube won’t be released in China either. The Huawei Locator also doesn’t have a price yet, but may be subject to a contract or ongoing fees when it is released in Europe.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Amazon Fire TV Cube review
• A.I. can now learn how to solve a Rubik’s Cube, researchers claim
• Get a $30 discount on the brand-new, top-rated Amazon Fire TV Cube on Prime Day
• Amazon’s Fire TV Cube gives your entire home theater the power of Alexa
• Get $35 off the amazing new Amazon Fire TV Cube with trade-in

Huawei Mate 20 Lite hands-on review

Research Center:

Huawei Mate 20 Lite

Huawei is getting ready to launch its Mate 20 smartphone line-up, and has preempted the big release — which we expect will be the Pro version — with the early announcement of the Mate 20 Lite. Is this a glimpse at what’s to come from the Mate 20 Pro? No, probably not; but Huawei said because the Lite version is so impressive, it should make you even more excited for the main attraction.

Is this an accurate statement? There’s no doubt the Mate 20 Lite is an interesting smartphone, but it is also very reminiscent of other phones we’ve seen very recently. It’s no surprise to see it launch right now. If you’ve read our review of the Honor Play, then you’ll already be familiar with some of the Mate 20 Lite’s features. Let’s look closer.

Slick design, great display

Let’s just say up front, this is a very good-looking phone. It comes in a beautiful glossy black, sapphire blue, or platinum gold, with a glass rear panel that recalls the crisp, smart design seen on the back of the Porsche Design Mate RS. It’s the centrally stacked camera lenses and fingerprint sensor that does it, complete with an etched design surrounding them. It’s slim at 7.6mm, comfortable to hold thanks to the curvy sides, and lightweight at 172 grams.

You’re looking at a 6.3-inch notched screen with a 2,340 x 1,080 resolution, providing an 81 percent screen-to-body ratio, which matches the Honor Play. This is great news, and icat appears the panel is identical too — meaning it’s bright, colorful, and engaging.

Specs and battery

Rather than use the Kirin 970 chip from the Play, the Mate 20 Pro has a newly-revised Kirin 710 processor, along with 4GB of RAM. This is the same setup Huawei uses in the Nova 3i, which also shares the same screen size and resolution. We have not run benchmarks on the Kirin 710 to see how it compares to the Kirin 970, which is currently an upper-range processor from Huawei.

Let’s just say up front, this is a very good-looking phone.

A 3,750mAh battery powers the Mate 20 Lite, just like the Honor Play, plus the phone has the same GPU Turbo enhancements for high-performance gaming, the Game Suite mode, face unlock, and EMUI 8,2 over the top of Android 8.0 Oreo. Hold on, you’re thinking. Is this just a recycled Honor Play or Nova 3i? No, we’re getting to the differences, but it can’t be denied the Mate 20 Lite seems to occupy a small space in-between these other devices.

Camera and A.I.

Outside of the premium materials, Huawei tells us the Mate 20 Lite is great for selfies, and it is. We played around with the front camera, which features two camera lenses — 24 megapixels and 2 megapixels, with an f/2.0 aperture — and liked the results. The environment we were in was quite dark, making it hard to judge how much difference the second lens made when generating the bokeh effect, compared to the P20 Pro we also tried at the same time. The photos looked good from both, which is strong praise for the Mate 20 Lite.

Andy Boxall/Digital Trends

Interestingly, the front camera has scene recognition, auto HDR, and an auto beauty mode. The camera also creates animated emojis, which Huawei calls Qmoji, and these were decent enough; but far from fluid as Apple’s Animoji. We can see kids having fun with them, and Huawei has made the sensible decision to let us save them as GIFs, meaning they’re easily shareable.

Artificial intelligence continues to be a theme throughout the Mate 20 Lite.

The rear camera has an f/1.8 aperture and two lenses — 20 megapixels and 2 megapixels. Again, the environment we tested the Mate 20 Lite in did not lend itself to taking pictures. There is plenty of artificial intelligence built into both the front and the rear cameras.

Artificial intelligence continues to be a theme throughout the Mate 20 Lite. It’s most obvious in the camera, due to scene recognition, but also crops up in the noise cancelation mode for calls, and in an Amazon-driven shopping experience. Here, Google Lens-style image recognition kicks in when tapping a photo of a product online, when results from Amazon are shown. The Gallery app has A.I.-driven smart search, plus the Game Suite uses A.I. to help manage power resources during gaming sessions.

Price and availability

The Mate 20 Lite worked really well in our brief hands-on time. It felt very familiar though, and this is something of a problem. Not only does the Mate 20 Lite feel like Huawei on autopilot, as this is a phone it has essentially made a few times over, but it doesn’t offer masses more value over the Honor Play. While Honor is closely related to Huawei, they are two separate companies in terms of strategy, product release, and management. Therefore, it’s impossible for us not to compare the two, and the Honor Play provides a very high percentage of the Mate 20 Lite’s features, for less money.

Huawei Mate 20 Lite Compared To

Honor Play

Moto E5 Plus

OnePlus 6

HTC U11

Samsung Galaxy Note 8

Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge

YotaPhone 2

Sony Xperia Z3

HTC One Remix

Huawei Ascend Mate 2

LG Optimus 4X HD

HTC One S

Samsung Galaxy S II

Google Nexus S

T-Mobile myTouch 3G

Huawei will charge 380 British pounds for the Mate 20 Lite when it goes on sale in the U.K. this October. The Honor Play costs 280 British pounds. Huawei said it doesn’t have plans to release the Mate 20 Lite in the U.S., and the Honor Play is also unlikely to be released outside Europe.

The extra money buys you a glass body, another camera lens on the front, and a lot of AI toys. All strong, desirable features that make us like the Mate 20 Lite. However, we’re saddened by what may be a lesser processor than the one inside the Honor Play. If you value design and premium materials over sheer value for money, the Huawei Mate 20 Lite will serve you well, but for everyone else, the Honor Play will probably do just fine.

The Huawei Mate 20 Lite is A.I.-powered, good looking, and affordable

Andy Boxall/Digital Trends

Huawei is working hard to bring its premium A.I.-driven technology to everyone, regardless of price range. That seems to be the idea behind the Huawei Mate 20 Lite, which launched at IFA 2018. It’s the first of the new Mate 20 range to be released, and it bodes well for the release of the Mate 20 and Mate 20 Pro.

With a powerful new Kirin 710 processor, four camera lens, and a huge 6.3-inch display, the Huawei Mate 20 Lite could be one of the phones to bring artificial intelligence into everyday life. Unfortunately, there are no plans to bring it to U.S. shores. Here’s everything you need to know about the Huawei Mate 20 Lite.

Specs and battery

The Mate 20 Lite is a strictly midrange device, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have some bite to back up its bark.

Key Specs

CPU: Kirin 710

Memory: 4GB

Screen size: 6.3 inches

Resolution: 2340 x 1080

Battery: 3,750mAh

This is the first time we’ve seen the Kirin 710, and while we don’t expect it’ll be the match of Huawei’s Kirin 970 processor, we have high hopes for performance based on Huawei’s fine pedigree. 4GB of RAM should mean the phone keeps on ticking regardless of what you throw at it.

There’s a massive 3,750mAh battery backing up those specs, and a battery of that size should keep the Mate 20 Lite powered for a good amount of time. We saw great battery performance from the Mate 10 Pro and the P20 Pro, and we expect that the Mate 20 Lite will keep up this tradition.

Editors’ Recommendations

• The hottest phones of 2018 are still to come. Here’s what’s around the corner
• Huawei Mate 20 and Mate 20 Pro: News, rumors, specs, and more
• Samsung Galaxy Tab S4 vs. Galaxy Tab S3: Android Tablet Showdown
• Here’s everything you need to know about the Huawei P20
• The best laptops under $300

ZTE Axon 9 Pro hands-on review

Research Center:

ZTE Axon 9 Pro

It has been a very tough year for Chinese telecommunications giant and smartphone manufacturer ZTE. We’re not going to rehash the specifics of the ZTE ban, suffice to say that it’s back in business now and keen to herald its return with a brand new flagship smartphone boasting high-end specs. Though it’s unlikely to ever land stateside, the Axon 9 Pro will be released across Europe after its unveiling at IFA in Berlin.

Derivative Design

The ZTE Axon 9 Pro isn’t going to win any prizes for originality. It joins the long list of Android phones that have adopted a notch in the top of the display, despite still having a chunky bezel at the bottom. Flip it over and you’ll find a dual-lens camera module at the top left, much like a certain Apple device we know.

It’s a familiar glass sandwich design with a metal frame, but it feels lightweight and comfortable in hand. The finish is described as 2.5D hardened glass on the front and 3D tempered glass on the back – a case is definitely advisable. There’s also a fingerprint sensor on the back.

You’ll find the volume rocker and power button on the right spine and there’s a USB-C port on the bottom edge. There’s no audio jack here, so it’s an adapter or Bluetooth for headphones.

The ZTE Axon 9 Pro isn’t going to win any prizes for originality.

The star of the show is the 6.21-inch OLED display. It has a respectable 2,248 x 1,080 resolution, which is plenty sharp, as well as an 18.7:9 aspect ratio. It’s a big display and it looked good during our short time with it, but ZTE was keen to talk up a feature called Axon Vision. It’s a chip that improves the screen’s color accuracy. The chip is also capable of processing up to 500 megapixels every second, so it can smooth out lower frame rates to reduce blur, upscaling from 24 frames-per-second to 60 fps.

We watched a few videos that showed off the HDR and a split-screen comparison of the color and processing improvements. The difference is clear to see, with standard unprocessed content appearing a bit washed out and fast movement causing blurring. The colors in the processed video really popped and it was blur and judder-free. This upscaling works for games as well as movies, so it will be ideal for first-person shooter fans or racing game junkies.

ZTE Axon 9 Pro Compared To

Moto E5 Plus

LG V30

HTC U11

Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge

YotaPhone 2

Sony Xperia Z3

HTC One Remix

Huawei Ascend Mate 2

LG G Flex

LG Lucid 2

LG Optimus 4X HD

HTC One S

Samsung Galaxy S II

Google Nexus S

T-Mobile myTouch 3G

Having just come from a hands-on with Sony’s Xperia XZ3, which sports an OLED screen that really wowed us, the Axon 9 Pro was a bit underwhelming by comparison. It’s still a very good display, but it didn’t quite strike the same high notes.

Camera

Bolstering that fingerprint sensor on the back, ZTE has packed in a 20-megapixel front-facing camera with face detection for swift unlocking. The main camera on the back pairs a 12-megapixel lens with a fairly large f/1.75 aperture and optical image stabilization, with a 20-megapixel wide-angle lens. ZTE has added a couple of modes in the camera app for portraits and for sports, which employs artificial intelligence to track moving subjects.

Simon Hill/Digital Trends

It’s a promising setup, but we found the camera app a little slow to load and respond when we tried it out. We’ll reserve judgement until we can take it for a spin with final software and in a range of environments beyond the brightly lit show floor at IFA.

As it’s 2018, every phone manufacturer is talking up A.I. and, beyond the camera here, it’s also used to automatically shut down apps, remove files, and optimize battery life to maintain peak performance. That’s something else we need to take some time to test out. We’re sold on the potential of A.I. in phones but the practical impact doesn’t yet match the hype.

Specs and battery

There’s certainly no shortage of raw power here as ZTE has paired the Snapdragon 845 with 6GB of RAM and there’s 128GB of internal storage. It feels zippy enough scrolling around. ZTE has almost stuck with stock Android, but it’s Android 8.1 Oreo, not Android 9.0 Pie. A stock Android 9 phone with these specs would have been a more compelling prospect, but we appreciate the lack of bloatware.

It’s an impressive package, but price is obviously key to its chance of success.

The battery is impressively big at 4,000mAh, though it does have that large display to power. It supports the latest Qualcomm Quick Charge 4+ standard, which is relatively rare right now, and it means you can almost fully charge your phone up in an hour. There’s also Qi wireless charging support. We think the battery life will be a selling point here, and the Axon 9 Pro should easily see you through a day and beyond.

Pricing and availability

While there are no plans to bring the ZTE Axon 9 Pro to the U.S. it will start rolling out across Europe and some other markets in September.

It’s an impressive package, but price is obviously key to its chance of success and at 650 euros (around $750), the Axon 9 Pro has some stiff competition from phones like the OnePlus 6, Asus Zenfone 5Z, and Moto Z3 Play which are all significantly cheaper.

We’re not convinced it will turn ZTE’s fortunes around because it looks like every other Android phone taking notes from Apple, but we can’t wait to test it properly and see if it can prove us wrong.

The unique design of ZTE’s Axon 7 with the metal dual front-facing speaker grilles showed some originality, and although we didn’t like the dual screen Axon M much, at least it showed an attempt to innovate. The Axon 9 Pro’s main problem may be a lack of individuality, in that it will struggle to stand out. We know ZTE has a patent for a double notch design, with notches that could house front-facing speakers, and it saw the Axon M as a first step towards flexible display phones, so we’re sure there is more innovation to come, maybe even as part of the 9 series.

We’ll keep you posted and put together a full review of the Axon 9 Pro just as soon as we can.

Labor Day Deals: Save on HomePod, Apple Watch, MacBook Pro, Apple Accessories, and More This Weekend

As we head into the three-day Labor Day weekend — and the unofficial end of Summer in the United States — numerous online retailers have kicked off sales for anyone shopping around during the long weekend. Although Labor Day is on Monday, September 3, many sales have already begun and last through Monday evening. We’ve collected many of the best bargains and discounts in this article, so be sure to check out each and if you’re interested place your order before Labor Day ends.

Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

Of course, one of the major Labor Day sales is over at Best Buy, which kicked off an event full of Apple devices early this morning. This includes savings on HomePod, Apple Watch Series 3, iPad mini, iPad Pro, MacBook, and more. We’ve listed the sales below:

• iPhone – Save up to $200 on iPhone X, 8, and 8 Plus when bought and activated with a monthly installment plan
• iPad mini 4 – Save $100 / $299.99 for 128GB
• 10.5-inch iPad Pro – Save $125 / as low as $524.99 for 64GB
• Apple Watch Series 3 – Save $75 / as low as $324.00 for 38mm GPS + Cellular
• 21.5-inch iMac (3.4GHz, 8GB RAM, 1TB HD) – $1,299.99, down from $1,499.99
• HomePod – $299.99, down from $349.99
• urBeats3 Earphones – $59.99, down from $99.99

There are plenty of non-Apple products in Best Buy’s Labor Day sale as well, including Arlo Security Cameras, Philips Hue, Ultimate Ears, 4K Blu-Ray savings, and more. You can browse the entire sale right here.

Although there are a few MacBook Pro sales at Best Buy this weekend (centered upon the Mid 2017 refresh), B&H Photo is beating many of them by around $50. For example, while Best Buy has the 2.3GHz/8GB RAM/128GB SSD 13-inch MacBook Pro for $1,149.99, B&H Photo has the same model for $1,099.00, down from $1,299.00. Most of the other Mid 2017 refresh MacBook Pro models are on sale as well.

If you’re on the hunt for a more recent model, B&H Photo and Adorama also have the 2018 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Pros on sale, with savings that began earlier this week. The cheapest model in the sale is the 13-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar (2.3 GHz, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD) for $1,599.00, down from $1,799.00 (also at Adorama). 15-inch models are also up for a discount, starting with the 15-inch MacBook pro with Touch Bar (2.2 GHz, 16GB RAM, 256GB SSD) for $2,099.00, down from $2,399.00 (also at Adorama).

For B&H Photo, many of the 2018 MacBook Pro sales end later tonight at 7:30 p.m. ET, so be sure to browse these models right here before the deals expire.

Over on eBay, the retailer has a new coupon code offering 20 percent off select categories including tech and home electronics with code JUSTRELAX. This one expires on September 3 at 11:59 p.m. PT, and you’ll have to purchase items worth $25 or more to take advantage of the discount (which will be capped at a max value of $50).

While not a sitewide sale, the coupon does include notable products in the discount, like iPhone X, Nintendo Switch, Dyson vacuums and fans, DJI drones, and much more. Head to the event’s landing page to browse the full sale and place your order before the code expires on Monday.

There are numerous other sales online this weekend, so we’ll give a quick rundown of them below:

• SENA – Save up to 75 percent off iPhone cases (no code needed, expires 9/3)
• OWC – Save on MagSafe adapters, Magic Keyboards, and other accessories (expires 9/10)
• Casetify – Get 15 percent off orders of $30 or more with code LABORDAY18
• Griffin – Save 25 percent off sitewide with code GRIFFIN25 (expires 11:59 p.m. PT 9/3)
• JBL – Save up to 30 percent, and get free 2-day shipping on portable speakers and headphones over $19.95
• Newegg – Save on PCs, printers, and more
• Pad & Quill – Save 15 percent off sitewide
• Speck – Purchase any Presidio iPhone X, 8, or 8 Plus case and battery pack to get a Lightning cable at no extra cost
• Target – Save up to 30 percent off electronics, furniture, appliances and more (expires 9/3)

For more information on the latest sales, visit our full Deals Roundup.

Related Roundup: Apple Deals
Discuss this article in our forums

New aptX bundle understands what you’re listening to, chooses the best settings

Qualcomm’s aptX audio technology is about to go through a major change, except rather than launch another new format or a revision of a current technology, it’s making those that already exist easier and more accessible. Qualcomm’s aptX Adaptive bundles aptX, aptX HD, and low latency aptX together into one, which is clever enough to dynamically switch to the best option depending on what you’re listening to.

A fascinating advancement, this is Qualcomm looking closely at how we all use mobile devices, and what kind of audio is best suited to our use. The regular aptX codec makes regular Bluetooth music playback sound great on supported devices in comparison with non-aptX Bluetooth streaming; but if you’re listening to high-resolution (aka HD) music files, playing games, or watching movies, there are better aptX codecs to use.

Rather than forcing the use of specific headphones, or a specific device, aptX Adaptive will understand you’re watching a movie or playing a game, and switch to a low latency setting. The advantages of low latency are often only associated with gaming, but it’s also essential for lip syncing in movies when listening over Bluetooth. It’s the same if you’re listening to a high-resolution file, when aptX HD will kick in. Mobile devices are called upon to do many different things, and wrapping all these codecs into one will make life considerably easier for many of us.

Metadata driven

Qualcomm’s new aptX Adaptive bundle takes advantage of metadata in associated files to work out what settings to use, and that’s it. It’s backwards compatible, doesn’t require any configuration, and will dynamically adjust without any input from you. Digital Trends asked Qualcomm if the metadata is freely available, or if aptX Adaptive needs special treatment before it will work. Jonny McClintock, Qualcomm’s Director of aptX Sales and Marketing, said there may be some “hand holding” at first, as it’s the first time Qualcomm has used metadata to drive a technology, but most music files, games, and films should have everything aptX Adaptive needs already.

With its new bundle, Qualcomm has also addressed some problems many have experienced with Bluetooth in the past, saying it’s concentrated on making it more robust in order to deliver a consistent audio experience. The company is also confident about sound quality. In independent tests, carried out by experts at Salford University in Manchester, U.K., there was no significant difference between aptX Adaptive at 420kbit/s and original linear audio at 24bit/96kHz recordings.

Like other aptX technologies, both your source device and your headphones/speakers will need to have aptX Adaptive inside to operate, so manufacturers must choose to use it. At launch, it will support 24bit/48kHz file resolution, with an update to 24bit/96kHz coming in the future.

When is it coming, and what do you need to take advantage of aptX Adaptive? Qualcomm is ready to supply the decoder to companies now, for use in Bluetooth headphones and speakers, and the encoder will be available for Android 9.0 Pie in December. (As with all aptX codecs, iOS devices still don’t support the new bundle.) It will also be part of a future Qualcomm Snapdragon mobile processor.

The first products with aptX Adaptive are slated for release in summer 2019.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Hear everything: Get the best from the LG G7 ThinQ’s brilliant audio system
• The best wireless headphones
• Audio-Technica’s first true wireless in-ears lead exciting new announcements
• Nokia is on a crusade to make your cell phone videos sound as good as they look
• Nuraphone hands-on review