Huawei beats Apple to the Force Touch punch with the Mate S
Today’s a busy day for those in the Tech world, thanks to IFA 2015 in Berlin. We’ve seen announcements from Huawei, ASUS, and Acer, and are expecting plenty of more over the course of the rest of the week. In addition to announcing and opening pre-orders for the Huawei Watch, Huawei has announced their latest flagship device.
The Mate S is Huawei’s latest flagship to grace the market, and includes quite a few stunning features. Sporting a 5.5-inch 1080p Gorilla Glass display with a contrast ratio of 1.8M:1. What’s more surprising about this display is the fact that Huawei has beat Apple to the punch by introducing Force Touch Technology.
For those who aren’t sure exactly what Force Touch technology is, here’s a little run down. Force Touch technology allows your device to recognize exactly how hard you press down on the screen. By being able to track this, manufacturers can then program the device to react to certain pressures on the device. In the case of the Mate S, users will have various gestures that can be used to open up various applications and perform various tasks while in other applications.
The Mate S is also sporting a fingerprint scanner on the back of the phone, below the 13-megapixel camera. The camera will be paired with Optical Image Stabilization and an RGBW sensor, allowing the device to have more vivid pictures, without having to worry about shaky hands. Also, the front of the Mate S will have an 8-megapixel camera for those great selfies that everyone loves to take.
Below the surface, the Mate S will have 3GB of RAM with an octa-core Kirin 935 processor. As for storage, there will be three variants; 32GB, 64GB, and 128GB. However the 128GB variant of the Mate S will be available later this year, while the 32GB and 64GB variants will ship alter this month.
Last but not least, the Huawei Mate S will sport a 2700mAh battery, which while it seems tiny compared to other devices of this size, the Mate S will also have Quick Charge capabilities. While this isn’t the greatest news, the addition of Quick Charge will help make sure that you make it at least a full day on one single charge.
As for pricing of the Mate S, you will be able to get the Standard 32GB for €649 ($729) and Premium Mate S for €699 ($786). The Mate S will be up for pre-order on September 15th from Huawei’s Vmall store. Huawei will also provide more details on the 128GB variant later this year.
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Huawei G8 officially announced – metal chassis and fingerprint scanner in tow
We’ve seen the device pass through TENAA a few months ago, and now it’s official – alongside the brand new Mate S, Huawei has officially launched the G8 handset at IFA 2015.
Featuring a 5.5-inch Full HD IPS LCD display, 2.5D Gorilla Glass and an all-metal chassis, the Huawei G8 looks to be quite the attractive device. It’s powered by an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 processor, 3GB of RAM, and also comes with 32GB of on-board storage with microSD expansion up to 64GB. Rounding out the specs, it also comes with a 13MP rear-facing camera with optical image stabilization, a 5MP front-facing camera, dual SIM card slots, a big 3000mAh battery, and runs Huawei’s Emotion UI software overlay atop Android 5.1 Lollipop.
There’s also a fingerprint scanner mounted on the back side of the handset, which Huawei says comes with its Fingerprint Sense 2.0 technology.
This 4G LTE-capable device will be available sometime this month for the recommended price of €399. So far, we know the device will launch in China, Egypt, Germany, Malaysia, Taiwan, Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom. For more information on the Huawei G8, check out the official product page at this link.
Huawei announces the Mate S at IFA 2015
Huawei today at IFA 2015 announced the Mate S, which is the successor to last year’s Ascend Mate 7. While it takes a lot of design hints from the Mate 7, the all-metal handset parades its similarities to the iPhone 6 Plus.
The handset sports an AMOLED 5.5-inch 1080p 2.5D display with Gorilla Glass 4. It has the Kirin 935 chipset with a quad-core 2.2GHz and quad-core 1.5GHz processor, a Mali-T628 MP4 GPU, 3GB of RAM, a 13-megapixel rear camera with Optical Image Stabilization (OIS), a battery rated for a full day of use, and an improved, rear fingerprint scanner.
The device comes in 32/64GB storage options, however, it does have microSD support up to 128GB using the SIM 2 slot. At the bottom of the device surrounding the microUSB port are dual speakers.
Additionally, Huawei CEO Richard Yu says the Mate S has fast charging, getting a full charge “2x faster” than the iPhone 6 Plus. There’s also been some gesture improvements with the fingerprint scanner, force touch, and even Huawei’s “knuckle sense 2.0″ features.
One of the major features of the Huawei Mate S is how well it manages data. The handset has two SIM slots, allowing the device to seamlessly transition between LTE connections. It supports up to 13 major LTE bands in the United States, Europe, and Asia.
Pre-orders begin on September 15 and will cost consumers €649 for the 32GB model or €699 for the 64GB handset. There will also be a force-touch enabled 128GB model, but similar to Samsung’s tendencies, it will be announced at a later date.
Come comment on this article: Huawei announces the Mate S at IFA 2015
Huawei Mate S is official, here are the details
After a considerable amount of teasing, the Huawei Mate S has been officially unveiled at IFA in Berlin. The handset builds on many of the foundations that made the Mate 7 such a great phone, offering high-end hardware and a couple of unique features of its own, as is Huawei’s style.
Huawei Mate S specs and features
Although not as large as the Mate 7, the Mate S still comes in with a considerable 5.5-inch LCD display with a 1080p resolution. At this size QHD may have offered a very slight boost to visual clarity, but it’s a minor point that you won’t notice without a size-by-size comparison.
| Display | 5.5-inch display 1080p resolution |
| Processor | 2.2GHz octa-core HiSilicon Kirin 935 Mali T-628 MP4 GPU |
| RAM | 3GB |
| Storage | 32GB expandable microSD up to 128GB |
| Camera | 13 megapixel rear camera 8 megapixel front camera |
| Battery | 2,700mAh |
| Software | EMUI 3.1 based on Android 5.1.1 Lollipop |
The Mate S is powered by Huawei’s own HiSilicon Kirin 935 SoC and 3GB of RAM. This is the same SoC that powers the company’s Honor 7 smartphone and comes with four Cortex-A57 and four Cortex-A53 cores, just like the Snapdragon 810, which are accompanied by a Mali-T628 MP4 GPU.
For storage, Huawei will be offering the phone with 32GB of flash memory, which is reasonable. Fortunately, there’s a microSD card slot available if you want to boost your memory by a further 128GB. The battery capacity is much smaller than the Mate 7’s, coming in at only 2,700mAh, which may be a worry for the heavy user. However, Huawei says that it will still last you through an entire day.
For the photographers among you, the Mate S comes with a 13 megapixel rear camera that features a RGBW sensor, optical image stabilizer, dual color temperature LED flash, and an independent image signal processor, along with an 8 megapixel front facing camera for higher resolution selfies. Huawei has also implemented a professional camera mode that allows manual adjustment of ISO, exposure compensation, exposure time, white balance and focusing.
As for extras, Huawei has gone all out with a diamond-cut metal unibody design, 2.5D Gorilla Glass and some smooth curved edges. The Huawei Mate S also comes with the traditional fingerprint scanner located on the back of the smartphone and security features that come with it. There are a few new features included here too. The fingerprint scanner can also be used to erase unread notifications, preview pictures, and accept phone calls. Huawei also states that the scanner is twice as fast at authenticating fingerprints as its previous model.
Huawei has also built its “Knuckle Sense 2.0” technology into the Mate S. The feature was originally included with the Huawei P8 and allows for users in interact with the display using certain knuckle based gestures. For example, drawing a “C” activates a camera, while double-clicking the screen with a knuckle records a video capture of the display.
Force Touch
The big new, and heavily teased feature, with the Mate S is Force Touch. As well as regular touch control, the display in the Mate S can also sense how hard a user is pressing on the screen. Huawei is the first smartphone company to bring this technology to market.
Huawei is making use of this new technology to provide users with new gesture controls. For example, pressing harder over an image in the gallery or camera app will magnify the preview of the picture, while a strong press in the corner of the phone’s display can be used to access app short-cuts.
Huawei Mate S price and availability
The Huawei Mate S will be available in Western Europe to begin with, and will go on sale from September 15th. The phone will be available to pre-order from Huawei’s vMall website, and will come in your choice of pink, gold and silver color options. We are still waiting on price information.
What do you think about the Huawei Mate S?
Huawei Unveils the Mate S: A Luxury Smartphone that Revolutionizes Touch Technology
[BERLIN, Germany – September 2, 2015]: Today at Max-Schmeling-Halle in Berlin, the Huawei Consumer Business Group unveiled the Huawei Mate S smartphone, the new flagship product in Huawei’s Mate series of mobile devices. Its ergonomic, luxurious design and innovative technology deliver a premium Android experience that surpasses industry expectations once again.
“Our goal in designing the Huawei Mate S was to develop a smartphone that offers a personalized experience, rather than a commoditized one,” said Richard Yu, CEO of Huawei Consumer BG. “The Huawei Mate S is based on insights we gathered about human interaction – most notably that touch is a natural action we take to understand our world. The Huawei Mate S redefines how we incorporate touch technology into our smartphones, breaking through the conventional way of touch screen control and ushering in new imagination for human-machine interaction.”
The beauty of a curved surface: innovative design from inside out
The Huawei Mate S’ touch screen control technology offers an unconventional design that strikes a balance between the phone’s brilliant capabilities and its stunning visual appearance.
Building on the revolutionary Huawei Mate 7 smartphone, the Huawei Mate S features a 2.5D floating screen lens and a 5.5 inches screen. It is 7.2 millimeters thick, with side edges that are just 2.65 millimeters. The arched back fits perfectly into the palm of a hand, while its curved surface features solid pressure and weight, making the phone less likely to be dropped. With the AMOLED screen, Huawei Mate S presents a perfect curve.
The curved unibody of the Huawei Mate S encapsulates a laminated ladder battery and a staggered height printer circuit board layout design. Nanometer technology is being used to seamlessly connect the phone’s antenna and metal, resulting in a smooth feel. Additional cutting-edge technology, including diamond cutting, CNC carving, nanotechnology and a camera with a sapphire lens are part of the phone’s seamless metal body.
Revolutionary controls redefining user experience
Touch is a core of the Huawei Mate S, creating a new experience for users that enhances their interaction with the device.
The phone is equipped with Fingerprint 2.0, an upgraded version of the advanced chip level security and one-key unlock technology in the Huawei Mate 7. Fingerprint 2.0 improves recognition speeds by 100 percent, with more accurate self-learning functions. It can also be used to control the notification bar, double-click to erase unread notifications, slide to preview pictures, and hold and take phone calls. All of these options improve the one hand operation of the phone.
Knuckle Control 2.0 – first introduced in the Huawei P8 – simplifies how users switch between app operations and take screenshots. The feature offers users a new way to interact with their phone: drawing a “C” with their knuckle activates a camera, while double-clicking the screen with a knuckle records the screen in the form of a video. With these options, every type of touch provides an opportunity to be innovative.
A camera designed for beginners and professionals
The Huawei Mate S is equipped with a camera that considers users’ needs in everyday life: a professional camera and settings that incorporate contrast, texture, and distinctive tonality. The 13 mega pixel rear camera features a RGBW sensor, optical image stabilizer, Dual color-temp LED flash lights, and an independent image signal processor camera unit, which combine to capture higher quality pictures faster. The Huawei Mate S takes camera capabilities one step further by offering an 8 mega pixel front camera with soft front light to improve selfies. This algorithm ensures users capture the clearest, most beautifying images possible.
The professional camera mode allows manual adjustment for ISO, exposure compensation, exposure time, white balance and focusing, and functions such as the grid, and flash-assisted focusing. The real time black and white filter mode provides multiple levels of density and real-time intensity adjustment.
Technology that adapts to every environment
The Huawei Mate S takes regular recording functions to the next level by creatively implanting three microphones that support Huawei’s smart direction algorithm. The Huawei Mate S’ beam-forming algorithm allows all three mics to focus on the sounds coming from where the phone is facing, enabling a clear recording with minimal background noises.
For consumers on the go, the Huawei Mate S also supports Mopria printing general protocol, which includes 700 printer types across 29 leading brands.
Today Huawei also introduced its new Huawei G8, which is equipped with a 5.5 inch FHD screen and 3000mAh battery compatible for super low-light photo taking.
Availability
Additional to other distribution channels, the HUAWEI Mate S will also be sold via the company’s own online sales channel Vmall, starting in Western Europe. As of September 15, the phone will be available for pre-order at http://www.vmall.eu.
Huawei Watch available to pre-order today, launches September 17
Huawei today at IFA 2015 confirmed that the much anticipated Huawei Watch will officially launch on September 17, albeit those eager to get their hands on one can pre-order a unit today.
The Chinese-based company has a Huawei Watch for just about anyone. There’s a stainless steel option with a black leather band ($349), or if you fancy something more high-class, Huawei has a gold plated stainless steel watch with a golden metallic band available ($799).
Those are the lowest and highest prices available, but there’s a few other options between those price points.
Keep in mind that the Huawei Watch will also work for our friends using an iPhone, too. Google just recently announced the news, making Android Wear compatible with iOS 8.2 or higher, albeit the compatibility only goes as low as the iPhone 5. Anything earlier than that loses out, unfortunately.
The Huawei Watch sports a Snapdragon 400 dual-core 1.2GHz processor, 512MB of RAM, and has a circular AMOLED 400 x 400 display.
Classic Watch Design and Smartwatch Function Come to the U.S. with Introduction of the Huawei Watch
Huawei Watch pre-orders start today with mid-September availability
PLANO, Texas [September 2, 2015]: Huawei, a leading global information and communications technology solutions provider, today announced U.S. availability and pricing of the highly-anticipated Huawei Watch, a new smartwatch that redefines smart by blending timeless, uncompromising design with the functionality of Android Wear™.
Starting today, consumers can pre-order the Huawei Watch on GetHuawei.com, Google Store, Amazon.com and BestBuy.com. General availability and pre-order shipments begin September 17th. Six models with stainless steel, black and rose gold-plated watch bodies will be available in the U.S. with prices ranging from $349 to $799 USD. Stainless steel and black models are available for pre-order today, with rose gold models available later this year.
“Designed first and foremost as a watch, the Huawei Watch is unlike any smartwatch available today,” said Zhiqiang Xu, President of Huawei Device USA. “We are committed to meeting U.S. consumers’ demands for premium products and the Huawei Watch is a step in that direction. It embodies Huawei’s technology innovation heritage, pursuit of premium design and integration of useful functionality that we strive to develop in each product.
Timeless Design
The Huawei Watch is inspired by classic, high-end wristwatch design and executed with the most sophisticated materials. In keeping with traditional wristwatch design, the Huawei Watch has a round face and body, standard lugs and a 42mm diameter. Improving on classic design, the physical crown is in the 2 o’clock position on the watch body, making it ergonomic and easy to use on either wrist.
Sophisticated Craftsmanship with Premium Materials
The craftsmanship of the Huawei Watch is evident in the materials chosen and the attention to detail throughout the manufacturing process. Both the scratch resistant, two-layer sapphire crystal and the 316L cold-forged stainless steel body construction are details usually found in premium and luxury watches.
Style and Personalization
Just as a classic wristwatch is a symbol of personal style, the Huawei Watch provides customization options to let individual style and personality come through. With six watch body and band combinations, consumers can choose the watch that’s right for them. The lug design makes it easy to swap standard 18mm bands for a classic, modern or eclectic new look. In addition, the Huawei Watch comes with a variety of watch faces that users can switch for different settings, moods or activities.
Rich Functionality
Running the latest version of Android Wear, the Huawei Watch offers the rich functionality consumers expect in a smartwatch. Features of the Huawei Watch include:
- 300 mAh battery offers up to two days of battery life with regular use, and fast charging offers 80 percent battery life in just 45 minutes, or 75 minutes for a full charge.
- Always-on watch face gives immediate access to the most important information a watch can provide – the time.
- Wi-Fi connectivity for instant notifications when the user’s phone isn’t in Bluetooth range.
- Bluetooth 4.1 LE enables users to pair directly to Bluetooth headsets and speakers to enjoy music on the go with or without a smartphone.
- 6-axis motion sensors automatically identify activity and provide accurate tracking.
- Enhanced heart rate monitor provided by one of the world’s most advanced heart-rate detecting sensor manufacturers delivers measurable health tracking.
- 1.4-inch AMOLED screen offers the highest resolution display of any Android Wear watch at 400 by 400 pixels with 286 pixels per inch.
About Huawei Consumer Business Group
With 16 R&D centers in countries that include Germany, Sweden, the US, France, Italy, Russia, India, and China, Huawei’s products and services extend to over 170 countries, serving one third of the world’s population. In 2014, Huawei’s smartphone global shipment ranked third in the world. As one of Huawei’s three business groups, Huawei Consumer BG offers mobile phones, mobile broadband (MBB) devices and home devices. With more than 20 years of rich expertise in the information and communications technology (ICT) sector, an extensive global network, vast global business operations and network of partners, Huawei Consumer BG is dedicated to bringing the latest technology to consumers, offering a world of possibilities, creating extraordinary experiences and realizing dreams for people everywhere.
Come comment on this article: Huawei Watch available to pre-order today, launches September 17
Starting today you can pre-order your Huawei smart watch
Starting today, you can pre-order the new Huawei Android Wear watch from Amazon, Best Buy, Google Play or GetHuawei.com. The pre-orders will be shipped out starting on September 17th.
There will be 6 different watch bodies to choose from. From stainless steel and black to rose gold-plated, the watches will range from $349 to $799. But, only the stainless steel and black models will be available for pre-order. The rose gold model will be available later this year.
“Designed first and foremost as a watch, the Huawei Watch is unlike any smartwatch available today,” said Zhiqiang Xu, President of Huawei Device USA. “We are committed to meeting U.S. consumers’ demands for premium products and the Huawei Watch is a step in that direction. It embodies Huawei’s technology innovation heritage, pursuit of premium design and integration of useful functionality that we strive to develop in each product.”
Huawei Watch specs
|
42mm diameter by 11.3mm thickness |
|
Silver, Black, Gold |
|
1.4-inch full circle AMOLED display 400×400, 286ppi Sapphire crystal |
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316L Stainless Steel |
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Qualcomm APQ8026 1.2GHz |
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Android Wear |
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512MB RAM + 4GB ROM |
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Bluetooth 4.0/4.1 |
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Gyroscope + Accelerometer, PPG, Barometer, Vibration Motor |
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Built-in MIC |
|
300mAh |
|
Stainless steel or leather |
The 300 mAh battery reportedly offers up to two days of battery life under normal use, which is impressive when you coinsider that the always-on watch face is, well, always on. It also has fast charging that offers 80 percent battery life in just 45 minutes, or 75 minutes for a full charge.
Huawei’s smart watch also has Wi-Fi connectivity for connectivity when the phone isn’t in Bluetooth range. Bluetooth 4.1 LE enables consumers to directly pair to Bluetooth headsets and speakers for music with or without a smartphone.
The 6-axis motion sensors automatically identify activity and provide accurate tracking and an enhanced heart rate monitor delivers measurable health tracking.
The most impressive spec is that the 1.4-inch AMOLED screen has the highest resolution of any Android Wear watch currently on the market at 400 by 400 pixels with 286 pixels per inch.
What do you think? Will you be picking the Huawei smart watch? Let us know in the comments.
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Huawei Watch available for pre-order today, priced at $349
Despite launching at MWC earlier this year, the Huawei Watch has yet to make its way to into the hands on consumers. For those that were impressed with the Huawei Watch, the good news is you can now start pre-ordering today from Amazon, Huawei’s website, and a few other partnering retailers!
As expected, the Huawei Watch will be priced starting at $349, though there will be a number of options, like gold plating, that will set you back more — if you so choose. Regardless of what options you choose, the internals will be the same.
As a refresher, Huawei’s Android Wear-powered watch has a 1.4-inch 400 x 400 resolution display and is powered by a 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor with 512MB RAM and 4GB storage. The Huawei Watch will also be one of the first Android Wear devices to offer basic support for Apple’s iOS, in addition to Android.
The Huawei Watch will start shipping on September 17th in the US, with Germany, Canada, France, Spain, and Italy getting the Watch later this month. Those in the UK and UAE will be able to pick up the Huawei Watch in October with other regions to follow “later this year”.
New leak shows off case for Huawei Nexus 6 – Confirms camera bump
As we reported a few weeks ago, Steve Hemmerstoffer, the man behind @OnLeaks, released a video reportedly showing the Huawei Nexus 6.
Yesterday, he leaked images of a generic case for the Huawei Nexus 6.
#Huawei#Nexus#Nexus6pic.twitter.com/GLdhleS0Iw
— Steve Hemmerstoffer (@stagueve) September 1, 2015
The images of the case seem to confirm the existence of the camera bump and fingerprint reader. Other reported specs are a 5.7″ screen and a Type-C USB connector. It would also seem that the phone will feature a metal construction.
Take at look at these images from one of our recently published articles.
Needless to say. Nothing is official until it’s official. There are also rumors kicking around that it may have a 5.5″ screen and that Huawei has more than one prototype out there. What do you think? Do you like the design? Are you planning on picking one up? Let us know in the comments.
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Huawei Honor 7 vs Ascend Mate 7
All-metal handsets are not too common but last year, Huawei announced its Ascend Mate 7 and delivered its first all-metal device. This year, Huawei revealed the Honor 7, which brings an updated all-metal build and an experience that’s definitely been inspired by the Mate 7. What difference does a year make and how do these two handsets compare? Let’s find out.
Design
The biggest similarity between these two devices is the all-metal aluminium build on the Honor 7 that’s been inspired by the Mate 7, which was Huawei’s first premium metal-clad smartphone. Building the Mate 7 last year has definitely helped Huawei learn more about metal smartphones and the Honor 7 comes with an all-new improved build in a smaller body.
A key change between the finish on each handset is that the Honor 7 has a matte rear that’s been blasted with ceramic particles to provide more grip. As part of its testing, Huawei blasted the rear of the Honor 7 with ceramic particles at several different blasting pressures and the finish is certainly premium in every sense of the word. A problem I’ve faced with the Ascend Mate 7 is that it scratches quite easily but hopefully the change in finish on the Mate 7 will fix this.
Making smartphones is always a challenge and OEMs regularly have to compromise between putting a large display while still making a handset usable. The Ascend Mate 7 is definitely a large smartphone – thanks to its supersized display – and the smaller Honor 7 is a lot more manageable. At 8.5mm thick, the Honor 7 is 0.6cm thicker than the Ascend Mate 7 but 28 grams lighter and this difference in the build results in a handset that feels sturdy and reliable in the hand.
On the back, both handsets look very similar to one another but there are considerable differences, not least in the camera and the square sensor beneath it. The Mate 7 was Huawei’s first smartphone to come with a fingerprint sensor on the rear and stood out as you can unlock your phone by tapping the sensor, even with the display switched off.
While they look identical, the fingerprint sensor on the Honor 7 has been updated and doesn’t come with a metallic ring on the sensor, which is a world first for smartphones. On the Mate 7, the fingerprint sensor is limited to just unlocking the phone but on the Honor 7, it has gained a few extra (and useful) features.
Thanks to gesture support, you can now return to the homescreen by pressing and holding the sensor, access notifications with a swipe down, pull up the recent apps menu with a swipe up and replicate the back key by tapping the sensor.
Both handsets feature the power and volume keys on the right with the SIM card tray on the left but in making the Honor 7, Huawei have made some welcome improvements. The Honor 7 also comes with a new smart key, that lets you launch favourite applications or toggle certain features. As an example, I have it set up so a single press launches Twitter, a double press takes a screenshot and a long press and hold pulls up Google Now.
A change in Huawei’s design strategy over the past twelve months has meant the company has moved away from a rear speaker to a bottom-mounted one. The Mate 7 speaker is located on the rear and while it is certainly not bad, the monospeaker on the bottom of the Honor 7 is definitely more pleasing. The bottom of the Honor 7 also comes with new machine grilled holes that house the speaker but are also designed to make the experience more premium.
Display
The Ascend Mate 7 is definitely one of the larger devices on the market and in making the Honor 7, Huawei reduced the screen size significantly while keeping the same resolution. The Mate 7 has a 6.0-inch Full HD display while the Honor 7 screen is reduced to a much more manageable 5.2-inches.
Thanks to the same resolution but a smaller display, the density on the Honor 7 display is much higher at 424 pixels per inch and this definitely shows, with the Honor 7 display appearing sharper to the eye.
Despite the smaller display, the Honor 7 has a lower screen to body ratio, with Huawei making the display frameless on the Ascend Mate 7 but having to add small bezels to the sides of the Honor 7 screen. I have quite large hands but even I’ve struggled to use the Mate 7 in one hand and happily, the Honor 7 is a lot easier to use in one hand.
Hardware
There’s no denying that the Honor 7 was heavily inspired by the Mate 7 but in making its latest handset, the Chinese company has certainly made some welcome improvements under the hood.
Both handsets come with octa-core processors and Huawei’s own HiSilicon Kirin chipset but a key difference is in the chipset being used. The Mate 7 sports a Kirin 925 SoC, while the Honor 7 features a Kirin 935 SoC and other than the P8 Max, it is the first Huawei smartphone to use this newer chipset.
Both handsets use Cortex processors in a big.LITTLE formation but the Mate 7 uses older Cortex A-15 and A-7 processors with four cores clocked at 1.8GHz and four more clocked at 1.3GHz. In comparison, the Honor 7 uses eight Cortex-A53 processors, with four cores clocked at 2.2GHz and four more clocked at 1.5GHz.
The Mate 7 is available with either 16GB internal storage and 2GB RAM or 32GB storage and 3GB RAM while the Honor 7 comes with 3GB RAM as standard and either 16GB or 64GB storage. It’s worth noting that the 64GB variant of the Honor 7 is only sold in China and Huawei is yet to reveal whether this will be made available elsewhere.
Both the Mate 7 and the Honor 7 come with expandable storage but on the Honor 7, the microSD card slot doubles up as the dual SIM card slot. A feature much lauded in the Mate 7 is dual SIM support but this was only present in certain variants of the headset and not the one launched in Europe. In comparison, the Honor 7 will support dual SIMs in every market with one SIM available for LTE use and the other limited to just calls or SMS.
A feature that particularly stands out on the Mate 7 is the enormous 4100mAh non-removable battery, which is definitely on the larger side of the market. The Mate 7 has a larger battery than most of its rivals and this translated to excellent battery life. In testing I’ve found the Mate 7 battery lasted a couple of days with moderate to high usage. While the Honor 7 has a smaller 3100mAh battery, Huawei claim it can still last 1.2days with heavy usage and over 2.5 days with moderate use.
For the times when it is running low, the Honor 7 also has you covered as it is the first Huawei smartphone to come with quick charging built in. Compatible with the British and European standards, the quick charging means you can charge for 5 minutes to make up to an hours’ worth of calls and charge to 50 percent battery in just 30 minutes.
Given the price, it’s unsurprising that the quick charger doesn’t come included in the box but it shouldn’t be too expensive to acquire as an after-market accessory. The Honor 7 also comes with reversible charging (with the cable again not included in the box) allowing you to use it to charge another phone but given the battery size, it’s unlikely you’ll use the feature.
Both phones also come with dual antennae and Signal+ technology, which promises to ensure that the metal build never interferes with the signal strength. Using the dual antennae design, the handset can intelligently switch between antenna in a micro second depending on which is providing the best signal strength.
Alongside this, the Honor 7 also sports Wi-Fi+ technology, which improves battery life by automatically disabling Wi-Fi and re-enabling it when it recognises you are near a known Wi-Fi network. While the Wi-Fi+ technology has its benefits, it does rely on your location, which means you may find that any battery savings are negated by the need to scan your location.
Both the Ascend Mate 7 and the Honor 7 come other hardware specs you would probably expect from a modern smartphone. These include Bluetooth 4.0 Low Energy to connect to wearable devices and LTE Cat 6, offering download speeds of up to 300Mbps and upload speeds up to 50Mbps.
The Honor 7 also comes with Wi-Fi ac promising better Wi-Fi performance and an infrared port which lets you control your smart appliances from your phone. However, the Honor 7 doesn’t come with NFC built-in which may be disappointing for some users but is a trend also adopted by the OnePlus 2.
Camera
Another key change in the Honor 7 compared to the Mate 7 is in the camera. The 13MP camera on the Mate 7 isn’t the best on the market but has been improved massively, with the Honor 7 now sporting a Sony IMX230 module, which delivers 20MP resolution and all-importantly; phase detection auto focus.
Huawei claim the phase detection can focus on a subject in under 0.1 seconds, making it the fastest in the world on a smartphone and this is something that definitely shows. The camera housing has also been protected with sapphire crystal, which ensures the protruding camera doesn’t scratch and is difficult to damage.
The Honor 7 comes with a range of software-based features that initially launched on the Huawei P8 earlier this year and these include the Good Food, timelapse and light painting modes. Huawei has also added a couple of new features to the Honor 7 camera including:
- Demist filter to remove fog or smog from photos
- Star tracking mode to capture the night sky
- Two additions to the light painting mode in the form of silky water and taillight tracking.
Up front, the Mate 7 has a 5MP selfie camera but the Honor 7 tops this with an 8MP camera and two crucial new features. First, the presence of a soft light lets you capture selfies in varying lighting conditions and second, a new Perfect Selfie mode lets you replace your face in group shots with a pre-programmed selfie, which ensures you always look good when you take a group selfie.
Honor 7 camera samples
There’s no denying that on paper, the Honor 7 camera is certainly impressive especially when you consider it is an affordable smartphone and while it’s certainly not perfect, it delivers much better photos than the Ascend Mate 7.
Software
One concern that many people have with Huawei smartphones is the Emotion UI software, which is very similar to Marmite in that you either like it or you don’t. An issue raised by many Android enthusiasts is regarding software updates and this is an issue that definitely impacts on Huawei devices, especially the flagship Ascend Mate 7.
Almost a year after it launched on Android 4.4.2 KitKat, the Mate 7 still runs on the older software version but this is not necessarily a bad thing. As we covered in the Huawei P8 review, Huawei’s latest Emotion UI v3.1 comes with some rather strange UI tweaks (such as a navigation menu where notifications are difficult to read) that feel broken and the older EMUI on the Mate 7 doesn’t suffer from these.
Sadly, these elements make their way to the Honor 7 but while Huawei hasn’t fixed all of these quirky elements, it has added a few interesting new features:
- The knuckle screenshot – which was absolutely atrocious on the P8 – has been improved so you can now double tap with your knuckle to take a screenshot or completely disable the feature in the settings.
- EMUI also now comes with a Fast Shot setting that lets you double press the volume down button to launch the camera and take a picture. Coupled with phase detection autofocus, it should hopefully mean you won’t miss many shots and Huawei is so proud of the Honor 7 focusing speeds, that it even highlights how long it took to focus on a subject.
- There’s also a hidden apps drawer, which lets you get rid of some of the icons on the homescreen by putting them in a hidden menu that can be accessed by pinching out. A good use case for this would be if you wanted to separate your work apps from your personal apps as you could hide the work apps and not need to see them once you leave the office.
Sadly, Emotion UI still doesn’t come with an app drawer which most users will find quite jarring and while we’ve asked Huawei to introduce the feature via an option in the settings, it’s unlikely we’ll see it anytime soon.
The beauty of Android is that you can change the launcher very easily and this should make the experience more enjoyable if you don’t like EMUI. Having tested Nova Launcher with the Honor 7, I can happily say that it works quite well and is a great alternative if Huawei’s EMUI isn’t for you.
Wrap Up
The Ascend Mate 7 is without a doubt one of the most premium smartphones Huawei has ever released and the Honor 7 aims to continue this, with a new improved build, additional features and a much better camera in a smaller, more manageable body. Yes, the software is arguably more complete on the Mate 7 but while it’s not perfect, it is certainly more than manageable on the Honor 7.
Given the choice, I know which phone I’d rather have…
The Honor 7 has launched in the UK for just £249.99, which when you consider the specs, is an absolutely fabulous price. In comparison, it’s taken the Mate 7 nearly a year to drop to a similar price tag and the additional features in the Huawei Honor 7 mean it’s arguably the better handset.
Given the choice between these two handsets, I’d definitely pick the Honor 7 but what about you? What do you think of the Honor 7 and the changes made by Huawei since last year’s Ascend Mate 7? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below and don’t forget to check out our full Honor 7 review!
Name the new Honor smartwatch and win products until 2020
Huawei has been gearing up to launch a small-form wearable for a while now, but doesn’t appear to be able to settle on a name. Originally known as the Honor Band Zero, Huawei has ditched the old title and is asking all of you out there to help the company come up with a better one.
As a reward, Huawei will be sending the person who comes up with the best name all of the company’s upcoming products right through until 2020. That’s four or so years of future Huawei gadgets for free, just for picking a name. To enter, simply submit your name suggestions via the Honor page on Facebook or through @HonorEU on Twitter. Apparently the challenge hasn’t begun quite yet, so keep an eye on those pages for extra details.
Along with the contest, Huawei has also released a few details about the smartwatch. It features a 1.06-inch circular display, G-sensor technology, and a battery capacity that can last 3 days on a single charge. The smartwatch is also IP68 rated for water and dust resistance.
“Our mission is to enable superior mobile Internet experiences for the Internet generation and era. The wearable band will allow just that,” – George Zhao, President of Honor.
Huawei originally teased the smartwatch back in July, so some launch details have been quite some time coming. The company states that the wearable will be available from its official vMall online store sometime in Q4 2015. The watch will retail for €79 / £59 in a choice of black, white or khaki color options.
What would you call the upcoming Honor smartwatch?
Complete with a 1.06-inch circular full-screen display and an industry-leading G-sensor powered by advanced algorithms, the wearable device is the ultimate fashion gadget. It will provide users with the ability to easily and accurately monitor their performance when engaged in exercise or sporting activities. The wearable also offers sleep quality monitoring and calling reminding. It is 10 meter water resistant and dust proof with IP68 certification. It has a long lasting battery for 3 days.
Honor announced a competition to name the product, where the person who submits the winning name will receive all Honor products for the next five years on sale in his/her country, until 2020. The yet-to-be-named wearable will be compatible with Android devices. Entries of the campaign should be made via the Honor page on Facebook or via @HonorEU on Twitter.
The wearable band will be available initially in black, white and khaki colours from Q4, 2015 via vMall (see separate announcement) and later via the other usual online sales channels, at a recommended price of €79 / £59.
‘This new product demonstrates our commitment to customers and capability to bring innovative and smart technology to the market. Our mission is to enable superior mobile Internet experiences for the Internet generation and era. The wearable band will allow just that,’ commented George Zhao, President of Honor.
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