Huawei Watch getting a female-friendly makeover, Gen 2 in 2016
The Huawei Watch made waves in 2015 by bringing to the Android Wear landscape some of the classiest aesthetics we’ve seen. The looks came with a high price for a smartwatch, but the power under the hood was enough to justify the pricetag for many consumers. However, the Huawei Watch’s large face and relative thickness (11mm) made the device a little bit too clunky for members of the population with slender wrists. Women as a whole were less likely to choose the Huawei Watch, if not for its size then for the fact that it’s overall design makes it look as though it would smell like cologne and aftershave. Now Huawei seems to be trying to reclaim this lost demographic by unleashing a new set of variants specifically designed to look more feminine.
Although we don’t have any details on the new variants, we expect that these changes will be entirely aesthetic, leaving the under-the-hood specs untouched. Gold seems pretty hot right now as well, so we wouldn’t be surprised to see a luxury model plated in everyone’s favorite shiny metal. We’ll know more once we hit CES in January, where Huawei is expected to showcase their new line.
However, the astute buyer may wish to refrain from jumping on one of these new smartwatches. Huawei is also rumored to be developing a second generation Huawei Watch to be released in mid-to-late 2016. Our bone-casters and scrying mages say that the Gen 2 model may be cellular, seeing as the functionality is now supported by Android Wear.
If you’re interested in getting a classy Huawei Watch of your own, click the button below to price them on Amazon. If you’re an owner of a Huawei Watch, let us know how you’ve enjoyed your experience with the device so far in the comments.
Nexus 6P – second opinion
Google decided to take their smartphone line in a new direction this year, by introducing not one, but two, new Nexus devices for consumers to choose between. A very smart move was the introduction of the Nexus 5X, giving folks who prefer smaller screens a Nexus option. The spiritual successor of the very popular Nexus 5 retained all that was great about the original, while of course, being updated to keep up with the times.
The availability of a smaller, and more affordable, option allowed Google to also go all out with their high-end Nexus offering, and by not having to cut any corners, what we have in the Nexus 6P, manufactured by Huawei, is a smartphone that is more than well-equipped to comfortably take on its current generation competition. We have already taken an intricate look at this device in the comprehensive review, but here, I would like to share my thoughts on this smartphone as well, in this “second opinion” look at the Nexus 6P!
Design
Anyone familiar with Huawei will know the company’s prowess when it comes to the design and build quality of their high-end smartphones, and that is seen with the Nexus 6P as well. The full metal unibody construction feels solid in the hand and looks fantastic. Despite the metal body, the Nexus 6P is also not as slippery as some other devices that feature metal builds, with the chamfered edges and flat sides contributing to the grip.
The Nexus 6P is a tall device, and is even taller than last year’s Nexus 6, but is fortunately not nearly as wide, which makes the former much easier to wrap your hands around. Of course, the Nexus 6P is still a large smartphone, and while the handling experience is a lot more manageable this time around, one-handed use may still not be particularly comfortable for some users.
The black glass visor on the back, that houses the rear camera unit and its peripherals, is also a unique design element that I really like. It is something that definitely looks much better in person than in renders or photos, and doesn’t protrude as much as you might have thought either. Overall, it gives the Nexus 6P a different look from what would otherwise be a standard smartphone design.
Display
The Nexus 6P comes with a 5.7-inch AMOLED display with a Quad HD resolution, and it is a gorgeous looking screen. I personally prefer AMOLED displays anyway, mainly due to the deeper blacks, vibrant colors, and high contrast ratios. The use of AMOLED displays also work very well with Nexus smartphones, with the screen blending in extremely well with the clean black front, and its great to see Google and Huawei stick to it with their high-end flagship.
In the case of the Nexus 6P, the display is as bright and vivid as expected, and while not everyone may be a fan of the large display size, anyone who uses their smartphones a lot for watching videos or playing games will certainly appreciate the additional screen real estate that is available.
Performance and hardware
The Nexus 6P comes with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor, backed by the Adreno 430 GPU and 3 GB of RAM, which is the current flagship standard, and as such, performs as expected. The Nexus 6P flies through everything, and handles everything from general everyday tasks to multi-tasking and gaming with ease. There have been no instances of lag or stutter, and it is by far the most fluid experience I’ve had on an Android device this far. As powerful as this processing package may be, also making a significant contribution to the performance aspect is the stock version of Android 6.0 Marshmallow that the device runs.
One of my favorite features of the Nexus 6P has to be its dual front-facing stereo speakers, which do a great job in complementing the beautiful display and further enhancing the media-consumption or gaming experience. These speakers get extremely loud and feature fantastic audio quality, and can easily give something like HTC’s front-facing BoomSound speakers a run for its money. I am a huge fan of front-facing speakers, and still find it extremely surprising that not a whole lot of flagship devices offer them, but it’s great to see Google retain this feature from the Nexus 6.
A new addition to the Nexus line this year is the fingerprint scanner, found on the back of both the Nexus 6P and Nexus 5X. Given the great experience I had with the fingerprint reader of the Nexus 5X, it wasn’t surprising to find the one of the Nexus 6P to be just as fast and accurate. Granted, its placement on the rear means that you won’t be able to unlock the device using it when it is kept on a table, but the positioning is ideal for when you are holding the phone up, with your index finger naturally gravitating to that point on the phone. The scanner is fast, accurate, and lets you wake and unlock the device in one shot, and is a great implementation overall.
The Nexus 6P comes with a large 3,450 mAh battery, and it is very easy to comfortably get a full day of use out of the device, save for the days with heavy usage that involved a lot of gaming. If you do run out of juice, the fast charging capabilities that are available means that you are also able to be back up and running in a very short amount of time.
See also: Best Android phones (December 2015)
Camera
Both the latest Nexus smartphones feature the same camera setup and image processing, and as I noted during my review of the Nexus 5X, these are excellent cameras. The camera is capable of taking excellent shots in virtually every lighting condition, with the larger pixel size making for the lack of OIS when it comes to low light or night time shots. OIS would have still been a nice feature to have though, with its absence particularly noticeable when recording video.
Camera samples from review
With the camera of smartphones being a big focus this year, and with there already being quite a few fantastic options, Google couldn’t have picked a better time to get things right with this one aspect which has historically been quite lackluster.
Software
One of the biggest reasons why I’ve been a fan of the Nexus series is because of the software experience these devices provide. The Nexus 6P runs Android 6.0 Marshmallow, and it is by far the best version of Android yet. Marshmallow feels extremely polished, which makes sense, given that this was what the update was about. Android 5.0 Lollipop may have introduced Material Design, and a lot of the aesthetics have been retained with the current version, but it had a lot of problems that have mostly been addressed with Android 6.0, along with a host of useful additions.
New features with Marshmallow include Doze, which allows for better battery life in standby, user defined app permissions, contextual search results with Google Now on Tap, and revamped volume controls. Of course, Marshmallow isn’t absolutely perfect, but is definitely a big step in the right direction, allowing for a smooth and snappy software experience that is practically unmatched.
Specifications
| Display | 5.7-inch AMOLED display 2560 x 1440 resolution, 518ppi |
| Processor | 2 GHz octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor Adreno 430 GPU |
| RAM | 3 GB |
| Storage | 32/64/128 GB not expandable |
| Networks | GSM 850/1900 W-CDMA 2/4/5 CDMA 0/1/10 LTE Band 2/4/5/7/12/13/17/25/26/41 |
| Software | Android 6.0 Marshmallow |
| Fingerprint scanner | Yes |
| Camera | 12.3MP rear-facing camera 8MP front-facing camera |
| Battery | Non-removable 3450 mAh |
| Dimensions | 159.4 x 77.8 x 7.3mm, 178g |
Gallery
Final thoughts
So, there you have it for this second look at the Nexus 6P! Google and Huawei have built a phone that can finally compete with the best Android flagships out there with their being no corners cut with the high-end Nexus offering. This smartphone is a great choice for not only fans of the Nexus line, but Android fans in general, and if you are looking for the best Android experience that Google has to offer, look no further than the Nexus 6P!
Next:
Lumsing and AndroidGuys are giving away 10 four-port intelligent wall chargers
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- Leave a comment below in the comments section.
- Enter the giveaway from now until Sunday December 20 11:59PM PST. Winners will be contacted on Monday December 21. Just provide a shipping address and Lumsing will mail you the product direct.
All entrants will be able to receive one product at %50 off from the Lumsing Amazon store. Lumsing has over 16k ratings on Amazon.com, with over 97% overwhelming positive. They have a wide range of products from portable power banks, to wall chargers to accessory cables. We have positively reviewed its products on AndroidGuys.com, and use the products ourselves. In no way is Lumsing or AndroidGuys using this giveaway as an attempt to collect any personal information such as your phone number or credit card information.
From the team at AndroidGuys.com and Lumsing, we want to wish you a happy holiday season!
To learn more about Lumsing products head on over to the Lumsing Amazon.com storefront – LINK
Terms and Conditions
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Lumsing Grand A1 accessory review
The post Lumsing and AndroidGuys are giving away 10 four-port intelligent wall chargers appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Google to sell gold Nexus 6P exclusively at Best Buy?
As the Nexus 6P began to leak pre-announcement, several photos of a gold version were circulated. Sadly, we learned that at launch, the gold variant, called the Nexus 6P Special Edition, would only be sold in Japan in limited quantities. This was done in partnership with Softbank, the carrier that sold the Special Edition in Japan. After several months, it seems that Google is finally bringing the Special Edition to the U.S., with a catch.
According to reports, the gold Nexus 6P is set to go on sale via Best Buy sometime in 2016. Huawei has two events scheduled for CES 2016 in January, so it is possible that they could use one of them to make an announcement. The Nexus 5X is already available at Best Buy, but Google reportedly wants to bring the 6P — gold variant included — to the tech retailer as well.
No word on a firm release date or pricing differences for the Nexus 6P Special Edition, but we will be eagerly watching Huawei’s CES events to learn more.
Source 9to5 Google
The post Google to sell gold Nexus 6P exclusively at Best Buy? appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Google and Huawei could continue to partner for another Nexus device in 2016, report says
Google is looking to continue to partner with Huawei on a new Nexus smartphone with a Snapdragon 820 processor tow for late 2016, according to a new report. The Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P may have only recently launched (with much success, at that), but the rumor mill is already churning as to what we could see next.
The Snapdragon 820 will no doubt be an ideal candidate for Google’s Nexus smartphone for 2016, especially with initial reports saying just how powerful it is. This report comes by way of Pan Jiutang, a Chinese industry analyst for electronics. He’s putting Huawei on the list of other big names that will be releasing handsets with Snapdragon 820 processor this year, according to his post on Chinese social networking site Weibo.
After Qualcomm officially announced the Snapdragon 820 processor, it’s common sense that manufacturers would want to take advantage of the new processor, if only for marketing purposes alone. With that in mind, this information doesn’t really tell us anything that we don’t already know.
However, a continued partnership between Huawei and Google would be most welcome, especially as Huawei plans to grow its presence in the US with a big push from its Honor brand. Seeing another Huawei-made Nexus smartphone wouldn’t be a bad thing either.
Come comment on this article: Google and Huawei could continue to partner for another Nexus device in 2016, report says
Huawei is the latest Chinese manufacturer said to make a big push in the US
A new report coming by way of Android Authority says that Huawei could soon be making a big push in the US, with an official announcement to come during CES 2016. Huawei already has some presence with its name on the Nexus 6P, but the Chinese manufacturer is looking at a much wider scaled push with its Honor brand.
Huawei coming to the United States will no doubt prove to be successful, with many observing some of the amazing things they’re doing with the Mate S and Honor 7. Speaking of the Honor 7, that’s one of the smartphones Huawei is looking at brings to US shores, as well as the Honor 6 Plus.
Details are obviously scarce at this point, but while Huawei could very well be successful with a larger presence in the US, they’re up against some tough competition. ZTE is another big Chinese manufacturer Huawei will have to go up against, as well as giants in the market like Samsung and LG.
We’ll hear more details on Huawei’s push in the US in just under at month at CES 2016. Anyone excited?
source: Android Authority
Come comment on this article: Huawei is the latest Chinese manufacturer said to make a big push in the US
Honor 7 Enhanced Edition with Android Marshmallow is official
A new Enhanced Edition of the Honor 7 has just been announced, which boasts additional internal memory and Huawei’s Android 6.0 based EMUI 4.0 OS right out of the box. The announcement comes hot on the heels of news that the Honor brand will enter the US market at CES 2016.
The internal memory upgrade sees default storage increase from 16GB to 32GB. There’s also a 128GB microSD card slot on both handsets, if you have a large media collection. The phone also features fast charging and a 9 volt 2 amp charger included in the box, and has a shortcut smart key that be customized with various functions. There is also a voice-activated assistant included with the Enhanced Edition, which is powered by Baidu and Huawei.
Other than that, the internal hardware remains the same. The Honor 7 Enhanced Edition features a 5.2-inch 1080p display, octa-core Kirin 935 processor, 3GB of RAM, a 20 megapixel camera based on a Sony IMX230 sensor and an 8 megapixel front facing camera. The phone also comes with a 3,100mAh battery, 4G compatibility, and a fingerprint scanner on the back.
See also: Huawei Honor 7 review
The Honor 7 Enhanced Edition is already available in China with a price tag set at 1999 Yuan (approximately $310), while the regular model has seen its price drop to 1799 Yuan ($278). We will hopefully hear additional details about a wider roll out in the near future, possibly at CES 2016 in January.
Huawei wants to bring its Honor smartphones to the US
Huawei wasn’t kidding around when it talked about spreading its wings and launching more phones in Western markets. The Chinese mobile giant’s George Zhao is teasing that it’ll bring its Honor brand (and the accompanying devices) to the US, with an announcement due as soon as CES in early January. Just what you would see on this side of the Pacific isn’t clear, but it’s reasonable to presume that one or more of Honor’s nicer smartphones would make it stateside.
Many Chinese phone companies don’t make it to the US in the first place, let alone their sub-labels, but this move would make sense for Huawei. Although it does have a foothold in the American market, it’s not exactly a household name — the Google-badged Nexus 6P is as good as it gets. An Honor launch in the US could give Huawei access to customers who might otherwise be put off by ‘strange’ names and (possibly unwarranted) security fears.
[Image credit: Sanjeev Verma/Hindustan Times via Getty Images]
Source: Android Authority
Honor piercing into the US market with a CES announcement
We are in Shenzhen, China celebrating Honor’s 2-year anniversary, but they couldn’t just break a piñata, eat some cake and call it a day. Instead, we are sitting in a group interview with CEO George Zhao, and he is teasing that the company is piercing into the US market with an announcement to come during CES.
See also: Huawei Honor 7 review
This is great news, as Honor’s entrance to the States has been one long awaited event. But which phones are they bringing to America? Honor did mention they are bringing region-specific devices to the USA, but the initial launch will mostly focus on the company’s international devices. We will be getting all the awesome phones we know and love, such as the Honor 7 and Honor 6 Plus.
Huawei’s sub-brand has been all about changing the image of the company and their products, in order to further influence other areas. After all, most people don’t even know how “Huawei” is pronounced. And Honor phones do seem much less tailored for the Asian tastes, as opposed to most Huawei phones.
See also: Young guns: 10 up and coming phone brands out of China
We really don’t know much else about those upcoming phones, but you can bet we will be all over Honor during CES 2016, next month. Until then, hit the comments and let us know how you feel about Honor phones. Will you be considering buying one?
Huawei Mate 8 hands-on
Huawei is growing in popularity, and that’s for good reason. The company just recently produced one of the best handsets on the market, the Nexus 6P, in partnership with Google. And following last year’s Mate 7 and the Mate S which launched a few months ago, Huawei has recently unveiled its high-end Mate 8 smartphone. We got the chance to take a quick hands-on with the device, so we’re here to give you our first impressions. Let’s dive right in!
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On the aesthetic front, the Mate 8 is a Huawei device through and through. It sports an all-metal build quality that’s incredibly similar to that of the Mate 7 and Mate S. It has a large 6.0-inch LCD display with an unexpectedly low resolution of 1920 x 1080. From what we can tell it’s not a bad display by any means, though a bump up to Quad HD resolution would be nice to see here.
The device is powered by the octa-core HiSilicon Kirin 950 processor. It comes in three storage variants – 32, 64 and 128GB – with the latter two sporting 4GB of RAM, and the 32GB model sporting 3GB. It also has two SIM card slots. If you have no need for the second SIM slot, it doubles as a microSD card slot capable of supporting up to 128GB of additional storage. Around back we see a 16MP rear camera (complete with OIS) with a rounded fingerprint scanner underneath.
One of the benefits of having a device with a lower resolution display is that it will be much easier on battery life. Not that we think the Mate 8 would struggle in that area at all, as it sports a massive 4000mAh cell.
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Specs
| Huawei Mate 8 | |
|---|---|
| Display | 6.0-inch IPS-NEO LCD display 1920 x 1080, 368ppi Corning Gorilla Glass 4 |
| Processor | Quad-core 2.3GHz Cortex-A72 + quad-core 1.8GHz Cortex A53 HiSilicon Kirin 950 |
| GPU | Mali-T880 MP4 |
| RAM | 3/4GB, depending on storage option |
| Storage | 32/64/128GB |
| MicroSD | Yes, up to 128GB |
| Camera | 16MP rear camera, OIS, phase detection auto focus 8MP front camera |
| Software | Android 6.0 Marshmallow Emotion UI 4.0 |
| Battery | 4000mAh, non-removable |
| Dimensions | 157.1 x 80.6 x 7.9mm 185g |
Gallery
We’ll of course bring you a full review in the weeks to come, so be sure to stay tuned. What are your thoughts? Do you think this could be your next smartphone? Let us know what you think in the comment section below!
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