Huawei Mate 10: Punchy, long battery life

Huawei’s marketing wants to tell you about the artificial intelligence features built into the Mate 10 phone. Its AI technology is impressive, but that’s not the best reason to choose the phone over its closest rivals.

The Huawei Mate 10 is a first-class Android phone that, at NZ$1100, also represents good value for money. There’s also a $1300 Mate 10 Pro model with a larger screen.

When it comes to performance, the Mate 10 is the match of anything from Samsung. On a good day the phone’s technology may even turn heads away from Apple’s iPhone.

The front of the phone has that now familiar all screen look. There are thin bezels at the side and minimal case sections surrounding the screen at the bottom and top of the front. It looks a lot like a Samsung Galaxy S8, but with fewer curves.

Modern look

It looks good and is distinctly modern. Yet it isn’t quite as pretty as the latest Samsung Galaxy S8 or the iPhone X. It feels better in the hand and has a higher quality finish than the cheaper Oppo range of phones.

You could say the same about the screen. It’s a 5.9-inch display with full HD. It looks great, but again, it isn’t quite as outstanding as the best from Samsung or Apple. Even so, the blacks are dark and the colours are vivid. Images are beautiful. You can view the screen from wide angles.

One thing Huawei shares in common with Samsung and Apple is that it makes its own chips. This gives all three an edge over their rivals. For the technically-minded, the Mate 10 has a Kirin 970 processor with eight cores. For the rest of us, that means powerful by phone standards.

It also means built-in artificial intelligence processing. That’s a must-have in a 2017 premium phone.

Fast

In practice the phone is fast. Apple phones always feel silky smooth in everyday performance, but some Androids struggle to keep up when pushed. The Huawei Mate 10 coped with everything a normal user might throw at a processor with aplomb.

Much of the phone’s artificial intelligence takes place in the background. The Mate 10 learns your behaviour, then queues the apps you’re most likely to choose next so they load faster. The AI also helps with photography.

Long, long battery life

The Mate 10’s superpower is battery life. According to the marketing material, there is a 4000 mAh high-density battery. This is more battery than you’ll find on most other phones. Huawei says it is the same amount of power as you’ll find on a tablet.

On top of that, Huawei has software that adapts battery use to the phone owner’s usage patterns to squeeze out even more life. Huawei says that means over a day’s heavy use and two days normal use. In testing it easily achieved those claims.

Typically the Mate 10 can go around 50 hours before needing a top-up. Many other Android phones struggle to get to 30 hours. For some people that is a good enough reason to buy a Mate 10 without looking at anything else.

Software, cameras, intelligence

Like Samsung, Huawei thinks it can improve on the raw Android software experience. It uses something called the Emotion UI. You can tinker with the software to a ridiculous degree and, if you prefer, can wind everything back so it looks like a straight Android phone. Tinker more and it can look like iOS.

Every premium phone maker will tell you they have the best camera. In a sense, they are all right. Each has its own pluses and minuses. If you are fussy about phone photography, you should spend your time researching and, where possible, testing the alternatives before choosing.

The Huawei Mate 10 Pro has the latest Leica dual camera. They’ve all been impressive, but this iteration is by far the best so far. The rear pairs a 12-megapixel colour camera with optical image stabilisation with a 20-megapixel monochrome camera.

Fast lenses

Both have fast f/1.6 lenses. The two work in tandem, the arrangement boosts detail and captures the best colour. It all works well in most lighting conditions.

This is where the artificial intelligence can come into play. The processor can detect the scene being shot and adjust settings accordingly.

It doesn’t always make the choices a skilled human might, but the results can be outstanding. The only negative is that the sheer number of shooting modes and photography features takes a lot of time to master. Far more time than a product review like this.

Huawei Mate 10 verdict

You are unlikely to be disappointed with any late 2017 premium phone. They are all good. The Mate 10 ticks most of the same boxes as its rivals but will leave you with hundreds of dollars in your pocket. On that basis alone it has to be considered.

The Mate 10 doesn’t have wireless charging, which is unlikely to be a deal breaker for most readers. On the plus side the long battery life means less emphasis on charging anyway. It also charges quickly, the battery goes to half a full charge in a little under 30 minutes.