Huawei P10 Plus review: Eyes wide open

Display

If you are considering the P10 Plus over its smaller sibling, chances are that the bigger 5.5-inch display is a significant factor in that equation.

The 5.5-inch IPS-NEO LCD panel has a resolution of 1440 x 2560 pixels, which at 540ppi is definitively sharper than the 1080p P10. Still, there are also the well-known downsides that come with a higher resolution display, like a bigger strain on the GPU and lower battery endurance. But, we'll cover that in the performance chapter.

One thing we definitely can't overlook though is the surprisingly frequent ghosting we experienced on the P10 Plus. There're definitely some issues with the screen's response time. Display brightness seems to play some part in the equation as well; with lower settings, the issue is bigger, and at max brightness it's hardly visible. When you scroll through lists of text items, like emails or even menu entries on the P10 Plus, you can see a very noticeable halo effect left behind moving shapes and text.

The regular Huawei P10 doesn't exhibit this behavior. Frankly, we haven't experienced this type of issue on any other recent phone. It may even be specific to our review unit.

Other than that, the panel seems to be pretty decent in terms of contrast and brightness. The regular P10 seems to outshine it a bit at 100% pure white, but in daily use to an untrained eye, they look about equal.

The P10 Plus' screen isn't particularly great in terms of color reproduction. There is a very noticeable blue tint in the image, quite reminiscent of early OLED units. Color calibration is pretty uniformly off for most colors with an average deltaE of 5.5 and a maximum of 9.3 in the default color mode. Switching over to the Warm preset does yield better accuracy - an average deltaE of 4.1 and a maximum of 5.8.

There are manual settings available which may further improve the color accuracy. However, you won't be able to do much better with the naked eye without a colorimeter.

Sunlight legibility is pretty good, especially for an LCD. The P10 Plus remains perfectly usable outdoors - a strong testament to the second merit of IPS NEO panel after the above-average contrast with relatively deep blacks.

Sunlight contrast ratio

• Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+
  4.615
• Samsung Galaxy S7 edge
  4.439
• OnePlus 3
  4.424
• Samsung Galaxy S7
  4.376
• HTC One A9
  4.274
• Samsung Galaxy Note7
  4.247
• Samsung Galaxy A3
  4.241
• OnePlus 3T
  4.232
• Google Pixel XL
  4.164
• ZTE Axon 7
  4.154
• Samsung Galaxy S6 edge
  4.124
• Samsung Galaxy A7 (2017)
  4.124
• Samsung Galaxy Note5
  4.09
• Huawei Nexus 6P
  4.019
• OnePlus X
  3.983
• Vivo Xplay5 Elite
  3.983
• Oppo R7s
  3.964
• Apple iPhone 7
  3.964
• Huawei P9 Plus
  3.956
• Meizu Pro 6 Plus
  3.935
• Lenovo Moto Z
  3.931
• Samsung Galaxy A7 (2016)
  3.918
• Samsung Galaxy C5
  3.911
• Samsung Galaxy C7
  3.896
• Samsung Galaxy A5
  3.895
• Samsung Galaxy J7 outdoor
  3.879
• Samsung Galaxy J2 outdoor
  3.873
• Samsung Galaxy A8
  3.859
• Samsung Galaxy A9 (2016)
  3.817
• Motorola Moto X (2014)
  3.816
• Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017)
  3.804
• Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016) outdoor mode
  3.802
• Xiaomi Redmi Pro
  3.798
• LG V20 Max auto
  3.798
• Sony Xperia XZ
  3.795
• Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016)
  3.789
• Apple iPhone 6s
  3.783
• Meizu Pro 5
  3.781
• Microsoft Lumia 650
  3.772
• Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016)
  3.756
• Oppo F1 Plus
  3.709
• Vivo X5Pro
  3.706
• Sony Xperia X Compact
  3.694
• Samsung Galaxy A3 (2017)
  3.688
• Apple iPhone SE
  3.681
• Huawei Mate 9
  3.68
• Samsung Galaxy A7
  3.679
• Meizu PRO 6
  3.659
• BlackBerry Priv
  3.645
• Apple iPhone 7 Plus
  3.588
• Apple iPhone 6s Plus
  3.53
• Motorola Moto Z Play
  3.526
• Samsung Galaxy J3 (2016)
  3.523
• Samsung Galaxy J3 (2016) outdoor mode
  3.523
• Acer Jade Primo
  3.521
• Microsoft Lumia 950
  3.512
• Oppo R7 Plus
  3.499
• nubia Z11
  3.466
• Huawei P10 Plus
  3.456
• HTC U Ultra
  3.453
• Samsung Galaxy J7
  3.422
• Meizu MX5
  3.416
• LG V20
  3.402
• Huawei P10
  3.379
• Oppo R9s
  3.352
• Oppo R7
  3.32
• Lenovo P2
  3.316
• Xiaomi Mi 5s
  3.276
• Nokia 6 (Chinese version)
  3.244
• Samsung Galaxy J2
  3.235
• Sony Xperia X Performance
  3.234
• Xiaomi Mi Note 2
  3.228
• Motorola Moto X Play
  3.222
• Huawei Mate 9 Pro
  3.206
• Huawei P9
  3.195
• Lenovo Vibe Shot
  3.113
• Motorola Moto X Force
  3.105
• LG Nexus 5X
  3.092
• Huawei Mate S
  3.073
• Microsoft Lumia 640 XL
  3.065
• Sony Xperia X
  2.989
• Huawei Mate 8
  2.949
• Xiaomi Redmi 3S
  2.913
• Sony Xperia XA Ultra
  2.906
• LG G5
  2.905
• HTC One S
  2.901
• Xiaomi Redmi 3s Prime
  2.893
• Xiaomi Mi 5s Plus
  2.884
• Sony Xperia Z5
  2.876
• Microsoft Lumia 550
  2.851
• Lenovo Moto M
  2.813
• Xiaomi Redmi 3 Pro
  2.803
• Sony Xperia Z5 compact
  2.784
• Meizu MX6
  2.751
• LG V10
  2.744
• Xiaomi Redmi 3
  2.735
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625)
  2.714
• Meizu M5
  2.71
• Sony Xperia M5
  2.69
• Huawei P9 Lite
  2.679
• Xiaomi Redmi 4 Prime
  2.679
• Vivo V3Max
  2.659
• Xiaomi Mi Mix
  2.658
• Xiaomi Mi 4i
  2.641
• Sony Xperia XA
  2.609
• Motorola Moto G4 Plus
  2.582
• Motorola Moto G4 Plus (max auto)
  2.582
• Meizu M5s
  2.58
• Xiaomi Mi 4c
  2.574
• LeEco Le Max 2
  2.567
• Microsoft Lumia 640
  2.563
• Asus Zenfone 3 ZE552KL
  2.563
• Lenovo Moto G4
  2.544
• Lenovo K6 Note
  2.544
• Oppo F1
  2.528
• Sony Xperia Z5 Premium
  2.525
• Huawei Honor 7 Lite / Honor 5c
  2.506
• Sony Xperia M4 Aqua
  2.503
• Oppo F1s
  2.481
• Motorola Moto G
  2.477
• Lenovo Vibe K5 Plus
  2.473
• Huawei G8
  2.471
• Huawei nova
  2.467
• Sony Xperia Z
  2.462
• Lenovo Vibe K5
  2.459
• Meizu m3 max
  2.447
• HTC 10 evo
  2.407
• Huawei Honor 7
  2.406
• Sony Xperia E5
  2.386
• ZUK Z1 by Lenovo
  2.382
• HTC 10
  2.378
• Samsung Galaxy J5 (2016)
  2.378
• vivo V5 Plus
  2.371
• Meizu m1 note
  2.362
• Huawei nova plus
  2.329
• HTC One E9+
  2.305
• Alcatel One Touch Hero
  2.272
• Apple iPhone 4S
  2.269
• Lenovo Vibe K4 Note
  2.254
• Sony Xperia C5 Ultra
  2.253
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (MediaTek)
  2.249
• Sony Xperia C4 Dual
  2.235
• Xiaomi Mi Note
  2.234
• Motorola Moto G (2014)
  2.233
• Huawei P8
  2.196
• Meizu M5 Note
  2.189
• Huawei Honor 6
  2.169
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 2
  2.166
• OnePlus Two
  2.165
• HTC One X
  2.158
• LG Aka
  2.145
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (X20)
  2.145
• Archos 50 Diamond
  2.134
• Xiaomi Redmi Note
  2.119
• Acer Liquid X2
  2.084
• Huawei P8lite
  2.078
• vivo V5
  2.059
• Moto G 3rd gen max manual
  2.026
• Xiaomi Mi Max
  1.996
• Sony Xperia E4g
  1.972
• OnePlus One
  1.961
• Meizu m3 note
  1.923
• BlackBerry Leap
  1.892
• Meizu m2 note
  1.892
• ZTE Nubia Z9 mini
  1.759
• Sony Xperia U
  1.758
• Asus Zenfone Selfie
  1.68
• Motorola Moto E (2nd Gen)
  1.675
• ZTE Nubia Z9
  1.659
• Jolla Jolla
  1.605
• Motorola Moto E
  1.545
• Sony Xperia M
  1.473
• Sony Xperia L
  1.351
• Xiaomi Redmi 2
  1.311
• HTC Desire C
  1.3
• Sony Xperia C
  1.283
• Sony Xperia E
  1.215

Battery

The Huawei P10 Plus is powered by a sealed 3,750mAh battery. The phone ships with a beefy charger capable of outputting 5V/4.5A, 4.5V/5A, and 5V/2A, with the maximum power of 22.5W exceeded only by Oppo with their VOOC chargers (some of them 25W). Low voltage ratings also allow all the internal components to remain cool during charging.

To reiterate our point from a few chapters back, the only real problem with Huawei's fast charging is the proprietary combo of a SuperCharger and cable. Mixing and matching won't break anything, but could leave you charging at 5V/2A or even 1A.

Using the SuperCharger and right cable, we were able to charge the P10 Plus flat to just over 50% in around 30 minutes. Not bad at all.

The P10 Plus managed to score a total of 76 hours in our battery endurance test. That's hardly any better than the P10. So what happened to the extra 550mAh?

We can instantly spot a decrease in browsing endurance - 10:41 hours, compared to the P10's 11:47. This is easily due to the higher resolution screen. On the flip side, when the display is not in play at all during a call, we see a bump in endurance up to 20:25 hours. Video playback seems to be virtually identical, so we can only presume the player is smart enough to run full-screen at 1080p when presented with our 1080p video file.

The battery testing procedure is described in detail in case you're interested in the nitty-gritties. You can also check out our complete battery test table, where you can see how all of the smartphones we've tested will compare under your own typical use.

Connectivity

Just like its little sibling, the Huawei P10 Plus is decked out in terms of connectivity. Its LTE-Advanced modem supports 3-carrier aggregation and is rated at Cat.12, for theoretical speeds of up to 600Mbps down and 150Mbps up. There are 20 LTE standards on the supported list, along with six 3G and four 2G bands, so the phone should feel welcome on almost any carrier anywhere. Huawei also prides itself in providing a higher rate of successful call connections than some unnamed competing products. Even though we didn't test that claim in particular, we find it easy to believe having in mind their expertise in networking.

On the local side of things, you get a dual-band Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac module. Also, Bluetooth v4.2, NFC, and a versatile GPS receiver, with support for A-GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, and Galileo. One thing the P10 Plus has over its sibling is an IR blaster - a convenient little feature, which we appreciate.

The USB Type-C port at the bottom of the P10 Plus definitely gives off a modern vibe. However, Huawei still hasn't moved to USB 3.0 or 3.1 and the Type-C interface supports only the older USB 2.0 standard. OTG is supported, though.

Last, but not least, you also get a good old 3.5mm audio jack on the bottom of the P10 Plus.