Huawei Mate 8 review: Checkmate

27 January, 2016
The Huawei Mate 8 has dropped the Ascend badge, but it offers all the key pros of the Ascend Mate7 and then some. Coming a year after the Mate7, it was only expected that the Mate 8 will show maturity and address its predecessor’s shortcomings, most notably the poor graphics performance and the less than stellar camera output.

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  • D
  • Dre
  • IbF
  • 30 Jan 2016

Anonymous, 29 Jan 201690% of my calling is done either through a bluetooth headse... moreWell not really use to answering with BluTooth, i just don't understand why people love smart phones that have more then 6inch screen sizes, its more of a tablet beyond that point. My side is 5 inch,5.2 and 5.5 no more then that.

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    • AnonD-346873
    • uWI
    • 30 Jan 2016

    Dre, 29 Jan 2016Lol fu*" Samsung and their chipsets, this baby is the real ... moreyeah baby

      • ?
      • Anonymous
      • baX
      • 29 Jan 2016

      Dre, 29 Jan 2016You people who like big phones look weird holding it up to ... more90% of my calling is done either through a bluetooth headset or on speaker, so this is a non-factor.

        • D
        • Dre
        • q3v
        • 29 Jan 2016

        Max.1363, 28 Jan 2016Nicely packed phone and very respectable but I can't see ne... moreLol fu*" Samsung and their chipsets, this baby is the real deal, just wait till Huawei P9 comes out.

          • D
          • Dre
          • q3v
          • 29 Jan 2016

          Anonymous, 28 Jan 2016I'm still waiting for somewhat biggger phone ;) My mate7... moreBig phones like that make you look like your carrying a brick in your hand, its ridiculous.

            • D
            • Dre
            • q3v
            • 29 Jan 2016

            Anonymous, 29 Jan 2016I'm waiting for a bigger phone as well. After using a gal... moreYou people who like big phones look weird holding it up to your face during a phone call, i will stick will under 6inches thanks.

              • D
              • Dre
              • q3v
              • 29 Jan 2016

              Lol who cares about 4K resolution, the only phone to have to is the Sony Z5 right, now they expect all phones to have it, i rather have a longer lasting battery and still keep the device thin as possible.

                • D
                • AnonD-467404
                • rAM
                • 29 Jan 2016

                AnonD-396766, 29 Jan 2016what's up with the FM Radio, almost all of huawei smartphon... moreFM radio is very easy to implement. does not consume much physical resources.

                  • ?
                  • Anonymous
                  • AL$
                  • 29 Jan 2016

                  Anonymous, 29 Jan 2016Huawei Mate 8, an unmatched high-end vibe. Design, even mo... moregionee marathon m5 has a better battery just saying...

                    • ?
                    • Anonymous
                    • tCQ
                    • 29 Jan 2016

                    1080p screen? Good enough - this is not some 32-inch TV. Give it a break.
                    CPU? Software developers make apps with low-end processors in mind because you know, most people aren't rich. And many of them are too lazy to optimize their apps - they should be punished.
                    GPU? Good enough. Gamers aren't the only market - though they tend to be the noisiest and the most elitist, complete with condescending attitudes.
                    Camera? Good enough. Could be better, so go ahead suggest cramming a full-frame sensor in there. Good luck.

                    Other aspects are right up there with the best of them. There are shortcomings, and it's probably not gonna be the best flagship out there. But for sure it can hold its own out there.

                      • I
                      • ICE
                      • NHr
                      • 29 Jan 2016

                      AnonD-493662, 29 Jan 2016Camera Sensor Hardware LG G4 is Sony IMX234 sensor Meizu ... morePeople are all about MP and image sensors...
                      The lens has a big impact on image quality too, actually more so than MP.

                      Also, thermal expansion of the lens can/will degrade image quality. On top of that if the imaging sensor gets hot, it will increase background noise and impact sensor sensitivity.
                      So if the camera module is very close to the chipset or to a heatpipe, image quality will degrade more the hotter it gets. Overall design will determine that.

                      By the way, that part of the camera you can touch with your finger, is not the lens, it's the lens cover. The actual camera lens is behind it and is the size of the average pinhead (tiny by slr standards).


                        • D
                        • AnonD-493662
                        • sEy
                        • 29 Jan 2016

                        Camera Sensor Hardware
                        LG G4 is Sony IMX234 sensor
                        Meizu Pro 5 is Sony IMX230 sensor
                        Samsung s6 and s6edge using Sony IMX240 sensor
                        Samsung note 4 and 5 using Sony IMX240 sensor
                        Huawei Mate 8 Camera Sensor is Sony IMX298 sensor
                        Sony xperia Z5 series is Sony IMX300 sensor

                        it is all Sony sensor,
                        and the one that used on Mate 8
                        were released on November 2015.
                        i think its just a matter of software update
                        so camera will be better i believe

                          • ?
                          • Anonymous
                          • 6c4
                          • 29 Jan 2016

                          AnonD-483210, 29 Jan 2016Well do the math...6 inch and 1080p makes how much ppi?:D
                          do you know how much ppi iphone 6 and 6s has? 326 ppi.
                          While Huawei Mate 8 got 368 ppi.

                            • ?
                            • Anonymous
                            • rRT
                            • 29 Jan 2016

                            Overall a very decent phone

                              • D
                              • AnonD-455364
                              • J8M
                              • 29 Jan 2016

                              Anonymous, 29 Jan 2016Huawei Mate 8, an unmatched high-end vibe. Design, even mo... moreyea, but one thing i don`t like is a iOS like camera design and ios like notification, it`s bad and ugly even on iOS, china oems dislikes Material Design :D

                                • D
                                • AnonD-65736
                                • a0Y
                                • 29 Jan 2016

                                AnonD-65736, 29 Jan 2016I have the x900 and I can tell you : no overheating with th... moreAnd people need to understand that mAh alone doesn't make the battery, software and hardware optimization also contribute.

                                If not then the Mate 8 would never be that much better than the Mate 7.

                                  • D
                                  • AnonD-65736
                                  • a0Y
                                  • 29 Jan 2016

                                  Anonymous, 29 Jan 2016No. I'm not touching SD810 and 3400mah battery. Has to be... moreI have the x900 and I can tell you : no overheating with the Qualcomm 810 at all, reviews confirmed it. Unless you want sheer benchmark prowess and processor perfection, in which case I can't help you, I don't run Antutu and all and I don't play power hungry games either.
                                  It's also cheaper than a OnePlus 2.

                                  And if you don't like Snapdragon 810, the new x910 runs on Qualcomm 820.

                                  But it's your choice.

                                    • ?
                                    • Anonymous
                                    • xEc
                                    • 29 Jan 2016

                                    AnonD-65736, 29 Jan 2016Try the LeTV (now LeEco) Max x900 of the newly announced x9... moreNo. I'm not touching SD810 and 3400mah battery. Has to be over 4000mah.

                                      • L
                                      • Livius
                                      • Lax
                                      • 29 Jan 2016

                                      The screen means 80% when I am buying a phone so the screen on this phone doesn't come even close to Note 4 or Note 5 so this is a deal breaker for me

                                        • ?
                                        • Anonymous
                                        • Ijg
                                        • 29 Jan 2016

                                        Anonymous, 28 Jan 2016I'm still waiting for somewhat biggger phone ;) My mate7... moreI'm waiting for a bigger phone as well.
                                        After using a galaxy tab s2 (8.0 size), I will never go with a display below 6.0 inches. Even 6.0 now seems a bit small. It's really a shame that nor Huawei, nor Samsung would produce a hight end 6.5 phone and 7.0 phone with a decent belt clip case. There is certainly clientele for it.

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