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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  • J
  • Jalil Ehsas
  • KcW
  • 29 Jan 2016

To be honest, it's the best phablet.
Great design with high quality
Big battery, RAY and ROM
High quality audio output
FM radio
Dual SIM
Fast and smooth
Excellent finger scanner
What do some people want more than it?
I am waiting for it to be launched here in Afghanistan.

    • ?
    • Anonymous
    • tmY
    • 29 Jan 2016

    Chen, 28 Jan 2016- low quality (not all Chinese products are low quality, yo... moreDo you know famous motolora,nortel,lucent?they are killed by huawei in the telecommunication market, that is simple that huawei eat up their cake.

      • D
      • AnonD-483210
      • Yc3
      • 29 Jan 2016

      AnonD-87500, 29 Jan 2016it's funny how by having full HD on 6" display considered l... moreWell do the math...6 inch and 1080p makes how much ppi?

        • D
        • AnonD-87500
        • 61{
        • 29 Jan 2016

        it's funny how by having full HD on 6" display considered low-res these days :D

          • ?
          • Anonymous
          • UDN
          • 29 Jan 2016

          Huawei Mate 8, an unmatched high-end vibe.
          Design, even more refined.
          Battery, the best in flagship, In a single word - splendidly.
          Browsing time, none of the major competitors comes even close.
          CPU, OOMPH!!!
          GPU, can play every game.
          Display, above "Retina" resolution and better than any regular IPS LCD,
          excellent contrast ratio.
          Loudspeaker, better than iphone 6s+.
          Audio quality, Amazing.
          Camera, fixable in software, as the camera improved after an OTA update arrived the day after, but still better than iphone 6s+
          http://i.imgur.com/U5midiR.jpg
          Radio, Kirin 950's built-in
          NFC-sd card-Marshmallow-Gorilla 4-Gorgeous Mocha Brown
          Everything human ever complain over the phone for 2015 ARE HERE
          Now i know why google choose them for Nexus, well job done company that come from average to the TOP
          Im not a fan of Huawei yet (simply because of removable battery) but i must admit and give proper credit to this company.
          good job Huawei!!!

            • C
            • Christian
            • n4W
            • 29 Jan 2016

            Anonymous, 28 Jan 2016It's what 70-80% of people want, including meI respect your personal opinion about big phones.But please dont imply that 80% of the people likes them.Big screened phones are widely aviable just ~2 years on the market,and since most of the people dont swap their phones every 6 months or so,big portions of the sell went to early adopters and people who just wanted to try something new.I personaly dont believe in this trend,as i know few people who are literaly stuck with their overly big phones (because of contract or unwilingnes to burn money on that),but they always admit that their phone is "just to big" for them,and next time will get something smaller.
            P.S.i've just read the rumors for the new ip6c,so there is clearly a strong demand for 4" phones despite what all "market researchers" said ; )

              • ?
              • Anonymous
              • Ki3
              • 29 Jan 2016

              Anonymous, 28 Jan 2016Main disadvantages: - low quality - unknown brand - runs... more:D
              this phone is good for you
              http://www.gsmarena.com/nokia_230-7771.php
              good quality, well known brand, non android, price bellow 99.

                • D
                • AnonD-396766
                • anf
                • 29 Jan 2016

                what's up with the FM Radio, almost all of huawei smartphone got it, yet it is barely used.

                  • D
                  • AnonD-246723
                  • KZ8
                  • 29 Jan 2016

                  Anonymous, 28 Jan 2016Considering that they've developed everything in-house and ... moreNo 4k .

                    • D
                    • AnonD-65736
                    • 3cE
                    • 29 Jan 2016

                    Anonymous, 28 Jan 2016I'm still waiting for somewhat biggger phone ;) My mate7... moreTry the LeTV (now LeEco) Max x900 of the newly announced x910.

                    6.33 inches and many many great specs. It's a Mate 7/8 with USB C, a camera that's probably equally not impressive (but with 4k recording), a QHD screen, and arguably a battery life not as amazing.

                      • ?
                      • Anonymous
                      • aa}
                      • 29 Jan 2016

                      its perfect

                        • C
                        • Chen
                        • 9LB
                        • 29 Jan 2016

                        Anonymous, 28 Jan 2016Because there are people willing to buy a "big" phone. Not ... more*cough* iPhone 6C *cough*

                          • S
                          • SDKforLumia
                          • KIA
                          • 28 Jan 2016

                          Hey team GSMArena, no mention of whether it heats with heavy Apps and Games or not?

                            • ?
                            • Anonymous
                            • baX
                            • 28 Jan 2016

                            Anonymous, 28 Jan 2016It's what 70-80% of people want, including meI'm still waiting for somewhat biggger phone ;)

                            My mate7 is perfect as it is, but im itching for that 6.5in (held the p8max and almost fainted due to how big it is) since i do a lot of my work on my phone as well.

                              • ?
                              • Anonymous
                              • n5u
                              • 28 Jan 2016

                              bobby21, 28 Jan 2016Why do they built so big phones?It's what 70-80% of people want, including me

                                • D
                                • AnonD-125123
                                • LaB
                                • 28 Jan 2016

                                i was an owner of the mate 7 , s6 and s6 edge z5 premium and on the other side i have te 6s plus but the best android was the mate 7 . and the mate 8 is better i will buy it 100%

                                  • D
                                  • AnonD-467404
                                  • 7j}
                                  • 28 Jan 2016

                                  Anonymous, 28 Jan 2016software is meh. Hardware is good.nothing wrong with the software. it packs more features than touchwiz and stock Android. it feels even better than cyanogen OS in control over the system. it is much easier to use. I am a honor user and never felt anything wrong with the way apps are organised. actually it feels better.

                                    • D
                                    • AnonD-467404
                                    • 7j}
                                    • 28 Jan 2016

                                    Anonymous, 28 Jan 2016Main disadvantages: - low quality - unknown brand - runs... morei own a huawei device and it is of good quality and durability. I get regular software updates for Android in my honor 7. even low pricer honor 4x is getting regular updates.
                                    I hope your other arguments were just troll or jock. most of the USB sticks branded as companies like Vodafone is actually huawei. most telecom companies in the world buy huawei equipments to bring signal to you. those specs and the good reputation of huawei on quality and durability to everyone other than pure rasists justifies the price

                                      • d
                                      • dasman
                                      • jdg
                                      • 28 Jan 2016

                                      Anonymous, 28 Jan 2016Considering that they've developed everything in-house and ... moreGood point. Hey, at least almost every big OEM is making a custom chipset now, because of how much potential it really holds up to the competition.

                                        • ?
                                        • Anonymous
                                        • baX
                                        • 28 Jan 2016

                                        dasman, 28 Jan 2016Great Hardware on the CPU Side...but only decent GPU. Altho... moreConsidering that they've developed everything in-house and was able to catch up (just not quite there yet) to samsung and qualcomm only after a few years, it's a pretty big feat. Goes to show how much samsung and qualcomm are sandbagging their own chips, either that or Huawei's putting in a lot of overtime to play catch up.