Huawei has just kicked off the Mobile World Congress with the introduction of its two new flagship smartphones — the P10 and P10 Plus. Just like last year, the bigger variant has certain features that its smaller sibling doesn’t have, but what are the improvements from 2016’s Plus model as compared to the newly-announced handset? We find out.
Huawei P10 Plus | Huawei P9 Plus |
---|---|
5.5-inch WQHD IPS LCD display @ 2560 x 1440 resolution | 5.5-inch Super AMOLED display @ 1920 x 1080 resolution |
510ppi | 401ppi |
Corning Gorilla Glass 5 | Corning Gorilla Glass 3 |
2.4GHz HiSilicon Kirin 960 octa-core CPU | 2.5GHz HiSilicon Kirin 955 octa-core CPU |
Mali-G71 MP8 GPU | Mali-T880 MP4 GPU |
6GB LPDDR4 RAM | 4GB LPDDR3 RAM |
128GB storage | 64GB storage |
Up to 256GB via microSD (uses SIM 2) | Up to 256GB via microSD (uses SIM 2) |
3rd-gen Leica-certified 20MP monochrome + 12MP color sensors, dual-tone flash | Leica-certified dual 12MP monochrome + 12MP color sensors, dual-tone flash |
f/1.8 aperture, 4K video | f/2.2 aperture, 4K video |
OIS | No OIS |
Leica Summilux lens | Leica Summarit lens |
8MP Leica-certified front camera, f/1.9 aperture | 8MP AF front camera, f/1.9 aperture |
Dual-SIM | Dual-SIM |
Quad LTE 4x4 MiMo support for 20 bands | 4G LTE Cat. 6 |
WiFi (2×2 Mimo antennas) | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac |
Bluetooth 4.2 | Bluetooth 4.2 |
GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS | GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS |
NFC, IR Blaster | NFC, IR Blaster |
Dust- and water-resistant | Not resistant to dust and water |
Relocated fingerprint scanner | Fingerprint scanner |
USB Type-C | USB Type-C |
Android 7.1 Marshmallow w/ EMUI 5.1 | Android 6.0 Marshmallow w/ EMUI 4.1 |
3,750mAh non-removable battery with Super Charge | 3,400mAh non-removable battery |
153.5 x 74.2 x 7mm | 152.3 x 75.3 x 6.98 mm |
165 grams | 162 grams |
Dazzling Blue, Greenery, Dazzling Gold, Graphite Black, Rose Gold, White Ceramic, Mystic Silver and Prestige Gold | Haze Gold, Quartz Grey, Ceramic White |
With those specs, the new P10 Plus retains the same 5.5-inch display size as the previous P9 Plus but the resolution has been upgraded to 2560 x 1440. This move makes the pixel density packed tighter at 501ppi. The fingerprint scanner that used to be at the rear has now been moved up front and embedded beneath the glass panel.
The internals of the new P10 Plus are headlined by the company’s HiSilicon Kirin 960 octa-core chipset clocked at 2.4GHz and an updated Mali G71 MP8 GPU which is the same setup as the standard P10. In terms of memory, the P9 Plus’ 4GB has been replaced with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of expandable storage.
Of course, the camera department has been improved from the P9 Plus. the P10 Plus’ monochrome sensor is now upgraded to 20MP to capture more detail. It is also the second-gen Leica-certified sensors which now has Summilux lenses that receive more light compared to the Summarit models on the P9 Plus. Optical Image Stabilization or OIS is now finally added to the P10 Plus.
It’s worth mentioning that the front camera now uses Leica-certified optics as well.
Other advantages of the P10 Plus include dust and water resistance, faster LTE connectivity, bigger battery capacity, a whole lot of available colors, and the latest Android OS with a cleaner EMUI 5.1 layered on top.
Huawei has definitely stepped up its game further with this year’s release. I personally am a fan of dust- and water-resistant phones and with its Leica cameras, the P10 Plus pretty much made itself flexible and useful in more instances.
Hit the image below for the latest updates on the 2017 MWC: