OS, Apps, and UI
Running on the Mate 8 is the latest Android 6.0 Marshmallow with the EMUI 4.0 on top. If you’ve tried a couple of Huawei handsets lately, there’s not much difference in UI compared to other tiers of devices from the brand. The Chinese-manufacturer has removed the app drawer in EMUI and replicated a layout similar to iOS but with added onscreen widgets.
Unlike other heavily-skinned interfaces in the Android world, the Mate 8 with the EMUI didn’t show any slowdown in UI navigation and general usage. Since our review unit is coated in Gold color, the default theme is set to this fitting design. Out of the box, you’ll get a number of Google apps to get you started and also a couple of social networking services plus utility apps.
Of course, EMUI is not everyone’s cup of tea. If you’re not liking it, you can simply download other launchers on the Play Store, but you’d sacrifice the look and feel Huawei envisioned for their flagship.
Camera
Onboard the Mate 8 is a 16-megapixel Sony IMX298 sensor for the primary shooter while the selfie camera has an 8-megapixel sensor.
The rear camera has a 3-axis optical image stabilization, f/2.0 aperture, and phase detection autofocus. With these, you’d expect it to perform very well in most scenarios but low-light shots are noticeable softer than daylight. On the other hand, the front camera performs well in daylight but a slight adjustment in environment lessens the sharpness of the selfie. Here are some samples:
Video performance is similar to the stills and you can see the OIS doing a great job in keeping things free from shake and minor bumps. Sadly, it can only get up to 1080p at 60fps but that option will do for most people. Here a sample:
Performance and Benchmarks
Inside the phablet are powerful internals to suit the modern mobile lifestyle. We’re looking at a HiSilicon Kirin 950 octa-core CPU running at a maximum of 2.3GHz. It’s paired with a very generous 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage. If you find the large storage lacking, you can throw in a microSD card with up to 128GB capacity.
As expected, the Mate 8 performed well from day to day task and you don’t have to worry about running out of memory and storage. Switching from one app to another is a no biggie for the handset and even a tiny sign of hiccup is not present during our usage. Intensive games like Mortal Kombat and Need for Speed No Limits plays smoothly although the back of the device can get warm after a few races and stages of battle.
Huawei claimed the Kirin 950 is the fastest chipset for Android and yes, before Galaxy S7 and LG G5 was announced, it is indeed. With Antutu Benchmark 6.0.1, it managed to get an impressive 90,888 score. Here are the benchmarks results for reference:
- Antutu Benchmark 6.0.1 — 90,888
- PCMark — 6,430(Work Performance)
- Quadrant Standard — 32,307
- Vellamo — 6,057 (Chrome), 2,958 (Metal), 3,257 (Multicore)
- 3DMark – 817(Slight Shot ES 3.1), 1,084 (Sling Shot ES 3.0)
Is it gorilla glass 4 or just gorilla glass 3?