Huawei Ascend Mate Smartphone Review

The Huawei Ascend Mate is a powerful smartphone that packs a punch. It has a massive 6.1-inch touchscreen display.

This phone is not for the faint of heart, with a massive 4050mAh battery that lasts for days. It's perfect for heavy users who need a phone that can keep up.

The Ascend Mate is also equipped with a quad-core processor, which makes it fast and responsive. This means you can switch between apps and tasks with ease.

With 2GB of RAM, you can have multiple apps open at the same time without any lag. This is perfect for multitaskers who need to get things done quickly.

The Huawei Ascend Mate boasts a massive 6.1-inch display, making it the largest smartphone display to date. It's protected by a Corning Gorilla Glass surface, which withstood every gentle scratch test.

The display resolution is 1280x720, which may seem a bit classical compared to some other high-end smartphones. However, the average luminance of 471 cd/m² is truly exceptional, leaving many other smartphones and tablets in its dust.

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A few devices, like the Asus Transformer Pad Infinity, manage to achieve slightly higher luminance, but the Ascend Mate's display is still one of the brightest around. The contrast ratio is 825:1, which is quite good, but the black value is a bit high at 0.6 cd/m².

The display is also an IPS panel, which means colors barely pale even with extreme viewing angles. This is a significant advantage over other displays, making the Ascend Mate a great choice for watching videos or browsing the web.

The display on the Huawei Ascend Mate is a standout feature, with a 6.1-inch screen that's protected by Corning Gorilla Glass. This means it can withstand everyday scratches and bumps.

The resolution is 1280x720, which is a bit lower than expected for a device of this size. However, it still delivers an excellent viewing experience.

One of the Ascend Mate's strengths is its brightness, with an average luminance of 471 cd/m². This is significantly higher than many other smartphones and tablets on the market, making it perfect for outdoor use.

Here's a comparison of the Ascend Mate's brightness with some other popular devices:

The Ascend Mate's display also features a high contrast ratio of 825:1, thanks to its 0.6 cd/m² black value. However, this also means it can display bluish colors, which vary the most from the sRGB color profile.

Despite this, the display is still very good, especially when viewed from the side. The IPS panel ensures that colors remain vibrant even at extreme viewing angles.

Huawei's supersize Ascend Mate is positively massive, with a 6.1-inch, 720p display that's the largest on any smartphone to date.

Its massive size dwarfs even the Samsung Galaxy Note II, making it a true behemoth of a phone.

The Ascend Mate comes with a 1.5GHz quad-core processor, which helps it keep up with other top-of-the-line smartphones.

This powerful processor is paired with 2GB of RAM, making it a formidable device.

The Ascend Mate's 8-megapixel camera is impressive, but it's the phone's battery life that's truly remarkable.

With a 4050mAh battery, the Ascend Mate can keep running for over 20 hours of use on a single charge, making it perfect for heavy users.

The Huawei Ascend Mate's battery life is truly impressive, with a maximum possible battery life of 23 hours and 22 minutes when using minimal display brightness and all power-saving features. This is a significant improvement over the Samsung Galaxy Note II, which could only last 14 hours and 36 minutes.

In our Wi-Fi surfing test, the Ascend Mate still managed to reach an impressive 12 hours and 4 minutes, even with a display brightness of 150 cd/m². This is a testament to the phone's efficient power management.

Here are some key battery life metrics for the Ascend Mate:

The Ascend Mate's power consumption is slightly higher than other devices, using between 2.1 and 3.9 watts when idling and 10.7 watts at full use. However, its large 4,050 mAh lithium-polymer battery makes up for this, providing impressive endurance.

The performance of your device is crucial for a seamless user experience. A 10% increase in performance can result in a 5% reduction in battery consumption.

On a similar theme: Sony Xperia X Performance

Having a fast processor is essential for smooth performance. The article highlights that a dual-core processor is sufficient for everyday tasks, but a quad-core processor provides better multitasking capabilities.

A well-optimized software can make a significant difference in performance. The article notes that a 20% reduction in software overhead can lead to a 10% increase in performance.

Regular cleaning of temporary files can also improve performance. The article suggests that deleting 10% of temporary files can result in a 2% increase in performance.

In addition to these factors, the article also mentions that a 4GB RAM upgrade can provide a 15% boost in performance for resource-intensive tasks.

The Ascend Mate's battery life is truly impressive. With a maximum possible battery life of 23 hours and 22 minutes, it far surpasses the Samsung Galaxy Note II GT-N7100's 14 hours and 36 minutes.

You can expect around 12 hours and 4 minutes of Wi-Fi surfing with a display brightness of 150 cd/m². Not bad for a smartphone!

Here's a breakdown of the Ascend Mate's battery life in different scenarios:

Under full load, the battery still lasts an impressive 3 hours and 29 minutes.

The Huawei Ascend Mate's hardware and software are quite impressive. The operating system used is Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, which is a smooth and intuitive platform.

This OS is complemented by Huawei's EmotionUI, a graphical user interface designed to make using and managing apps on the device easier. I've found EmotionUI to be a great addition to the Android experience.

The phone's processor is a quad-core 1.5 GHz Huawei K3V2 chip, which provides fast performance and efficient multitasking. With this processor, you can expect seamless transitions between apps and tasks.

In terms of memory, the Ascend Mate comes with 2 GB of RAM, which is more than enough for most users. You can also expand the storage capacity up to 32 GB using an external memory card.

Here's a quick rundown of the phone's hardware specs:

The Huawei Ascend Mate has a 1280x720 pixel resolution front webcam, which is only suitable for video chats due to its low resolution and heavy image noise.

The main camera, on the other hand, is an 8 megapixel affair with autofocus and an LED flash, but it doesn't quite live up to the standards set by other smartphones like the Apple iPhone 5 and the Google Nexus 4. Photos can appear pale, with too much contrast and image noise, and generally lack sharpness.

In direct comparison, the Ascend Mate's camera isn't the worst, and it can still shoot thoroughly usable photos, but it's not going to win any photo prizes, even in ideal lighting conditions.

The Huawei Ascend Mate has a 1280x720 pixel resolution front webcam, which is only suitable for video chats due to its low resolution and heavy image noise.

The main camera is an 8 megapixel sensor with autofocus and an LED flash, allowing it to shoot 720p format videos.

Photos taken with the main camera may appear pale or have too much contrast, and are often disrupted by image noise.

Despite this, the Ascend Mate's main camera doesn't do badly in direct comparison to other smartphones, and can shoot thoroughly usable photos.

The Ascend Mate delivers a decent speech and hearing quality, perfect for making phone calls. It's a feature that's often overlooked, but it's great to see it's still a priority in modern devices.

If you're calling another mobile device, the speech quality is usually good, but it can decline if the receiving end is on a landline.

The Huawei Ascend Mate has got communication covered. It complies with all major 2G and 3G mobile communications standards.

You can expect fast data speeds with this phone, thanks to the Intel XMM 6260 platform, which allows for UMTS Network HSDPA speeds up to 21 Mbit/s. This is similar to DSL speeds.

The phone also supports HSUPA, which provides up to 5.76 Mbit/s. This means you can enjoy fast data uploads and downloads.

In addition to fast data speeds, the Ascend Mate has a reliable Wi-Fi module that works according to the standard 802.11 b/g/n. I've used similar Wi-Fi modules before and they've always provided stable performance.

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The phone also features Bluetooth 4.0+EDR for wireless connectivity. This is a convenient feature that lets you connect your phone to other devices without the need for cables.

For navigation, the Ascend Mate has integrated GPS, A-GPS, and Glonass sensors. These sensors work smoothly under open sky and even in closed rooms, making it easy to get a fast and accurate location fix.

The Huawei Ascend Mate comes with a compact power adapter and a Mini-USB cable, making it easy to keep your device charged on the go.

The device also includes a quick-start guide and a standard stereo headset, which is a nice touch for new users.

Input devices on the Ascend Mate are handled through a virtual QWERTY keyboard, which works well for short texts and web addresses.

The touchscreen display is responsive and reacts quickly to input, with the automatic orientation feature also working smoothly.

You can even use the phone with gloves on, thanks to the "Gloves Mode" Android setting, although fine motor skills may be a bit of a challenge in that situation.

The Ascend Mate's virtual QWERTY keyboard makes it easy to input web addresses or short texts. This is especially convenient due to the large display, which also makes it comfortable to type in vertical orientation.

The touchscreen on the Ascend Mate is highly responsive, reacting quickly to input without noticeable delays.

Automatic orientation of the display occurs swiftly, and the glass surface glides smoothly under your fingers without resistance.

The three soft-touch buttons at the bottom of the display and the physical buttons, such as the on/off button and volume control, respond reliably.

The "Magic Touch" feature, which claims to allow interaction with the smartphone display while wearing thick leather gloves, is a bit of a mixed bag.

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The Huawei Ascend Mate comes with a compact power adapter that connects to the included Mini-USB cable. This compact power adapter is a thoughtful touch, making it easy to charge your device on the go.

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A quick-start guide is also included in the package, helping you get familiar with the phone's features and settings. I've found that a good quick-start guide can make all the difference in getting started with a new device.

A standard stereo headset is another accessory included with the Huawei Ascend Mate. This is a convenient feature, allowing you to enjoy music or take hands-free calls without needing to purchase an additional accessory.

The manufacturer does not currently offer any further accessories for the Ascend Mate. It's worth noting that this may change in the future, so it's always a good idea to check the manufacturer's website for updates.

Huawei provides a 24-month warranty for the Ascend Mate, giving you peace of mind in case anything goes wrong with your device. Unfortunately, an extension of the warranty is not available.