"This phablet does more right than it does wrong. Solid performance and
manageable battery life with a great fingerprint scanner as the
headline feature. Unfortunately, some UI issues do remain as does the
presence of bloatware."
- Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic
- DivX/XviD/MP4/H.263/H.264/WMV player
- MP3/eAAC+/WMA/WAV/Flac player
- Organizer
- Document editor
- Photo/video viewer/editor
- Voice memo/dial/commands
- Predictive text input
Phablet devices are big business right now. It's courtesy of devices like the Apple iPhone 6 Plus, Samsung Galaxy Note 4 and this; the Huawei Ascend Mate 7. It's
the Chinese company's latest flagship device, but proffered as a
large-screen alternative to (rather than a replacement for) the Huawei Ascend P7. Coming in as a successor to last year's Ascend Mate 2,
the Ascend Mate 7 is actually smaller in terms of screen size. It
measures 6 inches with a full HD 1920 x 1080 resolution, compared to the
Mate 2's 6.1-inch display. And you haven't missed Ascend Mates 3
through 6. Huawei has jumped straight to Mate 7 to bring the new device
in line with the G7 and P7. Huawei has upped its quality
considerably over the last few years when it comes to flagship devices
and the Ascend Mate 7 has been given the same thoughtful treatment. It boasts an aluminium unibody that immediately brings to mind the HTC One M8
while a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner and new-look UI round out the
headline features. Additionally, you can use the microSD port as a
secondary SIM slot for dual-SIM functionality, but more on that later. Pricing
isn't perhaps what you'd expect. The Chinese company is offering the
16GB base model with 2GB of RAM for €499 (around £400, US$650, AU$690)
with the 32GB version coming in at €599 (around £480, US$780, AU$830).
The latter ups the RAM to 3GB, but also forces you to accept the handset
in gold.
The handset is big, but looks great thanks to the aluminium casingThe
Ascend Mate 7 not only has a slightly smaller screen than its
predecessor, but also a thinner body and minimal screen bezels. Any
6-inch phone is still massive in your hands, but Huawei has done a good
job of cutting away excess flab. The handset itself is 157 x 81 x 7.9mm
while the screen-to-body ratio is 83% - which is ahead of Samsung's 80%
ratio on the Galaxy Note 4. Turn the Ascend Mate 7 over
and you're greeted with the device's 13MP lens - protruding slightly
from the chassis - and the fingerprint scanner. Mostly thanks to Apple's
Touch ID, the scanner has become the de rigueur addition to modern
smartphones. On the Mate 7, the scanner can be used to
awaken the phone instantly without having to hit the power switch first -
a feature that really makes sense and works well in practice.
The rear-facing fingerprint scanner is a small, indented squareLike
other phone companies, Huawei keeps the data from the fingerprint
scanner encrypted and on the device. It can be also be used to open
certain apps, although the information is never passed to third parties. The
back of the Ascend Mate 7 is slightly curved, although this is really
only noticeable at the edges of the handset as you try to extend your
fingers around its impressive frame. Huawei has done a good job on the
weight, keeping it down to a respectable 185g despite the size. The
metal unibody is sleek and cool to touch, which gives it a nicely
premium feeling. The feeling doesn't quite continue to the Ascend Mate 7's software, which is handled by the company's Emotion UI skinned over Android 4.4 KitKat. It's the third version of Huawei's home-grown UI and features a couple of slight tweaks that will take some getting used to. There's no app drawer listing all your apps. Instead, they're on the homepages. Huawei has also added the Android Lollipop-style navigation buttons to the bottom of the screen, even though the handset is still running KitKat. The
Mate 7 is powered by an octa-core Kirin 925 processor made up of a
quad-core 1.8GHz Cortex A15 chip and a quad-core 1.3GHz Cortex A7. As
mentioned before, RAM comes in either the 2GB or 3GB flavours depending
on whether you opt for the 16GB or 32GB model.
Silver, black or gold - it's your choiceHuawei
has tucked a non-removable 4100mAh battery into the Mate 7 which, as
you'd expect, is a pretty serious power source. Unfortunately, the
6-inch full HD screen is a hungry beast and you'll not want to venture
too far from a power source. But more on that later. Like
them or not, phablets are a legitimate phone category now and Huawei's
given us a good one with the Mate 7. It's not perfect though, and faces
strong competition from the iPhone 6 Plus, Samsung Galaxy Note 4 and Nokia Lumia 1520.
Design
Size
prohibits this phone from being one you operate one-handed, but Huawei
has done what it can to help. That includes placing the power switch and
volume selectors on the right hand-side of the phone so you can get to
them with either your index finger or thumb, depending on which hand
you're using. There's also an option to activate the
one-hand UI feature that lets you tilt the Ascend Mate 7 to reposition
the soft-touch Android navigation keys to one side. And Glove mode
adjusts touchscreen sensitivity so you can use the phone while wearing
gloves. But let's talk sizing specifics for just a
second, because the Huawei Ascend Mate 7 is a biggie. The length of the
handset is 157mm. In comparison, the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 is 153.5mm. The iPhone 6 Plus
just pips it at 158mm in length, but Apple's screen size is only 5.5
inches while Huawei has managed to cram in a 6-inch display.
The thin bezels really highlight the screen sizeThe
reason for that is the Chinese company has worked to remove almost any
trace of bezel around the 6-inch 1080p screen. There's still a small
black edge to the display itself but if you're using a black UI theme
it's quickly forgotten. Perhaps to offset the size
somewhat, Huawei has opted for curved corners rather than an industrial,
blocky design. The back of the phone is also curved to allow it to rest
comfortably in your palm. There's minimal space above and below the
screen - just enough room for the Huawei logo below and the front-facing
5MP camera and speaker above.
There's a front-facing 5MP camera atop the handsetThis
has both benefits and drawbacks. As Huawei no doubt intended, it means
the screen takes up the maximum amount of space and is the real
centrepiece of the device. The drawback comes in the form of sound. Rather than the front-facing dual speakers employed by the HTC One Max,
the Ascend Mate 7 pushes the grill behind, meaning you're liable to
cover it with your fingers when holding the device in landscape mode. It
means that, while video looks great, the sound suffers. The top and bottom of the device are given over to the 3.5mm headphone jack and the microUSB charging port respectively.
Charging is done through the microUSB portOn the left hand side is where you'll find the nano SIM and microSD slots, both requiring a SIM ejector tool to spring open. Unlike
Samsung's Note series of phablets, Huawei hasn't included any kind of
stylus, so you're going to be using your fingers with this one.
The volume rocker and power switch are the handset's only physical keysIt's
hard not to be appreciative of Huawei's approach. The company's worked
out from its competitors what good design is - just look at the
similarities between the Ascend G6 and the iPhone 4S. I
want premium metal finishing and a robust heft, without feeling like a
phone will fall apart at the slightest knock, and that's what you get
with the Ascend Mate 7. Of course, no amount of elegant
design choices can stop the Ascend Mate 7 from dominating any hand or
pocket, but that's a size issue - and one that doesn't detract from the
overall appearance.
Interface and performance
A phone of this size requires some muscle to keep it going and Huawei hasn't pulled its punches when it comes to the innards. The
Ascend Mate 7 is decked out with an octa-core Kirin 925 processor (made
up of 4 x 1.8GHz A15 cores and 4 x 1.3GHz A7) which harness the
big.LITTLE architecture. This ensures the Mate 7 has plenty of power
behind the scenes, but only uses it when it's really required.
It's a processor that was developed by Huawei's own subsidiary,
HiSicon, and goes up against the better known chips from Qualcomm's
Snapdragon stable.
Huawei's added plenty of power to the Ascend Mate 7How
does it work in black and white? Well, I ran the processor through the
GeekBench 3 benchmark program and recorded a multi-core score of 3,287.
Doesn't mean much on its own, but when compared to the 2,911 of the
iPhone 6 Plus or the 2449 of the LG G3, you start to see that Huawei
hasn't shied away from maximum power. There's 2GB of RAM
providing backup to the processor and global LTE Cat 6 and HSDPA
support for mobile signal. Meaning a download speed of up to 300mbps, if
your network supplies such generous speeds. In theory, that means you'd
be able to download a three hour movie in 2.2 minutes according to
Huawei. Although it's possible to get the larger version
of this phone with an extra 1GB of RAM, I found the standard 2GB more
than adequate for my day-to-day usage. There wasn't any glaring lag
during navigation, so getting to where I wanted to go didn't take too
long. The phone wakes up instantly from sleep mode and takes about a
second to register a fingerprint and log in. If you find
things are moving a little slowly, then Huawei has given you a handy
Phone Manager app to diagnose the problem. Fire it up and you're given
various ways of optimising your phone, from the process manager memory
scan to the storage cleaner and the power saving battery mode.
The performance manager app lets you optimise performance manually or automaticallyThe
app will tell you exactly how much memory other apps are using and let
you close down anything that's hogging your precious RAM. You can also
set a notification to alert you when the memory or CPU usage is
adversely affecting the phone. If you're feeling
particularly sensitive, you can enable (or schedule) the do not disturb
mode, which means you'll only receive calls and messages from designated
contacts. Bloatware on phones is a touchy subject and,
along with its own UI, Huawei has added a fair few apps to the interface
- some useful, some not so much. While the aforementioned Phone Manager
is very helpful, the Mirror and Magnifier apps don't add much in terms
of usefulness. But then, Huawei has given you an outlet
for bloatware-fuelled rage with the HiCare app. This gives you not only
the service policy and manual for the Ascend Mate 7, but also the
opportunity to send feedback to Huawei via email or call the company
direct through a link to its service hotline. Huawei's
Emotion UI interface has found its feet a little bit with the third
iteration. The main sticking point is the removal of the app drawer. To
just about any smartphone user, this is quite an abrupt change. Every
app has to feature on one of the homepages, of which you can add up to
nine. This isn't as much of an issue as you might think
however. Partly, that's due to the amount of screen real estate and the
level of customisation you're afforded. But it also helps that you can
group apps into folders to make things easier to find. Huawei
is keen to market its themes, and there are plenty included on the
Ascend Mate 7, letting you find an appearance you like and stick with
it. A gateway app takes you to the selection, and Huawei keeps it
regularly updated with new offerings.
Huawei wants to help you with notifications and plenty of assistanceAs
with other Android handsets, a key area of the interface is the
notifications panel you can pull down from the top of the screen. On the
Ascend Mate 7 it's presented as a timeline, giving you the time at
which items were either sent to you or you performed actions on the
phone. A quick tap of the shorcuts key at the top will bring you to
custom settings like Bluetooth, Wi-Fi or Aeroplane Mode. In
order to deal with the issue of size, the Ascend Mate 7 makes use of
motion control for actions like moving icons and widgets or muting a
call. These are a good idea but too often in practice subtle gestures
weren't picked up. It was often easier or quicker for me to just use my
other hand to quickly mute a call or pull down the notification bar. Huawei's
Emotion UI didn't appear to impact performance during my time with the
device, which is a key reason for disliking skins over stock Android.
Ultimately though, I enjoyed the different look and the variety of the
themes – even if some of the pre-loaded apps were a little superfluous. The
only thing I didn't like is the Android Lollipop-style navigation keys,
which strikes me as a little sneaky on Huawei's part.
Battery life and the essentials
Battery life
As you will no doubt have gathered by
now, there's a lot of strain being put on the power pack inside the
Huawei Ascend Mate 7. The Chinese company has loaded the handset with a
non-removable 4,100mAh battery. That's a significant boost over, for example, the 2,800mAh battery inside the Samsung Galaxy S5. But then again, the bigger they are, the harder they fall. So how did the Ascend Mate 7 cope?
The Full HD screen draws heavily on the batterySurprisingly
well, as it turns out. An intensive, 90-minute video with all the bells
and whistles (NFC, Bluetooth, screen brightness) turned up/on dropped a
fully charged battery to only 91%. With moderate day-to-day usage on
conservative settings, I was actually able to eke out just under 36
hours between charging. This was helped, in part, by the
wide variety of options Huawei gives you to limit the battery
consumption through the power saving options. Notably, the ability to
switch off juice-sucking apps or a quick flip to access the Ultra saving
mode when I knew I wasn't going to be using the phone for a while. And
even if you can't be bothered to optimise everything all the time, a
quick scan through will automatically let the phone sort it for you and
add a couple of extra minutes to the battery life. But,
and there's always a but, you'll note that I mentioned "conservative
use" in the paragraph above. Because, like all smartphones, if you
really hammer it, the Ascend Mate 7 won't last the day. Gaming and
movie-watching are obviously big draws because of the power drain of the
6-inch HD screen. I feel it's right to point out at this
juncture that if you're looking for optimal battery life on a handset,
buying a phablet is probably not the right way to go.
Calling
Getting
past the point that talking using this handset makes it look like
you're holding a small baking tray against your face; the Ascend Mate 7
isn't bad. It uses a dual antenna will automatically scan and detect the
strongest signal in your vicinity and lock onto it. During
my time with the handset, I never experience a dropped call while I had
even a slice of signal. Which, in 2014, is really not saying much –
it's about the most minimal thing our modern smartphones have to do.
In-call volume is suitably impressive and works not only for handset
calls but when you're using speakerphone as well. The
contacts app is basic but functional and also builds in your text
messages which you can view by swiping right. Swipe left, and you're
given a dial pad so large that a bear could operate it.
Messaging
Given
the size of the Ascend Mate 7's display, running off a quick message
can either be extremely easy or quite frustrating depending on how many
hands you're using. Cradle the handset in both paws and you can use your
thumb to fire off essays of text in no time at all. But try doing it
one-handed with just your thumb and it'll take a mite longer. This
can be alleviated slightly with Huawei's one-handed mode which, as with
the notification keys, will shift the keypad to whichever side of the
screen is most convenient for the hand you're holding it in.
It's not the easiest phone to use one-handedThe
default keyboard is competent enough at picking up my speedy texts, and
it also includes a swipe-to-text feature if you prefer gliding over the
keys. Obviously, if you're a lover of SwiftKey, or any other
third-party keyboard, then you can get it through the Google Play store. Huawei's
messaging app isn't the nicest to look at, but chances are you'll be
using Whatsapp, Google Hangouts, Skype or Facebook Messenger as well, so
no harm done. As an aside, predictive messaging was pretty much spot-on
during my usage, which is a definite positive.
Browsing
The
Ascend Mate 7 comes with Google's Chrome browser and its own in-house
option. The latter, like the messaging app, doesn't look particularly
attractive but offers all the functionality I expect. The options are
located along the bottom, rather than at the top near the address bar as
they are in Chrome. Again, with the size of the screen, this is a
useful change. There's tabbed browsing, as well as the
option to bookmark, share a page or copy a link. Also thrown in are
useful features like incognito browsing and the find on page feature
that lets you scan a web page for a particular word or phrase. Chrome's
ability to sync with the desktop version is undoubtedly a popular
feature that will probably edge out Huawei's own offering. Chrome was
marketed on the strength of its speed, but as far as I could tell, there
wasn't much difference between the two when it came to loading up
pages.
Camera
It might be a bit unwieldy, given the size, but the Huawei
Ascend Mate stands up well as a camera. The Chinese company has added a
13MP rear-facing lens capable of snapping at a 4128 x 3096 resolution. The
front-facing 5MP camera will take reasonable selfies as well as
providing 720p video calling via Skype, Google Hangouts or any other
video calling client.
The rear-facing 13MP camera has a few cool features to play with The
usual array of effects and settings are included – the ISO range
stretches from 100-800 with Huawei boasting better low-light performance
with the added LED flash. The HDR mode and auto focus
worked well when I took the Ascend Mate 7 for a stroll around the park
and there are some useful touches, like voice or fingerprint-activated
shooting.
There's the usual range of camera features to tinker withAlso
included are the options to geo-tag pictures and face detection.
Something else that Huawei has included in previous phones, like the Ascend G6, is the Beauty level slider to improve selfies by smoothing out the skin and enlarging the eyes. You
can take a panorama mode for sweeping vistas or, if you're taking shots
of fast-moving items, the best photo mode. This is essentially a burst
mode that works like the Zoe feature on HTC's smartphones; taking
several pictures very quickly and allowing you to select the best. I played around with the various settings and filters and you can see the images below.
An overcast day shot with HDR mode enabledView the full resolution picture
The Ascend Mate 7 performs reasonably well in low-light, and you can adjust ISO settings manually to compensateClick here for the full resolution image
Comparisons
Samsung Galaxy Note 4
Samsung's Galaxy Note series is credited with starting the phablet trendFor
a relatively new segment of the mobile phone market, there are already a
good number of decent plus-sized handsets to choose from. The original
master is, of course, Samsung's Galaxy Note series. The
latest iteration boasts improved S-Pen functionality that includes two
separate modes for the infamous stylus accessory: calligraphy and
fountain. The fountain option is the more interesting, coming closer
than ever to matching your own handwriting on the screen. I
don't feel a stylus is as necessary a tool as Samsung seems to think it
is and the Huawei Ascend Mate 7 doesn't come with one – although you
can pick up a third-party option cheaply enough. Simply speaking, it's a
nice touch, but don't allow it to sway you away from the Ascend Mate 7. While
the Galaxy Note 4 boasts a fingerprint scanner, and the ability to
assign apps to a registered fingerprint, the feature doesn't seem as
well thought out as Huawei's offering. The Chinese company has added the
scanner as a physical feature with haptic feedback and placed it nicely
on the back of the phone. I feel it's more accurate and easier to use
than Samsung's version – which itself feels like a bit of a knee-jerk
reaction to Apple's Touch ID. While the Ascend Mate 7 may
win over in terms of features, it doesn't really compete on terms of
spec, specifically, the display. Samsung's screens have always been
great and the QHD Super AMOLED screen on the Note 4 is excellent. It's
smaller than Huawei's, at only 5.7 inches, but there's a higher pixel
density and sharper colours. Moreover, Samsung's take on
Android 4.4 is easier to get to grips with than Huawei's. Although I
would argue that the Emotion UI actually looks nicer.
Sony Xperia Z Ultra
Sony's screen is premium qualitySony's
entry into the phablet market is looking a little dated now, but it
still has some interesting features going for it. Notably, the fact that
it boasts IP58 water and dust proof certification – so you can take it
out into the wild should you wish. It's also massive,
with a 6.4-inch Full HD display. It's larger than the Ascend Mate 7 and,
I would argue, too big for a phone. But then, if you're really just
looking for the biggest screen you can get, it's worth a look. Sony's
screen and camera tech have always been highlights and the Xperia Z
Ultra uses the X-Reality Engine from Bravia TVs in its display. The
image is sharper and colour reproduction is better than Huawei's Ascend
Mate 7. Meanwhile, the 8MP camera, although less than
Huawei's 13MP beast, does provide similarly good pictures and the
front-facing camera on the Xperia Ultra will hit 1080p compared to the
720p managed by the Ascend Mate 7's. However, this isn't a
phone for future-proofing, and that's where it shows its age. The
Huawei Ascend Mate boasts LTE Cat 6 with speed for 300mbps downloads
while the Xperia Z Ultra is reliant on LTE Cat 4 with download speeds of
150mbps. Given that you're looking at, potentially, a
2-year contract with this handset, it's something to take into account.
I'd have to say the Ascend Mate 7 is the better choice here.
iPhone 6 Plus
Apple's iPhone 6 Plus has excellent build qualitySo, here it is: Apple's plus-size iPhone with 5.5-inches of iOS 8
goodness waiting for you at just the price of a mid-range laptop. The
iPhone 6 Plus is, I'm afraid, simply a much more premium phone than what
Huawei is offering. The design is excellent and the way
it integrates with iOS 8 means that you can pick one up on a 24-month
contract safe in the knowledge that it'll be running just as smoothly
come 2016. The app selection is fantastic and Apple's
features, from Touch ID to HealthKit and Apple Pay are well thought-out
and not mere gimmicks. The full specifications don't match up to the
Ascend Mate 7 – there's only 1GB of RAM in the iPhone 6 Plus and no
expandable storage but you do get a better user experience. Unfortunately
though, it's a user experience you're going to have to pay for. If
you're on a budget and want a plus-size phone at a reasonable price then
the Ascend Mate 7 is certainly where you should be looking. If money is
no object then I would suggest looking at the iPhone 6 Plus as a
contender. But, the very fact that Huawei is now making a
device that can legitimately be compared to Apple's flagship phone is,
in and of itself, a sign of how very far the company has come.
Verdict
Any manufacturer is now likely to be toting a phone with a
larger screen. Whether its 5.5-inches or 6.3-inches, the appeal of
larger handsets isn't going away any time soon. To its credit, Huawei
has created a phone that is more than just a blown-up version of its
Huawei Ascend G7 premium device. The Ascend Mate 7 is the
kind of phone you'll come to reluctantly at first. Undoubtedly
pre-judging it as a Chinese approximation of what the best tech
companies are producing. But spend a bit of time with it and that
impression is redefined. Actually, the fingerprint
scanner really does work well. And the aluminium casing really does have
the right balance between heft and lightness. And actually, that
battery life isn't quite as bad as you thought it would be. See what I
mean?
We liked
The fingerprint scanner is a
great feature that really adds something here. With a phone this size,
it's easier to use it than the power button on the right hand side. The
ability to lock apps is also useful, meaning you can hand your phone
round to friends for them to look at pictures and know they can't go
breezing through your emails. I also liked the ability to
dual-load two different SIMs into the Ascend Mate 7. As someone who
regularly carries around too much tech, the idea of a single device to
manage both a work SIM and personal one is appealing. Ultimately
though, I just appreciated the way the phone is put together. The metal
casing and lack of bezels meant the 1080p screen was given its due.
While the slightly curving, thin design and light weight meant that it
was comfortable to hold for a long time. Even if I did nearly drop it
once. Okay, twice.
We disliked
The Emotion UI still doesn't feel quite as intuitive as iOS 8
or native Android. I kept going for the app drawer, only to realise it
isn't there. The level of customisation and selection of themes on offer
are both great, but I have to ask myself how often will the average
person really use them? Probably not that often, but at least it's grown
up a bit from previous versions. Sound is a bit of an
issue with the Ascend Mate 7. In that I kept placing my finger over the
speaker grille when holding the phone in landscape mode. Given that I'm
going to want to use that big screen for watching movies and playing
games, this was a bit of a distraction. Lastly, and it's a
bit of a weak point, I concede, but I just think 6-inches is too big
for a phone. The size creates issues that Huawei has tried to solve with
a one-handed usage setting and motion control features. But really, I'm
just not that way inclined to such a big handset. But hey, at least the
battery holds up alright.
Verdict
Emerging from
the shadows cast by the likes of Apple and Samsung, Huawei has given us
an excellent plus-sized handset to consider. The rear-facing
fingerprint scanner is well implemented and other useful features like
dual-SIM support through the microSD slot show the Chinese company is
innovating nicely. At its core are a decent cabal of
specifications that keep the handset running quickly, if not quite as
smoothly or intuitively as its native Android or iOS counterpoints. But
the sticky issue of battery life is handled very well by a thorough
power management app that lets you tweak and optimise to your heart's
consent. It also remains to be said that in terms of
value, Huawei has given us an attractive proposition with the Ascend
Mate 7. It's a well-crafted handset and doesn't at all invoke the
Chinese knockoff image that many might associate with the brand. If you've got money to burn then Apple's iPhone 6 Plus or Samsung's Galaxy Note 4
will edge out the Huawei Ascend Mate 7 as the more popular option. But I
enjoyed my time with Huawei's phablet and can easily say that the
Chinese firm is now on a level with those aforementioned brands.
