Why you can trust TechRadar We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure you’re buying the best. Find out more about how we test.
Battery life
Battery life on the Huawei Ascend G6 wasn't a problem at all. The fact that you can't remove the 2000mAh battery means you won't be able to slip a spare in if the phone dies, but overall I got plenty of time from a single charge.
The mid-range specs and relatively low resolution on the screen means the juice isn't drained too quickly. I was easily able to get a full day's use from the device, making calls and taking regular pictures with all the push notifications turned on.
Subjecting the Huawei Ascend G6 to a 90-minute video with full brightness and all settings on drained the battery from 100% to 78%.
Should you run into trouble though, there is a power saving option that you can select to eke out a bit more usage.
You can choose from smart, endurance or normal modes that each adjust the CPU performance and network usage for the best possible balance between battery life and performance.
It's a small option, but one that can prove extremely useful if you're suddenly caught short without a charger.
The essentials
During my time with the Ascend G6, I was actually able to get past the look of the UI fairly quickly but I did have problems with Huawei's keyboard.
The 4.5-inch screen size isn't much of a problem when it comes to space, but often I found typing difficult because the Ascend G6 wasn't good at picking up which key I had tapped. Often instead of registering the space bar, the keyboard would think I had tapped the full stop, which sits right next to it.
This issue cropped up both when writing emails or crafting text messages and quickly became an annoyance. Exasperated sighs and much re-writing became the norm, especially when I was in unsteady environments like a moving train carriage.
Because I spend so much time typing on my phone, I found this to be a real problem. Predictive texting was pretty much spot-on which helped to alleviate some of the problem, as did switching to the standard Android keyboard. But ultimately typing on the Ascend G6 just isn't good enough.
There's full Google certification, which means you can download any apps from the Google Play store, although Facebook and Twitter already come pre-installed.
As Chrome is pre-installed, you don't need to bother with the standard Android browser (although both are similar).
Bluetooth and NFC are both supported which means you can pair up wireless headphones, activity trackers or other accessories with a quick tap if they support NFC and standard Bluetooth pairing if not.
In short, while performance isn't a problem with the Ascend G6 – its specs and design are well up to scratch – usability falls a little short. Typing and calling, two of the basic principles of any smartphone were both difficult on this handset. Which is a shame because I felt Huawei largely got most of the other things right
