Huawei Mate 8 review

The latest phablet from Huawei might well be its best yet

Huawei Mate 8
Huawei Mate 8

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One of the highlight features of the Huawei Mate 8 is the 6-inch display on the front of the phone. Huawei hasn't gone for 2K or 4K here. Instead it has a simple 1,080p option that stretches to the edges of the phone.

It offers 368 pixels per inch and looks gorgeous when on full brightness. I found myself turning off auto-brightness on a few occasions and putting it up to high to get the full effect.

Video looks especially stunning on the screen. The colours are fantastic and I'm very impressed by the quality considering it hasn't got as many pixels firing at your eyes as rivals like the Samsung Galaxy S6 or LG G4.

Huawei Mate 8

The fingerprint sensor on the back of the phone is another one of my favourite features and it's one of the best I've used while reviewing phones. I've recently been singing the praises of the Sony Xperia Z5 fingerprint sensor, but this is just as good if not better.

The phone unlocks in less than a second. I've previously used some fingerprint sensors that take longer to register your finger than it would to just push in your PIN on the screen, but that's not a problem here.

Huawei Mate 8

The Huawei Mate 8 is also one of the few phones out there to offer Android 6 Marshmallow software right out of the box. Most phones running the software have downloaded it as an update or are part of the (Huawei-made) Nexus range.

Unfortunately, you're not getting the pure Marshmallow experience with the Mate 8. While the Nexus 6P keeps it stock, the Mate adds Huawei's Emotion UI overlay. This takes over the look and feel of the phone.

James Peckham

James is the Editor-in-Chief at Android Police. Previously, he was Senior Phones Editor for TechRadar, and he has covered smartphones and the mobile space for the best part of a decade bringing you news on all the big announcements from top manufacturers making mobile phones and other portable gadgets. James is often testing out and reviewing the latest and greatest mobile phones, smartwatches, tablets, virtual reality headsets, fitness trackers and more. He once fell over.

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