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Huawei doesn't skimp on specs with the Mate 8 – you're getting a similar set-up to even bigger names such as Samsung or Sony here. The Mate 8 comes with a HiSilicon Kirin 950 system on a chip, made by Huawei, that features a quad-core processor closed at 2.3GHz and another quad-core processor at 1.8GHz.
Performance was particularly impressive on the Mate 8. There were no app crashes during my time with the phone, and gameplay was smooth even when playing a graphically intense game like Asphalt 8, which caused other phones (including the Ascend Mate 7) to stutter.
That may be down to the 3GB of RAM included on this version of the phone. You can also get 4GB of RAM on both the a 64GB version of the phone, but for this review we only had time with the 32GB version that hosts 3GB of RAM.
It feels a bit of a letdown that we didn't get the full deal, but that said I didn't experience any problems that meant I was asking for more RAM. Storage options of 32GB and 64GB cover a decent range, and the pre-installed software doesn't take up much room on the phone either.
Each version comes with microSD support up to 128GB as well, but you have to sacrifice your second SIM slot to get the extra storage. The Huawei Mate 8 comes with the latest Android software, but you wouldn't know it was 6 Marshmallow if you just looked at it.
It includes all the latest features from Google, but there's no sign of the Material Design the company introduced back in Lollipop. Instead Huawei has its own Emotion UI and it's one of the worst aspects of the phone.It loses the app drawer and instead follows iOS, with all your apps on different pages. If you use a lot of apps, finding the one you want can be a nuisance.
Adding to that problem, Emotion UI also changes the logos of apps, so what you're looking for won't necessarily look as you expect it to.Of course, some people do really like the look of Emotion UI, but I feel it tries too hard.
I just wish Huawei offered the phone with stock software. Looking at what it achieved with the Nexus 6P, which combined great design and awesome specs with stock Android software, I can't help but feel the Mate 8 could have been so much better.
