Review of the Huawei Ascend P6S smartphone: S means “better”. Review and tests of Huawei Ascend P6S

The inconspicuous letter S at the end of the device’s model number usually means this: we’ve already seen a very similar smartphone, we can’t expect new design delights from it - only the technical stuff has changed. Typically, the model with the letter S is the link between an aging device and its successor.

With Huawei Ascend P6S it turned out a little differently: this model did not become the company’s new “fashion flagship” - this role was assigned to the completely new Ascend P7. However, it was apparently a pity to part with the beloved Ascend P6, so it was updated with new hardware and put on store shelves with a new, lower price. In principle, the right decision.

Now Huawei Ascend P6S is officially asking 13,990 rubles, but smart Russian sellers are ready to offer it for a smaller amount - about eleven thousand rubles. To be fair, we note that the modern flagship of the line, Ascend P7, “sank” to fifteen thousand by the second half of summer. However, that’s another story, and now we have two questions on our agenda: is there any sense in this case from the promising letter S and in what way does the P6S actually differ from the original?..

⇡ Appearance

There will be no intrigue: there is practically no difference in the exterior. The differences between the appearance of the P6 and P6S will be noticed only by the most attentive. Let’s not lie: when we took the Ascend P6S out of the envelope (for some reason this is the form in which Huawei gadgets come to us, so we can’t tell you about the delivery package), we decided that the courier had made a mistake and had brought a “regular” P6. The body remained virtually unchanged.

Huawei Ascend P6S compared to LG G3

By and large, the only difference is that the non-removable “back” in the previous version was aluminum, while in the updated model it is made of smooth, but not glossy plastic. It is noteworthy that the back panel is not easily soiled - leaving your fingers on it is not so easy. This allows you to maintain the attractive appearance of the device longer.

Huawei Ascend P6S - rear panel

Due to the use of a different material, the thickness of the case increased slightly - from 6.2 to 6.5 millimeters. However, only those whose profession is supposed to see such things without a caliper will be able to notice this change with the naked eye. The weight remains the same - 120 grams.

Huawei Ascend P6S - front panel

There are no hardware buttons on the front side - all the keys are touch sensitive, they are located directly on the display. At the top of the panel there is a slot for the earpiece, a lens for a five-megapixel webcam and an LED that signals new events. The screen is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 3 with a decent oleophobic coating. The bottom plastic insert, thanks to which it is impossible to confuse the P6S with some iPhone 4/4s, has also not gone away.

Huawei Ascend P6S - hardware keys and SIM card slots

The layout of the controls is standard - it’s very easy to get used to the device. The power and volume keys are on the right. Next to them are slots for two micro SIM cards. They are opened using a special key, which is hidden on the opposite side, in the headphone jack. The microUSB port is located on the top end. There are a pair of microphones on the bottom and top edges.

Huawei Ascend P6S - side ends

The smartphone looks strict and expensive—marketers usually characterize this as “business style.” Perhaps its main advantage is its modest dimensions. In the era of the widespread dominance of “shovels,” many have already missed compact smartphones.

⇡ Technical specifications

Contents of delivery:

• headset
• Charger
• USB cable
• quick user guide
• Silicone Case
• telephone (with built-in battery)

Introduction

This summer, the Chinese company Huawei began selling the Ascend P6s smartphone in Russia. Already from the name it should be clear that last year’s well-known Ascend P6 was taken as a basis. In any case, the P6 and P6s are very similar in appearance, but the hardware is slightly different. The main feature of the new product is the ability to work with two SIM cards thanks to two separate radio modules.

Design, dimensions, control elements

I wrote most of the positive reviews in the Huawei P6 review, and my opinion has not changed. The device really turned out to be extremely successful from all points of view: adequate cost, nice design, thin body and quite good technical characteristics. In principle, if you want to know more about the appearance of the P6s, it is worth reading the review at the link below.

The P6s smartphone has a similar appearance, but with only one caveat - the back panel is now not metal, but plastic. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with that, but let’s just say that the premium quality has been lost a little. This move was probably made due to active sales of Ascend P7. For example, I would argue like this: why take the fragile glass P7 if there is a cheaper, strong metal P6s, even with worse performance characteristics? In general, we still won’t get to the truth.

The front side is protected by Gorilla Glass. After a couple of weeks of active use, not a single scratch appeared on it. The surface is coated with an oleophobic layer, so fingerprints are almost invisible. The finger glides across the screen freely. In addition, it seems to me that the P6s display has an anti-glare layer: the surrounding space is reflected weakly.

On the left, top and right along the edge there is a wide metal frame with longitudinal grinding. In front of it and behind it there are two plastic inserts. The rear panel is made of semi-glossy plastic. It extends onto part of the front side.

The gadget we reviewed was black, but there is also a white version on sale. If I were choosing a device for myself, I would buy a light one, since various kinds of stains are less visible on it.

Oh yes, I didn’t mention the dimensions. They are extremely compact here. Let's compare with last year's gadget:

• Huawei Ascend P6: 132.7 x 65.5 x 6.2 mm, weight – 120 grams
• : 132.6 x 65.5 x 6.5 mm, weight – 120 grams

As you can see, despite the changed interior design (for example, the appearance of a second SIM slot and another radio module), the P6s remained slender and light.

The device is assembled perfectly, although the back cover is made of plastic. It does not bend to the battery, does not play or crunch. Well done Huawei, a solid five!

The Ascend P6s fits well in the hand due to its adequate size. However, I would move the shape of the bottom face to the top and the top face to the bottom. I like it when the corners are sloping, like the iPhone. However, it's a matter of taste.

I’ll repeat once again that I spoke in detail about the appearance in the P6 review, I won’t copy-paste;)

The speech speaker is located in the same place where you are used to seeing it. It is covered with a thin dark mesh. The volume is slightly above average, but the intelligibility is excellent, and the interlocutor can be heard clearly. The timbre is pleasant, not booming. They can hear you well too.

To the right of the speaker is the front camera, and to the left are light/proximity sensors and a missed events indicator. The main microphone is on the bottom, the additional microphone is on top, and next to it is a micro-USB connector. At the bottom left is a 3.5 mm jack and an iron gutta-percha plug (have you already lost it? :))

On the right there are a lot of interesting things: the power button and the volume rocker key (they are almost recessed into the body, thin, the pressure is soft, the travel is average), two slots for micro SIM cards.

At the back there is a camera module recessed into the body and framed by a metal ring, a flash, and at the bottom there is a speakerphone.

It’s a pleasant device in terms of tactile sensations, and the ergonomic design doesn’t let us down.

Comparative sizes:

Huawei and iPhone 5

Huawei and Nexus 5

Huawei and GioNee Elife S5.5

Display

The screen diagonal of the summer new product remains the same, relative to Huawei P6 – 4.7 inches with physical dimensions of 58x103 mm. The frame at the bottom is 16 mm, at the top – 13 mm, on the right and left – quite thin, 3 mm each.

The display resolution has not increased either, so you will have to be content with regular HD (720x1280 pixels). Again, it’s worth remembering that the company already has a FullHD smartphone, the Ascend P7. Huawei P6s screen density is 312 pixels per inch. Naturally, you won’t see individual pixels here, of course, unless you use a magnifying glass or microscope.

The matrix is ​​made using IPS technology. The quality, in my opinion, is good, at least the viewing angles are wide, the picture is not distorted, and the colors do not acquire purple and yellow tints. Saturation and juiciness are a little lacking. There is a “Color Temperature” parameter in the settings, but I would not recommend “twisting” anything there, as it only gets worse.

The brightness of the matrix backlight is slightly above average, it is quite enough for working in the light. In the sun, as always, the image fades slightly, but the information remains readable.

The sensitivity of the touch layer is excellent, since it supports operation with gloves.

Below is a comparison of the screens of the Samsung Galaxy S5 (right, Standard screen mode) and Huawei Ascend P6s:

White color

Black color

Settings:

Battery

The device has a non-removable lithium-ion (Li-Ion) battery with a capacity of 2000 mAh. The exact same one is in P6.

The P6s smartphone “lives” for 12-13 hours according to the following scheme: 20 minutes of calls, about 7 hours of 3G (background updating of mail, Twitter, etc.), 3-4 hours of active connection on the 3G network (web browsing, reading Twitter, mail and so on), about an hour of photographing.

Fans of watching videos can count on 4.5 hours: maximum brightness, maximum volume on headphones.

That is, the values ​​have remained virtually unchanged compared to last year’s model. Well, at least that way.

Communication capabilities

The smartphone operates in GSM (850/900/1800/1900 MHz), HSDPA (850/900/1700/1900/2100 MHz) networks. Speed ​​HSDPA – 21 Mbit/s, HSUPA – 5.76 Mbit/s, EDGE – 236 Kbit/s, GPRS 32-48 Kbit/s. Unfortunately, there is no fourth generation (4G LTE) connection in this model.

Quote from an official source:

“An important addition to the Ascend P6S is support for two SIM cards - which makes it convenient in cases where you need to use two mobile numbers at the same time: when traveling abroad, combining work and personal phones, etc.

The smartphone has two active radio modules, so both SIM cards are always active. You will be able to receive calls simultaneously on both cards, and the Internet connection on one card will not be interrupted while you are talking on the other.”

I confirm the above.

There is Bluetooth version 3.0 with A2DP and EDR. The Wi-Fi module (802.11 a/b/g/n) supports DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance) - a standard that allows compatible devices to transmit and receive various media content (images, music, videos) over the home network, as well as display it in real time.

The phone can be used as an access point (Wi-Fi hotspot). For data transfer and synchronization there is USB version 2.0 (On-The-Go).

Memory, memory card

The P6s smartphone uses 2 GB of RAM. Of this amount, an average of 1 GB of RAM is available.

Built-in memory is 16 GB, about 11.8 GB Flash is allocated for the user. There is no slot for a memory card; there are no other versions of devices with a large amount of flash memory yet.

Camera

This device uses two camera modules. The main one is 8 MP, the front one is 5 MP. It seemed to me that the optics here remained the same; I didn’t notice any peculiarities. Therefore, with a clear conscience, I refer you to the review of the Huawei Ascend P6s camera:

Characteristics of the video file recorded on the main camera:

• Format: MP4
• Video: AVC, 20 Mbit/s
• Resolution: 1920x1080, 30 fps
• Audio: AAC, 96 Kbps
• Channels: 2 channels, 48 ​​KHz

Photo examples:

Example photo with front camera:

Performance

The gadget from Huawei uses a chip of its own production, HiSilicon Balong V9R1 (Kirin 910). There is little information about it on the network, but the point is that the V9R1 has a quad-core Cortex-A9 (28 nm), operating at a frequency of 1.6 GHz. The graphics accelerator is Mali-450 MP4.

The device works smoothly, there are no glitches. You can play any games - they run without problems. It’s strange, but my tablet on the same chip was incredibly slow.

Screenshots from games:

Brief information and performance tests (Quadrant, Antutu, Antutu 3D):

The device runs on the Google Android operating system version 4.4.2. The shell is the proprietary Emotion UI 2.3. You can read more details in the Huawei Ascend P7 review:

I really like the user interface. The designers, in my opinion, did the design themes correctly: the icons seem to be flat, but with shadows and a sense of volume. The effects are smooth and pleasant. The most important thing is that the gadget has no microlags.

• Merry
• Slow
• All songs
• Sad
• Energetic
• Favorites

Just below:

• Playlist
• Albums
• Performers
• Folders
• Settings
• Browse songs

If you open one of the songs, the album cover and player controls will be displayed. At the top there is a button responsible for activating the DTS effect. The volume in the headphones is high, I liked the quality, it sounds quite good. The bass may be a little lacking, but the mids and highs are excellent. The speaker volume is slightly above average. Due to the thickness of the case, it is difficult to place a large speaker.

FM radio. As always, it was hidden in the “Tools” folder. You need to connect headphones, they act as an antenna. The radio operates in the range 87.5 – 108 MHz. The station frequency is displayed at the top, a scale at the bottom, and radio controls (station back, forward, stop and play) even lower. You can save up to 8 “your” stations, output sound to the speaker and view the list of stations.

Video player. There is no separate program, all videos are in the “Gallery”. The device understands videos in MP4, AVI, 3GP format. The resolution can be up to 1920x1200 pixels, the bitrate is low, otherwise frame drops occur.

Conclusion

I have already used the word “pleasant” quite a few times in relation to the Huawei Ascend P6s, so again I can say that this smartphone is truly extremely pleasant to use. The dimensions are so compact that the device will fit in any summer trousers or jeans. The phone is easy to operate because the shell is simple and intuitive. From a functional point of view, I have no questions: everything is exactly as much as they are now asking for it in retail (11,000 - 12,000 rubles). And with pre-order, as I know, the new product could be “snatched” from the company store for 9,990 rubles.

pros:

• Ergonomics of design
• Thickness
• Assembly
• Screen
• Smooth operation
• Music quality

Far-fetched cons:

• Battery
• Front-camera
• Plastic back panel
• Lack of LTE, NFC
• No memory card slot

Characteristics:

• Class: smartphone
• Case materials: glass and plastic
• Operating system: Google Android 4.4.2
• Processor: 4 cores, 1.5 GHz, Huawei K3V2E
• RAM: 2 GB
• Data storage memory: 8 GB
• Interfaces: Wi-Fi (b/g/n), Bluetooth 3.0, 3.5 mm for headset
• Screen: capacitive, IPS 4.7" with a resolution of 720x1280 pixels
• Camera: 8 MP (main), 5 MP (front)
• Additionally: accelerometer, light and proximity sensors
• Battery: non-removable, lithium-ion (Li-Ion) capacity 2000 mAh
• Dimensions: 132.6x65.5x6.5 mm
• Weight: 120 g
• PRICE: 11,990 (Q4)

Information about the make, model, and alternative names of the specific device, if available.

Design

Information about the dimensions and weight of the device, presented in different units of measurement. Materials used, colors offered, certificates.

	Huawei Ascend P6	Huawei Ascend P6S
Touch screen	4.7 inches, 720x1280 pixels, IPS Capacitive, up to 10 simultaneous touches
Air gap	No
Protective glass	Corning Gorilla Glass 3 with oleophobic coating and polarizing filter
CPU	HiSilicon K3V2E: Four cores ARM Cortex-A9 (ARMv7), frequency 1.5 GHz; Process technology 40 nm	HiSilicon Kirin 910: Four cores ARM Cortex-A9 (ARMv7), frequency 1.6 GHz; Process technology 28 nm
Graphics controller	Vivante GC4000	ARM Mali-450 MP4
RAM	2 GB
Flash memory	8 GB + MicroSD	16 GB
Connectors	1 x micro-USB 2.0 1 x microSD 1 x micro-SIM	1 x micro-USB 2.0 1 x 3.5mm headset jack 2 x micro-SIM
cellular	One micro-SIM card 4G: no	Two micro-SIM cards 2G: GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 MHz 3G: HSPA+ (21 Mbps) 850/900/1700/1900/2100 MHz 4G: no
WiFi	802.11b/g/n + Wi-Fi Direct
Bluetooth	4.0
NFC	No
IR port	No
Navigation	GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS
Sensors	Illumination, proximity, accelerometer/gyroscope, magnetometer (digital compass)
Main camera	8 MP (3264x2448), back-illuminated matrix, autofocus, LED flash
Front-camera	5 MP (2592x1952), no autofocus, no flash
Nutrition	Non-removable battery: 7.6 Wh (2000 mAh, 3.8 V)
Size	133x65.5 mm case thickness 6.2 mm	133x65.5 mm case thickness 6.5 mm
Weight	120 g
Water and dust protection	No
operating system	Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean Emotion UI Shell

Width Width information - refers to the horizontal side of the device in its standard orientation during use.	65.5 mm (millimeters) 6.55 cm (centimeters) 0.21 ft (feet) 2.58 in (inches)
Height Height information - refers to the vertical side of the device in its standard orientation during use.	132.6 mm (millimeters) 13.26 cm (centimeters) 0.44 ft (feet) 5.22 in (inches)
Thickness Information about the thickness of the device in different units of measurement.	6.48 mm (millimeters) 0.65 cm (centimeters) 0.02 ft (feet) 0.26 in (inches)
Weight Information about the weight of the device in different units of measurement.	120 g (grams) 0.26 lbs 4.23 oz (ounces)
Volume The approximate volume of the device, calculated based on the dimensions provided by the manufacturer. Refers to devices with the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped.	56.28 cm³ (cubic centimeters) 3.42 in³ (cubic inches)
Colors Information about the colors in which this device is offered for sale.	Black White
Materials for making the case Materials used to make the device body.	Plastic Aluminium alloy

SIM card

The SIM card is used in mobile devices to store data that certifies the authenticity of mobile service subscribers.

Mobile networks

A mobile network is a radio system that allows multiple mobile devices to communicate with each other.

GSM GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) is designed to replace the analogue mobile network (1G). For this reason, GSM is often called a 2G mobile network. It is improved by the addition of GPRS (General Packet Radio Services), and later EDGE (Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution) technologies.	GSM 850 MHz GSM 900 MHz GSM 1800 MHz GSM 1900 MHz
UMTS UMTS is an abbreviation for Universal Mobile Telecommunications System. It is based on the GSM standard and belongs to 3G mobile networks. Developed by 3GPP and its biggest advantage is providing greater speed and spectral efficiency thanks to W-CDMA technology.	UMTS 850 MHz UMTS 900 MHz UMTS 1700/2100 MHz UMTS 1900 MHz UMTS 2100 MHz
LTE LTE (Long Term Evolution) is defined as a fourth generation (4G) technology. It is developed by 3GPP based on GSM/EDGE and UMTS/HSPA to increase the capacity and speed of wireless mobile networks. The subsequent technology development is called LTE Advanced.	LTE 2100 MHz (P6S-L04) LTE 900 MHz (P6S-L04) LTE 1700/1800 MHz (P6S-L04) LTE-TDD 2500 MHz (B41) (P6S-L04)

Mobile communication technologies and data transfer speeds

Communication between devices on mobile networks is carried out using technologies that provide different data transfer rates.

Operating system

An operating system is a system software that manages and coordinates the operation of hardware components in a device.

SoC (System on Chip)

A system on a chip (SoC) includes all the most important hardware components of a mobile device on one chip.

SoC (System on Chip) A system on a chip (SoC) integrates various hardware components, such as a processor, graphics processor, memory, peripherals, interfaces, etc., as well as the software necessary for their operation.	Huawei HiSilicon V9R1 KIRIN 910 Hi6620
Technological process Information about the technological process by which the chip is manufactured. Nanometers measure half the distance between elements in the processor.	28 nm (nanometers)
Processor (CPU) The primary function of a mobile device's processor (CPU) is to interpret and execute instructions contained in software applications.	ARM Cortex-A9
Processor size The size (in bits) of a processor is determined by the size (in bits) of the registers, address buses, and data buses. 64-bit processors have higher performance compared to 32-bit processors, which in turn are more powerful than 16-bit processors.	32 bit
Instruction Set Architecture Instructions are commands with which the software sets/controls the operation of the processor. Information about the instruction set (ISA) that the processor can execute.	ARMv7
Level 1 cache (L1) Cache memory is used by the processor to reduce access time to more frequently used data and instructions. L1 (level 1) cache is small in size and works much faster than both system memory and other cache levels. If the processor does not find the requested data in L1, it continues to look for it in the L2 cache. On some processors, this search is performed simultaneously in L1 and L2.	32 kB + 32 kB (kilobytes)
Number of processor cores The processor core executes software instructions. There are processors with one, two or more cores. Having more cores increases performance by allowing multiple instructions to be executed in parallel.	4
CPU clock speed The clock speed of a processor describes its speed in terms of cycles per second. It is measured in megahertz (MHz) or gigahertz (GHz).	1600 MHz (megahertz)
Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) The Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) handles calculations for various 2D/3D graphics applications. In mobile devices, it is most often used by games, consumer interfaces, video applications, etc.	ARM Mali-450 MP4
Number of GPU cores Like a CPU, a GPU is made up of several working parts called cores. They handle graphics calculations for various applications.	4
Amount of random access memory (RAM) Random access memory (RAM) is used by the operating system and all installed applications. Data stored in RAM is lost after the device is turned off or restarted.	2 GB (gigabytes)

Built-in memory

Each mobile device has built-in (non-removable) memory with a fixed capacity.

Screen

The screen of a mobile device is characterized by its technology, resolution, pixel density, diagonal length, color depth, etc.

Type/technology One of the main characteristics of the screen is the technology by which it is made and on which the quality of the information image directly depends.	IPS+
Diagonal For mobile devices, screen size is expressed by the length of its diagonal, measured in inches.	4.7 in (inches) 119.38 mm (millimeters) 11.94 cm (centimeters)
Width Approximate screen width	2.3 in (inches) 58.53 mm (millimeters) 5.85 cm (centimeters)
Height Approximate screen height	4.1 in (inches) 104.05 mm (millimeters) 10.4 cm (centimeters)
Aspect Ratio The ratio of the dimensions of the long side of the screen to its short side	1.778:1 16:9
Permission Screen resolution shows the number of pixels vertically and horizontally on the screen. Higher resolution means clearer image detail.	720 x 1280 pixels
Pixel Density Information about the number of pixels per centimeter or inch of the screen. Higher density allows information to be displayed on the screen with clearer detail.	312 ppi (pixels per inch) 122ppcm (pixels per centimeter)
Color depth Screen color depth reflects the total number of bits used for color components in one pixel. Information about the maximum number of colors that the screen can display.	24 bit 16777216 flowers
Screen area Approximate percentage of screen area occupied by the screen on the front of the device.	70.34% (percent)
Other characteristics Information about other screen features and characteristics.	Capacitive Multi-touch Scratch resistance
	Corning Gorilla Glass

Sensors

Different sensors perform different quantitative measurements and convert physical indicators into signals that a mobile device can recognize.

Main camera

The main camera of a mobile device is usually located on the back of the body and is used for taking photos and videos.

Sensor type Digital cameras use photo sensors to take photographs. The sensor, as well as optics, are one of the main factors in the quality of the camera in a mobile device.	CMOS BSI (backside illumination)
Flash type The most common types of flashes in mobile device cameras are LED and xenon flashes. LED flashes produce softer light and, unlike brighter xenon flashes, are also used for video shooting.	LED
Image Resolution One of the main characteristics of mobile device cameras is their resolution, which shows the number of horizontal and vertical pixels in the image.	3264 x 2448 pixels 7.99 MP (megapixels)
Video resolution Information about the maximum supported resolution when shooting video with the device.	1920 x 1080 pixels 2.07 MP (megapixels)
Video - frame rate/frames per second. Information about the maximum number of frames per second (fps) supported by the device when shooting video at the maximum resolution. Some of the main standard video shooting and playback speeds are 24p, 25p, 30p, 60p.	30fps (frames per second)
Characteristics Information about other software and hardware features related to the main camera and improving its functionality.	Autofocus Tracking autofocus Digital image stabilization Geographical tags HDR shooting Face recognition White Balance Adjustment ISO Setting Exposure compensation Self-timer

Additional camera

Additional cameras are usually mounted above the device screen and are used mainly for video conversations, gesture recognition, etc.

Audio

Information about the type of speakers and audio technologies supported by the device.

Radio

The radio of the mobile device is a built-in FM receiver.

Location determination

Information about the navigation and location technologies supported by your device.

WiFi

Wi-Fi is a technology that provides wireless communication for transmitting data over close distances between various devices.

Bluetooth

Bluetooth is a standard for secure wireless data transfer between various devices of different types over short distances.

USB

USB (Universal Serial Bus) is an industry standard that allows different electronic devices to exchange data.

HDMI

HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) is a digital audio/video interface that replaces older analog audio/video standards.

Headphone jack

This is an audio connector, also called an audio jack. The most widely used standard in mobile devices is the 3.5mm headphone jack.

Connecting devices

Information about other important connection technologies supported by your device.

Browser

A web browser is a software application for accessing and viewing information on the Internet.

Video file formats/codecs

Mobile devices support different video file formats and codecs, which respectively store and encode/decode digital video data.

Battery

Mobile device batteries differ from each other in their capacity and technology. They provide the electrical charge necessary for their functioning.

Capacity A battery's capacity indicates the maximum charge it can hold, measured in milliamp-hours.	2000 mAh (milliamp-hours)
Type The type of battery is determined by its structure and, more precisely, the chemicals used. There are different types of batteries, with lithium-ion and lithium-ion polymer batteries being the most commonly used batteries in mobile devices.	Li-Ion (Lithium-ion)
2G talk time 2G talk time is the period of time during which the battery charge is completely discharged during a continuous conversation on a 2G network.	17 h (hours) 1020 min (minutes) 0.7 days
2G latency 2G standby time is the period of time during which the battery charge is completely discharged when the device is in stand-by mode and connected to a 2G network.	216 h (hours) 12960 min (minutes) 9 days
3G talk time 3G talk time is the period of time during which the battery charge is completely discharged during a continuous conversation on a 3G network.	12 h (hours) 720 min (minutes) 0.5 days
3G latency 3G standby time is the period of time during which the battery charge is completely discharged when the device is in stand-by mode and connected to a 3G network.	216 h (hours) 12960 min (minutes) 9 days
Characteristics Information about some additional characteristics of the device's battery.	Fixed

What I didn't like

When purchasing, I didn’t even expect that I would encounter difficulties out of nowhere.
What previously seemed elementary now happens with the study of forums, root rights, and other dances with a tambourine
This is not a phone, but a beautiful toy!
I gave mine to the child. It was not possible to use it as a working tool.
You will take the first IQ test when you turn on your phone. The entire menu is in hieroglyphs, and you need to find the switch to Russian :)
Lack of standard Android services.
It is impossible to synchronize contacts with Google!
Contacts whose Phone number is 8 (xxx) xxx-xx-xx are not identified when receiving a call +7. There was no such trick on any phone, neither Windows, nor Android, nor iPhone.
Synchronization with the native program occurs in a strange way. I got a bunch of phones with no names.
It’s very disappointing that there are no fixed buttons on the case: back, menu, home. They appear on the screen and eat up part of the area

What I liked

Design. Weight. Speed. Camera

What I didn't like

1. Size. 4.7" is a lot, it’s inconvenient to use. I doubted the purchase for a very long time because of the size, but now I understand that it was not in vain that I doubted it.
2. Working hours. I've been without contact a couple of times already. Having left in the morning with a 50% charge, at lunchtime I had the phone turned off, while it was just lying in the car. I thought it would work longer compared to my Chinese dual-SIM copy of the iPhone, but it turned out to be the opposite, the Chinese outperform this product many times over. In some review I read that it works for 4 days if you don’t touch it, it’s written as an advantage. For me, this is not an indicator at all, my Chinese with a 1500 battery sits like this for up to two weeks.
And yes, all energy saving modes are a marketing ploy, they work conditionally)
3. The work on SIM 2 is not very well organized in terms of clarity. You can set different melodies. But the SIM card number to which the call or message came is indicated in a barely noticeable gray number somewhere in the corner. You could at least assign colors. Again there is no convenience.
4. A bunch of pre-installed garbage. Something is being removed, which makes me happy. Something that is not, accordingly, is placed in a separate folder with the appropriate name and thrown to hell. Annoys.
5. The “wonderful” pre-installed Weather application, which cannot be deleted, which constantly hangs in the background energy-intensive applications and, in my opinion, has rights to everything possible.
6. When you press the answer button during an incoming call, the speakerphone turns on by itself. Happened several times. Causes misunderstanding.

What I liked

1. Design (for me) 2. Two radio modules. 3. There are no pre-installed social network applications.

What I didn't like

marks remain on the body when impacted

What I liked

weight, thickness, human shell for android

What I didn't like

They sacrificed the battery in exchange for thinness.

What I liked

Quality of packaging. Quality of the phone itself. Thinness. Camera. Design. Lightweight. The film included is good. Case. Screen.

What I didn't like

A lot of!
1. Does not highlight phone numbers in a notepad, on soap, etc. (only in WhatsApp) 2. The second call does not work (switches to the second subscriber, but does not return to the first)
3. The camera does not turn on on WhatsApp, you have to take photos and paste them from the gallery.
4. When you select a number from the incoming list to send SMS, sometimes the prefix disappears.
5. Battery like on iPhone 5(((
6. And most importantly, stupid internet.
7. Photos are much worse than those of the iPhone 4S

What I liked

Good design

What I didn't like

1. No LTE
2. No memory card
3. Standard Android buttons eat up screen space

What I liked

1. Two SIM cards 2. Design

What I didn't like

The sound is terrible. Voice calls are muffled, even at maximum volume you can’t hear it if it’s in your pocket. It really slows down when typing contacts: we type a letter or a syllable and count to two, then the name appears... These are two functions that can kill the dignity and meaning of any phone!!!

What I liked

Beautiful

What I didn't like

1. Silent call. 2. The connection is periodically interrupted and calls to the first SIM card do not go through. The reason is switching between 3G and 2G when the settings are WCDMA and GSM auto. If you install only GSM, then the problem goes away, but the network speed drops accordingly. That is, the radio module software is written incorrectly. The second SIM card is only 2G, there are no problems with it. Phone - off PCT!
3. The screen is 4.7, but part of the screen is taken up by the Android system keys, therefore the screen is actually smaller than the declared 4.7.
4. Built-in available memory about 13Gig. I installed maps, navigators, reference books, the necessary programs for minutes, took a few photos - that’s all, no memory.
5. Inconvenient location of microUSB and audio connectors. I don't listen to music - I don't care.

What I liked

design, screen, equipment, standard software

What I didn't like

The battery - well, this is a tribute to the “refined” forms; when scrolling through pages on the Internet in all browsers, there is jerking and no smoothness - even in the old Samsung Grand there is no such thing; when you type text on the Internet, the keyboard response is simply terrible - it is delayed and not all keys “blink” when typing - and this does not depend on the browser; The wifi signal is weak, the screen in the sun at maximum brightness is not very legible, the front camera is not capable of 5MP, BUT.....

What I liked

Everything has already been listed.

What I didn't like

I couldn't stick the film evenly. Well, maybe the sound in the earpiece is a little quiet.
Yes, no flash drive. but there is OTG and cloud data storage.

What I liked

Really a very cool device! Meets expectations 100%. The battery holds decently for its size. The kit includes an OTG adapter. film. bumper, headphones. Doesn't get hot at all. Magnificent shell. Super usability!

• Telephone
• USB cable
• Charger
• Headset
• Case to match your phone's color
• User guide

Introduction

In June 2013, we attended the presentation of the Huawei P6 smartphone and after it we promptly wrote a rather detailed “first” introduction to the device. Therefore, I will not “spread my thoughts on the tree”, talking about the presentation itself and the positioning of this device.

Frankly speaking, I very rarely expect specific models from Huawei, since they differ little from other Chinese gadgets. In the recent past, Honor stood out to me: a well-built smartphone, good hardware and a more than reasonable price even at the start. Later, the company released the thin and elegant Ascend P1, and more recently the P2 came out - a rather interesting upgrade from the previous model. There were other gadgets, but I couldn’t choose something original for myself.

Slowly, photos of a new device from Huawei began to leak online. Moreover, what I saw in the photo bore little resemblance to Huawei products: it was very stylish and thin, and according to rumors, the new product had a metal body. Some time after the presentation, it became clear that the world's thinnest smartphone was Ascend P6. And it was indeed made mostly of metal and glass.

It’s no secret that I use an iPhone 5, and before that I used the “four” with the letter “S”. I bought these phones not because I needed an Apple device to gain status, not because I have a MacBook at home and at work, but because it was convenient to use, the case materials inspired confidence, and it was simply pleasant to hold in my hands. Actually, I told all this because even before I personally met the P6, even from photographs and screenshots of the user interface, it reminded me of something between the iPhone 5 and 4S, only on Android. I have written many times in reviews that there is nothing wrong with creating your own products based on the designs of others. However, this must be done efficiently. So, Huawei Ascend P6, in my opinion, is one of the best “copies” of the Apple iPhone on the Android operating system. And I like it!

Design, dimensions, control elements

It's been a while since I've had original phones come to me for review in terms of design. And in general, now you rarely see a beautiful “Android” smartphone; the manufacturer mainly focuses on the coolest technical characteristics, almost never paying attention to the appearance: black faceless bricks with huge screens, thick display frames, plastic cases, but with ten cores, gigapixel cameras and all sorts of clever marketing tricks.

You won’t find advanced features in the Huawei P6, but when you pick up this smartphone, you’ll understand the perfect balance of weight, dimensions and body materials. I have always liked angular phones; in my opinion, they look stricter. The Ascend P6 case is rectangular with slightly rounded corners. If the length and width of the device (132.65x65.5 mm) do not cause any special emotions, then the thickness of only 6.18 mm is amazing, since even the iPhone 5 has a thickness of 7.6 mm.

In principle, the P6 can be considered the thinnest smartphone in the world. Although the Chinese company Umeox announced a gadget with a thickness of only 5.6 mm. They say it will be shown at IFA this year. Huawei weighs 120 grams, heavier than the iPhone 5 by only 8 grams, but lighter than the Samsung Galaxy S4 by 10. Yes, I don’t argue, the Galaxy has a five-inch display, but the body is made entirely of plastic.

The Ascend P6 fits perfectly in your hand, it feels like you're holding a slightly enlarged iPhone 5 or, rather, iPhone 4S. Of course, all this is thanks to the materials: on the left, right and top there is an aluminum insert, separated by thin partitions, like in Apple phones. By the way, these parts also serve as antennas. The bottom edge, extending 6 mm from the front and back, is made of durable matte plastic, rough to the touch. The back panel is also metal with horizontal polishing. The front panel and, of course, the screen are protected by durable Gorilla Glass. I used the device as my main phone for three weeks. During this time, not a single large scratch appeared on the display, although for fair testing I used the gadget carelessly: I carried it in a backpack along with other phones, placed the front part on tiles, bricks, and so on. In general, the surface passed all tests. The back panel, surprisingly, was also not scratched, although it was painted black. In general, only two colors have gone on sale so far: white and black. At the presentation they showed the P6 in pink, but it will probably appear with us later. By the way, the kit includes a case that matches the color of the phone, and the UI theme also fits harmoniously into the overall style and color of the device.

The body is monolithic, i.e. there are no removable elements in it, except for two metal slides for a memory card and a SIM card. The assembly is perfect: not the slightest play, creaking, does not crunch or bend when compressed. In general, if you have ever held an iPhone 4S in your hands, then you will have an idea of ​​​​the workmanship of the Huawei P6.

On top of the front panel there is a speaker covered with a thin black metal mesh. Its volume is relatively high, perhaps I would like it to be higher, but it was almost always enough. You can hear your interlocutor perfectly: the sound is clear, the intelligibility is excellent, there is no echo, there are no extraneous sounds. They can hear you well too.

There is an indicator next to the speaker on the left. It signals battery charge, low battery, missed calls or messages. In addition, there are a couple of sensors – proximity and lighting. Below the screen there is a small inscription “HUAWEI”.

The bottom edge is smoothed and houses the main microphone. At the top end there is a microUSB without a plug and a second microphone.

At the bottom left is a jack for connecting a headset or headphones. It is closed with a cunning metal plug in the form of a float. Its end can be used as an “iClip” to push out the compartments with a memory card and microSIM, which are located on the right side.

There is also a power button and a volume rocker. Both are metal, thin and almost recessed into the body. They are very convenient to use. It’s good that the lock/unlock key was not installed on the top end; nowadays it is fashionable to do this in devices with screen diagonals larger than 5".

On the back side there are: a camera mounted flush with the body, a small flash and at the bottom there is a hole where the speaker is located. I liked that the manufacturer did not highlight the logo and company name too much - it was carefully applied with white paint at the back, top center.

HTC One and Huawei P6

iPhone 5 and Huawei P6

Samsung Galaxy S4 and P6

Display

This smartphone has a display with a diagonal of 4.7 inches. In my opinion, this diagonal is optimal for the average palm size. The Huawei P6 fits perfectly in my hand and is comfortable to use. The matrix is ​​made using IPS technology, has maximum viewing angles, it does not have an air gap, so the image is perceived better, as if it were on the surface of the glass. At angles, the brightness only decreases slightly, but there are no purple or yellow tints. The quality of the matrix is ​​excellent!

Display resolution – 720x1280 (HD) pixels. Today it is not the highest, but for a 4.7-inch diagonal it is quite suitable, pixelation is invisible. Perhaps with FullHD it will be clearer on the same diagonal, but it’s difficult to notice this difference by eye.

The brightness of the backlight of the screen matrix is ​​sufficient to read information in the sun without any problems. In the shade or in normal lighting conditions, you can turn the brightness even lower.

The touch layer is capacitive and supports up to 10 simultaneous touches. Sensitivity is high. It seems to me that at present there is no point in indicating sensitivity; the days of low-quality “touches” in such gadgets are gone.

The settings include color temperature adjustment from warm to cool shades. I set the slider a little further than the middle, since the matrix, in my opinion, took the colors into cool shades.

Battery

The device has a non-removable lithium-ion (Li-Ion) battery with a capacity of 2000 mAh. Well done Huawei for fitting such a capacious battery into such a thin body.

Those who often change smartphones to Android or simply test gadgets on this operating system know that the operating time of these devices is usually approximately the same, regardless of battery capacity. Of course, if the device is not equipped with a 4000 mAh battery. Therefore, P6 “lives” for 13-14 hours according to the following scheme: 20 minutes of calls, about 7 hours of 3G (background updating of mail, Twitter, etc.), 3-4 hours of active connection on the 3G network (web browsing, reading Twitter, mail and so on), about an hour of photographing.

Fans of watching videos can count on 5 hours: maximum brightness, maximum volume on headphones.

Communication capabilities

The smartphone operates in GSM (850/900/1800/1900 MHz), HSDPA (850/900/1700/1900/2100 MHz) networks. Speed ​​HSDPA – 21 Mbit/s, HSUPA – 5.76 Mbit/s, EDGE – 236 Kbit/s, GPRS 32-48 Kbit/s. Unfortunately, there is no fourth generation (4G LTE) connection in this model.

There is Bluetooth version 3.0 with A2DP and EDR. The Wi-Fi module (802.11 a/b/g/n) supports DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance) - a standard that allows compatible devices to transmit and receive various media content (images, music, videos) over the home network, as well as display it in real time.

The phone can be used as an access point (Wi-Fi hotspot). For data transfer and synchronization there is USB version 2.0 (On-The-Go).

I was a little surprised by the lack of an NFC chip. At the moment, almost every smartphone in the high price segment is equipped with this short-range wireless connection.

Memory, memory card

The device's RAM is 2 GB (on average about 1.2 GB free). Internal memory 8 GB (about 4.5 GB free). The kit does not include a microSD memory card, the maximum capacity that can be installed is up to 32 GB (most likely, 64 GB cards are supported, but I have not tested).

Camera

This smartphone uses two camera modules. The main one is 8 MP, the front one is as much as 5 MP. Why the front camera needs as many as 5 megapixels is not entirely clear, since its quality is average and somewhat worse than the 2 MP in some Samsung Galaxy S/Note.

The maximum resolution of photos is 3264x2448 pixels, videos - 1920x1080 pixels.

The manufacturer practically does not focus attention on the camera, but in the meantime, optics with an aperture ratio of F2.0 are installed here! The viewing angle is not the greatest, i.e. The lens is not wide-angle - about 30 mm. The minimum shutter speed is 1/4000 s, the maximum is 1/8 s. The minimum ISO value is 100, but the maximum can be set automatically to 5000! Not every soap dish is capable of working with such a value. Naturally, a logical question arises: what about noise? The software suppresses noise very well, one might say that it is completely absent. However, you have to pay with resolution: in fact, it remains the same, but when you zoom in, you realize that you cannot give more than 2 MP - the detail decreases. The picture looks perfect on the phone screen, but on a PC you have to reduce it a little. In any case, the algorithm is unique, but, of course, incomparable with the algorithm in the Galaxy S4.

Photos taken on iPhone 5 and Huawei P6 in almost darkness

The quality of the photos is very good. To make it easier to compare and understand: the picture looks about the same as on the iPhone 5, only with its own specific color rendering. But the white balance on the Huawei P6 is much better than the iPhone 5, even in the harshest lighting conditions. The P6's exposure is excellent and focusing is fast and accurate. For me, the Huawei P6 camera was a revelation - it takes really great photographs in any lighting conditions.

The camera records video in resolution up to FullHD without automatic focusing (you need to click on the screen to focus). There are several modes: for example, at 720p, HDR is available (the quality is average, but the work is noticeable), tracking autofocus (not to be confused with regular autofocus), video with stabilization (the viewing angle is reduced to highlight the stabilization area), without stabilization. The quality is decent. The sound is recorded in stereo, the stereo base is wide, the sound is clear.

EXIF information from a photo file

Characteristics of the video file recorded on the main camera:

• Format: MP4
• Video: AVC, 20 Mbit/s
• Resolution: 1920x1080, 30 fps
• Audio: AAC, 96 Kbps
• Channels: 2 channels, 48 ​​KHz

Examples of photos taken with the main camera:

Examples of panoramas:

Example photo with front camera:

Performance

The Ascend P6 smartphone uses a proprietary chipset, i.e. Huawei's HiSilicon Technologies division. Chip of the K3 family - V2E (Hi3620) - second generation, the processor has 4 Cortex-A9 cores (third generation - Cortex-A15), the frequency of each can be from 1200 to 1500 MHz, process technology - 40 nm (third generation - 28 nm), ARMv7 architecture. As a graphics system - Vivante GC4000 (two eight-core chips, 16 in total).

The device works smoothly, there are no glitches or brakes. You can play any games - they run without problems. The only complaint is the inability to install toys on the memory card: there is very little internal memory, at best enough for Modern Combat 4, and if you need something else, you need to delete the previous game.

Brief information and performance tests (GeekBench2, Antutu, Quadrant):

Shell and menu

It has its own shell called EmotionUI version 1.6. You are greeted by a lock screen with a proprietary “lock”. It contains: a clock, date and a slider that can be moved to the right to unlock, to the left to access the camera. The main screen is represented by widgets and icons, there is no menu - everything is like in the iPhone. At the bottom there are touch buttons “Back”, “Home” and calling previously launched applications. Slightly higher is the number of desktops, there are 9 of them in total (they can be called by pinching or holding your finger on the screen for a long time). Inactive ones can be deleted.

The notification panel pulls out from the top. It has Wi-Fi, data transfer, GPS and more. All this is configured in a separate place.

Flipping through desktops is accompanied by animation. This can be changed by holding your finger on the display and selecting “Navigation”.

The settings are standard, but conditionally divided into “General” and “All”.

The manufacturer installed several original applications: for example, “Installing applications”, “Backup”, “System update”, “Privilege Manager” and “Power Manager”. In the penultimate program, you can assign rights to applications: Push notifications, network access, access to personal data.