Huawei P10 Review – Improved from the roots of its predecessor

Huawei P10 Review Unboxed Standing

Software and User Interface

Huawei P10 EMUI 5.1

OS / Software

Huawei P10 runs Google’s latest Android 7.0 Nougat and on top it brings its updated software outfit Emotion UI 5.1 – that has been praised globally. I seriously don’t know why the world appreciated the latest software version of EMUI from the Chinese smartphone when they hated it most till its last version.

I personally never hated the EMUI as much as people did. Every OEM has its user interface with its different bit of taste. The noticeable factor is what EMUI 5.1 added that people loved? Only the app drawer shouldn’t be enough with some other bits of features. Was that praise only due to an ex-Apple designer involved into the development of EMUI 5.1? I do believe, this psychic is more likely to be the reason people started loving the EMUI.

App Drawer

As hinted about the app drawer – yes it’s the biggest feature that Huawei’s software lacked until its 5th iteration. However Huawei added the feature as an option for the users to choose. They can keep their older straight to home app icons or can adapt the traditional yet common app drawer or app launcher user interface. To be honest, I have been using the the old interface with all the apps on the home screen.

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New Home key (Navigation key)

Simply touching the key once will perform as a back button and return to previous screen. While a long-touch (or touch and hold) will perform as a normal home key and will take you to the home screen. Either of the methods will be void when you are in a payment authentication interface or a fingerprint enrollment screens. Sliding left or right on the key will bring the recent tasks list and an additional gesture is off the key to launch Google app – simply swipe up from the bottom edge of the screen to launch Google app.

Huawei P10 Home Button Functions

Or if you end up struggling with the different gestures of the navigation key (home button), you can simply turn it off to adapt standard on-screen navigation bar with back, home and recent tasks keys. This will leave the physical navigation key only to use for fingerprint scanner.

Lock screen follows from the previous versions with simplistic functions with magazine style – that greets with a new wallpaper each time you wake up the phone. The screens shows some standard stand-by elements such as a clock and date/time. You can set a privacy message on lock screen. A shortcut to camera is also provided on the lock screen. If the phone is locked with security-on, the camera app will launch but will not let you go through old gallery items.

When the shortcut functions are appearing with the likes of iOS bottom menu (swipe-up from bottom edge on lock screen) you can even slide through the backgrounds just to have quick look through the wallpapers. In those functions, you can control the wallpaper, pause it, remove it, favorite it or share it. As well, the shortcuts include to open recorder, calculator, flash light, stop watch, and a QR code scanner.

Huawei P10 – Lock Screen, Security Screen, Configuration, Magazine Style.

Fingerprint scanner is impressively fast here to wake up and unlock the phone, while taking you straight to the home screen. Home Screen – which most of the people knew EMUI to mimic the iOS user interface with all the apps deployed right on the home screens. It gets increased until you stop installing apps. People objected Huawei’s interface for not having an app drawer like many other OEM’s skins do have.

Listening to the community, Huawei added the most wanted feature on an android device – the App Drawer in EMUI 5.1, which first appeared with the Huawei Mate 9. Even though, now people can opt for an app drawer in Emotion UI, Huawei still wants you to use its standard home screen as it comes set by default. If you want to use that popular App Drawer, you can go to settings and change Home screen style to Drawer.

Huawei P10 – EMUI 5.1, Standard Home Screen, App Drawer, App Search

In the Drawer home screen style, you will get “Apps” icon in the middle of the sticky icons on the bottom. It launches the all apps list while the home screen will carry only the shortcuts to apps you want on the home screen. You can perform app search right there in the App list as well as you can drag on the alphabet scroll.

Like wise, a global search can be performed on the home screen (both, the standard or the one with app drawer) by a swipe-down gesture on the screen. Blurring out the content on the screen, a search box appears on top to let you search through the system such as calendar, calls, contacts, messages, etc.

Huawei P10, EMUI 5.1 – Global Search

Visually, you might not feel any difference from previous EMUI versions to the new one but only a few ones – the app drawer icon in the bottom set of icons on home screens along with a full fledged app drawer or app list interface, new notification area and the shortcuts in the top drop-down panel (the status bar).

Status bar, when exposed, shows a set of toggles on top portion with notification slices below. The toggles can be rearranged or customized according to your will. There is also a slight change in the user interface – the two screens on the right. A small buddy icon on top for multi-user system – the icon appears after once you have added an additional user (Settings > Advanced settings > Users). You can switch users instantly by just tapping and choosing a different user.

Huawei P10, EMUI 5.1 – Notifications, Toggles, Users/Profiles

Huawei adds Android’s multi-user support with EMUI 5.1 that allows you to create multiple profiles on your phone. In addition, Huawei adds a dedicated Private Space for you. All these profiles support their own security features, everything on each profile is stored with encryption and no profile can access other profile’s content. Fingerprint authentication also works separately for each profile, but it’s not global authentication. Means, on the lock screen, only the fingerprint will be authorized whose profile was previously active. However you can switch to other profile from the lock screen.

Other interfaces of the system are mostly standard but one special item in EMUI is the Phone Management. It offers nice system clean up features along side some privacy and battery management. Virus scanner is also included by avast.

Huawei P10, EMUI – Phone Management, Battery, Virus Scan

Motion controls come forward from previous iterations such as “Split Screen” can be initiated with knuckle gesture over an app. Features like Flip and Pick up are also there. Smart screenshot features multiple knuckle features to act, for example knock twice will take standard screenshot, drawing S with the knuckle will take a scrolling screenshot. To start screen recording, knock twice with two knuckles.

App Twin is a new feature in EMUI 5.1 that will let you use two session of particular app. For now it supports Facebook and WhatsApp. Means, you can sign in to two Facebook accounts  and use them simultaneously. On the other hand, you can activate WhatsApp for two numbers on Huawei P10. Enable the feature by going to Settings > App Twin.

Huawei P10, EMUI 5.1 – App Twin, Two sessions of Facebook, WhatsApp

Despite that the app twin feature comes with EMUI 5.1, it’s not available on all devices running EMUI’s latest version.

Software Optimization

Huawei has also improved the operating system under the hood with two new new software agents — Ultra Memory and Ultra Response.

Huawei’s Ultra Memory technology along with machine learning, actively defragments and compress memory “to save space for more important apps according to your usage patterns.” Ultra Memory instantly recycles memory from unused apps.

Ultra Response, on the other hand, is a set of smart algorithms which include tools for faster touch response on the screen during the scrolling, accelerated multi-threaded to prevent lags. Scrolling throughout the system, according to Huawei, will now respond perfectly whether it’s in SMS messages list, emails, infinite scrolls on social media apps, news websites, etc.