After the launch of Mate 10 series last month, all the flagships are now up from the top three manufacturers. However we knew that Huawei will be putting its next-gen AI-focused Kirin 970 processor, which was unveiled at IFA, in Mate 10. The company kept the detail saving it for the launch of the Mate 10.
Now when the the smartphone – the intelligent machine, as Huawei calls it, has been launched in Pakistan. We have also got a chance to get our hands on with the standard and Pro models of the smartphones at the launch event. In addition we also for introduced with the cheaper model – Mate 10 Lite as well as the most expensive of all of them – the Porsche Design, which actually was not present for experience. Probably due to its huge amount, I wonder it would actually make it to the market before.
Pricing model of Huawei is pretty much simple and follows the company’s previous launches. First announced the European market prices – €699 for Mate 10 standard, €799 for Mate 10 Pro and €1395 for the Porsche Design.
⇒ Full Review of Mate 10 has now been published
With the launch in Pakistan the company again has simply standard pricing following predecessors. Mate 10 standard model, in Pakistan, costs PKR 69,999/-. The Pro model is priced at PKR 87,999/- whereas the unexpected Porsche Design is priced at PKR 1,44,900/-
Unlike previously, Huawei Pakistan also launched the the Lite variant of the Mate 10 right along side the standard and Pro models. Mate 10 Lite is priced at PKR 29,999/- which is a real contender among mid-range market. But in fact, this cheaper model can also cause its expensive siblings some trouble in market.
It’d be better if Huawei launched the Mate 10 “lite” a little later after selling some standard and Pro Mate 10 devices. Any how, the company might have their own strategy to sell these devices, here we have a quick walk-through of the new Mate 10 series devices – excluding the Porsche Design for sure.
First thing to tell is that it’s no similar to the previous Mate series design as we have seen. Nor they have any similarity with any other of Huawei’s designs. There is no metal back this time with the latest flagships. Instead the company used glossy glass back. Right there is about an inch-high stripe where the cameras are placed and that’s what actually gains your attention. The strips has a very thin lined-pattern which reflects in the light. The Mate 10 has curved edges around all the corners giving a nice handling and grip.
Where as the two – Mate 10 standard and Mate 10 Pro share the same Kirin 970 processor, the A.I. features and Leica camera, both have some subtle differences as well. The Pro model has a 6-inch AMOLED display while the standard has the IPS display. The interesting and strange thing is that the Pro model has only full HD+ resolution of 2160×1080 pixels but with more recent 18:9 aspect ratio. whereas the standard model has higher Quad HD resolution of 2560×1440 but with tradition 16:9 aspect ratio. Even more interesting thing is that the Mate 10 lite also has wider 18:9 aspect ratio with FHD+ resolution as featured in Pro.
There is no specified reason why would Huawei choose a higher resolution on a standard model than the Pro model. One known factor which Huawei always insisted on is to keep the higher battery performance. Mate 10 Pro doesn’t only have this edge to conserve the battery more than its standard sibling. Count its AMOLED display too for even better power management. So even though both devices have same 4000mAh battery, expect the Mate 10 Pro to last significantly longer.
The Mate 10 lite on the other hand only has 3340mAh battery, with an IPS display and lower resolution, expect it to last around the standard variant. But there are other elements as well as the mid-ranger has the lower Kirin 679 processor.
Other differences between the three phones include RAM and storage capacity. The Mate 10 and Mate 10 Lite have 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage, while the Mate 10 Pro has 6GB of memory and 128GB of space. Both the standard and Lite variants have expandable memory option via microSD card slot – Mate 10 Pro does not.
If you didn’t notice, the 18:9 displays on Mate 10 and 10 Lite make them less wider than the standard Mate 10 with 16:9. Finally the standard Mate 10 has the fingerprint sensor embedded into the home button, while the Pro and the Lite models have it located on the back below the two cameras.
With all these differences the Mate 10 Pro doesn’t actually feel superior than the standard model. The large display with new 18:9 aspect ratio makes it little more compact. Its AMOLED display technically is better than the IPS one on regular Mate 10 but practically with all those Huawei golden and light themes on-screen it didn’t feel significantly different when both the devices put side by side.
You can easily tell the difference between the Mate 10 and Mate 10 Pro by their looks. But the difference between the Pro and Lite variants are less prominent.
Both the Mate 10 standard and Pro have the same dual rear-camera setup, Leica optics. A 12-megapixel RGB camera is paired with a 20-megapixel monochrome sensor on the back. The lens aperture is f/1.6 which is the largest on a smartphone camera, previously equipped in LG V30. What Huawei has in addition is the AI running the camera.
When you aim the Mate 10’s camera at an object, it recognizes the subject and automatically adjusts the settings. It’s an on-device AI which doesn’t need to be connected for object information. The A.I. will adjust the settings like ISO, exposure compensation and white balance in real time as well as it will perform post-processing. The above to shots show a cat being identified and hinted on the screen on the left while on the right, food was detected when the camera pointed at a bowl filled with fruits.
Mate 10 Camera Samples – Rough
Don’t take these sample shots seriously as they aren’t from real environment. These were shot in some kind of party lighting where it’s much harder for the camera to adjust white balance.
Mate 10 Camera Samples – Official
Well these shots were released by Huawei Pakistan so also take them just for reference and hold tight as a full review of Huawei Mate 10 is coming soon with a separate camera review in detail. If you have any questions or special concerns about any feature in Mate 10, do let us know in the comments below. We’ll bring an answer in the detailed review.
Photo Gallery
