First reviews of Huawei Mate 8 online

According to major tech review sites from around the world, the biggest surprise of the Huawei Mate 8 phablet is its powerful Kirin 950 SoC. An AnandTech reviewer calls the Mate 8 "the fastest Android smartphone I've ever used" and has the benchmark numbers to back up the claim. Phone Arena echos the same sentiment as it shows the Mate 8 noticeably ahead of other Android devices in all tested benchmarks including Kraken 1.1, Google Octane v2, and BaseMark OS 2.0. The new Mali-T880 GPU also beats all other Android smartphones on the GFXBench T-Rex HD oncreen benchmark including the now second-place Galaxy Note 5. The crown, however, still goes to the iPhone 6S for this particular benchmark.

Otherwise, most other features of the Mate 8 are very good, though not mind blowing. The camera is "average" according to Phone Arena while Android Central finds photos and videos to be "decent". Battery life from the 4000 mAh battery is very good at 16 hours of mixed use according to CNet, but the outgoing Ascend Mate 7 can last for even longer. The 6-inch display "only" carries a resolution of 1080p and the are colors unimpressive, at least according to AnandTech.

From a design perspective, Phone Arena calls it "beautifully crafted" with its metal and slight curves that make the phablet feel smaller than it actually is. Nonetheless, most every reviews outlet have complained about the high 600 Euro price tag, which CNet says is "not worth the money".

The Mate 8 was officially unveiled late last November and launched in China just under two weeks later.

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