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Huawei Mate 10 Lite Smartphone Review

Chunky mainstream. Apart from the display size, the Huawei Mate 10 Lite does not have much in common with its namesake, the Mate 10 Pro. The Lite costs less than half as much as the Pro and is a very alluring mid-range smartphone. Our extensive review is going to reveal not only its strengths but also its flaws.

For the original German review, see here.

The Huawei Mate 10 Lite, equipped with a 5.9-inch 2:1 IPS display, features the same mid-range SoC as the Nova 2, dual cameras front and back, a decently sized 3340 mAh battery that is nowhere near the Mate 10 Pro’s 4000 mAh battery, 4 GB of RAM and an expandable 64 GB of storage (microSD). So far so good, but truth be told it does not really have anything in common with the Mate 10 or Mate 10 Pro.

Similarly sized smartphones are scarce but there are quite a few rather interesting mid-range alternatives, such as for example the Samsung Galaxy A5, the HTC U Ultra, the BQ Aquaris X Pro, the ZTE Axon 7, or the slightly more expensive Honor 9. Tough competition for the Mate 10 Lite - let us find out why it turned out to be a viable alternative either way, shall we?

Huawei Mate 10 Lite (Mate Series)
Processor
HiSilicon Kirin 659 8 x 2.4 GHz, Cortex-A53
Graphics adapter
Memory
4 GB 
Display
5.90 inch 2:1, 2160 x 1080 pixel 409 PPI, FullView, IPS, glossy: yes
Storage
64 GB eMMC Flash, 64 GB 
, 51.49 GB free
Connections
1 USB 2.0, Audio Connections: 3,5-mm combo headphone jack, Card Reader: microSD up to 128 GB (SDHC, SDXC), 1 Fingerprint Reader, Brightness Sensor, Sensors: proximity sensor, accelerometer, compass, power delivery, OTG
Networking
802.11 b/g/n (b/g/n = Wi-Fi 4/), Bluetooth 4.2, GSM/GPRS/Edge (850, 900, 1,800, and 1,900 MHz), UMTS/HSPA+ (band 1, 5, and 8), LTE Cat. 6 (band 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, and 20), Dual SIM, LTE, GPS
Size
height x width x depth (in mm): 7.5 x 156.2 x 75.2 ( = 0.3 x 6.15 x 2.96 in)
Battery
3340 mAh Lithium-Ion
Operating System
Android 7.0 Nougat
Camera
Primary Camera: 16 MPix 16 + 2 MP (autofocus, PDAF, panorama mode, HDR, FHD video)
Secondary Camera: 13 MPix 13 + 2 MP (FHD video)
Additional features
Keyboard: virtual, charger, USB cable, headphones, protective case, quick start guide, EMUI 5.1, 24 Months Warranty, fanless
Weight
164 g ( = 5.78 oz / 0.36 pounds), Power Supply: 50 g ( = 1.76 oz / 0.11 pounds)
Price
349 Euro
Note: The manufacturer may use components from different suppliers including display panels, drives or memory sticks with similar specifications.

 

Case

Like its larger sibling, the Mate 10 Lite features a very respectable screen to body ratio. Thanks to its 2:1 display, it is fairly narrow and therefore easy and comfortable to hold. The phone’s official thickness as specified by Huawei is 7.5 mm (~0.29 in), however we suspect this to be an average that was calculated by including the rounded edges as our measurements revealed a thickness of 7.65 mm (~0.30 in). At 1.35 mm (~0.05 in), the camera protrudes quite a bit from the aluminum case, and therefore the phone wobbles when placed face up on the table.

Manufacturing quality is very decent, with narrow and consistent gaps and a card slot that sits flush with the rest of the case that is made of aluminum on the outside and a rather flimsy plastic on the inside. Torsional forces do not result in any creaking whatsoever, but the case does flex noticeably even with only minor force applied. Applying force to the display panel itself will result in a minor ripple effect.

The Mate 10 Lite’s battery is not user-replaceable, and unlike its two namesakes the Lite is not IP certified for dust and/or water resistance. The card slot is of hybrid nature and can take either two SIM cards or one SIM card and one microSD card. The case itself is available in Graphite Black, Prestige Gold, or Aurora Blue.

Size Comparison

162.4 mm / 6.39 inch 79.9 mm / 3.15 inch 8 mm / 0.315 inch 170 g0.3748 lbs156.2 mm / 6.15 inch 75.2 mm / 2.96 inch 7.5 mm / 0.2953 inch 164 g0.3616 lbs151.7 mm / 5.97 inch 75 mm / 2.95 inch 7.9 mm / 0.311 inch 175 g0.3858 lbs147 mm / 5.79 inch 71 mm / 2.8 inch 7.5 mm / 0.2953 inch 155 g0.3417 lbs146.5 mm / 5.77 inch 72.7 mm / 2.86 inch 7.8 mm / 0.3071 inch 158 g0.3483 lbs146.1 mm / 5.75 inch 71.4 mm / 2.81 inch 7.9 mm / 0.311 inch 159 g0.3505 lbs148 mm / 5.83 inch 105 mm / 4.13 inch 1 mm / 0.03937 inch 1.5 g0.00331 lbs

Connectivity

The Micro USB port supports USB 2.0 and is incapable of video output. However, it does support OTG and thus external peripherals such as storage or input devices.

According to Huawei, the Lite’s microSD card slot supports microSD cards with up to 128 GB (SDXC). In theory, microSD cards even bigger than that should also work. MicroSD cards cannot be formatted as internal storage, but they can be configured as default storage device for new photos and other media files. Apps are however restricted to the Lite’s internal storage.

The Mate 10 Lite supports wireless communications via Wi-Fi Direct, Miracast, and Bluetooth 4.2 but lacks an NFC chip. A notification LED is available.

top: microphone
top: microphone
right: volume rocker, power button
right: volume rocker, power button
left: card slot
left: card slot
bottom: speaker, USB, microphone, audio
bottom: speaker, USB, microphone, audio

Software

With EMUI 5.1 on top of Google Android 7.0 Nougat the phone is a little bit out of date. The other devices in Huawei’s Mate 10 series are already shipping with EMUI 8.0 on top of Android 8.0 Oreo. Huawei has announced an Oreo update for the 10 Lite but has not yet clarified when exactly that is going to happen. Our review unit’s firmware version was B100, and was updated to B120 shortly thereafter fixing a Wi-Fi problem we have encountered and bringing the security patch level more or less up to date (September 2017).

The user interface should already be familiar to Huawei users and is reviewed in further detail in our P10 and P10 Plus reviews.

Huawei Mate 10 Lite
Huawei Mate 10 Lite
Huawei Mate 10 Lite
Huawei Mate 10 Lite

Communication and GPS

The phone communicates via LTE Cat. 6 but only on a few select frequencies. And while the bands supported should work just fine in Europe, North American users will only be able to use band 5 on AT&T’s 4G LTE network (2, 4, 5, 12, 17) since not any of T-Mobile’s bands (2, 4, 12, 66, 71) are supported. Suffice it to say that we had absolutely no trouble whatsoever with cell reception in a major European city.

Wi-Fi is also somewhat limited and restricted to 802.11b/g/n and thus the fairly congested 2.4 GHz range. Accordingly and not surprisingly, transfer speeds measured against our Linksys EA8500 reference router were fairly low overall and the Mate 10 Lite was far behind all of its competitors. At least Wi-Fi range was decent - even at a distance of 30 ft to the access point and with an exterior wall between the two devices surfing the web was still possible, albeit with noticeable delay.

Networking
iperf3 transmit AX12
ZTE Axon 7
Adreno 530, 820 MSM8996, 64 GB eMMC Flash
298 MBit/s +459%
HTC U Ultra
Adreno 530, SD 821, 64 GB eMMC Flash
259 MBit/s +386%
Samsung Galaxy A5 2017
Mali-T830 MP3, Exynos 7880, 32 GB eMMC Flash
167 MBit/s +213%
BQ Aquaris X Pro
Adreno 506, 626, 64 GB eMMC Flash
148 MBit/s +178%
Honor 9
Mali-G71 MP8, Kirin 960, 64 GB eMMC Flash
140 MBit/s +163%
Huawei Mate 10 Lite
Mali-T830 MP2, Kirin 659, 64 GB eMMC Flash
53.3 MBit/s
iperf3 receive AX12
ZTE Axon 7
Adreno 530, 820 MSM8996, 64 GB eMMC Flash
337 MBit/s +704%
Honor 9
Mali-G71 MP8, Kirin 960, 64 GB eMMC Flash
283 MBit/s +575%
HTC U Ultra
Adreno 530, SD 821, 64 GB eMMC Flash
247 MBit/s +489%
BQ Aquaris X Pro
Adreno 506, 626, 64 GB eMMC Flash
242 MBit/s +478%
Samsung Galaxy A5 2017
Mali-T830 MP3, Exynos 7880, 32 GB eMMC Flash
214 MBit/s +411%
Huawei Mate 10 Lite
Mali-T830 MP2, Kirin 659, 64 GB eMMC Flash
41.9 MBit/s
GPS test outdoors
GPS test outdoors
GPS test indoors
GPS test indoors
GNSS
GNSS

Supported location services include GPS, GLONASS, and BeiDou. Outdoors, location lock is obtained fairly quickly, but takes a while to figure out the devices exact position. We were able to obtain GPS lock even at the basement window, but it turned out to be rather inaccurate.

We determine a smartphone’s GPS accuracy by taking it out on a bicycle ride together with a professional Garmin Edge 500 GPS with both devices recording the track. The Mate 10 Lite ended up doing a very decent job, and the recorded tracks were more or less identical on both devices.

Garmin Edge 500
Garmin Edge 500
Garmin Edge 500
Garmin Edge 500
Garmin Edge 500
Garmin Edge 500
Huawei Mate 10 Lite
Huawei Mate 10 Lite
Huawei Mate 10 Lite
Huawei Mate 10 Lite
Huawei Mate 10 Lite
Huawei Mate 10 Lite

Telephone and Call Quality

The 10 Lite offers dual SIM capabilities in case one is willing to forgo a microSD card. Both SIM slots are 4G capable, but only the primary slot supports VoLTE. Support for Wi-Fi calling is included, and the phone app is the same as on the Huawei Mate 10 Pro.

Call quality was decent and solid with both conversational partners understanding each other perfectly fine. The device’s speakerphone worked decently as well, and the phone can be used hands free with only minor reverberations. However, noise cancelling is not the Mate 10 Lite’s strongest feature.

Cameras

Huawei Mate 10 Lite: front-facing camera
Huawei Mate 10 Lite: front-facing camera

The phone’s front-facing camera features two sensors, 13 + 2 MP, and an aperture of f/2.0. The second lens is used primarily for the bokeh effect in portrait mode, which works very well and can be adjusted retroactively. Image quality was comparatively decent, but quickly deteriorated into the usual noisy mushiness in bad lighting conditions.

The rear-facing 16 + 2 MP dual camera offers a moderately higher resolution, but the same set of features. Aperture is slightly worse at f/2.2 and there is no optical image stabilization whatsoever. Photos taken in bright daylight turn out very well, but lack detail when zoomed in. Dynamic range is decent, but photos tend to be overexposed, particularly around large bright areas. Low light photos turn out bland but decent overall thanks to the dual camera’s capability of capturing as much light as possible. Only when zoomed in does one notice the lack of detail and the resulting noise.

Both cameras support video capture in FHD (1920x1080) at 30 FPS with the main camera taking much better (autofocus) and more colorful and lively videos and the front-facing camera overexposing visibly. Recorded sounds are of decent quality, but suffer from a constant static.

Image Comparison

Choose a scene and navigate within the first image. One click changes the position on touchscreens. One click on the zoomed-in image opens the original in a new window. The first image shows the scaled photograph of the test device.

Scene 1Scene 2Scene 3
click to load images
ColorChecker: reference color at the bottom of each square.
ColorChecker: reference color at the bottom of each square.

Under controlled and normalized conditions and with the help of our ColorChecker Passport we were able to discern that colors were fairly bright and vivid. Grays were slightly too warm and whites were too bright.

Our test chart photo was crisp and sharp overall with some frayed outlines here and there, particularly so with dark elements on a dark background. Nevertheless, the level of detail was acceptable, as can be seen in the center of the photo. Sharpness deterioration towards the edges was insignificant, but slightly more pronounced in the upper parts than around the bottom.

Accessories and Warranty

Included are a modular charger (5 V, 2 A), a USB cable, a headset, a SIM tool, a translucent protective case, a warranty booklet, and a quick start guide.

By default, devices sold in Germany come with a 24-month limited warranty while US customers are limited to seller warranties. Please see our Guarantees, Return Policies & Warranties FAQ for country-specific information.

Huawei Mate 10 Lite with protective case installed - front
Huawei Mate 10 Lite with protective case installed - front
Huawei Mate 10 Lite with protective case installed - rear
Huawei Mate 10 Lite with protective case installed - rear

Input Devices and Handling

The capacitive touchscreen supports 10-point multitouch input and was fairly reliable and precise during our tests. The glass surface is smooth and the factory-installed screen protector can be easily removed. The glass is a real fingerprint magnet but can fortunately be wiped off very easily and quickly.

By default, Huawei devices come with the SwiftKey keyboard which, as usual, can be replaced by any other keyboard from Google’s Play Store. The physical buttons on the side are firm and tight, and their actuation is decent. Our only gripe was that they were quite hard to tell apart, which could have been mitigated by using different surface textures.

The fingerprint reader is located on the back and perfectly positioned. In our tests, it worked very fast and reliably, and in addition to user authentication it supports gestures such as scrolling or sliding down the notification area.

Huawei Mate 10 Lite: SwiftKey in landscape mode
Huawei Mate 10 Lite: SwiftKey in portrait mode

Display

subpixel geometry
subpixel geometry

The 2:1 IPS Full View display’s native resolution is 2160x1080, and the 5.9-inch panel is very crisp. Its average brightness of 457 nits is comparatively high and its black level of 0.3 nits comparatively low, resulting in an impressive contrast ratio of 1557:1. Results were similar during the APL50 test with enabled ambient light sensor. Overall brightness distribution was very even and homogenous.

466
cd/m²
497
cd/m²
457
cd/m²
451
cd/m²
467
cd/m²
441
cd/m²
443
cd/m²
446
cd/m²
441
cd/m²
Distribution of brightness
FullView tested with X-Rite i1Pro 2
Maximum: 497 cd/m² (Nits) Average: 456.6 cd/m² Minimum: 2.88 cd/m²
Brightness Distribution: 89 %
Center on Battery: 467 cd/m²
Contrast: 1557:1 (Black: 0.3 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 5 | 0.5-29.43 Ø5
ΔE Greyscale 6.1 | 0.57-98 Ø5.3
Gamma: 2.15
Huawei Mate 10 Lite
IPS, 2160x1080, 5.90
Samsung Galaxy A5 2017
Super AMOLED, 1920x1080, 5.20
HTC U Ultra
SLCD 5, 2560x1440, 5.70
BQ Aquaris X Pro
IPS, 1920x1080, 5.20
ZTE Axon 7
AMOLED, 2560x1440, 5.50
Honor 9
IPS/LTPS, 1920x1080, 5.15
Screen
42%
-2%
-38%
-13%
13%
Brightness middle
467
539
15%
470
1%
458
-2%
328
-30%
550
18%
Brightness
457
542
19%
445
-3%
473
4%
334
-27%
535
17%
Brightness Distribution
89
93
4%
88
-1%
88
-1%
88
-1%
92
3%
Black Level *
0.3
0.22
27%
0.51
-70%
0.42
-40%
Contrast
1557
2136
37%
898
-42%
1310
-16%
Colorchecker dE 2000 *
5
1.6
68%
5.5
-10%
7.1
-42%
4.6
8%
3.3
34%
Colorchecker dE 2000 max. *
8.2
2.6
68%
11.9
-45%
14.5
-77%
14.7
-79%
4.5
45%
Greyscale dE 2000 *
6.1
1.5
75%
7.6
-25%
10.5
-72%
2.8
54%
3.6
41%
Gamma
2.15 102%
2.28 96%
2.2 100%
2.28 96%
2.29 96%
2.38 92%
CCT
7961 82%
6422 101%
7454 87%
8951 73%
6612 98%
7226 90%

* ... smaller is better

Screen Flickering / PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation)

To dim the screen, some notebooks will simply cycle the backlight on and off in rapid succession - a method called Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) . This cycling frequency should ideally be undetectable to the human eye. If said frequency is too low, users with sensitive eyes may experience strain or headaches or even notice the flickering altogether.
Screen flickering / PWM not detected

In comparison: 53 % of all tested devices do not use PWM to dim the display. If PWM was detected, an average of 18100 (minimum: 5 - maximum: 3846000) Hz was measured.

Color accuracy was determined with CalMAN and a spectrophotometer. The phone supports various color temperature presets or manual adjustment.

The white point was too cool in standard mode, but only slightly so. From all of its competitors, only the Honor 9 managed to best the Mate 10 Lite. Quite often, the preset “warm” leads to a more natural color representation. Unfortunately, this is not the case with the Mate 10 Lite. While it is true that colors are more natural on “warm”, the maximum color deviations are much higher and grays turn out greenish instead, resulting in an overall sickly appeal. Color space coverage is comparatively small and geared towards the sRGB color space.

Grayscale (color temperature: standard, color space: sRGB)
Grayscale (color temperature: standard, color space: sRGB)
Grayscale (color temperature: warm, color space: sRGB)
Grayscale (color temperature: warm, color space: sRGB)
Colors (color temperature: standard, color space: sRGB)
Colors (color temperature: standard, color space: sRGB)
Colors (color temperature: warm, color space: sRGB)
Colors (color temperature: warm, color space: sRGB)
Color space (color temperature: standard, color space: sRGB)
Color space (color temperature: standard, color space: sRGB)
Color space (color temperature: warm, color space: sRGB)
Color space (color temperature: warm, color space: sRGB)
Saturation (color temperature: standard, color space: sRGB)
Saturation (color temperature: standard, color space: sRGB)
Saturation (color temperature: warm, color space: sRGB)
Saturation (color temperature: warm, color space: sRGB)

Display Response Times

Display response times show how fast the screen is able to change from one color to the next. Slow response times can lead to afterimages and can cause moving objects to appear blurry (ghosting). Gamers of fast-paced 3D titles should pay special attention to fast response times.
       Response Time Black to White
28 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined↗ 12.4 ms rise
↘ 15.6 ms fall
The screen shows relatively slow response rates in our tests and may be too slow for gamers.
In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.1 (minimum) to 240 (maximum) ms. » 67 % of all devices are better.
This means that the measured response time is worse than the average of all tested devices (21.6 ms).
       Response Time 50% Grey to 80% Grey
43.2 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined↗ 19.6 ms rise
↘ 23.6 ms fall
The screen shows slow response rates in our tests and will be unsatisfactory for gamers.
In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.2 (minimum) to 636 (maximum) ms. » 68 % of all devices are better.
This means that the measured response time is worse than the average of all tested devices (33.9 ms).

Outdoor usability was very decent thanks to the impressive maximum display brightness. The Mate 10 Lite remains usable even in bright daylight, but tends to aggravate its users with its highly reflective display. 

Viewing angles were decent overall, and we found no color distortions or ghosting even at acute angles. A slight deterioration in brightness was noticeable, and as mentioned before the reflections can get quite annoying. 

Huawei Mate 10 Lite viewing angles
Huawei Mate 10 Lite viewing angles

Performance

The Mate 10 Lite is powered by the exact same HiSilicon Kirin 659 octa-core SoC as the Nova 2, consisting of eight Cortex A53 cores divided into two clusters with the faster of the two clusters running at up to 2.36 GHz and the slower at up to 1.7 GHz. The SoC is accompanied by 4 GB of LPDDR3 RAM and an ARM Mali-T830 MP2 GPU.

The mid-range SoC is much slower than last year’s high-end SoC powering the Honor 9, the HTC U Ultra, or the ZTE Axon 7. That said, these three phones also come with a very different price tag. The Galaxy A5 and BQ Aquaris X Pro are much closer in terms of price yet both, the Snapdragon 626 and the Exynos 7880, manage to outperform the Mate 10 Lite by up to 17%. GPU performance is even lower than on the Nova 2 given the Mate 10 Lite’s higher display resolution.

System performance is decent and the phone not only felt fast and smooth, but also performed quite well in the benchmarks without standing out. As expected, the more powerful smartphones performed better, and the X Pro was about as fast as the Mate 10 Lite thanks to its pure and clean Android. Only the Galaxy A5 was slower than the Mate 10 Lite.

AnTuTu v6 - Total Score (sort by value)
Huawei Mate 10 Lite
63195 Points
Huawei Nova 2
63304 Points 0%
HTC U Ultra
139017 Points +120%
BQ Aquaris X Pro
66226 Points +5%
Honor 9
150276 Points +138%
ZTE Axon 7
122524 Points +94%
Samsung Galaxy A5 2017
60603 Points -4%
PCMark for Android
Work performance score (sort by value)
Huawei Mate 10 Lite
6024 Points
Huawei Nova 2
6252 Points +4%
HTC U Ultra
5217 Points -13%
BQ Aquaris X Pro
5886 Points -2%
Honor 9
7034 Points +17%
ZTE Axon 7
4970 Points -17%
Samsung Galaxy A5 2017
5035 Points -16%
Work 2.0 performance score (sort by value)
Huawei Mate 10 Lite
4847 Points
Huawei Nova 2
4822 Points -1%
HTC U Ultra
5217 Points +8%
BQ Aquaris X Pro
4915 Points +1%
Honor 9
6113 Points +26%
Samsung Galaxy A5 2017
4060 Points -16%
BaseMark OS II
Overall (sort by value)
Huawei Mate 10 Lite
1398 Points
Huawei Nova 2
1436 Points +3%
HTC U Ultra
2078 Points +49%
BQ Aquaris X Pro
1314 Points -6%
Honor 9
2779 Points +99%
ZTE Axon 7
2165 Points +55%
Samsung Galaxy A5 2017
1408 Points +1%
System (sort by value)
Huawei Mate 10 Lite
2983 Points
Huawei Nova 2
2959 Points -1%
HTC U Ultra
2834 Points -5%
BQ Aquaris X Pro
3492 Points +17%
Honor 9
4154 Points +39%
ZTE Axon 7
3307 Points +11%
Samsung Galaxy A5 2017
2593 Points -13%
Memory (sort by value)
Huawei Mate 10 Lite
1998 Points
Huawei Nova 2
2011 Points +1%
HTC U Ultra
1581 Points -21%
BQ Aquaris X Pro
1046 Points -48%
Honor 9
3258 Points +63%
ZTE Axon 7
1489 Points -25%
Samsung Galaxy A5 2017
1508 Points -25%
Graphics (sort by value)
Huawei Mate 10 Lite
849 Points
Huawei Nova 2
843 Points -1%
HTC U Ultra
4591 Points +441%
BQ Aquaris X Pro
1012 Points +19%
Honor 9
4126 Points +386%
ZTE Axon 7
4631 Points +445%
Samsung Galaxy A5 2017
1528 Points +80%
Web (sort by value)
Huawei Mate 10 Lite
753 Points
Huawei Nova 2
847 Points +12%
HTC U Ultra
907 Points +20%
BQ Aquaris X Pro
806 Points +7%
Honor 9
1069 Points +42%
ZTE Axon 7
963 Points +28%
Samsung Galaxy A5 2017
659 Points -12%
Geekbench 4.4
64 Bit Single-Core Score (sort by value)
Huawei Mate 10 Lite
914 Points
Huawei Nova 2
918 Points 0%
BQ Aquaris X Pro
928 Points +2%
Honor 9
1869 Points +104%
Samsung Galaxy A5 2017
773 Points -15%
64 Bit Multi-Core Score (sort by value)
Huawei Mate 10 Lite
3631 Points
Huawei Nova 2
3556 Points -2%
BQ Aquaris X Pro
4369 Points +20%
Honor 9
6527 Points +80%
Samsung Galaxy A5 2017
4104 Points +13%
Geekbench 4.0
64 Bit Single-Core Score (sort by value)
Huawei Mate 10 Lite
889 Points
Huawei Nova 2
887 Points 0%
HTC U Ultra
1643 Points +85%
BQ Aquaris X Pro
889 Points 0%
ZTE Axon 7
1280 Points +44%
Samsung Galaxy A5 2017
775 Points -13%
64 Bit Multi-Core Score (sort by value)
Huawei Mate 10 Lite
3508 Points
Huawei Nova 2
3438 Points -2%
HTC U Ultra
3983 Points +14%
BQ Aquaris X Pro
4362 Points +24%
ZTE Axon 7
3867 Points +10%
Samsung Galaxy A5 2017
4098 Points +17%
3DMark
1280x720 offscreen Ice Storm Unlimited Score (sort by value)
Huawei Mate 10 Lite
10294 Points
Huawei Nova 2
12212 Points +19%
HTC U Ultra
29668 Points +188%
BQ Aquaris X Pro
13963 Points +36%
Honor 9
28883 Points +181%
ZTE Axon 7
23319 Points +127%
Samsung Galaxy A5 2017
13256 Points +29%
1280x720 offscreen Ice Storm Unlimited Graphics Score (sort by value)
Huawei Mate 10 Lite
9936 Points
Huawei Nova 2
11688 Points +18%
HTC U Ultra
33446 Points +237%
BQ Aquaris X Pro
13277 Points +34%
Honor 9
38979 Points +292%
ZTE Axon 7
24310 Points +145%
Samsung Galaxy A5 2017
13314 Points +34%
1280x720 offscreen Ice Storm Unlimited Physics (sort by value)
Huawei Mate 10 Lite
11780 Points
Huawei Nova 2
14488 Points +23%
HTC U Ultra
21263 Points +81%
BQ Aquaris X Pro
17044 Points +45%
Honor 9
15150 Points +29%
ZTE Axon 7
20408 Points +73%
Samsung Galaxy A5 2017
13057 Points +11%
2560x1440 Sling Shot OpenGL ES 3.0 (sort by value)
Huawei Mate 10 Lite
627 Points
Huawei Nova 2
620 Points -1%
HTC U Ultra
2947 Points +370%
BQ Aquaris X Pro
849 Points +35%
Honor 9
2611 Points +316%
ZTE Axon 7
2698 Points +330%
Samsung Galaxy A5 2017
1155 Points +84%
2560x1440 Sling Shot OpenGL ES 3.0 Graphics (sort by value)
Huawei Mate 10 Lite
532 Points
Huawei Nova 2
526 Points -1%
HTC U Ultra
3807 Points +616%
BQ Aquaris X Pro
725 Points +36%
Honor 9
2990 Points +462%
ZTE Axon 7
4619 Points +768%
Samsung Galaxy A5 2017
1053 Points +98%
2560x1440 Sling Shot OpenGL ES 3.0 Physics (sort by value)
Huawei Mate 10 Lite
1667 Points
Huawei Nova 2
1657 Points -1%
HTC U Ultra
1646 Points -1%
BQ Aquaris X Pro
2127 Points +28%
Honor 9
1809 Points +9%
ZTE Axon 7
1099 Points -34%
Samsung Galaxy A5 2017
1752 Points +5%
2560x1440 Sling Shot Extreme (ES 3.1) (sort by value)
Huawei Mate 10 Lite
353 Points
Huawei Nova 2
402 Points +14%
HTC U Ultra
2225 Points +530%
BQ Aquaris X Pro
464 Points +31%
Honor 9
2666 Points +655%
ZTE Axon 7
2500 Points +608%
Samsung Galaxy A5 2017
816 Points +131%
2560x1440 Sling Shot Extreme (ES 3.1) Graphics (sort by value)
Huawei Mate 10 Lite
289 Points
Huawei Nova 2
330 Points +14%
HTC U Ultra
2405 Points +732%
BQ Aquaris X Pro
379 Points +31%
Honor 9
2798 Points +868%
ZTE Axon 7
2528 Points +775%
Samsung Galaxy A5 2017
710 Points +146%
2560x1440 Sling Shot Extreme (ES 3.1) Physics (sort by value)
Huawei Mate 10 Lite
1527 Points
Huawei Nova 2
1662 Points +9%
HTC U Ultra
1763 Points +15%
BQ Aquaris X Pro
2132 Points +40%
Honor 9
2287 Points +50%
ZTE Axon 7
1783 Points +17%
Samsung Galaxy A5 2017
1713 Points +12%
GFXBench (DX / GLBenchmark) 2.7
T-Rex Onscreen (sort by value)
Huawei Mate 10 Lite
16 fps
Huawei Nova 2
20 fps +25%
HTC U Ultra
46 fps +188%
BQ Aquaris X Pro
22 fps +38%
Honor 9
55 fps +244%
ZTE Axon 7
53 fps +231%
Samsung Galaxy A5 2017
33 fps +106%
1920x1080 T-Rex Offscreen (sort by value)
Huawei Mate 10 Lite
16 fps
Huawei Nova 2
19 fps +19%
HTC U Ultra
74 fps +363%
BQ Aquaris X Pro
23 fps +44%
Honor 9
60 fps +275%
ZTE Axon 7
88 fps +450%
Samsung Galaxy A5 2017
34 fps +113%
GFXBench 3.0
on screen Manhattan Onscreen OGL (sort by value)
Huawei Mate 10 Lite
6.7 fps
Huawei Nova 2
8.9 fps +33%
HTC U Ultra
23 fps +243%
BQ Aquaris X Pro
9.6 fps +43%
Honor 9
28 fps +318%
ZTE Axon 7
28 fps +318%
Samsung Galaxy A5 2017
15 fps +124%
1920x1080 1080p Manhattan Offscreen (sort by value)
Huawei Mate 10 Lite
7.3 fps
Huawei Nova 2
7.9 fps +8%
HTC U Ultra
26 fps +256%
BQ Aquaris X Pro
9.8 fps +34%
Honor 9
30 fps +311%
ZTE Axon 7
39 fps +434%
Samsung Galaxy A5 2017
15 fps +105%
GFXBench 3.1
on screen Manhattan ES 3.1 Onscreen (sort by value)
Huawei Mate 10 Lite
4.5 fps
Huawei Nova 2
5.2 fps +16%
HTC U Ultra
12 fps +167%
BQ Aquaris X Pro
6.3 fps +40%
Honor 9
22 fps +389%
ZTE Axon 7
16 fps +256%
Samsung Galaxy A5 2017
9 fps +100%
1920x1080 Manhattan ES 3.1 Offscreen (sort by value)
Huawei Mate 10 Lite
4.8 fps
Huawei Nova 2
4.8 fps 0%
HTC U Ultra
12 fps +150%
BQ Aquaris X Pro
6.4 fps +33%
Honor 9
22 fps +358%
ZTE Axon 7
31 fps +546%
Samsung Galaxy A5 2017
9.1 fps +90%
GFXBench
on screen Car Chase Onscreen (sort by value)
Huawei Mate 10 Lite
2.7 fps
Huawei Nova 2
3.1 fps +15%
HTC U Ultra
8.4 fps +211%
BQ Aquaris X Pro
3.5 fps +30%
Honor 9
16 fps +493%
ZTE Axon 7
9.8 fps +263%
Samsung Galaxy A5 2017
5.2 fps +93%
1920x1080 Car Chase Offscreen (sort by value)
Huawei Mate 10 Lite
2.9 fps
Huawei Nova 2
2.9 fps 0%
HTC U Ultra
15 fps +417%
BQ Aquaris X Pro
3.5 fps +21%
Honor 9
15 fps +417%
ZTE Axon 7
18 fps +521%
Samsung Galaxy A5 2017
5.2 fps +79%
Lightmark - 1920x1080 1080p (sort by value)
Huawei Nova 2
4.96 fps
Basemark X 1.1
Medium Quality (sort by value)
Huawei Nova 2
17001 Points
High Quality (sort by value)
Huawei Nova 2
8749 Points
Basemark ES 3.1 / Metal - offscreen Overall Score (sort by value)
Huawei Nova 2
147 Points
Samsung Galaxy A5 2017
258 Points
Epic Citadel - Ultra High Quality (sort by value)
Huawei Nova 2
47.3 fps

Legend

 
Huawei Mate 10 Lite HiSilicon Kirin 659, ARM Mali-T830 MP2, 64 GB eMMC Flash
 
Huawei Nova 2 HiSilicon Kirin 659, ARM Mali-T830 MP2, 64 GB eMMC Flash
 
HTC U Ultra Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 MSM8996 Pro, Qualcomm Adreno 530, 64 GB eMMC Flash
 
BQ Aquaris X Pro Qualcomm Snapdragon 626, Qualcomm Adreno 506, 64 GB eMMC Flash
 
Honor 9 HiSilicon Kirin 960, ARM Mali-G71 MP8, 64 GB eMMC Flash
 
ZTE Axon 7 Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 MSM8996, Qualcomm Adreno 530, 64 GB eMMC Flash
 
Samsung Galaxy A5 2017 Samsung Exynos 7880, ARM Mali-T830 MP3, 32 GB eMMC Flash

In our browser benchmarks, which were conducted with the preinstalled version of Chrome (62), the Mate 10 Lite performed as expected. Only in the WebXPRT 2015 benchmark was it able to break away from the BQ and the Samsung. Subjectively speaking browsing the web was very fast and smooth regardless of website complexity.

JetStream 1.1 - Total Score
Honor 9 (Chrome 59)
58.6 Points +94%
HTC U Ultra (Chrome 56)
45.08 Points +49%
ZTE Axon 7 (Chrome 53.0.2785.124)
44.75 Points +48%
Samsung Galaxy A5 2017 (Samsung Browser (Chrome 44))
32.22 Points +7%
Huawei Mate 10 Lite (Chrome 62)
30.23 Points
Huawei Nova 2 (Chrome 60.0.3112.116)
27.69 Points -8%
BQ Aquaris X Pro (Chrome 59.0.3071.125)
26.84 Points -11%
Octane V2 - Total Score
Honor 9 (Chrome 59)
10208 Points +100%
ZTE Axon 7 (Chrome 53.0.2785.124)
8062 Points +58%
HTC U Ultra (Chrome 56)
5511 Points +8%
Samsung Galaxy A5 2017 (Samsung Browser (Chrome 44))
5256 Points +3%
Huawei Mate 10 Lite (Chrome 62)
5096 Points
Huawei Nova 2 (Chrome 60.0.3112.116)
4864 Points -5%
BQ Aquaris X Pro (Chrome 59.0.3071.125)
4424 Points -13%
Mozilla Kraken 1.1 - Total
Huawei Nova 2 (Chrome 60.0.3112.116)
8863 ms * -2%
BQ Aquaris X Pro (Chrome 59.0.3071.125)
8742 ms * -1%
Huawei Mate 10 Lite (Chrome 62)
8694 ms *
Samsung Galaxy A5 2017 (Samsung Browser (Chrome 44))
6442 ms * +26%
HTC U Ultra (Chrome 56)
4141 ms * +52%
Honor 9 (Chrome 59)
3149 ms * +64%
ZTE Axon 7 (Chrome 53.0.2785.124)
3097 ms * +64%
WebXPRT 2015 - Overall
ZTE Axon 7 (Chrome 53.0.2785.124)
111 Points +7%
Honor 9 (Chrome 59)
107 Points +3%
Huawei Mate 10 Lite (Chrome 62)
104 Points
Huawei Nova 2 (Chrome 60.0.3112.116)
95 Points -9%
Samsung Galaxy A5 2017 (Samsung Browser (Chrome 44))
89 Points -14%
BQ Aquaris X Pro (Chrome 59.0.3071.125)
86 Points -17%

* ... smaller is better

The Mate 10 Lite is equipped with 64 GB of eMMC flash storage, about 51.5 GB of which is available out of the box. It performed fairly well, but was unable to keep up with UHS equipped devices.

MicroSD card reader performance is determined with our Toshiba Exceria Pro M501 reference card (max. read: 270 MB/s, max. write: 150 MB/s). Suffice it to say that only the Honor 9 was even slower than the Mate 10 Lite in this test.

Huawei Mate 10 LiteSamsung Galaxy A5 2017HTC U UltraBQ Aquaris X ProZTE Axon 7Honor 9
AndroBench 3-5
-8%
64%
15%
74%
49%
Sequential Read 256KB
286.8
182
-37%
423.9
48%
270.5
-6%
406.5
42%
293
2%
Sequential Write 256KB
99.8
77.1
-23%
164.7
65%
139.6
40%
150.9
51%
204
104%
Random Read 4KB
31.5
22.41
-29%
84.2
167%
37.97
21%
121.1
284%
55.7
77%
Random Write 4KB
15.26
12.13
-21%
13.7
-10%
12.07
-21%
16.22
6%
32.7
114%
Sequential Read 256KB SDCard
69.1 ?(Toshiba Exceria Pro M501)
73.7 ?(Toshiba Exceria Pro M401)
7%
82.8 ?(Toshiba Exceria Pro M401)
20%
78.7 ?(Toshiba Exceria Pro M401)
14%
78.4 ?(Toshiba Exceria Pro M401)
13%
68 ?(Toshiba Exceria Pro M501)
-2%
Sequential Write 256KB SDCard
35.35 ?(Toshiba Exceria Pro M501)
56 ?(Toshiba Exceria Pro M401)
58%
67.6 ?(Toshiba Exceria Pro M401)
91%
49.77 ?(Toshiba Exceria Pro M401)
41%
51.3 ?(Toshiba Exceria Pro M401)
45%
34.64 ?(Toshiba Exceria Pro M501)
-2%

Gaming

The Mate 10 Lite’s GPU was unable to cope with demanding games. We had to lower the level of details in “Asphalt 8” in order to run this game smoothly, and the performance of “Real Race 3” was borderline smooth at best. “Dead Trigger 2” was limited to 30 FPS to begin with. Still, all games from Google’s Play Store are definitely playable albeit sometimes with reduced details and occasional stuttering.

On the other hand, the Mate 10 Lite’s 18:9 display is excellent when gaming and offers tons of screen real estate, particularly with game controls on screen. Input detection was very accurate and fast, and the sensors worked flawlessly while gaming and detected movements accurately and instantaneously.

Real Race 3
Real Race 3
Dead Trigger 2
Dead Trigger 2
Real Racing 3
 SettingsValue
 high26 fps
Asphalt 8: Airborne
 SettingsValue
 high22 fps
 very low30 fps
Dead Trigger 2
 SettingsValue
 high30 fps

Emissions

Temperature

Huawei Mate 10 Lite: GFXBench T-Rex battery test (OpenGL ES 2.0)
OpenGL ES 2.0
Huawei Mate 10 Lite: GFXBench Manhattan battery test (OpenGL ES 3.1)
OpenGL ES 3.1

Surface temperatures were at an acceptable level. The smartphone stayed comparatively cool when idle and became lukewarm at best under load.

We use GFXBench’s battery test to determine the SoCs sustained load capabilities by running the test 30x in a loop and recording battery percentage as well as frame rates. In the less demanding T-Rex benchmark (OpenGL ES 2.0) performance was very consistent and decreased slightly after the 19th iteration (merely by around 10%). The more demanding Manhattan benchmark (OpenGL ES 3.1) was even completed without any throttling whatsoever, most probably because performance was pretty poor to begin with.

Max. Load
 34.8 °C
95 F
33.9 °C
93 F
34.5 °C
94 F
 
 34.1 °C
93 F
34.4 °C
94 F
35.5 °C
96 F
 
 33.1 °C
92 F
33.2 °C
92 F
35.4 °C
96 F
 
Maximum: 35.5 °C = 96 F
Average: 34.3 °C = 94 F
29.5 °C
85 F
30.2 °C
86 F
31.3 °C
88 F
29.7 °C
85 F
30 °C
86 F
31.2 °C
88 F
30.3 °C
87 F
31.1 °C
88 F
31.1 °C
88 F
Maximum: 31.3 °C = 88 F
Average: 30.5 °C = 87 F
Power Supply (max.)  22.8 °C = 73 F | Room Temperature 20.4 °C = 69 F | Voltcraft IR-260
(±) The average temperature for the upper side under maximal load is 34.3 °C / 94 F, compared to the average of 32.7 °C / 91 F for the devices in the class Smartphone.
(+) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 35.5 °C / 96 F, compared to the average of 35 °C / 95 F, ranging from 21.9 to 56 °C for the class Smartphone.
(+) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 31.3 °C / 88 F, compared to the average of 33.8 °C / 93 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 28.8 °C / 84 F, compared to the device average of 32.7 °C / 91 F.

Speakers

Huawei Mate 10 Lite pink noise
Huawei Mate 10 Lite pink noise

Equipped with a mono speaker, the Huawei Mate 10 Lite offers a somewhat decent sound performance as long as volume remains at low to medium levels with fairly balanced mids and highs. Higher levels of volume result in increased highs and decreased mids. Lows (bass) are absent regardless of volume level. Unfortunately, Huawei has decided not to reuse the Pro’s dual speakers, but at least at 86 dB(A) the single speaker is fairly loud.

Unlike the Nova 2, the Mate 10 Lite does not support high-resolution Bluetooth audio transmission via aptX. The 3.5 mm headphone jack worked as well as expected, and audio output was smooth and clear.

dB(A) 0102030405060708090Deep BassMiddle BassHigh BassLower RangeMidsHigher MidsLower HighsMid HighsUpper HighsSuper Highs2035.242.62532.941.43137.237.64031.739.65039.637.86328.331.88027.330.610026.931.212526.729.91602432.820020.939.625020.945.831519.549.840018.557.350017.558.463017.559.880015.762.3100015.866.2125016.669160015.870.4200015.472.4250015.574.831501676.4400015.878.350001676.1630016.374.6800016.376.81000016.279.91250016.472.71600016.460.4SPL28.686.5N1.162.1median 16.4median 66.2Delta2.211.830.929.330.926.229.126.228.627.828.629.832.629.828.826.728.82628.8262424.92424.824.724.830.722.130.729.220.829.236.120.136.141.719.841.748.72148.753.321.753.357.420.557.462.62162.662.118.462.165.71765.767.717.367.766.915.266.970.315.570.371.21571.27314.97378.515.178.581.314.681.373.914.673.973.114.673.17214.6726014.66048.214.648.28628.88657.31.257.3median 62.6median 17median 62.611.82.411.831.641.125.44025.336.732.93633.635.631.630.628.432.92733.820.841.72244.421.348.420.850.521.256.619.462.519.566.217.766.117.974.217.877.317.374.317.473.816.771.817.269.318.269.517.966.517.661.417.755.817.854.517.959.918.152.218.249.530831.350.1median 17.9median 61.41.410.5hearing rangehide median Pink NoiseHuawei Mate 10 LiteHTC U UltraSamsung Galaxy A5 2017
Huawei Mate 10 Lite audio analysis

(+) | speakers can play relatively loud (86.5 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 28% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (7.3% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(±) | reduced mids - on average 5% lower than median
(+) | mids are linear (5.7% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(±) | higher highs - on average 10.5% higher than median
(+) | highs are linear (4.2% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (25.5% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 57% of all tested devices in this class were better, 8% similar, 35% worse
» The best had a delta of 12%, average was 38%, worst was 134%
Compared to all devices tested
» 75% of all tested devices were better, 5% similar, 20% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 25%, worst was 134%

HTC U Ultra audio analysis

(+) | speakers can play relatively loud (86 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 27.3% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (10.1% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(+) | balanced mids - only 4.4% away from median
(+) | mids are linear (6.6% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(±) | higher highs - on average 12.1% higher than median
(+) | highs are linear (6.3% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (29% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 72% of all tested devices in this class were better, 4% similar, 25% worse
» The best had a delta of 12%, average was 38%, worst was 134%
Compared to all devices tested
» 84% of all tested devices were better, 3% similar, 13% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 25%, worst was 134%

Samsung Galaxy A5 2017 audio analysis

(+) | speakers can play relatively loud (83 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 15.5% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (9.1% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(±) | higher mids - on average 9.4% higher than median
(±) | linearity of mids is average (7.6% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(±) | higher highs - on average 5% higher than median
(±) | linearity of highs is average (7.6% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (23.6% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 47% of all tested devices in this class were better, 9% similar, 45% worse
» The best had a delta of 12%, average was 38%, worst was 134%
Compared to all devices tested
» 66% of all tested devices were better, 7% similar, 27% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 25%, worst was 134%

Frequency diagram (checkboxes selectable/deselectable!)

Battery Life

Power Consumption

Compared to the HTC U Ultra, the Mate 10 Lite’s power consumption was slightly lower overall. However, the slightly smaller Galaxy S8 was even more efficient than our review unit.

While support for Huawei Super Charge is missing, the Mate 10 Lite does come with support for QuickCharge. Charging the phone with the included charger from near empty to 100% takes around 2.5 hours.

Huawei Mate 10 Lite charging diagram
Huawei Mate 10 Lite charging diagram
Power Consumption
Off / Standbydarklight 0.02 / 0.11 Watt
Idledarkmidlight 0.87 / 2.14 / 2.16 Watt
Load midlight 3.7 / 5.48 Watt
 color bar
Key: min: dark, med: mid, max: light        Metrahit Energy
Currently we use the Metrahit Energy, a professional single phase power quality and energy measurement digital multimeter, for our measurements. Find out more about it here. All of our test methods can be found here.
Huawei Mate 10 Lite
3340 mAh
Samsung Galaxy S8
3000 mAh
HTC U Ultra
3000 mAh
BQ Aquaris X Pro
3100 mAh
Honor 9
3200 mAh
ZTE Axon 7
3250 mAh
Samsung Galaxy A5 2017
3000 mAh
Power Consumption
20%
-38%
6%
-24%
-1%
33%
Idle Minimum *
0.87
0.78
10%
1
-15%
0.67
23%
1.13
-30%
0.64
26%
0.64
26%
Idle Average *
2.14
1.1
49%
2.41
-13%
1.7
21%
2.25
-5%
0.84
61%
1.36
36%
Idle Maximum *
2.16
1.16
46%
2.46
-14%
1.78
18%
2.3
-6%
0.87
60%
1.4
35%
Load Average *
3.7
4.15
-12%
6.8
-84%
4.42
-19%
4.89
-32%
6.02
-63%
2.53
32%
Load Maximum *
5.48
5.12
7%
8.9
-62%
6.3
-15%
7.99
-46%
10.45
-91%
3.63
34%

* ... smaller is better

Battery Life

With only 3340 mAh the Mate 10 Lite’s battery is significantly smaller than the other Mate 10 series batteries. Combined with the somewhat decent yet not overly impressive power consumption, battery life is quite decent albeit shorter than expected. That said, its closest competitors outran the Mate 10 Lite in pretty much every battery test we conducted.

The Galaxy A5 and BQ Aquaris X Pro in particular lasted significantly longer than the Mate 10 Lite. Huawei does however include various power saving presets that can help to improve battery life.

Battery Runtime
Idle (without WLAN, min brightness)
19h 10min
WiFi Websurfing (Chrome 62)
8h 40min
Big Buck Bunny H.264 1080p
8h 22min
Load (maximum brightness)
3h 43min
Huawei Mate 10 Lite
3340 mAh
Samsung Galaxy A5 2017
3000 mAh
HTC U Ultra
3000 mAh
BQ Aquaris X Pro
3100 mAh
ZTE Axon 7
3250 mAh
Honor 9
3200 mAh
Battery Runtime
94%
15%
36%
20%
15%
Reader / Idle
1150
2418
110%
1568
36%
1840
60%
1735
51%
1399
22%
H.264
502
984
96%
605
21%
644
28%
704
40%
564
12%
WiFi v1.3
520
843
62%
546
5%
730
40%
411
-21%
516
-1%
Load
223
467
109%
214
-4%
254
14%
245
10%
278
25%

Pros

+ high-quality aluminum case
+ two dual cameras
+ expandable storage
+ dual SIM
+ decent GPS
+ decent system performance

Cons

- no NFC
- no aptX
- no ac Wi-Fi
- poor GPU performance

Verdict

In review: Huawei Mate 10 Lite. Review unit courtesy of Huawei Germany.
In review: Huawei Mate 10 Lite. Review unit courtesy of Huawei Germany.

The smallest and most affordable member of the Mate 10 family turned out to be very interesting indeed. Unfortunately, the competition in its chosen field is immense, and the Mate 10 Lite’s one and only unique feature is its 18:9 5.9-inch display with an excellent screen to body ratio. Further features include hybrid SIM, 4 GB of RAM, 64 GB of internal storage that is expandable via microSD, and dual cameras on both sides of the phone. Overall, the package feels like a larger version of the Nova 2, and we liked the Mate 10 Lite’s front-facing camera better than the massive megapixel beast of the former.

Apart from its name, the Mate 10 Lite has little in common with the Mate series in general. It is, however, a fairly decent smartphone.

Panel size aside the Huawei Mate 10 Lite has little in common with the other two members of the Mate family. It lacks NFC, the battery is smaller, the SoC is much slower, the Leica dual camera setup is nowhere to be seen, aptX for high-resolution Bluetooth audio is not supported and instead of Super Charge it only supports QuickCharge.

All things considered, it still turned out to be a fairly decent smartphone, particularly for those who prefer their smartphone screens to be big and massive. We would have wished for fewer compromises when compared with its two larger siblings though, and battery life could have been a bit better to boot.

Huawei Mate 10 Lite - 11/27/2017 v6(old)
Daniel Schmidt

Chassis
87%
Keyboard
72 / 75 → 96%
Pointing Device
92%
Connectivity
37 / 60 → 61%
Weight
91%
Battery
90%
Display
85%
Games Performance
21 / 63 → 33%
Application Performance
52 / 70 → 74%
Temperature
92%
Noise
100%
Audio
68 / 91 → 75%
Camera
75%
Average
74%
84%
Smartphone - Weighted Average

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Daniel Schmidt, 2017-11-30 (Update: 2020-05-19)