Huawei launched their best mid-segment phone, the 7X a few weeks back and has now globally released the View 10 which is a slightly cheaper variant of the Mate 10 Pro. It’s taking on the OnePlus 5T and with extra AI features let’s see if it delivers on all promises.
The first time you hold the View 10, it looks great from the front with slim bezels and matte finish at the back but the 2 protruding cameras stick out. Almost as if the phone had a yellow back, it’d look like a Minion! It does have slightly thicker borders on the top and bottom mainly due to the fingerprint sensor still staying at the front rather than the back. Colours available on this metal unibody phone are Midnight Black & Navy Blue. The phone is comfortable but a but a bit slippery to hold. If you’ve got small hands, reaching the volume rocker on the top right might be a task. It has a Type C charging port and 3.5mm jack at the bottom, while the IR blaster & a secondary microphone at the top.
The 5.99” display has full HD IPS panel which looks good but it’s not an OLED like the Samsung S8.The fingerprint sensor is surprisingly fast to unlock the phone and the facial recognition unlocking does not disappoint either.
The View 10 runs on EMUI 8, that boasts of Theme support & smart gestures like knuckle tap to get screenshots, on top of Android Oreo. On screen navigation buttons can be disabled and the fingerprint sensor can be swiped left or right to move around the menu The implementation is better on most Motorola phones though and not the best option in my opinion. Other features include Dual Apps that let you run 2 instances of the same app like Whatsapp or Facebook; App Lock to restrict access to files/apps etc. To showcase the AI abilities on the View 10 they’ve tied up with Microsoft to have a speech to text language translation on the app.
Huawei’s own Kirin 970, the same used on the Mate 10 Pro is assisted by 6GB of RAM & 128GB storage with an expandable storage slot. The phone supports Dual SIM VoLTE and can auto-forward your call from the other SIM during an ongoing call. The View 10's dual rear cameras consist of one 16-megapixel RGB sensor and one 20-megapixel monochrome sensor. At the front, there is a 13-megapixel selfie shooter that is also used for the Face Unlock feature. The Camera app is similar to what is seen on other Honor devices but the AI powered scene detection takes the game up a by a notch. By understanding the image to be captured on the screen it tweaks the modes and colours to capture the best shot before you press the shutter! There’s also a Pro Mode that lets you tweak settings to your heart’s content. The camera is quick to focus and captures close up shots well with the Depth effect when needed. Objects in the distance sometimes do lack detail but night shots are impressive with less noise. Rear camera supports 4K video recording while the front can support up to 1080p.
The battery life is enough to last a day thanks to the quick charging 3750 mAh battery. With heavy usage like Asphalt Airborne for 30 mins, a couple of hours of movies and videos, few mins of 4k recording and Translating speeches the phone did warm up quite a bit but comfortable enough to hold in the hands. Ultra Power Saving mode can improve battery to last a few days but turns off all sync.
Overall a great phone considering the price and hardly any noticeable flaws makes this a tough nut to crack! Your options in this price range are limited to OnePlus 5T or the Samsung S7 from 2 years back. Huawei has brought its A game to the table this time!
★★★★★
Pritesh Khilnani
Honor View 10 at CeX
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