OUR VERDICT
Not only is the Huawei Mate 10 Pro the most impressive device we’ve seen from Huawei to date, it’s also one of the most impressive flagships currently on the market, undercutting the competition while offering more in some key areas.
FOR
- Excellent design
- Great enthusiast camera
- Class-leading battery
AGAINST
- No headphone jack
- No wireless charging
- EMUI not for everyone
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The Huawei Mate 10 Pro has a lot going for it. In addition to a slick, premium design, the screen packs vibrant, OLED technology with an 18:9 aspect ratio - similar to that found on the Google Pixel 2 XL and iPhone X.
When its specs are laid out alongside the rest of the flagship competition, the Huawei Mate 10 Pro even wins out in some key areas. For starters, it offers more storage - 128GB as standard vs 64GB on other flagships.
It also has a beefier battery than the competition - a huge 4,000mAh, compared with, 3,300mAh in the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 and under 2,691mAh in the iPhone 8 Plus.
The Mate 10 Pro even has an IR blaster for some added nostalgia-factor, meaning it can double up as a TV remote control for those times you’re trying to spook your mates in the pub, or simply can’t find your own.
Even on paper though, this phone isn’t perfect. The screen isn't the sharpest at 1,080 x 2,160, putting it below the crystal clear 2K and even 4K displays on competing smartphones like the Sony Xperia XZ Premium.
It also has no headphone jack, or microSD card slot - so you’ll need to use a dongle for your wired headphones and guarantee the ample internal storage is enough to last you the entire life-cycle of the phone.
Update: Huawei announced that the Mate 10 Pro will be releasing in the US on February 18, with pre-orders open now. For those still deciding, Huawei's pre-order incentive is pretty sweet, including a $150 gift card from the retailer you purchase from.
The premium finish is compounded by the phone’s glass back
Huawei Mate 10 Pro price and release date
Thus far, the Huawei Mate series has always felt like the more niche, phablet series in the shadows of the Huawei P10 and Huawei P10 Plus, but the Mate 10 Pro looks set to change that.
It isn’t the biggest mainstream phone on the block at the moment and Huawei is playing hardball on price, charging slightly less than its key competitors at €799 / £699 / AU$1,099 / $799.
The phone is available on EE, Three and O2 in the UK, plus you can buy it SIM free too. We've seen the phone on sale in Australia, too, and more recently Huawei announced that it's bringing the Pro to the US on GSM networks, like AT&T, T-Mobile and any other compatible MVNO for $799.
It will be available for pre-order through various popular retail channels like Amazon, Best Buy, B&H and Newegg starting February 4, coming with a $150 gift card until the phone releases on February 18.
What’s in the ‘Pro’?
- An OLED screen
- An f/1.6 dual-lens camera
- Lots of storage but no microSD slot or headphone port
The Huawei Mate 10 Pro has launched alongside the Huawei Mate 10, which, is very similar on paper to the Huawei Mate 9.
The main differences between the Mate 10 Pro and Mate 10 as a result, are also the main differences between the Mate 10 Pro and the Mate 9.
The Mate 10 Pro was launched alongside the chunkier Mate 10
For starters, Huawei has ditched IPS LCD screen technology for the Pro, instead opting for an OLED display - and it was absolutely the right call. This thing pops beautifully.
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Also ditched is the headphone jack and the microSD card slot - though there is double the storage in the model currently confirmed for release, at 128GB.
The Mate 10 and Mate 10 Pro do share some key commonalities not found in the Mate 9 however. They both adopt glass backs for example, feeling instantly richer than the blasted metal of old. In addition, they sport the newest version of Android, complete with the newest version of Emotion UI, Huawei’s custom interface.
EMUI 8.0 as it’s also known enhances these two phones in a number of very tangible ways, the most notable being the PC experience generated when hooking them up to a monitor or TV using an HDMI cable.
It has a premium, IP67 rated glass body, but no headphone jack
The camera set-ups on the new Mates are similar to what we’ve seen on the Huawei Mate 9, P10 and P10 Plus, in so far as they offer dual-cameras, combining an RGB and a monochrome sensor. This time round though, Huawei has stepped things up in the aperture department, with f/1.6 lenses across each of the camera modules.
This should result in better low-light photographs, hitting home Huawei’s camera partnership with Leica.
Design and display
- The best looking Mate yet
- Sleek mix of metal and glass
- Punchy screen but rivals are sharper
Thanks to a couple of generations of manufacturing very good looking glass-backed phones under the Honor name, Huawei knows exactly what it’s doing with the Mate 10 and Mate 10 Pro.
A curved Gorilla Glass back panel combines with a metal frame to create a phone that looks sleek, feels rich and doesn’t disappoint alongside other phones in the same price-bracket.
Huawei Mate 10 Pro hands on gallery
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The front of the phone is seriously screen-heavy, offering a 6-inch display experience while maintaining a smaller footprint than the 5.5-inch iPhone 8 Plus.
Its 80.9% screen-to-bezel ratio also impresses compared to the classical iPhone 8 and 8 Plus design, though isn’t quite as light on bezels as the iPhone X. Like the iPhone X, Samsung Galaxy Note 8 and LG V30 though, the screen’s aspect ratio is ultra-wide with an 18:9 aspect ratio.
OLED technology with some added HDR10 support combine to gives the Mate 10 Pro’s display ample punch and pop - more than the comparatively muted Google Pixel 2 XL.
At full HD resolution though, it doesn’t have the clarity to compete with the likes of the Sony Xperia XZ Premium, Galaxy Note 8 and S8 series, nor is it quite as breathtaking with regards to color reproduction as the latter two.
HDR10 is supported on both the Mate 10 Pro hardware and software
Despite this though, it still fares better than the Google Pixel 2 and LG V30 when it comes to color integrity and viewing angles, positioning it firmly in the middle of the premium smartphone screen hierarchy.
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Loaded up with a screen-protector pre-fitted, as well as a soft plastic case in the box, it’s also reassuring that you won’t have to make any additional investments to keep your pricey new smartphone protected from all sides.
Even without a case and screen protector though, the Mate 10 Pro is a sturdy contender thanks to Gorilla Glass 5 on both sides and IP67 water and dust resistance.
The glass back has a slight curve across both axis, softening the feel somewhat. It also seamlessly transitions into the high-gloss metal sides and produces a sufficiently easy to grip shape and texture combination.
Less slippery than blasted metal it may be, but thanks to all the glass, the Huawei Mate 10 Pro’s design is also much more fingerprint-friendly.
Like most flagships out now, the Mate 10 Pro has a dual-camera set-up
The dual-camera results in two mini camera bumps, while the fingerprint scanner has a nicely tactile recess to ensure a quick finger fumble will naturally find it.
While camera bumps aren’t ideal, as with the Google Pixel 2, the fact the cameras are physically independent discs of glass means that a smashed back won’t necessarily mean a smashed camera.
Easy to press buttons adorn the phone’s right-side, a USB-C port is at its base while the SIM tray sits on the left-side. This means that with no real complaints when it comes to the design and screen, save for the slightly irksome camera bumps, things have gotten off to an excellent start.
Add to that availability in four colors, Mocha Brown, Midnight Blue, Titanium Gray and Pink Gold, and there should be something for everyone in the Mate 10 Pro color portfolio - even if their communications strategy around the colors could do with some refining.
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