The Best Huawei Phones: The Definitive Guide

The Huawei company is located in Shenzhen, China, and is a telecommunications equipment and service company. It has the largest phone infrastructure in the world and has existed making cell phones for almost 20 years, since it began in 1997. Since its inception, it has expanded to make tablets, smartwatches, cell phones and more, even though it originally started out making phone switches.

The Huawei company employs over 170,000 people. About half of their employees, 76,000, work on research and development projects to expand their product line and business. In addition to being the largest phone equipment maker in the world, the company is very popular currently serves over 140 countries.

In Chinese, the first part of the name Huawei, “Hua”, is the pinyin of the character that is derived from a character that means “flower” and can also mean “splendid” or “magnificent”. However in the current day it actually means “China” and is also a common element in the names of many other Chinese companies.

The company states that it started without any Chinese-state loans, however it is recorded in other literature such as the Far Eastern Economic Review that they took out an $8.5 million dollar loan from the Chinese government while starting in the early 1980s.

Its early years were characterized with a lot of R&D, but its breakthrough came in 1993 with the development of the most powerful phone switch in China. They grew by giving local officials money to put their products into use. Recently their growth has skyrocketed, especially due to their expansion into overseas markets and the 140 countries other than China that they now service.

Interestingly, Huawei is an “employee-owned” company, a label it proudly wears as a way to distinguish itself from any type of governmentally controlled company. Employee shares are used to reward performance, and employees have to return all their shares when they leave although they are compensated for giving them back. Shares do not give employees any voice in company decisions. The setup is unique and complicated. It is also not very transparent to outsiders or to those within the company.

The company makes quality phones that have a slim, lightweight, premium high-tech design and feel, as well as top of the line hardware. Their phones are used widely throughout the world and they are one of the top-selling brands.

Here we will go over the best Huawei phones to help you decide which is the best fit for you. Below you will find in-depth reviews, pictures, and where to buy the lowest prices for each model.

See larger image Huawei P9 EVA-L09 32GB Titanium Grey, 5.2 Inch, 12 MP, GSM Unlocked International Model, No Warranty (Wireless Phone) List Price: 0 New From: $289.00 USD In Stock Used from: $289.00 USD In Stock

A beautiful design, like all the Huaweis, the P9 is sleek with curved edges and the aluminum backing and glass screen. Its edges are “diamond-cut”, meaning they catch light for a luminescent shine as well as give the phone more grip.

The P9 comes with a fingerprint sensor that fits the phone’s design, with a metallic outline. You can choose from several gorgeous colors including titanium grey and mystic silver, both which give the phone a high-tech, premium look.

The Huawei P9, you can choose between 3GB RAM and 32 GB storage or 4GB RAA and 64 GB storage, both are substantially large storage sizes with relatively fast RAM processing speeds. It’s screen is 5.2 inches and 1080 pixels. The P9 has a 3,000 mAh battery, which you can expect to stay on for almost 2 days use before needing to recharge.

The P9’s camera capabilities are incredible. Huawei and Leica partnered so the phone would have unbeatable camera technology, as Huawei has continually focused on and is known for their superb phone-camera technology.

The camera is comprised of 2 separate 12 megapixel sensors on the back of the camera that use both sensors to capture one image that comes out in incredible detail and vibrant colors. It is also made to capture beautiful photos even in low or bad lighting situations.

Their camera modes also mimic Leica’s regular high-tech cameras giving you the option of Standard, Vivid Colors and Smooth colors as well as black and white monochrome mode. In addition the camera boasts Hybrid Focus tech which gives the camera ability to automatically pick the best type of focus for your current subject.

See larger image Huawei Mate 8 NXT-L29 32GB Dual SIM Factory Unlocked GSM Smartphone – International Version, No Warranty (Grey) (Electronics) List Price: $179.90 USD New From: $179.90 USD In Stock Used from: $179.90 USD In Stock

The Huawei Mate 8 impresses with a 6” FHD screen, a lim body and a fingerprint sensor that has improved speed and reliability in comparison to the earlier Huawei phone versions.

Its thin aerospace aluminum casing is designed similarly to the other Huawei phones, and has a sleek look and feel. The Mate 8, similar to the P9, has the “diamond-cut” edges that catch the light and give the phone a special glow, in addition to improving the ease of grip.

The phone’s glass is high grade 2.5D, and the curving design is very visually appealing. The display contains 96% color saturation and deep contrast for beautiful colors and detail.

Its battery does not disappoint, with 4,000 mAh, it is one step above the battery life and power of most smart phones. You’ll be able to text, watch viddeos, make phone calls, play games and more without worrying about runnin out of power. In the event your phone does run out of battery, the chargin time is only 2.5 hours to restore to its full battery.

The camera, a focus on of all the Huawei models, on the Mate 8, is just as good. Huawei partnered with Sony to give the camera a 16 MP Sony sensor and capabilities including Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) and the latest Image Sensor Processor (ISP) from Huawei. The images are crips and full of detail, justa s you would expect from a Huawei smartphone. It also has slow motion and continuous capture mode capabilities as well as a high definition 8 pixel front facing camera, unheard of in other brands of smartphones, made especially for flawless selfies in all light conditions.

Its hardware is excellent, including the Kirin 950 chip that allows for more effient processing of tasks such as web surfing, using apps or watching online video footage. The Mate 8 includes the A72 core processor and i5 Intelligent processor. The hardware is up to date and gives you the ability to have an efficient, worry-free ease of phone use.

It also supports more networks than any other dual SIM cell, meaning you can hop onto more 3G than almost anyone else. It also ranks Wifi networks in terms of strength and automatically connects to the strongest network available. It is one of its kind with a “triple” antenna, meaning your hand position will not affect signal strength.

The features of the Mate 8 are made for your lifestyle. You can even scan business cards which will update your contacts, and use specific touch gestures to communicate with your phone.

See larger image Huawei P8 Lite ALE-L21 16GB Gold, Dual Sim, 5-Inch, Unlocked Smartphone, International Stock, No Warranty, GSM ONLY, No CDMA (Wireless Phone Accessory) List Price: 0 New From: $285.73 USD In Stock Used from: $285.73 USD In Stock

The P8 lite you can think of as a less full-featured version of the Mate 8. The P8 lite has Android pay and a memory card slot, however the Mate 8 has DLNA is OTG Supported and also has a memory card slot.

The P8 is actually made of plastic even though it looks very high quality while the Mate 8 is made of a metal aluminum body.

Their CPUs are both 8, while the CPU speed of the P8 is 1.2 GHz which clocks in slightly more slowly than the Mate 8’s 2.3GHz CPU speed. RAM on the P8 is also slightly slower coming in at 2GB while the Mate 8 has a 3GB RAM.

The Mate 8 comes with more internal memory at 32 GB while the P8 comes with 16GB. Both phones have the capability of expanding their memories at any time by purchasing more RAM in an external memory card, something unique to only some Android phone models, as no current iPhone has this capability.

Both phones have the excellent camera and image quality that Huawei is known for. The rear camera of the P8 lite is 13 megapixels, while the Mate 8 has slightly more at 16 megapixels, however both will capture stunning visual images.

The front camera on the Mate 8 has 8 megapixel quality, so if you are super into taking high-quality selfies, the Mate 8 would be a better fit for you, as the P8 lite has a 5 megapixel camera, which is still incredible quality in comparison to other popular smartphone brands. Huawei loves their camera selfie quality, that is for sure.

The screen and video resolution of each is 1080P, and their apertures are similar with the Mate 8 at f/2.0 and the P8 lite at f/2.2. The PPI of the Mate 8 is 367, superior to the 294 PPI in the P8 lite.

Both phones include an ambient light sensor, which will adjust camera brightness and backlighting according to surroundings to optimize the user experience as well as save power.

Both also include a proximity sensor that prevents the phone from taking action on accidental touches such as your ear touching the phone buttons while you are on a phone call with the phone pressed against your ear.

The battery life of the Mate 8 is longer than the P8 lite, with the Mate having 4,000mAh battery capacity and the P8 at 2,2000mAh capacity.

The P8 is 29% lighter than the Mate 8 at 131 grams as opposed to 185 grams as well as being slightly thinner by .2 mm, so if you are looking for the smallest, most portable phone then you should take a second look at the P8 lite.

The Mate 8 also has some special camera features not included in the P8 lite including Optical Image Stabilization (OIS), Digital Image Stabiliatzion, and burst mode, however both contain great camera features including LED Flash for gorgeous portraits, autofocus, HDR capture, panorama, smile detection and touch focus. Both cameras and displays are visually stunning and of the highest quality, however if camera quality is your main focus, the Mate 8 is certainly the superior option.

See larger image Huawei P8 Lite ALE-L21 16GB Gold, Dual Sim, 5-Inch, Unlocked Smartphone, International Stock, No Warranty, GSM ONLY, No CDMA (Wireless Phone Accessory) List Price: 0 New From: $285.73 USD In Stock Used from: $285.73 USD In Stock

See larger image Huawei Mate 8 Unlocked Smartphone with 16 MP camera, 4 GB RAM, 64 GB Memory Dual Sim, No Warranty – International Version (Gold) (Wireless Phone Accessory) List Price: 0 New From: $319.00 USD In Stock Used from: $319.00 USD In Stock

See larger image Huawei Mate 8 NXT-L09 32GB 6-Inch 4G LTE Factory Unlocked Smartphone – International Stock No Warranty (Space Gray) (Accessory) List Price: $165.90 USD New From: $165.90 USD In Stock Used from: $165.90 USD In Stock

See larger image Huawei Mate 8 NXT-L29 32GB Dual SIM Factory Unlocked GSM Smartphone – International Version, No Warranty (Moonlight Silver) (Wireless Phone Accessory) List Price: 0 New From: $286.00 USD In Stock Used from: $286.00 USD In Stock

Huawei P7 in-depth review and specs

See larger image Huawei Ascend Mate 7 Factory Unlocked Cellphone, 16GB, White List Price: 0 New From: $238.00 USD In Stock Used from: Out of Stock

See larger image Huawei Nexus 6P Unlocked Smartphone, 64GB, US Warranty (Graphite) (Wireless Phone Accessory) List Price: Price Not Listed New From: 0 Out of Stock Used from: 0 In Stock

See larger image Huawei Ascend P6 8GB White Factory Unlocked Android Cell Phone 3G HSDPA 850/900/ (Electronics) List Price: Price Not Listed New From: 0 Out of Stock Used from: Out of Stock

See larger image HUAWEI Ascend Y530 Unlocked GSM Android Smartphone – White List Price: Price Not Listed New From: 0 Out of Stock Used from: Out of Stock

See larger image Honor 5X Unlocked Smartphone, 16GB Sunset Gold (US Warranty) (Wireless Phone Accessory) List Price: Price Not Listed New From: 0 Out of Stock Used from: Out of Stock

See larger image Honor 5X Unlocked Smartphone, 16GB Dark Grey (US Warranty) (Wireless Phone Accessory) List Price: Price Not Listed New From: 0 Out of Stock Used from: 0 In Stock

See larger image Honor 5X unlocked smartphone, 16GB Daybreak Silver (US Warranty) (Wireless Phone Accessory) List Price: Price Not Listed New From: 0 Out of Stock Used from: 0 In Stock

See larger image Huawei Maimang 4 RIO-AL00 Unlocked Smartphone 5.5 Inch Qualcomm MSM8939 Octa Core 1.5GHz+1.2GHz, 3GB RAM + 32GB ROM WCDMA & GSM & FDD-LTE (Gold) (Wireless Phone Accessory) List Price: Price Not Listed New From: 0 Out of Stock Used from: Out of Stock

See larger image Huawei Mediapad X2 Tablet Phone (GEM-702L) 32GB Champagne Gold, Dual SIM, 7.0 inch, 3GB ROM – Unlocked International Model – No Warranty List Price: Price Not Listed New From: 0 Out of Stock Used from: Out of Stock

There area lot of great Huwei (now you know how to spell it, Huawei), phones, this article covered the best. Now you’re ready to pick one for your own use.

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Thao Nyugen

As editor in chief, Thao Nguyen is responsible for the editorial direction, media platforms, and business strategy of Technology Review.