Huawei P10 and P10+ launched at MWC 2017

Along with the LG G6 the other much anticipated smartphone also dropped. The Huawei P10, as well as the P10+, launched at Mobile World Congress.

The Huawei P10 is the successor to the P9, of course. That already means that the P10 has to be pretty special as the previous Huawei certainly created ripples through the smartphone world.

Design

Shape-wise, there is nothing really to get overly excited about. It is a nice enough looking phone but nothing to really separate it from, say, the Samsung Galaxy S7.

Through a special partnership with Pantone Color Institute, the world’s pre-eminent thought leader on colour, the devices are introduced in the latest on-trend colours. These have been specially optimised for their unique Hyper Diamond-Cut finish.

The result of hours of careful craftsmanship and cross-collaboration between Huawei and Pantone Color Institute are a pair of special colours. Greenery delivers a clean and stylish sandblast finish, whilst the unique Hyper Diamond-Cut in Dazzling Blue is brought to life through a stunning glow effect.

To complement these unique colourways, the Huawei P10 and P10+ are also available in a selection of striking colours including Ceramic White, Dazzling Gold, Prestige Gold, Graphite Black, Rose Gold and Mystic Silver.

Around the front is a 5.1-inch screen. The Full HD, IPS LCD display is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 5.

Below that is a home button that doubles up as a fingerprint sensor.

Screens

Despite rumors of a curved QHD display on the P10, Huawei has decided to stick with the 5.1-inch Full HD panel we saw on the Huawei P9. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, although everyone expects a year-on-year upgrade.

Still, it’s worth remembering that this screen still packs 432 pixels in every inch.

The P10 Plus does get Quad HD on its 5.5-incher. The 16:9 aspect ratio combined with the size actually pushes it in to WQHD (Wide Quad High Definition).

If your heart is still set on getting a curve-screen Hauwei, you could always buy the Mate 9 Porsche Design. Get me one while you’re at it please.

Cameras

As well as the Leica Dual rear camera the P10 and P10+ both feature a Leica front camera.

As expected, both phones get a 12MP RGB (colour) sensor that works in tandem with a 20MP monochrome (black and white) shooter.

The new 8MP front camera should hand you the ability to snap the perfect self-portrait. Huawei’s Hybrid Zoom is an additional feature that allows users to focus in on specific areas of an image while still keeping the sharpness of image quality.

Of course, there’s clever software behind those lenses. You get professional lighting effects and 3D facial detection technology.

Under the hood

Hardware

Thanks to Huawei’s proprietary SuperCharge technology you get super-fast charging. Huawei has opted for a 3200mAh unit on the P10 and a 3750mAh cell on the P10 Plus. Hopefully these will be mated to better power management than the average performance on the P9.

The P10 gets the latest Kirin 960 chipset. It’s the same setup in the Huawei P10 Plus, and it has already been tested in the Mate 9.

Huawei has stocked the P10 with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage – that’s the only storage option for this phone.

The P10 Plus has 4GB or 6GB of RAM options, depending on which version you opt for. That’s paired with 128GB of storage on both versions.

There’s microSD support up to 256GB. Not quite the 2TB support of the LG G6.

Software

Software-wise the phones are running the latest Android 7 Nougat software. It sounds like there’s uncertainty as to whether the P10 or P10 Plus will ever be able to run Google Assistant. This is odd as that’s something else the G6 has sorted.

Huawei’s Emotion UI 5.1 brings a number of improvements including predictive fingerprint technology.

Accessories

Huawei has also partnered with Chinese designer Ricostru to develop a new aesthetic for a new collection of Huawei P10 and P10+ accessories.

The collection features the mini smartphone bag; the perfect partner for the new devices. Small but stylish, the bag fuses retro and oriental elements throughout weaving textures and a sculpted architectural aesthetic.

To ensure that your new Huawei smartphone never runs out of power in the most fashionable way possible, Ricostru also introduces a unique, fashionable bracelet that can quickly transform from a chic braided band, into a mobile phone charging cable. Coupled with the handset’s new super-fast charging feature, smart phone charging has never been more fashionable!

Huawei P10 and P10+ prices and availability

The Huawei P10 and P10+ are available in Europe and China from March, 2017, followed shortly after by Asia, Latin America, South Africa and Russia in April, 2017. Priced at: P10 €649, P10+ (64GB + 4GB) €699, P10+ (128GB + 6GB) €799.

They are both available in Greenery and Dazzling Blue, co-designed with Pantone Color Institute.

Other colourways include Ceramic White, Dazzling Gold – with Hyper Diamond-Cut finish – and Prestige Gold, Graphite Black, Rose Gold and Mystic Silver – with sandblast finish.

The phones will be ranged in the UK by Carphone Warehouse, EE, O2 (not P10+), Three and Vodafone.