Huawei's Ascend P6 has been the subject of much speculation so I naturally jumped at the chance to review one with both hands ahead of its launch at the end of the month.
The question on everyone's lips is this: Does it perform as good as it looks?
Having spent
some quality time with a P6, I've come to the conclusion that this great looking phone offers some pretty decent bang per buck, even if it could do with a spec bump. Having long played at the budget handset end of the phone market, Huawei also appears to be aiming higher with the Ascend P6, which has a decidedly premium feel about it. If I were Samsung, HTC and Apple, I'd be more than a little worried.
Look and Feel
Perhaps the most noticeable thing about the P6 is its svelte form factor. Weighing in at a mere 120grams, the P6 may resemble a run of the mill smartphone when viewed front-on, but it isn't until you get your first look at its 6.5mm supermodel thin waist from that you realise the P6 is a little more special than initial impressions would have you believe.
In the hand the P6 also reveals a higher end spec. Tupperware has been replaced with a slick brushed alloy and Gorilla glass combo that hints that it is not a budget handset. That Huawei have managed to cram smartphone innards into such a petite chassis, also speaks volumes about the cleverness of the P6's design. In short The Ascend P6 feels solid and Small design flourishes such as chamfered edges around the Gorilla Glass really showcase Huawei's design chops.
Under the Hood
High end design doesn't transfer to specs with the P6. This said, the P6 is no slouch on the specifications front, packing a quad core 1.5GHz CPU that was designed in-house by Huawei. There's an 8 megapixel rear camera and a 5 megapixel front shooter. Sadly there is no 4G and the P6 is also lacking on the storage front, with only 2GB of RAM, and a further 8GB of internal storage. This said, Its LCD display definitely impresses, sporting a 1,280 x 720 resolution at 312 PPI. Thankfully the P6 also takes a MicroSD card to give its meagre internal storage (8Gb of which only 4Gb is accessible) a much needed bump.
I was however pretty impressed with the P6's 5-megapixel front-facing camera. where most phones make do with a VGA front facing image sensor, Huawei have thrown caution to the wind and selfies are about to get a whole lot more detailed. On the media front, I was also pleased to see that DLNA and Dolby Digital audio were also baked in.
