Judie and Helena were at CES 2018 and were “wowed” by the Honor View10 smartphone. In fact, it received one of the very first Gear Diary Best of CES 2018 awards! I was excited to check it out and have been using a review sample for the past few weeks. Honestly, it deserved our Best of… award and much more.
Let’s talk about where this phone is positioned and then dig a little deeper into it. My goal here isn’t to be overly technical; there are plenty of reviews out that do just that, but rather to talk about the experience of using it from the perspective of an individual who loves and relies heavily on technology for both personal and professional purposes but isn’t “technical.”
Last fall, I paid over $1000 for my current daily driver.I like the phone a great deal, but I still haven’t completely gotten past the sticker shock of spending that much for a phone. When I got my hands on the Honor View 10, my question was this —“Considering that I could buy two of these phones and have money left over for the price I paid for my current phone, what compromises were made to make this a sub-$500 phone?”
The short answer is – not many.
I spoke with Honor some time ago to gain some insight into their approach and business model. What quickly became clear to me that the company is focused on creating devices that are financially “accessible” without cutting so many corners that their feel like a compromised device. That certainly has been accomplished with the Honor View10. Among the ways that they can keep the price of the devices within reach is that they don’t do a ton of advertising and have streamlined their sales approach. (Seriously, just think for a moment how much Apple must spend on its stores and advertising? It’s a cost that is obviously passed along to consumers.)
Also, they look at what features are most important to creating a great user experience and what features might be a reasonable trade-off between price and functionality and left out. So, for example, the Honor View10 doesn’t have wireless charging. I love wireless charging but not having it isn’t a deal breaker. If not putting wireless charging into the device helps keep the price down it certainly seems like a reasonable trade-off to me. Also, the phone isn’t waterproof. That too is a bit of a bummer, but considering I’ve only had water protection on my last two phones, I don’t see this as a big deal either. Finally, the phone only has a single speaker at a time when other phones are going stereo but again, is that a deal breaker? I think not. (The single speaker sounds pretty good and gets fairly loud.) Other than these obvious “deficits,” there isn’t much missing from this device. It looks, feels and functions like the premium device that it is and yet it costs less than $500.
Let’s talk about some of the hard and fast specifications of this device since it will quickly become apparent that Honor didn’t make any compromises here. This phone uses the HUAWEI KIRIN 970 AI processor. This is the Huawei’s most powerful processor and the first processor with AI built-in. As Honor puts it,
The Huawei Kirin 970 chipset brings you a faster, stronger, and seamless smartphone experience. This is the same processor Huawei is using in their flagship phones this year. Its built-in NPU (neural-network processing unit) enables deep learning based on user behavior, ensuring your Honor View10 truly understands you.
The phone runs Huawei’s EMUI 8 skin on top of Android 8.1. I’ve read criticisms of Huawei’s skin, but I don’t see the issue. In fact, it offers some “features” that you will likely just experience the phone being speedy.
It took me a while to begin to understand the importance of the artificial intelligence built into this device and the relationship between AI and EMUI 8.0. Allow me to let Honor explain it in their terms and then to try to translate a bit.
Because of AI technology, EMUI 8.0 understand how you use your phone and allocates resources by anticipating your behavior. It’s always working in the background to make sure your Honor View10 runs smoothly even after months of use.
In addition to helping the phone feel faster and more “accessible,” the artificial intelligence is used for things like Face Unlock, and AI accelerated translation. More than that, however, the artificial intelligence allows the phone to understand and anticipate how you may be using the phone so that it able to allocate the resources necessary to keep it running as quickly as possible while preserving as much battery as possible. It’s like having a brain between you and the phone that is adjusting the phone to work with you as if it knows you. Because, thanks to the artificial intelligence, it does. In fact, according to the company, users should, over time, be able to get to most of the phone’s core functions with a single click. I haven’t had the phone long enough to get a sense of what this means in practical terms, but I do like the sound of it.
The phone has 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. It joins the growing number dual-SIM phones, but you can use the second SIM slot to expand storage up to 256GB via a microSD card. That means this phone can have almost 400GB of storage. I believe that 128GB is the sweet spot when it comes to built-in storage and the fact that this phone comes only in a 128 GB model speaks to Honor’s understanding that 32 or 64 GB simply isn’t enough storage in 2018. (At the same time, for most people I suspect 256GB of storage would be overkill.)
The phone has Honor’s 5.99” “FullView Display” and an aspect ratio of 18:9.
The phone is incredibly thin yet packs in a 3750 mAh hour battery that can deliver five a half hours of gaming, 19 hours of video playback, 160 hours of music playback, 21 hours of 4G browsing for 23 hours of 3G talk. I haven’t checked out these claims, but I can say this phone runs and runs and runs.
One of the reasons for that is the built-in Smart Power Management capability that learns from your behavior and helps you maintain as much battery capacity as possible. The phone charges quickly and, Honor even decided to go with a USB-C connector! (This is a 2018 device after all)
As previously mentioned, the Honor View10 has a 5.99” display with an 18 x 9 aspect ratio. The FullView Display means this phone is all screen. And it’s gorgeous. Yes, there are phones with higher pixel density, but if you don’t look at numbers on paper, you won’t think this is anything but top shelf.
The phone offers dual-LTE/VoLTE and dual-4G. Honor claims it provides “wider signal coverage and a more stable signal to ensure you always stay connected.” In my experience, it does quite well finding and holding a connection. In my use, the phone I’ve never had a problem with it connecting to my data or with the quality of a phone call.
Honor didn’t skimp on the cameras either. On the back sit both a 20MP monochrome and a 16MP RGB camera along with a flash. On the front, there is a 13-megapixel camera. That’s impressive in its own right, but it is the combination of such powerful hardware with AI that sets this phone apart.
The Honor View10 will change all your mind about what a smartphone camera can do. Thanks to the combination of a dual-lens rear camera and faster focusing technology, it delivers incredible image quality even when you’re shooting from afar.
The artificial intelligence allows for intelligent photography algorithms that identify 13 different types of scenes and objects. It identifies what it is that you’re shooting and then automatically adjusts the camera settings to help you get the best picture possible. In other words, the adjustments that professional photographer would make depending on what he or she is shooting happen automatically on the phone thanks to the artificial intelligence.
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This is no longer a smartphone camera but rather a camera that has a smartphone attached.
Nava likes her monkey!
The phone also has what Honor refers to as AI Motion Detection. This technology means that, if you’re shooting something that is moving quickly, the camera will detect that fact and make adjustments that allow youth capture the action as it happens. The pictures that you can potentially get with this technology are stunning and something that, just a year or two ago, we never would’ve imagined being able to do with our phones.
The artificial intelligence comes into play about the front facing camera as well. This 13MP camera has a portrait mode that delivers sharp portrait edges and background blurring. It helps the individual you’re shooting stand out. Thanks to the artificial intelligence all the necessary adjustments happen without you having to, consciously, think about it and make specific changes.
In short, I have to admit that when I first heard about artificial intelligence being built into a smartphone, I saw it was one of those gimmicky features that will never be used. I was wrong. It’s not a gimmick but rather something that will take the features of the camera and make them better than ever. More than that, because it is onboard and happens automatically,t you don’t have to choose whether you are using it or not. It’s there in the background all the time. When it’s able to make your life easier or make your picture better, it simply gets the job done. And remember, all of this exists on a phone that is under $500.
So let me talk about the phone itself a little bit.
I know that Judie and Helena were completely “wowed” when they saw this device at CES. Giving it a Gear Diary Best of CES 2018 was a no-brainer. Still, I honestly didn’t know what to expect. What is now clear is the fact that this is not the “discounted Huawei phone.” Rather, it is an Honor phone that shares certain components with Huawei’s flagships devices but is part of a brand that stands on its own.
This is Honor’s flagship, but it is still what we would consider a mid-level phone. That means, in part, that there are a minimal number of inclusions that come with it. In the box, you get a wall adapter and a USB-A to USB-C cable. No headphones are included with the device.
What is quite striking, however, is that a clear TPU case was included with the phone. I love and appreciate that a company looking to find ways to keep the price down did not skimp when it came to keeping the device looking gorgeous. And that’s important because this device is gorgeous.
When I pulled the phone out of the box, I was blown away. The front of the phone is almost entirely screen. The bezels on the side are almost nonexistent and the bezel that the top and bottom are surprisingly narrow.
The top bezel houses the earpiece, the selfie camera, and a light sensor. There no “notch” here which, I believe, is a notch in Honor’s belt.
The bottom bezel of the phone houses a physical button that doubles as a fingerprint reader. (The phone also has Face Unlock which works quite well.)
On the left-hand side, you find the Sim slot and nothing else. The SIm slow has a spot for either two SIM cards and a SIM card and a micro USB card for expanded storage. On the right-hand side, you find the power button in the volume toggles.
The back and sides of the device are polished metal that looks and feels as gorgeous as it is solid. On the back, the Honor name is subtly embossed a third of the way from the top. The antennas are placed at the bottom and top and are all but unnoticeable unless you’re looking for them. The fact that the phone comes in blue – actually in a stunning metallic blue – doesn’t hurt. (It also comes in black but gets the blue. It’s gorgeous.)
At the bottom of the phone, you find USB-C charging port, a single speaker, and a 3.5 mm headphone jack. Yes, Honor kept 2.5 mm headphone jack. Good job!
The phone has a 5.99” display and a resolution of 1080 x 2160 for a pixel density of 403ppi. It’s a big screen and a beautiful screen although there are, obviously, higher-resolution screens available. (For comparison sake, the iPhone X has a resolution of 2436 x 1125 pixels for resolution of 458 PPI, the iPhone 8+ has a screen resolution of 1920×1080 for a pixel density of 401ppi and the Samsung Galaxy S9 resolution of 2960 x 1444 resolution of 529 PPI) So, of the four phones, the Honor has the lowest pixel density. And yet, I don’t feel like I’m missing anything. When I look at the screen, I’m simply wowed. Despite what the numbers might suggest, it looks great Nd does not feel like any compromise.
The size of the phone is a bit of a surprise to me. Here’s why. If we compare it to some of the other popular phones on the market, the size looks pretty much in line with them.
Honor View10. 157 x 75 x 7 mm
iPhone X 143.6 x 70.9 x 7.7 mm
iPhone 8+ 138.4 x 67.3 x 7.3 mm
Samsung Galaxy S9 147.7 x 68.7 x 8.5 mm
I’ve found some larger phones unwieldy. (The iPhone 7+, for example, was simply uncomfortable to use.) This phone, however, has a 6” screen and yet it is comfortable to hold and use in a way the iPhone 7+ never way.
Digging around the phone, it is all but impossible to think of this phone as being half the price of the aforementioned premium devices. It seems to have everything. The battery life is excellent but, if need be, you can select from power saving mode or ultra power saving mode. For example, looking at the phone right now, I have 26% of the battery left. That will provide me with just under nine hours of use. If I go into power saving mode, I add at least an hour. If, however, I go into ultra power saving mode, the phone will give me a full day plus an additional 18 hours. That means if I were out and about and didn’t have the ability to charge the phone I could still be connected for almost two days. And that’s with just 26% of the battery capacity available.
The display has numerous settings as well. You can turn on “eye comfort” which filters out blue light and relieves visual fatigue. It gives the phone a bit of a warmer temperature, but this too can be adjusted. On the same page, you can select the screen resolution you want to use to save power. There is also “smart rotate” which allows the phone to rotate depending upon the direction of your face in relation to the device. It’s rather smart!
In settings, you can choose to use the Fingerprint ID, Face Unlock or both.
Under Smart Assistance, there are settings to allow you to use the phone one-handed. There are a variety of motion control options, and there’s the ability to use your voice to answer or reject a phone call. There’s also a gloves mode which allows you to use the phone when it’s cold so your hands can remain toasty warm. Of particular note is the ability to use your knuckle to wake the phone, go into split-screen more (yes, this phone can have two apps up at once!), launch apps by “spelling” a letter and select only part of the screen to capture.
Digging through all of the various settings on the phone makes it clear that this is a premium device at an accessible price.
Connectivity includes Bluetooth 4.0, NFC and dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac. It also includes IR Blaster hardware and software so the phone can replace your remotes. This may sound like a small thing, but I have to say since my phone is always next to me, using it as the tv remote makes a ton of sense.
I could go on and on about the phone, its features and the amazing array of various settings that allow you to make this a phone truly tailored to you but that would take forever. And that’s the point. The Honor View10 may be under $500, but it is as close to a no-compromise phone as I have seen. I’m impressed and bummed to be sending the review sample back. If you love Android and are in the market for a new phone do yourself a favor and check the Honor View10 out. You can learn more here.
Source: Manufacturer supplied review sample on loan.
What I Like: Looks fantastic; Packs a ton of technology in an amazingly thin body; Screen is gorgeous; Has a 2.5mm headphone jack; Has an IR Blaster; Power chip, plenty of RAM, 128GB of ROM and Artificial Intelligence; Under $500
What Needs Improvement: Water resistance and wireless charging would be nice, but I understand the decision to leave them off