Highway p6. Huawei Ascend P6 review: another 'thinnest smartphone in the world

Smartphone Huawei Ascend P6 on Android base equipped with a 4.7-inch 720p display, 4-core processor with a frequency of 1.5 GHz, 8-megapixel. main and 5-megapixel. front camera and 2000 mAh battery. The device is 6.2 mm thick.

MAIN TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Nutrition

Battery capacity: 2000 mAh Battery: non-removable

Additional Information

Announced date: 2013-06-19

General characteristics

Type: smartphone Weight: 120 g Control: on-screen buttons Case material: metal Operating system: Android 4.2 Case type: classic Number of SIM cards: 1 Dimensions (WxHxT): 65.5x132.65x6.18 mm Type of SIM card: micro SIM

Screen

Screen type: color, touch type touch screen: multitouch, capacitive Diagonal: 4.7 inches. Image size: 1280x720 Pixels Per Inch (PPI): 312

Multimedia capabilities

Camera: 8 million pixels, 3264x2448, built-in flash Video recording: yes Max. video resolution: 1920x1080 Front camera: yes, 5 million pixels. Audio: MP3, AAC, WAV, WMA, FM radio Headphone jack: 3.5mm

Connection

Interfaces: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 3.0, USB Standard: GSM 900/1800/1900, 3G Satellite navigation: GPS / GLONASS

Memory and processor

Processor: 1500 MHz Number of processor cores: 4 Internal memory: 8 GB RAM: 2 GB Memory card support: microSD (TransFlash) Memory card slot: yes

Other functions

Control: voice dialing, voice control Airplane mode: there is a bug report

ZOOM recommends: review of the world's thinnest smartphone Huawei Ascend P6

The saturation level of the smartphone market is such that selling new products is now possible only with the use of bright epithets and superlatives in marketing descriptions. And if the manufacturer is slightly delayed with the release of the "fastest", "lightest" and "most productive", then you have to frantically look for something "magic" that will help sell the new product. Indeed, from the point of view of technical characteristics, the recipe for a decent smartphone on Android is not a great secret: more processor cores (from two to eight), a screen of at least four and a half inches, two gigabytes of RAM, a high-quality matrix behind protected glass, a handful of sensors and wireless interfaces and not the worst camera (do not spare megapixels!).

Information about the brand, model and alternative names of a specific device, if any.

Design

Information about the dimensions and weight of the device, presented in different units of measurement. Used materials, offered colors, certificates.

Width Width information - refers to the horizontal side of the device in its standard orientation during use.	65.5 mm (millimeters) 6.55 cm (centimeters) 0.21 ft (feet) 2.58 in (inches)
Height Height information - refers to the vertical side of the device in its standard orientation during use.	132.7 mm (millimeters) 13.27 cm (centimeters) 0.44 ft (feet) 5.22 in (inches)
Thickness Information about the thickness of the device in different units measurements.	6.2 mm (millimeters) 0.62 cm (centimeters) 0.02 ft (feet) 0.24 in (inches)
The weight Information about the weight of the device in different units of measurement.	120 g (grams) 0.26 lbs (pounds) 4.23 oz (ounces)
Volume The approximate volume of the device, calculated based on the dimensions provided by the manufacturer. Refers to devices with a rectangular parallelepiped shape.	53.89 cm³ (cubic centimeters) 3.27 in³ (cubic inches)
Colors Information about the colors in which this device is offered for sale.	Black White Pink
Materials for the manufacture of the case Materials used for the manufacture of the device body.	Aluminium alloy Plastic

SIM card

A SIM card is used in mobile devices to store data that certifies the authenticity of mobile service subscribers.

Mobile networks

A mobile network is a radio system that allows multiple mobile devices to communicate with each other.

Mobile technology and data rates

Communication between devices in mobile networks is carried out using technologies that provide different data transfer rates.

Operating system

An operating system is the system software that controls and coordinates the operation of hardware components in a device.

SoC (System on Chip)

A system on a chip (SoC) integrates all the major hardware components of a mobile device into a single chip.

SoC (System on Chip) A system on a chip (SoC) integrates various hardware components such as a processor, graphics processor, memory, peripherals, interfaces, etc., as well as the software required for their operation.	Huawei K3V2E HiSilicon Hi3620
Technological process Information about the technological process by which the chip is manufactured. The value in nanometers is half the distance between the elements in the processor.	40 nm (nanometers)
Processor (CPU) The main function of the processor (CPU) of a mobile device is to interpret and execute instructions contained in software applications.	ARM Cortex-A9
Processor size The capacity (bits) of the processor is determined by the size (in bits) of registers, address buses and buses for data. 64-bit processors offer better performance than 32-bit processors, which in turn are more efficient than 16-bit processors.	32 bit
Instruction set architecture Instructions are commands with which the software sets / controls the processor. Information about the instruction set (ISA) that the processor can execute.	ARMv7
Level 1 cache (L1) The cache memory is used by the processor to reduce the time it takes to access more frequently used data and instructions. L1 (level 1) cache is small and much faster than both system memory and other levels of cache. If the processor does not find the requested data in L1, it continues to look for it in the L2 cache. On some processors, this search is performed simultaneously in L1 and L2.	32 KB + 32 KB (kilobytes)
L2 cache L2 (level 2) cache is slower than L1, but instead has a larger capacity to allow caching more data. It, like L1, is much faster than system memory (RAM). If the processor does not find the requested data in L2, it continues to look for them in L3 cache memory (if available) or in RAM memory.	1024 KB (kilobytes) 1 MB (megabytes)
Number of processor cores The processor core executes program instructions. There are processors with one, two or more cores. Having more cores increases performance by allowing multiple instructions to execute in parallel.	4
CPU clock speed The clock speed of a processor describes its speed in cycles per second. It is measured in megahertz (MHz) or gigahertz (GHz).	1500 MHz (megahertz)
Graphics processing unit (GPU) A graphics processing unit (GPU) handles computation for a variety of 2D / 3D graphics applications... V mobile devices ah, it is used most often by games, consumer interface, video applications, and more.	Vivante GC4000
Clock frequency GPU Speed ​​is the clock speed of the GPU and is measured in megahertz (MHz) or gigahertz (GHz).	480 MHz (megahertz)
The amount of random access memory (RAM) Random access memory (RAM) is used by the operating system and all installed applications. The data that is saved in the RAM is lost after the device is turned off or restarted.	2 GB (gigabytes)
Memory type (RAM) Information about the type of random access memory (RAM) used by the device.	LPDDR2
Number of RAM channels Information about the number of RAM channels which are integrated into the SoC. More channels means higher data rates.	Two-channel
RAM frequency The frequency of the RAM determines its speed of operation, more specifically, the speed of reading / writing data.	500 MHz (megahertz)

Built-in memory

Each mobile device has built-in (non-removable) fixed memory.

Memory cards

Memory cards are used in mobile devices to increase the storage space for data.

Screen

The screen of a mobile device is characterized by its technology, resolution, pixel density, diagonal length, color depth, etc.

Type / technology One of the main characteristics of the screen is the technology by which it is made and on which the image quality of information directly depends.	IPS
Diagonal On mobile devices, screen size is expressed in terms of the length of its diagonal, measured in inches.	4.7 in (inches) 119.38 mm (millimeters) 11.94 cm (centimeters)
Width Approximate screen width	2.3 in (inches) 58.53 mm (millimeters) 5.85 cm (centimeters)
Height Approximate screen height	4.1 in (inches) 104.05 mm (millimeters) 10.4 cm (centimeters)
Aspect ratio The aspect ratio of the long side of the screen to its short side	1.778:1 16:9
Permission Screen resolution shows the number of pixels horizontally and vertically on the screen. Higher resolution means sharper image detail.	720 x 1280 pixels
Pixel density Information about the number of pixels per centimeter or inch of the screen. Higher density allows information to be shown on the screen in clearer detail.	312 ppi (pixels per inch) 122 ppcm (pixels per centimeter)
Color depth Screen color depth reflects the total number of bits used for color components in one pixel. Information about the maximum number of colors that the screen can display.	24 bit 16777216 flowers
Screen footprint The approximate percentage of the display area on the front of the device.	70.29% (percent)
Other characteristics Information about other functions and features of the screen.	Capacitive Multitouch Scratch resistant
	Corning Gorilla Glass

Sensors

Different sensors perform different quantitative measurements and convert physical metrics into signals that can be recognized by the mobile device.

Main camera

The main camera of a mobile device is usually located on the back of the body and is used for photo and video shooting.

Sensor model Information about the manufacturer and model of the photocell used in the camera of the device.	Sony Exmor RS
Sensor type Digital cameras use photo sensors to take photographs. The sensor, as well as the optics, are one of the main factors in the quality of the camera in a mobile device.	CMOS (complementary metal-oxide semiconductor)
ISO (light sensitivity) ISO values ​​determine the level of light sensitivity of the photosensor. A lower value means weaker light sensitivity, and vice versa - a higher value means a higher light sensitivity, i.e. better ability of the sensor to work in low light conditions.	100 - 800
Diaphragm Aperture (f-number) is the size of the aperture opening that controls the amount of light reaching the photosensor. A lower f-number means a larger aperture opening.	f / 2
Excerpt Shutter speed (exposure time) indicates how long the camera shutter is open during shooting. The longer it is open, the more light reaches the photosensor. Shutter speed is measured in seconds (for example 5, 2, 1) or in fractions of a second (for example 1/2, 1/8, 1/8000).	8.1 - 1/4000
Flash type The most common types of flashes in mobile cameras are LED and Xenon flashes. LED-flashes give softer light and, unlike brighter xenon ones, are also used for video filming.	LED
Image Resolution One of the main characteristics of cameras on mobile devices is their resolution, which shows the number of pixels horizontally and vertically in an image.	3264 x 2448 pixels 7.99 MP (megapixels)
Video resolution Information about the maximum supported resolution for video recording by the device.	1920 x 1080 pixels 2.07 MP (megapixels)
Video - frame rate / frames per second. Information about the maximum number of frames per second (fps) supported by the device when shooting video at maximum resolution. Some of the main standard video capture and playback speeds are 24p, 25p, 30p, 60p.	30 frames / sec (frames per second)
Specifications Information about other software and hardware features associated with the main camera to improve its functionality.	Autofocus Tracking autofocus Digital image stabilization Geographic tags Panoramic shooting HDR shooting Face recognition Adjusting the white balance ISO setting Macro mode

Additional camera

Additional cameras are usually mounted above the screen of the device and are used mainly for video calls, gesture recognition, etc.

Audio

Information about the type of speakers and audio technology supported by the device.

Radio

The radio of the mobile device is a built-in FM receiver.

Locating

Information about the navigation and positioning technologies supported by the device.

Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi is a technology that enables wireless communication for transferring data over short distances between various devices.

Bluetooth

Bluetooth is a standard for secure wireless transfer of data between different types of devices over short distances.

USB

USB (Universal Serial Bus) is an industry standard that allows different electronic devices to exchange data.

Headphone jack

This is an audio connector, which is also called an audio connector. The most widely used standard in mobile devices is the 3.5mm headphone jack.

Connecting devices

Information about other important connection technologies supported by the device.

Browser

A web browser is a software application for accessing and viewing information on the Internet.

Browser Information about some of the main features and standards supported by the device browser.

Html HTML5 CSS 3

Audio file formats / codecs

Mobile devices support different audio file formats and codecs, which respectively store and encode / decode digital audio data.

Video file formats / codecs

Mobile devices support different video file formats and codecs, which respectively store and encode / decode digital video data.

Battery

Mobile device batteries differ in their capacity and technology. They provide the electrical charge required for their function.

Capacity Battery capacity indicates the maximum charge it can store, measured in milliampere-hours.	2000 mAh (milliampere-hours)
Type of The type of battery is determined by its structure and, more precisely, by the chemicals used. Exists different types lithium-ion and lithium-ion-polymer batteries are most commonly used in mobile devices.	Li-polymer
Talk time 2G Talk time in 2G is the period of time during which the battery charge is completely discharged during continuous talk on a 2G network.	28 h (hours) 1680 min (minutes) 1.2 days
Standby time 2G Standby time in 2G is the period of time during which the battery charge is completely discharged when the device is in stand-by mode and connected to a 2G network.	416 h (hours) 24960 minutes (minutes) 17.3 days
Talk time 3G Talk time in 3G is the period of time during which the battery charge is completely discharged during a continuous conversation on a 3G network.	14 hours 30 minutes 14.5 h (hours) 870 minutes (minutes) 0.6 days
3G standby time Standby time in 3G is the period of time during which the battery is completely discharged when the device is in stand-by mode and connected to a 3G network.	315 h (hours) 18900 min (minutes) 13.1 days
Specifications Information about some additional characteristics device battery.	Non-removable

Specific Absorption Rate (SAR)

SAR levels refer to the amount of electromagnetic radiation absorbed by the human body when using a mobile device.

Head SAR (EU) The SAR level indicates the maximum amount electromagnetic radiation to which the human body is exposed if you hold a mobile device close to your ear in a talking position. In Europe, the maximum allowable SAR value for mobile devices is limited to 2 W / kg per 10 grams of human tissue. This standard established by the CENELEC committee in accordance with IEC standards, following the ICNIRP guidelines of 1998.

0.638 W / kg (Watts per kilogram)

Body SAR (EU) The SAR level indicates the maximum amount of electromagnetic radiation that a person's body is exposed to when holding a mobile device at hip level. The highest SAR value for mobile devices in Europe is 2 W / kg per 10 grams of human tissue. This standard was established by the CENELEC committee in accordance with ICNIRP guidelines from 1998 and IEC standards.

0.85 W / kg (Watts per kilogram)

Huawei marketers have divided the company's smartphones into four series: Y ( y outh - young), G ( g old - gold), P ( p latinum - platinum) and D ( d iamond - diamond). It is easy to guess that the first two classes belong to the entry-level and mid-range devices, and the D series - the technically advanced flagships. The "platinum" (to which, respectively, the Ascend P6 belongs) Huawei smartphones stand apart, since, on the one hand, they are equipped with quite good technical stuffing, with which it is not a shame to pretend to be the main device of the company, but on the other hand, they have a very pleasant appearance. No wonder the press release of the tested gadget began with the words: "Introducing the Ascend P6: the new design flagship of Huawei - the thinnest smartphone in the world." Therefore, despite the fact that the device does not belong to the highest D-class of the company, it is also considered a flagship, and even not a simple one, but a designer one.

⇡ Appearance and ergonomics

You can have a long discussion on the topic "is it expedient or not to race for the best figures in the characteristics." If we talk about the dimensions of a smartphone, LG engineers, for example, believe that it is better to let the device be a millimeter thicker, but it will fit more capacious battery... There is certainly logic in such judgments, but one cannot be denied: thin smartphones look really cool.

Huawei Ascend P6 - bezel

The body of the device is made almost entirely of aluminum, which ensures sufficient structural strength. The gadget endured squeezing of the sides, without creaking a single detail; characteristic color stains on the screen were also not observed. The build quality is very high. At the same time, the device weighs relatively little - 120 grams.

Huawei Ascend P6 full face

The only plastic element in the entire body is the rounded insert at the bottom. She spoils a little appearance smartphone - without it, the gadget would look more harmonious.

Huawei Ascend P6 with screen on

There are no physical keys, as befits a device running the fourth version of Android, on the front panel, so its main area is occupied by the screen. The thickness of the frame around the display from the sides is minimized - it does not even reach two millimeters. In the upper part of the panel there is a slot for the earpiece and a front camera lens.

Huawei Ascend P6 - general view

At the first acquaintance with the device, the eyes involuntarily notice numerous nuances in which it is similar to the "apple" smartphones of the fourth and fifth generations. Most notable of all are the sides of the case, which are made of aluminum with characteristic "seams" at the top. In this case, it is absolutely possible to answer the question of what device Huawei designers were inspired by. On right side the housing contains the power keys, volume control, as well as connectors for MicroSD and micro-SIM, which, like in the same smartphone, are opened using a key-needle.

Huawei Ascend P6 - rear panel and sides

However, Huawei engineers did not hide the needle in a bag with documents, but combined it with a plug for an audio jack. They probably hoped that it would be more difficult to lose her this way. However, the Ascend P6 reached us without the ill-fated needle - it seems that someone who tested the smartphone before us was still able to sow it. The micro-USB interface, from which the device is charged, is located on the upper end. Next to it is one of the microphones, the second is hiding on the bottom edge.

Huawei Ascend P6 - back panel

The back of the device is textured, but smooth, which can cause the device to slip out of your hands. In its upper part there is a lens of the main 8-megapixel camera and a flash, in the lower part there is a slot for an external speaker. None of the elements protrudes from the case, so the declared thickness of 6.2 mm can be considered absolutely fair. The back cover of Huawei Ascend P6 is non-removable, which excludes the possibility of "hot" battery replacement.

⇡ Specifications

Huawei Ascend P6
Display	4.7 inches, 720x1280, IPS
Touch screen	Capacitive, up to ten points, support for working with gloves
Air gap	Absent
Oleophobic coating	There is
Polarizing filter	There is
CPU	Huawei HiSilicon K3V2E: four cores ARM Cortex-A9 (ARMv7), frequency 1.5 GHz; Process technology 40 nm
Graphics controller	Vivante GC4000
RAM	2 GB
Flash memory	8 GB + microSD
Connectors	1 x micro-USB 2.0 (MHL) 1 x 3.5mm headset jack 1 x MicroSD 1 x micro-SIM
cellular	2G: GSM / GPRS / EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 MHz 3G: HSPA + (21 Mbps) 850/900/1700/1900/2100 MHz
Bluetooth	4.0
Wi-Fi	802.11b / g / n
NFC	Absent
Infrared port	Absent
FM-radio	There is
Navigation	GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS
Sensors	Illumination, proximity, accelerometer / gyroscope, digital compass
Main camera	8.0 MP (3264x2448), back-illuminated sensor, autofocus, LED flash
Front-camera	5 MP (2592x1952)
Nutrition	Non-removable battery: 7.4 W * h (2000 mAh, 3.7 V)
The size	133x65.5 mm Case thickness 6.2 mm
Weight	120 g
Operating system	Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean Emotion UI 1.6 Shell
Price	From

Another "thinnest in the world"?

"Introducing the Ascend P6: Huawei's new design flagship, the world's thinnest smartphone." Under this heading, the press materials of the Chinese manufacturer were published on the new model Huawei Ascend P6. Well, we will not discuss here the practical necessity of this race for leadership in the production of "the thinnest smartphone in the world", we will only note that it is the representative of the Ascend P series that participation in this race is quite forgivable. At one time, we demonstrated in one of the reports such a slide, which reveals the meaning of the letter designations given to one or another model of the new mobile phone Huawei Ascend.

According to this slide, the manufacturer puts the following meaning in the letter designations of the lines of their mobile devices: with the letters Y (from Youth, adolescence) and G (from Gold, gold) the communicators of the lower price category are indicated - for young people and just budget ones, and P and D, which are here abbreviations from the English words "Platinum" (platinum) and "Diamond" (diamond), are designed to convey the spirit of stylish, expensive and technically advanced devices ... In the upper sector, the division is also quite clear: if D-devices are simply the most powerful devices, flagships of the company's product line, then the Ascend P line is also a top-end series, but with a clear bias towards glamor. That is, it presents devices developed primarily with an emphasis on design. Suffice it to recall one of the first models in the series - Huawei Ascend P1, which exactly a year ago also claimed the title of the thinnest. As for the top line Ascend D, it recently introduced new smartphone Huawei Ascend D2, which we have already described in our review. The flagship, by the way, disappointed everyone with its sluggishness, weak performance for a top-end smartphone and obvious overheating, noticeable during almost any task. Looking ahead, we note that the new "designer" find, Ascend P6, built on the same hardware platform HiSilicon K3V2 of Huawei's own production, also does not shine with the speed of the hardware filling (especially the graphics subsystem) and, like the flagship, it turned out to be subject to rapid heating at work.

	Huawei Ascend P6	Huawei Ascend D2	Sony Xperia SP	Google Nexus 4	LG Optimus G	Htc one
Screen	4.7 ″, IPS +	5 ″, IPS	4.6 ″	4.7 ″, IPS Plus	4.7 ″, IPS Plus	4.7 ″, S-LCD3 (IPS)
Permission	1280 × 720, 312 ppi	1920 × 1080, 440 ppi	1280 × 720, 319 ppi	1280 × 768, 317 ppi	1280 × 768, 317 ppi	1920 × 1080, 469 ppi
SoC		HiSilicon K3V2 @ 1.5 GHz (4 cores, Cortex-A9)	Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro @ 1.7 GHz (2 cores, ARMv7 Krait)		Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro (APQ8064) @ 1.5GHz (Quad Core, ARMv7 Krait)	Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 @ 1.7 GHz (4 cores, ARMv7 Krait)
GPU	Vivante GC4000	Vivante GC4000	Adreno 320	Adreno 320	Adreno 320	Adreno 320
RAM	2 GB	2 GB	1 GB	2 GB	2 GB	2 GB
Flash memory	8 GB	32 GB	8 GB	8/16 GB	32 GB	32/64 GB
Memory card support	microSD	No	microSD	No	No	No
Operating system	Google android 4.2	Google Android 4.1	Google Android 4.1	Google Android 4.2	Google Android 4.1	Google Android 4.1
SIM format *	Micro-SIM	Micro-SIM	Micro-SIM	Micro-SIM	Micro-SIM	Micro-SIM
Battery	non-removable, 2000 mAh	non-removable, 3000 mAh	non-removable, 2370 mAh	non-removable, 2100 mAh	non-removable, 2100 mAh	non-removable, 2300 mAh
Cameras	rear (8 Mp; video - 1080p), front (5 Mp)		rear (8 Mp; video - 1080p), front (0.3 Mp)	rear (8 Mp; video - 1080p), front (1.3 Mp)	rear (13 Mp; video - 1080p), front (1.3 Mp)	rear (4 Mp; video - 1080p), front (2 Mp)
Dimensions (edit)	133 x 66 x 6.2 mm, 120 g	140 x 71 x 9.4 mm, 170 g	131 x 67 x 9.9 mm, 155 g	134 x 69 x 9.1mm, 139g	132 x 69 x 8.5 mm, 145 g	137 x 68 x 9.3 mm, 143 grams

* The most common SIM card formats are described in a separate article.

Main characteristics of Huawei Ascend P6 (model U06)

• SoC HiSilicon K3V2, 1.5 GHz, 4 processor cores Cortex-A9
• GPU Vivante GC4000, 600-800 MHz
• Operating system Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean
• Touchscreen IPS +, 4.7 ″, 1280 × 720
• Random access memory (RAM) 2 GB, internal memory 8 GB
• Communication GSM GPRS / EDGE 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz
• Communication 3G UMTS HSDPA 850, 900, 1700, 1900, 2100 MHz
• Bluetooth 3.0
• OTG support
• Wi-Fi 802.11b / g / n (2 bands), point Wi-Fi access, Wi-Fi Direct
• GPS / A-GPS, Glonass
• 8MP camera with HDR video support
• 5MP camera (front)
• Li-polymer battery 2000 mAh
• Dimensions 132.6 x 65.5 x 6.18 mm
• Weight 120 g

Appearance and usability

As mentioned at the beginning of the article, the outstanding feature of the new smartphone Huawei Ascend P6 is its design - especially the very thin case. The thickness value here is 6.18 mm anywhere, because the body is completely flat, and no parts (not even the camera window rim) stick out outside the body.

As for the appearance of the device, it turned out to be quite attractive. The manufacturer quite frankly copied the flat side metal bezel Apple iPhone 4, so the smartphones are very similar to each other in profile, only the Huawei device will be thinner.

The case is not symmetrical: if the upper end remained the same flat as the sidewalls, the designers rounded the lower end. By the way, only the bottom end here is plastic, and the rest of the body is made of metal: the side bezel remained unpainted, and the back panel is painted in the general color of the body.

The smartphone does not look large, although you cannot call it small either: the screen diagonal is the usual 4.7 inches, while the dimensions of the device are not much less than a five-inch one. Samsung Galaxy S4, for example.

The side frames around the screen turned out to be very thin, therefore, in terms of such a parameter as width, the smartphone turned out to be one of the record holders. Due to the small width and thickness of the case, the phone fits perfectly into any palm, both male and female. There is no gloss here, all the details are matte - not slippery and not easily soiled, so the smartphone holds well in the fingers and does not collect prints very well.

But the developers could have made the lower part more elegant. Considering that the Android control buttons here are not hardware, but virtual, software, the lower part could certainly have been made shorter - then the device would have looked even more accurate. Here they left a whole 1.5 cm of empty space below the screen. It is clear that it was impossible to embed an audio jack into such a thin case on the same level as the screen, so it was moved lower, but who prevented you from simply continuing the protective glass outside the screen and reaching the edge of the metal side bezel?

Now part of the space at the bottom end is not even covered with glass, and a piece of frank glued plastic looks like an atavism, as if sticking out from under the glass, spoils the whole impression and leaves a feeling of incomplete design.

Since the form factor Huawei housings Ascend P6 is a candy bar, you won't find any removable or sliding parts. The back panel is also non-removable, so the method of installing cards (SIM-cards and memory cards) is used here exactly the same as in the Apple iPhone: cards are inserted into the case on metal slides, and removed by pressing a paper clip. True, unlike the iPhone, here the developers did not deprive the user of the possibility of expanding memory due to a microSD card, therefore, Huawei Ascend P6 has two such retractable slots, they are located next to each other.

Most of the controls are huddled on exactly one - the right - edge of the case. Here are both the aforementioned card slots, the power button, and the volume rocker.

There is one more curious nuance: the audio output for headphones from Huawei Ascend P6, although standard (3.5 mm), is not cut into the upper or lower end, but into the side edge. Accordingly, the headphones come with an L-shaped plug, because the usual one here will be completely out of place. You won't find this connector right off the bat - it is closed with a kind of metal plug, the other end of which is, in combination, the very same key-paper clip that opens the locks of the slots with cards.

At the bottom there is nothing but a microphone, and the Micro-USB connector was moved to the upper end - everything got confused in this model in terms of the arrangement of elements on the body. The Huawei Ascend P6 does not have a dedicated photo button, and those that are (power and volume) are neat, stylish, but protrude not enough from the case. Practicality has been sacrificed for beauty, so the travel of these pretty metal keys is too short, and the press is not clear enough. However, this can be considered a minor drawback, which is easy to get used to.

In general, the Huawei Ascend P6 could even be called beautiful if the overall look had not been spoiled by this ridiculous bottom piece of bulging plastic. The phone will hit the shelves in three different color versions: black, pink and white. It is noteworthy that in the case of the black color of the case, the back panel looks like roughly sanded metal, while the white (which we visited for testing) and pink phones do not have such texture - their covers are absolutely smooth.

The Huawei Ascend P6 smartphone goes on sale in a small flat box made of high-quality thick white cardboard. Inside there are additional compartments and several boxes of different sizes containing all the accessories attached to the phone. The kit consists of a small charger with USB output, USB to Micro-USB connecting cable and wired stereo headset with L-plug and non-slip ear pads.

Plus, in one of the boxes, the buyer will be able to find a translucent silicone case, which, however, has a different color from the smartphone (in our case, a dark gray protective case was supplied with a white smartphone). The cover is nice, but there are two "buts" here. Firstly, it is a pity to hide the beauty of the case, on the design of which the developers worked so diligently. Secondly, since we were in possession of a device not certified for our market, we cannot say with complete certainty that such a package will be available to a Russian buyer as well.

Screen

Huawei Ascend P6 is equipped with a very high quality HD-screen, made by IPS technology: grain is not visible, the density of dots (312 ppi) is sufficient so that the fonts do not seem friable, responsiveness is high. In numbers, the physical parameters of the screen of the Huawei Ascend P6 smartphone are as follows: screen dimensions - 59 × 104 mm, diagonal - 120 mm (4.7 inches), resolution - HD 720p (1280 × 720 pixels).

The brightness of the display Huawei Ascend P6 has both manual and automatic adjustment, the latter is based on the operation of the light sensor. The multitouch technology allows you to simultaneously process up to ten touches, which is confirmed by the AnTuTu Tester test. There is also a proximity sensor that locks the screen when you bring the smartphone to your ear. In addition, the display of the Huawei Ascend P6 smartphone is endowed with the ability to respond to touches with gloves, which was also tested by us: the screen really behaves adequately when working with gloves, so this is a fully functional function. By the way, this feature can be turned off in the settings menu if it seems to you that the screen sensitivity (including touching with third-party objects) is too high.

Alexey Kudryavtsev, editor of the "Monitors" and "Projectors and TV" sections, carried out a detailed examination using measuring instruments. Here is his expert opinion on the Huawei Ascend P6 screen.

The smartphone screen is covered with a glass plate with a mirror-smooth surface and, judging by the decrease in the brightness of reflected objects, has a fairly effective anti-glare filter. There is no significant multiplicity of reflection, which indicates the absence of an air gap between the outer glass and the matrix surface. On the outer surface of the screen there is a special oleophobic (grease-repellent) coating, so fingerprints do not appear as quickly as in the case of ordinary glass, but are removed much easier.

With manual brightness control, its maximum value was 486 cd / m², and the minimum was 17 cd / m². As a result, at maximum brightness in bright daylight, the readability of the screen should remain at a high level, and in complete darkness, the brightness can be lowered to a comfortable level. There is an automatic brightness control according to the light sensor (it is located to the left of the front speaker), the operation of this function depends on the position of the brightness adjustment slider. If it is set to 100%, then in complete darkness the auto-brightness function reduces the brightness to at least 135 cd / m2 (a bit too much, but bearable), in an office illuminated with artificial light, it sets to 180 cd / m2 (acceptable), in a very bright environment (corresponds to outdoor lighting on a clear day, but without direct sunlight) increases to a maximum value of 486 cd / m² (which is to be expected). If the slider is set to 50%, then the brightness values ​​under the same conditions are as follows: 21, 90 and 385 cd / m², and if at 0% - 17, 30 and 76 cd / m². V automatic mode When the ambient light conditions change, the screen brightness rises and falls. In general, this function works reasonably well. At low brightness, there is virtually no backlight modulation (up to 100 kHz), so there is no screen flickering.

The Huawei Ascend P6 has an IPS-type matrix. The micrograph shows a typical IPS subpixel structure:

The screen has very good viewing angles without inverting tints and without significant color shift, even with large gaze deviations from the perpendicular to the screen. When deviated along the diagonal, the black field lightens very little and, depending on the direction of deviation, acquires a violet or red-violet tint. When viewed from a perpendicular view, the uniformity of the black field is good. The response time for the transition black-white-black is 35 ms (25 ms on + 10 ms off). The transition between gray tones of 25% and 75% (based on the numerical value of the color) and back takes 44 ms in total. The contrast is typical for IPS - about 650: 1. The gamma curve plotted at 32 points did not reveal any blockage in highlights or shadows, and the exponent of the approximating power function is 2.10, which is slightly lower standard value 2.2, while the real gamma curve practically does not deviate from the power dependence:

Due to the dynamic adjustment of the brightness of the backlight in accordance with the nature of the displayed image (in bright images in the middle, the brightness increases), the obtained dependence of brightness on the hue (gamma curve) may not correspond to the gamma curve of a static image, since the measurements were carried out with sequential output of shades of gray in full screen. For the same reason, we will not argue that the above response time really corresponds to the response time of the matrix itself.

The color gamut is sRGB:

The spectra show that the matrix filters mix the components together to a moderate extent:

As a result, the colors visually have a natural saturation. This smartphone has the ability to correct the color balance by adjusting the hue warmer-colder:

In the graphs below, the curves No correction correspond to the results without any color balance correction, dots Warmly and Coldly- data obtained after the maximum shift of the correction slider to the "warm" and "cold" sides, respectively.

The balance of shades on the gray scale is very good, since the color temperature is slightly higher than the standard 6500 K, and the deviation from the blackbody spectrum (delta E) is less than 3, which is considered a good indicator even for a professional device. (The dark areas of the gray scale can be ignored, since the color balance there is not very important, and the error in measuring color characteristics at low brightness is large.)

In terms of its characteristics, the screen deserves the highest rating. Its main advantages are an effective anti-glare filter and an oleophobic coating, high brightness, stable black color, sRGB coverage, excellent color rendition and the ability to correct color balance.

Sound

In terms of sound, the Huawei Ascend P6 has no complaints at all. The sound in both speakers is clear, even throughout the entire volume range, full of low frequencies, and loud enough for such thin case... What is noteworthy: although the speaker grill is brought out to the back side, when it is covered by the table surface or even with a finger, the sound is muffled very slightly. One gets the impression that the smartphone makes a sound "with the whole body", and the overlapping of the speaker grill is not a hindrance to it. Therefore, in any position of the phone, the sound remains loud. The interlocutor's speech is easily recognized, the hearing speaker clearly conveys all intonation and timbre of the voice, this speaker also provides a wide range of frequencies, including low frequencies. The sound is additionally processed using Dolby Digital Plus technology, although the changes are not very noticeable by ear. You can enable Dolby Digital support right in the interface of the standard music player - the corresponding button is located in the most visible place of the screen. There is even a separate page in the smartphone settings dedicated to Dolby Digital, but this is only an appearance - the whole variety of settings comes down to the ability to enable or disable support for this technology separately for music and video.

Camera

Huawei Ascend P6 is equipped, like most modern smartphones, with two modules digital cameras... The front camera is equipped with a 5-megapixel module. Photos are obtained with a size of 2592 × 1952, examples of images are in front of you.

The main rear camera is equipped with a sensor with a resolution of 8 megapixels. There is support for HDR (High Dynamic Range) technology, which is used to create photographs in uneven lighting conditions. An HDR camera takes multiple shots of the same image at different exposures and then stacks them to create a photo with more uniform lighting. By default, the camera shoots in "Smart" mode, where all settings are at the mercy of the machine. To get to the settings for exposure, saturation, contrast, ISO and white balance, you need to switch to a mode called "Once". In both cases, photos are taken by default with a maximum resolution of 3264 × 2448 (8 megapixels). Examples of pictures are below.

	The inscriptions are readable well. The number of the nearest car, I think, would also be distinguishable, if it were not so dirty - the numbers show through. On the right side of the frame, there are strange ripples on the foliage, as if the image is doubled.
	The inscriptions are easy to read. The house, trees and grass are also well worked. At the edges of the frame, sharpness drops noticeably.
	Decent sharpness on almost all shots.
	With the weakening of lighting, the situation deteriorates noticeably: the sharpness is uneven, the trees do not merge, but they are worked out poorly, the houses in the background seem to be completely drawn. However, the lettering, grass and tiles are still good enough.
	Good sharpness in the central area, much worse at the edges.
	The exposure is well chosen.
	Not very strong noises in the shadows are noticeable.
	The macro is good and sharp.
	Subjects are shot with a sufficiently large depth of field, which is useful for documentary shooting.

Perhaps the camera has only one problem - sharpness around the edges. Sometimes it even seems that there are problems with focusing, however, almost all images have good sharpness in the central area. However, sometimes along the edges you come across fragments with good clarity.

The rest of the camera is not bad. The software processing is not striking, the camera chooses the exposure well, the sharpness according to the plans is decent, the noise is moderate. It's hard to say what is the problem of sharpness at the edges, and with it focusing - in the lens of this instance or in the design of the camera itself.

The camera can be classified as documentary - in general, the pictures are worked out well, except for the rather large areas of blur. The camera works well for macro photography for documentaries.

The camera can shoot video in Full HD-resolution 1080p, however, curiously, the default settings are set for shooting in 720p resolution. Below are a couple of test videos filmed with the default settings (the second one was filmed using the HDR mode). Videos are saved in MP4 (video - MPEG-4 AVC [email protected]; sound - AAC LC, 96 kbps, 48 ​​kHz, 2 channels).

• Movie # 1 (36.3 MB, 1280 × 720)
• Movie # 2 (24.1 MB, 1280 × 720)

Camera control settings are standard for smartphones based on operating room Android system... The icons are drawn clearly and large, they are quite distinguishable in the bright sun. In the settings there is the possibility of geotagging, adding graphic effects, recognizing a smile, panoramic shooting and, of course, enabling HDR - both for photos and videos. But there is no possibility of turning off the shutter sound - however, this sound is very quiet and unobtrusive.

There are two options for controlling shooting in Huawei Ascend P6. The shutter can be released either by pressing the software icon-icon on the screen, or by using the hardware volume control key, which can be useful during cold weather, when you don't feel like taking off your gloves. It is curious that in the process of shooting with the front camera, the smartphone first gives a couple of seconds of countdown, and only then takes the picture. This makes it possible to have time to choose the most suitable angle for yourself. Shooting with the rear camera is instant. On the negative side, it is impossible to take a photo while recording a video, although in most new smartphones this function is implemented.

Software

Huawei Ascend P6 works in this moment on the Google software platform Android version 4.2.2. Over standard interface OS the company has installed its own shell called Emotion UI version 1.6. All this is more fresh versions Software than the flagship D2 released a little earlier. That and the shell was version 1.5, and Android version 4.1.2. General form themes and a separate drawing of each icon and widget evoke only positive emotions here - everything is strict, serious, elegant, and no ridiculous colors. However, the latest changes in the graphic iOS interface They say that many, it seems, liked this color - after all, Apple should have conducted some kind of polls before making such changes. Here, more and more resembles the severity and seriousness of iOS of past years. The Emotion UI version 1.6 shell unexpectedly came out from the Chinese very nice.

Organizationally most visible distinctive feature pre-installed brand graphical interface consists in the fact that in this shell there is absolutely no application menu as such. This is quite common in the firmware of Chinese brand manufacturers - for example, in Meizu or in any other device based on the popular customized "people's" MIUI. Here are all the icons installed programs are also automatically laid out directly on the desktops, and mixed with widgets. Naturally, not only is the creation of folders / groups supported, but most of the already preinstalled apps carefully arranged in thematic folders by the developers themselves. Of course, there are no obstacles to installing any applications from the Google Play store.

The settings menu is divided into two sections, navigation between which is carried out using the selection bar at the top of the screen. In the "General" section, the developers have collected all the functions that, in their opinion, are the most demanded and frequently used, and in the other ("All") - a complete standard set of all settings as intended by Google developers Android.

The maximum number of additional applications is initially pre-installed. Here you can find both Yandex applications and a complete set Google services, and much more. In addition to file manager, here you will find a rights manager, a power manager, an application launch manager, as well as a full-fledged package for working with office documents Polaris Office with the ability to create, edit and save files.

Telephone part and communications

Huawei Ascend P6 works in modern 2G GSM and 3G WCDMA networks, the device does not have support for fourth generation (LTE) networks. The radio part of the tested smartphone is stable, no spontaneous signal loss and dropouts from the operator's network were noticed. Drawing keys, numbers and letters virtual keyboard rather small - it happened that erroneous presses also slipped through.

No freezes or spontaneous reboots / shutdowns were observed during testing. You can reboot the smartphone on your own by holding the power key for a long time and selecting the corresponding item in the pop-up menu, or by holding this button for more than 10 seconds.

When brought to your ear, the screen is blocked by a proximity sensor. The light sensor automatically monitors the brightness level of the screen. There is also a light indicator of events - a dot glowing in different colors in the upper part above the display. Added own development of the creators - a visual switch of modes (profiles) of work. These are not just sound profiles, such as "on the street" or "silent", but full-fledged modes of operation of all modules of the device, customizable to the user's taste.

The device is equipped with modern network interfaces and controllers wireless: Bluetooth 3.0 and Wi-Fi 802.11b / g / n (both 2.4 and 5 GHz frequency bands are supported). The Micro-USB port has support for OTG (USB Host), which allows you to view any files directly from a flash drive connected using an adapter, as well as connect external keyboard and a mouse. The unit allows direct communication with other devices via Wi-Fi Direct, as well as creating a Wi-Fi hotspot. And here comes NFC support, wireless technology high frequency communication short-range, this model, unfortunately, is deprived.

Performance

The hardware platform Huawei Ascend P6 is built on the basis of a single-chip system (SoC) of its own production called HiSilicon K3V2, which is the basis of most modern mobile devices of the company up to tablet MediaPad 10 FHD. The central processing unit here has four ARM Cortex-A9 cores operating at a frequency of 1.5 GHz. Random access memory the device provides 2 GB, and the storage available to the user to upload their own files is approximately 5 GB out of the nominally designated 8 GB.

We compared the hardware performance of the Huawei Ascend P6 in various popular benchmarks with the performance of other top-of-the-line smartphones we tested earlier. The novelty, like the flagship Huawei Ascend D2, showed very modest performance results, because they are built on the same platforms. However, the tested device even slightly outperformed the indistinct flagship of the company according to the test results - due to the lower screen resolution, which has a beneficial effect on the performance of its graphics subsystem. All the results obtained by us when testing the Huawei Ascend P6 smartphone in popular benchmarks, we have summarized for convenience in tables.

	Huawei Ascend P6 (HiSilicon K3V2)	Huawei Ascend D2 (HiSilicon K3V2)	Sony Xperia SP (Qualcomm MSM8960 Pro)	Google Nexus 4 (Qualcomm APQ8064)	LG Optimus G (Qualcomm APQ8064)	Htc one (Qualcomm Snapdragon 600)
Quadrant Standard (more is better)	5171	5016	7465	4679	7631	12631
AnTuTu Benchmark (more is better)	13357	8921	16410	16089	18317	24619
GeekBench (more is better)	1554	1035	2012	2100	2197	2661

As for testing the graphics subsystem in the 3DMark cross-platform test, the subject also showed a result that is quite far from competing solutions - 2994 points.

In the Epic Citadel gaming test, the Huawei Ascend P6 smartphone gave modest, but still better (due to the lower screen resolution) results than the company's flagship. However, like the Ascend D2, this model showed some discrepancy between the system and the test requirements, because both of them do not even have the option to launch the most difficult Ultra High Quality mode. In general, we received another confirmation that the graphics of SoC HiSilicon K3V2 (graphics core Vivante GC4000) are very sad.

	Huawei Ascend P6 (HiSilicon K3V2)	Huawei Ascend D2 (HiSilicon K3V2)	Sony Xperia SP (Qualcomm MSM8960 Pro)	LG Optimus G (Qualcomm APQ8064)	Google Nexus 4 (Qualcomm APQ8064)
Epic Citadel, High Performance	29.0 fps	18.8 fps	57.8 fps	56.7 fps	54.8 fps
Epic Citadel, High Quality	33.0 fps	17.8 fps	56.6 fps	56.3 fps	52.9 fps

Video playback

For testing "omnivorous" when playing video (including support for various codecs, containers and special features subtitles) We used the most common formats that make up the bulk of the content available on the Web. Note that it is important for mobile devices to have support for hardware video decoding at the chip level, since it is often impossible to process modern versions using processor cores alone. Also, do not expect a mobile device to decode everything, since the leadership in flexibility belongs to the PC, and no one is going to challenge it.

Huawei Ascend P6 is very pleased in this regard. Not only are all the necessary decoders for playing the most common files on the network preinstalled here (in the third-party popular MX player you don't even need to switch to Hardware + mode), the phone also supports OTG (USB Host) mode, which allows it to work with files, including watching videos, directly from a flash drive. In general, judging by this plate, the Huawei device is one of the most versatile smartphones for playing videos.

Format	Container, video, sound	MX Video Player	Native video player
DVDRip	AVI, XviD 720 × 400 2200 Kbps, MP3 + AC3	reproduced normally	reproduced normally
Web-DL SD	AVI, XviD 720 × 400 1400 Kbps, MP3 + AC3	reproduced normally	reproduced normally
Web-DL HD	MKV, H.264 1280 × 720 3000Kbps, AC3	reproduced normally	reproduced normally
BDRip 720p	MKV, H.264 1280 × 720 4000 Kbps, AC3	reproduced normally	reproduced normally
BDRip 1080p	MKV, H.264 1920 × 1080 8000Kbps, AC3	reproduced normally	reproduced normally

We did not find the MHL interface in this smartphone, so we had to limit ourselves to testing the output of video files on the screen of the device itself. To do this, we used a set of test files with an arrow and a rectangle moving one division per frame (see "Testing techniques for video playback and display devices. Version 1 (for mobile devices)"). Screenshots with an exposure of 1 s helped to determine the nature of the frame output of video files with various parameters: the resolution varied (1280 by 720 (720p) and 1920 by 1080 (1080p) pixels) and the frame rate (24, 25, 30, 50 and 60 fps). with). In our tests, we used a stock video player. The test results are summarized in the table:

File	Uniformity	Skips
Screen
watch-1920x1080-60p.mp4	not reproduced
watch-1920x1080-50p.mp4	not reproduced
watch-1920x1080-30p.mp4	OK	No
watch-1920x1080-25p.mp4	OK	No
watch-1920x1080-24p.mp4	OK	No
watch-1280x720-60p.mp4	Great	No
watch-1280x720-50p.mp4	OK	few
watch-1280x720-30p.mp4	OK	No
watch-1280x720-25p.mp4	OK	No
watch-1280x720-24p.mp4	OK	No

Note: If both columns Uniformity and Skips"green" ratings are set, this means that, most likely, when watching movies, artifacts caused by uneven alternation and skipping of frames will either not be visible at all, or their number and visibility will not affect the viewing comfort. "Red" marks indicate possible problems with the playback of the corresponding files.

Except in two cases (1080p files at 50 and 60 fps), where the test files could not be played at all, the intervals between frames (or groups of frames) alternate slightly unevenly, and in one case a small number of frames are dropped. However, the uniform alternation of frames is a relatively unstable state, since some external and internal background processes lead to periodic failure of the correct alternation of intervals between frames, to skipping individual cadres or even multiple frames in a row in the case of 720p files at 50 and 60 fps. When playing video files with a resolution of 1280 by 720 pixels (720p), the image of the video file itself is displayed one-to-one, exactly on the edge of the screen in true 720p resolution. The brightness range displayed on the screen almost corresponds to the standard range (that is, the range of 16-235) - only in the shadows a pair of shades closest to black is indistinguishable from it in brightness, but in highlights all gradations of shades are different. In general, the quality of outputting video files to the smartphone's own screen is quite high, especially if you limit yourself to a reasonable resolution of 720p and a frame rate of 24-25 frames / s typical for movies and TV shows.

Battery life

The capacity of the lithium polymer battery installed in the Huawei Ascend P6 is 2000 mAh, small by today's standards. The battery is non-removable, so if the battery fails, you won't be able to replace it with a new one yourself, and you can't buy a spare one.

Continuous reading in the FBReader program (with a standard light theme) at the minimum comfortable brightness level (the brightness was set to 100 cd / m2) lasted more than 11 hours, and watching YouTube videos in high quality (HQ) through home Wi-Fi network the apparatus provided for nearly 6 hours before being discharged. The battery lasted 3 hours and 30 minutes under maximum load in continuous 3D game mode.

Outcome

At the moment, the official price for Huawei Ascend P6 in our market is expected to be 20 thousand rubles (presumably, the price abroad will start at 450 euros). Outwardly, the smartphone turned out to be very nice, but some details (such as an unnecessary plastic lower branch) still darken the impression. As for the hardware, there is nothing to compare with: in terms of performance, the phone is inferior not only to any new product of the middle and higher price category, but even to last year and the year before last top solutions. The screen looks very good, but it has a 720p resolution, which also does not allow to speak about it in extremely enthusiastic terms. As a result, in terms of the sum of the parameters, the model turned out to be quite modest, it should cost no more than 15 thousand rubles, and only one record low thickness is not enough to correct the situation. It is high time for Huawei to come to grips with high-tech stuffing, and not chase external paraphernalia, inconceivably overstating the price. We are waiting for Huawei smartphones to appear on the market on a truly new hardware platform, and not "old toys in new packaging." Then, perhaps, the gouging of prices for the products of this Chinese company will not be felt so defiantly ...