Huawei Ascend Mate 2 Review: Incredible Battery Life & Value
by Anand Lal Shimpi & Joshua Ho on June 12, 2014 9:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- Huawei
- Mobile
- Ascend Mate 2
CPU Performance
For those that have been following recent reviews, they might notice that the CPU performance section is now mostly similar. In short, the Ascend Mate 2 uses Qualcomm's Snapdragon 400. This particular version has four Cortex A7s for CPUs, and an Adreno 305 for the GPU. Because this is the 8x28 variant, rather than 1.2 GHz maximum the CPUs can reach as high as 1.6 GHz. Based upon some testing, it doesn't appear that the GPU has a higher clock, so performance in 3D/2D applications generally remains equivalent to other Snapdragon 400 SoCs. While I'll cover my thoughts in more detail in the software section, this SoC doesn't have any issues with performance in general day to day tasks, and the UI isn't too heavy for the SoC.
GPU Performance
In GPU and this SoC in general, there's very little to talk about by this point that hasn't been said before, so I'd refer to the One mini 2 review or the Moto G review. Across the board, performance results are as expected for this platform, although the older Android version can hurt performance.
NAND Performance
Like much of the rest of the phone, the Mate 2's internal NAND performance is surprisingly competent for its price class. In fact, when it comes to random write performance, the Mate 2 is not far off present generation flagships (and ahead of the Galaxy S5)
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amicic - Thursday, June 12, 2014 - link
We need more phones with this battery life (if that means 720p, i'm ok) in 5-5.2" sizes.Kristian Vättö - Thursday, June 12, 2014 - link
I totally agree. If this was a <5" phone, I would buy it on a heartbeat, but 6" is just way too big for my taste.nathanddrews - Thursday, June 12, 2014 - link
1080p and stock KK4.4 on this phablet would be perfect.ColinByers - Monday, September 29, 2014 - link
True. But why get the Huawei Ascend Mate 2 when there are other really good Android phones out there? /Colin from http://www.consumertop.com/best-phone-guide/bstowe9 - Friday, June 13, 2014 - link
That's what she said...SeleniumGlow - Monday, June 16, 2014 - link
Here, I'd like to mention the Lenovo P780 and its massive 4000 mAh battery. I got one for my Dad last week, and whilst he doesn't use Mobile data, he was able to get a nice 5 days of voice call usage and SMS out of it. Other specs are a 5" 720p display, dual sim, and 8 MP rear camera.The only drawback would probably be that it is on Jelly bean (4.2.2) and might never be upgraded.
Fergy - Thursday, June 12, 2014 - link
Why is this phablet being compared to phones? I know a 6 inch phablet has a bigger battery than a 5 inch phone. I know that 6 inch phablet has an easier time cooling the fast chips. What I don't know is how this phablet compares to other phablets.wimbet - Thursday, June 12, 2014 - link
It's big, but it's still a phone that fits in your pocket.vortmax2 - Thursday, June 12, 2014 - link
Agreed, I don't see the Note 3 on many of the comparison charts...extide - Thursday, June 12, 2014 - link
The note 3 is a top tier device, this is a midrange device. They don;t really compete much because of that. I mean yeah they are both phablets, but the price sets them apart. Maybe it would be good to compare to the Note 2, if that phone happens to still be available at low prices.