Review: Huawei P10 – a pretty good smartphone unless you already have a Huawei P9

Not too long ago, Chinese smartphones were almost all mediocre iPhone clones with intrusive software. The only people who bought the phones were those on a tight budget or gadget enthusiasts who like to tinker with rooting devices. But a lot has changed in the past year.

In 2016, Xiaomi, Vivo and ZTE all released excellent phones with usable, mostly clean software. Some, like Xiaomi’s bezel-less phone, even featured innovative hardware design.

Chinese smartphone maker Huawei catching up on Samsung, Apple: study

But the company that’s done the most to turn around the image of Chinese phones is Huawei, whose early 2016 flagship P9 was the first Chinese smartphone to be well received on a global scale. The Chinese telecommunication giant is back with the P10, a phone that appears to be only a minor upgrade of its predecessor.

Design and hardware When it comes to smartphone hardware design, companies tend to either keep the same design language year after year (think the iPhone or Samsung’s Galaxy series) or mix it up every year with a whole new look (LG and Xiaomi). Huawei’s P10 is an odd one in that it builds on the foundation laid by the P9, but also completely overhauls parts of the hardware.

For example, the dual-Leica cameras – the standout feature of the P9 – return for the P10, keeping the same black visor look across the top of the device’s back. But the fingerprint sensor has been moved to the front, a break from Huawei’s tradition of placing it on the back of the phone. Whether or not this new placement improves user experience is arguable; what isn’t up for debate is that Huawei’s fingerprint sensor is the fastest and most accurate in the industry (if you use a Huawei phone, try going back to a Samsung or LG and you’ll notice the difference in unlocking speed immediately).