Huawei Mate 10
The Huawei Mate 10, Huawei Mate 10 Pro and Huawei Mate 10 Lite are Android smartphones designed and marketed by Huawei as part of the Huawei Mate series. There is also a Mate 10 Porsche design, which has 256 GB of storage but is otherwise identical to the Mate 10 Pro. They were first released on 16 October 2017. Versus the predecessor Mate 9, the Mate 10 pro flagship phone has a faster processor with an integrated neural processing unit, a slightly larger OLED screen with a taller 18:9 aspect ratio, a significantly longer battery life and a glass back construction. Chinese and international models are available in dual SIM configuration. It comes with Android 8 and a newer version of Huawei's EMUI interface. All Mate 10 models are unlocked and GSM only. Huawei phones, including the Mate series, are not sold or financed through U.S. carriers due to pressure from U.S. intelligence agencies, though they are available from independent and online retailers.
The Mate 10 series was supplanted by the Mate 20 series as the flagship in October 2018.
Specifications
Huawei Mate 10 Lite
Huawei also released a “Lite” version of the Mate 10, also known as Huawei Nova 2i in Malaysia, Huawei Maimang 6 in China, and Huawei Honor 9i in India. It has budget features and pricing, ranking below the midrange P and Honor series phones.| Category | Specification |
| Model Names | Huawei Mate 10 Lite |
| Launch Date | October 2017 |
| Build | Aluminum body with front glass |
| Dimensions | 156.2 × 75.0 × 7.5 mm |
| Weight | 164 g |
| SIM Options | Single SIM / Dual SIM |
| Display Type | IPS LCD |
| Display Size | 5.9-inches |
| Display Resolution | 1080×2160 pixels, 18:9 ratio |
| Display Protection | Scratch-resistant glass |
| Chipset | HiSilicon Kirin 659 |
| CPU | Octa-core |
| GPU | Mali-T830 MP2 |
| Operating System | Android 7.0, EMUI 5.1 |
| OS Upgradeable To | Android 8.0, EMUI 8.0 |
| RAM | 4 GB |
| Internal Storage | 64 GB |
| Expandable Storage | microSD up to 256 GB |
| Rear Camera | Dual: 16 MP, f/2.2, PDAF + 2 MP |
| Front Camera | Dual: 13 MP, f/2.0 + 2 MP |
| Video Recording | 1080p@30fps |
| Camera Features | HDR, panorama, LED flash |
| Battery Type | Non-removable Li-Ion 3340 mAh |
| Charging | 10W standard, no fast charging |
| USB Type | microUSB 2.0, USB On-The-Go |
| Loudspeaker | Yes |
| 3.5mm Headphone Jack | Yes |
| Audio Features | Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic |
| Wi-Fi | Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot |
| Bluetooth | 4.2, A2DP, LE |
| GPS | Yes, with A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS |
| NFC | No |
| FM Radio | Yes |
| Infrared | No |
| Network Technology | GSM / HSPA / LTE |
| 3G Bands | HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100 |
| 4G LTE Bands | Varies by region |
| Network Speed | HSPA 42.2/5.76 Mbps, LTE Cat4 150/50 Mbps |
| Fingerprint Sensor | Rear-mounted |
| Other Sensors | Accelerometer, proximity, compass |
| Colors Available | Graphite Black, Prestige Gold, Aurora Blue |
Software
The phones run on Android 8 “Oreo”, with Huawei's own custom skin, EMUI 8.0 on top of it. The previous EMUI version was 5.1. Huawei decided to upgrade it to EMUI 8.0 to match the latest Android version number, which is 8.0 as well. It has some new features, notably the desktop mode called “Easy Projection”, which is a custom desktop interface, similar to Samsung DeX, which appears when connecting the phone to a display via an HDMI-to-USB-C cable.Models
The phones have at least 6 model designations, A09, AL00, TL00, L09, L29, and LOAC. The prefix BLA- designates a Mate 10 Pro, ALP-designates a Mate 10 and RNE- designates a Mate 10 Lite. Each model may come in two configurations for the Mate 10 pro, 4 GB/64 GB or 6 GB/128 GB. The Mate 10 Pro A09/L29 has a 6 GB/256 GB configuration. The BLA-LOAC model is an alternate name for the BLA-A09 model sold through special OEM arrangements at U.S. retailers like Best Buy. The A09/LOAC models are for U.S. distribution, the AL00 models are for China, the L09 and L29 models are for Europe and international distribution. The TL00 model appears to be a limited distribution Himalayan model, closely resembling the AL00 Chinese models. The L29 models are dual-sim variants of the L09/A09 models; the A00 models are also dual sim. There are some differences between the A09/LOAC and Lx9 models in GSM bands supported. There are 6 models of Mate 10 Lite, L01, L02, L03, L21, L22, and L23; L0x models are single SIM and L2x models are dual SIM; otherwise the Mate 10 Lite has a fixed configuration and the models differ only in geographic area of distribution and the local GSM frequencies supported there.The Mate 10 is not marketed or sold in the US, though it is available online from international sellers. Also, no dual SIM models are sold in the U.S.
Markets and release dates
The Kirin 970 SoC which powers the Mate 10 series was first unveiled at the 2017 Berlin IFA in early September. The Mate 10 series was initially released to select markets on Oct. 16, 2017, followed by U.K. and Europe in late 2017, then the United States on Feb. 18, 2018.Unlocking (rooting) the Mate 10/Pro
While it was originally intended to be an OEM/developer feature only, prior to May 24, 2018, Huawei freely supplied a bootloader unlock code to enable users/developers to root their devices. The URL to obtain the unlock code no longer exists. The company's announcement said: "Announcement: To provide better user experience and avoid issues caused by ROM flashing, the unlock code application service will be stopped for all products launched after 2018–5–24. For products released prior to this date, the service will be stopped 60 days after this announcement. Thank you for your understanding. We will continue to provide you with quality services. 2018-5-24 Huawei Device Co. Ltd." This was followed in June with an OTA named Patch01 that caused rooted phones to go into a bootloop until the original unrooted image was flashed. This image cannot be rooted.Performance
The performance of the Mate 10 and Mate 10 Pro, with identical CPU and GPU and clock frequencies, are very close. Due to its lower screen resolution, the Mate 10 Pro has a slight advantage, especially in graphics intensive applications. The performance of the Mate 10 Lite, with CPU and GPU 2-3 generations older, falls far below that of the flagship models.Though the Mate 10 scores top the list of Android phones at Oct. 2017 release date, they fall well short of the A11 Fusion powered iPhone 8, 8+ and X, as well as the Snapdragon 845 powered devices released just a few months later.
Special note: the official Geekbench testing site excludes the Mate 10 and Mate 20 models other than the Lite models from the published results because it claims these models run the benchmarks in a special benchmark mode which does not reflect real world performance. Predecessor phones like the Mate 9 and P10 are not affected; only products released from 2Q 2017 and later. The list of benchmarks impacted is extensive: Geekbench, GFXbench, 3Dmark, Antutu, Quadrant, and others. These were not subtle differences, either, with results up to 47 percent higher than they were with private test variants Huawei couldn't catch. In some cases, the Mate 10 performed poorer on these internal benchmarks than the Kirin 960/Mali G71 powered Mate 9.
The company has since claimed that AI processes are responsible for allocating resources when heavy workloads are encountered. However, private benchmarks identical to the public ones except for the names of the apps, and embedded strings containing the names, show radically different performance. The company has stated that it will make 'Performance mode' available to ordinary users. It is not clear that GPU turbo is the putative performance mode.