Review of a good, but too expensive phablet. Review of a good, but too expensive phablet Various sensors perform various quantitative measurements and convert physical indicators into signals that a mobile device recognizes

Camera	8 million pixels, LED flash
Interfaces	Wi-Fi 802.11n, Wi-Fi Direct, Bluetooth 4.0, IRDA, USB
Standard	GSM 900/1800/1900, 3G, LTE
Battery capacity	3600 mAh
RAM capacity	3 GB
CPU	HiSilicon Kirin 925, 1800 MHz
Number of SIM cards	2
Built-in memory capacity	32 GB
Memory card support	microSD (TransFlash), up to 128 GB
Diagonal	5.5 inch

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The new Honor 6 Plus can easily be classified as a representative of phablets, or simply large smartphones, because the display diagonal is 5.5 inches. The interesting fact is that the display resolution and the ability to play video in FullHD format are similar to the iPhone 6+. Speaking about the design of the new product, a logical chain can be traced here: the new phablet from Huawei is made on the basis of the regular 6, which, in turn, was created according to sketches of the iPhone 5/5S. The heart of Honor 6 Plus is the 8-core HiSilicon Kirin 925 chipset, which is supported by 3 Gb (RAM) of memory and a Mali-T628 video accelerator. The smartphone supports 2 SIM card modules, and its autonomy is ensured by a battery with a capacity of 3600 mAh.

Review of Huawei Honor 6 Plus 32Gb White

Hi all. You are on the channel of the Tsifrus online store, where only honest and objective reviews of gadgets are posted. Today, it’s finally time for us to introduce you to another representative of Huawei and this will be Huawei Honor 6 Plus. This smartphone, as a brand of the Honor brand, is an improved version of the previously released Honor 6. And, moreover, Honor 6 Plus became the first product of this brand that separated from Huawei. It pleases the eye and may even surprise you in some way. So let's quickly see what's so interesting about it.

I won’t say that its design is unusual, but I also can’t say that the phone is repulsive in its appearance. It rather looks neat, pleasant and without frills. I’d like to say “cozy,” but damn, that doesn’t apply to the phone, but it’s still “cozy” in appearance. The case is made of 6 layers of durable material, which makes it protected from all kinds of bends and impacts. The last layer is finely textured, which visually creates a pattern on the back panel, and, moreover, due to it, prints on the glass that cover the case are practically invisible. The display is covered with third generation Corning Gorilla Glass. At the bottom of the smartphone you can see a small plastic insert, and on the sides and top you can see a neat metal edging. The back cover features light dotted laser markings so you can be sure they won't rub off. Damn, it’s nothing special, the materials seem to be simple, but the device looks nice to me. The model is offered in three color options: gold, white and black. As you can see, I have a white smartphone in my hands.

At the top there is an infrared port, a 3.5 mm mini-jack, and a microphone for noise reduction. On the bottom there is a micro USB connector and the main microphone. The left side of the smartphone is free of any keys, and the right side houses a volume button, a block key and two slots for SIM cards, one of which can be used as a slot for a micro SD card. It seems to me that this is not quite the right decision, especially considering that the phone is offered with only two options of built-in memory: 16 Gb and 32. Ie. Anyone who wants to expand their memory should give up the second SIM card. I think if the user is already faced with such a choice, then we can at least put on sale a phone with 64 GB of memory. Well, okay, let's move on.

On the front side above the display there is a front camera, proximity and light sensors, a notification indicator, and a speaker. There is nothing under the screen, no mechanical keys, but there are virtual ones in everyday use: task manager, home and back. In the settings, you can add two more keys: calling up the notification shade and hiding the navigation bar. There you can change all these buttons. In my opinion, it is very convenient and individual setting. On the back cover, which by the way is not removable, there are two camera modules, each 8 megapixels, a dual LED flash and a speaker.

The smartphone has the following dimensions: width – 75.6 mm, height – 150.4 mm and thickness – 7.5 mm. It weighs 165 g.

When you pick up the phone, you notice very thin frames on the sides of the screen and think: cool. But it was not there. When you turn on the smartphone, you realize that there is also a small black bezel around the display. But even with it, the thickness between the screen and the body is only 4 mm on both sides. The screen area occupied on the front side is 78.2%. The display has a diagonal of 5.5 inches, its resolution is 1920x1080 pixels, and the pixel density is 401 ppi. It also uses an excellent IPS matrix, has an oleophobic coating and automatic brightness adjustment. Moreover, it really served me well personally: it’s summer and when going outside and entering a room, I didn’t have to go into the settings and turn up the brightness every time. Plus, the screen has anti-glare properties and again, the sun was not a problem for me. This smartphone offers the user good color balance. Of the minuses, the only thing I want to note is that the colors are sometimes too saturated. And everything is in perfect order, the screen is of high quality for this class of devices. And given its 5.5-inch screen, this device can rightfully be called a phablet.

Let's move on to the most interesting part - the camera. Here it is two-module. Like this? On the rear body of the smartphone there are two 8 megapixel cameras, which programmatically process the jointly received frame and stitch it together. As a result, the resolution of such a photo is 13 megapixels. In addition, the presence of as many as two modules results in more light being received, which again is reflected in improved image quality. The camera interface is easy and intuitive to use. Here you can switch different modes, enable HDR, open the settings window and make your own settings.

The main feature of this camera is the pictures in which you can adjust the depth of field. Those. we select some object at which we point the camera, select the aperture value (here it is from f/0.95 to f/16) and as a result we get a clearly selected object and beautiful blurry bokeh, well, if you choose a small value. If you set the aperture to the maximum, the entire photo will be sharp. There is also a mode itself, which is called “aperture”. You can take photographs in it without having to adjust the sharpness every time, and do this later, when editing the pictures. What about shooting video. The shooting resolution is 1080p. In principle, the quality is not bad, so the camera will definitely allow you to capture any moment. Oh yes, we forgot about the front camera. It's 8 megapixels here. The resolution of the photographs taken is 3264×2448, and the video is also shot at 1080p resolution.

All this beauty runs on the eight-core HiSilicon Kirin 925 platform, 4 cores of which are Cortex-A15 with a clock frequency of 1.8 GHz, and the second 4 are Cortex-A7 with a frequency of 1.3 GHz. The graphics accelerator here is Mali-T628 MP4. Plus, there is another processor built in here called Smart i3, which takes on all the work with the sensor to save energy. So rest assured that even in demanding games there will be no lags, since the hardware is good, and not only for this class of devices, but can even measure up to flagship smartphone models. In addition, the device does not heat up under heavy load. It seems like a small thing, but very pleasant. There is 3 Gb of RAM, and 32 Gb of built-in memory.

The operating system on this device is Android 4.4.2 with the proprietary Emotion UI 3.0 shell. The software does not have a separate menu for applications and widgets. Everything is located on the desktop. These are the round icons. By the way, themes on a smartphone change the native icons of installed applications to some of their own, which can confuse the user. But perhaps someone will not even notice such a modification.

There are a bunch of touch controls and all kinds of device settings for you. Using the infrared port, you can control household appliances. The smartphone already comes with pre-installed settings for different devices. By the way, Huawei Honor 6 Plus has a new application installed - Wallet, which will debut in this model. Using your smartphone, you can connect to the terminals of the UnionPay POS banking payment system, which will allow you to easily manage your bank card. I haven’t used it in practice, but I take Huawei’s word that it is a safe and convenient way to make mobile payments.

In general, there are a lot of applications here, but many of them are aimed at the Asian market, which is clearly not suitable for us, unfortunately. And here even everything is carefully laid out in different thematic folders.

The battery in this device is Li-Pol with a capacity of 3500 mAh. There is no fast charging technology, so the device will take about 4 hours to charge. Yes, it's a bit long. But the smartphone will work quietly for about 11 hours when constantly watching videos and about 4-5 hours when playing 3D games. So the battery can be called one of the main advantages of the device. The smartphone supports Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC, GSM and HSDPA. For navigation, GPS and Glonass are supported. I would also like to clarify about SIM cards. Firstly, one of the SIM cards is micro, and the second, the one that can be inserted into the micro SD slot, is in nano format. Secondly, Honor 6 Plus supports two radio modules, so that when talking on one card, you can receive calls to another or surf the Internet through it. Also in the settings you can choose which card will be used for data transfer in LTE, and which one for conversations and correspondence. These changes can be easily changed at will.

Conclusion:

Yes, this smartphone is devoid of any super features that would make it sophisticated and expensive, but the manufacturers did not need these. They wanted to create a slightly simplified version of the image smartphone Ascend P. Honor 6 Plus copes perfectly with the expectations placed on it: the performance is remarkable, the camera is quite high quality and unusual, a capacious battery, two radio modules, LTE support - all this makes it a desirable product on the market gadgets. And if you take into account its price, which you can see on the website of the Tsifrus online store, then I think this gadget will be in very good demand.

General characteristics

Type

Deciding on the type of device (phone or smartphone?) is quite simple. If you need a simple and inexpensive device for calls and SMS, it is recommended to choose a telephone. A smartphone is more expensive, but it offers a wide variety of options: games, videos, the Internet, thousands of programs for all occasions. However, its battery life is significantly less than that of a regular phone.

smartphone operating system Android OS version at the start of sales Android 4.4 Case type classic Control screen buttons Number of SIM cards 2 SIM card type

Modern smartphones can use not only regular SIM cards, but also their more compact versions micro SIM and nano SIM. An eSIM is a SIM card integrated into the phone. It takes up virtually no space and does not require a separate tray for installation. eSIM is not yet supported in Russia. Glossary of terms for the category Mobile phones

micro SIM+nano SIM Multi-SIM mode simultaneous Weight 165 g Dimensions (WxHxD) 75.68x150.46x7.5 mm

Screen

Screen type color IPS, 16.78 million colors, touch Touch screen type multi-touch, capacitive Diagonal 5.5 inches. Image Size 1920x1080 Pixels per inch (PPI) 401 Aspect Ratio 16:9 Automatic screen rotation There is

Multimedia capabilities

Number of main (rear) cameras 2 Resolutions of the main (rear) cameras 8 MP, 8 MP Photo flash rear, LED Functions of the main (rear) camera autofocus Recording videos There is Front-camera yes, 8 MP Audio MP3, AAC, WAV, FM radio Headphone jack 3.5 mm

Connection

Standard GSM 900/1800/1900, 3G, 4G LTE LTE bands support TDD-LTE: B38, B39, B40, B41; FDD-LTE: B1, B3, B7 Interfaces

Almost all modern smartphones have Wi-Fi and USB interfaces. Bluetooth and IRDA are a little less common. Wi-Fi is used to connect to the Internet. USB is used to connect your phone to a computer. Bluetooth is also found in many phones. It is used to connect wireless headphones, to connect your phone to wireless speakers, and also to transfer files. A smartphone equipped with an IRDA interface can be used as a universal remote control. Glossary of terms for the category Mobile phones

Wi-Fi 802.11n, Wi-Fi Direct, Bluetooth 4.0, IRDA, USB Satellite navigation

Built-in GPS and GLONASS modules allow you to determine the phone's coordinates using signals from satellites. In the absence of GPS, a modern smartphone can determine its own location using signals from cellular operator base stations. However, finding coordinates using satellite signals is usually much more accurate. Glossary of terms for the category Mobile phones

GPS/GLONASS A-GPS system yes

Memory and processor

CPU

Modern phones and smartphones usually use special processors - SoC (System on Chip, system on a chip), which, in addition to the processor itself, houses the graphics core, memory controller, input/output device controller, etc. Therefore, the processor largely determines the set of functions and device performance. Control voice dialing, voice control Flight mode yes Sensors illumination, proximity, gyroscope, compass There is a flashlight

Additional Information

Equipment smartphone, USB cable, charger Peculiarities The Nano SIM card slot is combined with a microSD memory card slot Announcement date 2014-12-16

Before purchasing, check the specifications and equipment with the seller.

Specifications of Huawei Honor 6 Plus:

• Case materials: aluminum frame, plastic, glass
• Operating system: Android 4.4, Huawei EMUI 3.0
• Network: GSM/EDGE, WCDMA, LTE Cat 6 (two radio modules, two slots: nanoSIM/microSD, microSIM)
• Platform: HiSilicon Kirin 925
• Processor: Quad-core 1.8 GHz (Cortex-A15) and Quad-core 1.3 GHz (Cortex-A7)
• Graphics: Mali-T628 MP4
• RAM: 3 GB
• Storage memory: 16/32 GB, microSD memory card slot (128 GB cards supported)
• Interfaces: Wi-Fi (a/b/g/n), Bluetooth 4.0 (A2DP, LE), microUSB connector (USB 2.0, USB-Host) for charging/synchronization, 3.5 mm for headset, DLNA, NFC, IR port
• Screen: IPS LCD, 5.5”, 1920x1080 pixels (FulldHD), automatic backlight level adjustment, Gorilla Glass
• Main camera: two identical modules of 8 megapixels each, dual LED flash (works as a flashlight)
• Front camera: 8 MP
• Navigation: GPS/GLONASS (A-GPS support)
• Sensors: accelerometer, position sensor, light sensor, gyroscope, barometer
• Battery: non-removable, Li-Pol, capacity 3500 mAh
• Dimensions: 150 x 75 x 7.5 mm
• Weight: 165 grams

To be honest, until recently I paid virtually no attention to devices from Huawei. “Well, yes, a large Chinese manufacturer, famous for telecommunications equipment, began making smartphones. The design is not amazing, the characteristics are at the level of smartphones from other brands, in general, it’s just another company on the market” - this was approximately the opinion I had about Huawei. However, recently it has become simply impossible not to pay attention to Huawei: almost every new smartphone from the company, as in the case of Lenovo, arouses interest. Even when we are not talking about flagships, but about models in the mid-range or budget segments. Although flagships and expensive devices, to be honest, attract more.

Contents of delivery

The delivery set is quite typical, although finding headphones in the box, even cheap ones, is still nice; more and more often, manufacturers do not indulge even a cheap headset. Along with the Huawei Honor 6 Plus, the box contains a charging block, a USB cable, the aforementioned headphones, as well as a couple of pieces of paper: a warranty card and brief instructions.

Design, body materials

In my opinion, Huawei Honor 6 Plus is very simple in terms of design. This is not to say that the work done by the company's designers is not visible in the device; quite the opposite. On the front panel, above and below the screen, under the glass, we see a dotted, barely noticeable pattern. There is also a pattern on the back, behind a layer of glass. However, these solutions do not make the device any brighter or recognizable compared to many other smartphones, in my opinion. Plus, the 6 Plus is very similar to the regular Honor 6.

On the other hand, a simple design is at the same time universal in terms of whether you like it or not. You can hardly dislike the Honor 6 Plus because of its appearance; at most it will seem faceless.

The device is available for sale in three colors: black, white and gold.

The solution with glass panels in Honor 6 Plus is more successful than in the Xperia Z line of devices from Sony. Due to the “pattern” under the glass, you do not see any fingerprints or traces, that is, even a dirty device looks like new. We are talking about a golden-colored model, but with white and black, I believe, everything is exactly the same: the pattern under the glass visually makes the case less easily soiled and dirty.

Assembly

The use of a unibody case without removable elements (except for SIM card trays) makes the device good in terms of build quality. There are no loose or creaking parts, no play of individual elements.

Dimensions

Visually, Huawei Honor 6 Plus seems a little more compact than it actually is. This effect is achieved due to the black front panel. When you look at a smartphone with the screen turned off, you see the thinnest side frames (about 2 mm) and, accordingly, already imagine a huge screen. In fact, the screen is really large, but when the mode is on, the actual frames are about 4 mm to the left and right of the working area of ​​the display.

In terms of dimensions, Honor 6 Plus is comparable to other smartphones with a 5.5" screen diagonal", it cannot be called very compact in this category or too large, it is a typical representative of the so-called “phablets”, judge for yourself:

• Apple iPhone 6 Plus(5.5”) – 158.1 x 77.8 x 7.1 mm, 172 grams
• Meizu MX4 Pro (5.5")– 150.1 x 77 x 9 mm, 158 grams
• (5.5”) – 150.5 x 75.7 x 7.5 mm, 165 grams
• Samsung Galaxy A7(5.5”) – 151 x 76.2 x 6.3 mm, 141 grams
• LG G3 (5.5")– 146.3 x 74.6 x 8.9 mm, 147 grams

Comparison with Meizu MX4 Pro

Comparison with LG G3

Controls

In terms of controls, this is a typical Android smartphone with a couple of hardware keys and on-screen touch buttons. The hardware buttons are located on the right edge: on top is the volume key, below is the power button. Even lower there are two slots for SIM cards, one is combined with microSD, respectively, you can choose what to use this slot for - to install a second SIM card or for a memory card. The left edge of the smartphone is empty.

At the top end there is an additional microphone (noise reduction), a 3.5 mm mini-jack and a small IR port window. On the bottom there is the main microphone and microUSB connector.

The on-screen keypad includes three buttons: back, home and calling the running program manager.

If desired, the location of the buttons can be changed; a button for calling up the notification shade and a button for hiding the navigation bar itself are also added here. It is very comfortable!

When you touch any of the on-screen buttons, the device vibrates slightly.

Unfortunately, you cannot unlock your smartphone by double tapping the screen. For those who have not used devices where such an option is provided, this will not be a disadvantage, but personally, after the HTC One M8 and M9, at first it was a little unusual for me that unlocking is only available with the power key.

On the front side at the top there is a speaker, an 8 MP camera peephole and sensors.

Screen

Huawei Honor 6 Plus uses a high-quality IPS LCD matrix, diagonal - 5.5 "", resolution - 1920x1080 pixels. A screen with maximum viewing angles: no matter what angle you tilt it at, diagonally, edges or edges, the picture is not distorted. The brightness reserve is small, but overall it is enough. The color rendition of the display is close to natural, and in the settings you can always adjust the color temperature, making the picture on the screen warmer or cooler.

Automatic brightness adjustment works well. Having turned on this option, I, in fact, even forgot that sometimes on other smartphones I set the brightness manually depending on the conditions (in the daytime - one brightness, in the evening at home - another).

Some will say that for a 5.5" diagonal, a resolution of 1920x1080 pixels is no longer enough, but personally, I am one of those who do not yet see the benefit of higher resolutions on a smartphone screen. The FullHD resolution in the Huawei Honor 6 Plus looks great and out of place - the picture is clear, sharp, there are no pixels or anything like that here, unless you look closely with a magnifying glass, the display is also excellent in other respects.

Camera

One of the main features of Honor 6 Plus is two main cameras with a resolution of 8 MP and f/2.0 aperture. The final maximum image resolution on Honor 6 Plus is 13 MP due to software “stitching” of two eight-megapixel frames.

The camera interface is simple and intuitive. Switching modes, turning on HDR and other essential settings are collected on one screen, it can be called up by clicking on the parameters key. More detailed settings can also be opened by clicking on the parameters button already in this window.

The main highlight of the solution with two equivalent camera modules is the ability to take pictures by programmatically adjusting the aperture value ranging from f/0.95 to f/16, that is, changing the depth of field. Accordingly, at low values ​​you can get one clear object (ideally flat) and beautiful background blur for the rest of the frame. At maximum values, the entire frame will be sharp. The beauty of this option in Huawei Honor 6 Plus is that you just select the “aperture” shooting mode and take pictures without worrying about what aperture value is selected for each frame. All photos taken in this mode can be edited later by setting the optimal aperture value for each.

In conditions where you are shooting a more or less simple object - a portrait of a person, a figure, something that is not too contrasting or has a simple shape - the option of changing the aperture works great. You can take shots with a sharp object in the foreground and beautiful blur in the background (bokeh). At the same time, the bokeh pattern turns out to be really impressive, like on SLR cameras with a portrait lens.

Here is an example of such a frame, from left to right aperture values ​​of f/0.95, f/5.6 and f/16:

Or here's another example of f/0.95, f/4.5 and f/16:

In a situation where you want to highlight some complex object in the frame - flowers, leaves, several people, and so on - the algorithm no longer works so flawlessly, and its work is most often visible in the final photographs. However, sometimes even in such situations the shots come out beautiful.

There is no manual mode, like in HTC, Meizu or Xiaomi smartphones, in the 6 Plus. In “Auto” mode, which is also the main one, Huawei allows you to get good pictures in most conditions. You can change the ISO value, white balance, as well as saturation, contrast and brightness. Below you will find examples of photos in various conditions taken on Huawei Honor 6 Plus.

Separately, we can note the shooting mode with overlay effects.

Front-camera. The Huawei Honor 6 Plus uses an 8 MP module with an f/2.4 aperture for selfies, there is no autofocus, you can record video in resolutions up to 1080p. I can’t say anything special about the front camera; it shoots at the level of many other smartphones, the difference in resolution does not play a special role.

Video recording. The smartphone records video in a maximum resolution of 1920x1080 pixels, and there is a slow-motion mode. There is no tracking autofocus, which is quite strange for a modern device, but there is an option to select a focus point on which the camera will focus even if you move the smartphone.

Autonomous operation

The smartphone uses a non-removable Li-Pol battery with a capacity of 3500 mAh.

In my case, Huawei Honor 6 Plus worked all day without problems in the following mode: 40-60 minutes of calls, 10-20 text messages, Gmail, 3-4 hours of listening to music and about 1-2 hours of active use of the mobile Internet (Instagram, Twitter , Facebook messenger, browser) plus the use of a camera (about 50 pictures conditionally). The indicators are decent.

Platform, memory

The smartphone is built on Huawei’s own platform – HiSilicon Kirin 925 with a quad-core 1.8 GHz (Cortex-A15) and quad-core 1.3 GHz (Cortex-A7) processor. Graphics subsystem (GPU) – Mali-T628 MP4. The device has 3 GB of RAM and 32 GB of internal memory for storing user data, as well as a memory card slot combined with a SIM card slot (you can choose whether to use a SIM card or a memory card).

There are no performance issues with the device. Everything, from the shell and launching programs to games like GTA San Andreas and WoT Blitz at maximum graphics settings, works quickly and without lag. Below are the test results of Honor 6 Plus in various benchmarks.

I didn’t notice any particular heating of the smartphone’s body even under load.

Interfaces

The smartphone works in GSM, HSDPA and LTE networks; all LTE bands common in Russia are supported. You can turn wireless interfaces on and off through settings or using one of the notification curtain pages.

To synchronize with a PC and transfer data, the included microUSB cable and USB 2.0 interface are used.

The smartphone has support for USB On-The-Go (USB OTG) – you can connect flash drives and other storage devices, for example, a camera, to the device via an adapter to transfer pictures from it to the device’s memory.

Bluetooth. Built-in module Bluetooth 4.0 with support for A2DP and LE.

Wi-Fi (802.11 a/b/g/n). Honor 6 Plus uses a dual-band Wi-Fi module. It works flawlessly.

Wi-Fi router. Typically for Android smartphones, there is the ability to “share” a 2G/3G/4G Internet connection via Wi-Fi. In the settings, when starting for the first time, you need to select a network name and password (WPA2).

NFC. There are two versions of Huawei Honor 6 Plus, with 16 and 32 GB of internal memory, but the models differ not only in memory capacity. The 16 GB version lacks NFC, and the second SIM card slot does not support LTE; in other words, it is a stripped-down version. In Russia, only a smartphone with 32 GB of memory is officially sold, so here and further I will not focus on the differences; the younger device is still unavailable and not so interesting in our country.

Navigation

The smartphone has GPS/Glonass support; searching for satellites takes a minimum amount of time, from 5 to 15 seconds. There is no special navigation software in the smartphone.

Working with two SIM cards

Perhaps one of the key features of the Huawei Honor 6 Plus 32 GB is two radio modules. Accordingly, you can install two SIM cards in your smartphone and, while talking on one, receive a call on the other or access the Internet through it. Moreover, the smartphone allows you to select any of the slots for data transfer in LTE. In the settings you can set which SIM card will be used for data transfer and which for receiving calls and messages. These parameters can be changed at any time by changing the purpose of the SIM cards.

Software, EMUI 3.0

The smartphone runs Android 4.4, the proprietary Emotion UI, or, as it is now called, EMUI version 3.0, is used as the shell. According to the general logic, the shell resembles MIUI and Flyme, and its roots go back to iOS - there is no separate application menu, all programs are collected on desktops.

There are many detailed settings and useful things: displaying network speed, displaying or hiding the operator’s name, changing the location of the navigation buttons at the bottom of the screen, customizable “do not disturb” mode, and so on.

There is illogicality in some shell solutions. Let's say when you see a notification about a new event (message, missed call, WhatsApp, etc.) on the lock screen, to go to it, you need to swipe the notification card to the right. And when you see the same notification while on the home screen or in some application, to go to it, you just need to touch the card. It's inconvenient at first, it takes some getting used to.

But most of all, what upsets me personally is a seemingly trifle, but very annoying in my case. The fact is that all themes for EMUI replace some of the application icons with their own. And I couldn’t find a topic where such a substitution would not exist. And to make sure that there are no such themes, I went through about 4 GB of design themes for all versions of EMUI for stock icons. What do I mean by "stock icons"? This is when, having installed Instagram or WhatsApp, you will see the same program icon that is displayed for it on Google Play, that is, intended by the developers. In EMUI, about half of the programs end up with changed icons; this does not in any way affect the usability of the smartphone, but it annoys me, at least. If you have a solution to this problem, besides the advice to install a third-party launcher or “make a root and rummage around inside,” please share.

Conclusion

I had no complaints about the quality of signal reception while using the Huawei Honor 6 Plus. The device has good network reception for both SIM cards, the sound in the speaker is clear, without wheezing or extraneous noise, and there is a volume reserve. Vibration alert is average. The volume of the ringing speaker is above average, while the sound is quite clear, without wheezing.

In Russia, the smartphone is sold through the official online store of Huawei - shop.huawei.ru, the device is now available for pre-order at a price of 26,000 rubles, and pre-ordered devices will begin to be delivered on May 15. On the one hand, if you look at the characteristics as a whole, Huawei Honor 6 Plus has several serious competitors, some of which look more interesting in terms of price. For example, Meizu m1 note 32 GB, which in Russia officially costs 17,000 rubles, is technically similar to Honor 6 Plus, although it is inferior to it in a number of parameters: it does not have a memory card slot, two radio modules and full LTE support for Russia ( only a few stripes). Or Asus Zenfone 2 ZE551ML32 GB, sales of this device will start in May, the price is still unknown, but most likely it will be approximately at the level of Honor 6 Plus or slightly lower.

And here is the time to remember two features of a smartphone from Huawei - these are two cameras, which in some situations allow you to get very beautiful shots with a pleasant bokeh pattern, as well as two full-fledged radio modules with LTE support, working like a clock - without failures or problems.

We already introduced you to Huawei Honor 6 Plus when it was just announced at the end of last year. Now an unusual smartphone with two cameras is starting to be sold in Russia, so now is the time to test it in full.

If you look at the comparison table with technical characteristics, you can see that the 6 Plus has adopted the basic ideas laid down in the Honor 6. There are not so many changes: the screen diagonal has grown, a more advanced system-on-chip is used with a coprocessor for sensors, and the connector You can install a second SIM card for the memory card. But perhaps the most interesting element in the Honor 6 Plus is the camera, or rather the cameras. There are three of them: one in front and two in back, all eight megapixels. Why does one smartphone need so much? For high-quality 2D and potential 3D photography, as well as for implementing all sorts of effects. We found this out when we first met Honor 6 Plus. Now let’s explore what else this smartphone can surprise with.

⇡ Specifications

	Huawei Honor 6	Huawei Honor 6 Plus
Touch screen	5 inches, 1920 × 1080 pixels, IPS; 445 dpi; capacitive, up to ten simultaneous touches	5.5 inches, 1920 × 1080 pixels, IPS; 401 dpi; capacitive, up to ten simultaneous touches
Air gap	No	No
Oleophobic coating	Eat	Eat
Polarizing filter	Eat	Eat
Factory film	No	No
System-on-a-chip	HiSilicon Kirin 920 (ARM big.LITTLE architecture): four ARM Cortex-A15 cores @ 1.7 GHz + four ARM Cortex-A7 cores @ 1.3 GHz (ARMv7), 28 nm process technology	HiSilicon Kirin 925 (ARM big.LITTLE HMP architecture): four ARM Cortex-A15 cores @ 1.8 GHz + four ARM Cortex-A7 cores @ 1.3 GHz (ARMv7) + Smart i3 coprocessor, 28 nm HPm process technology
Graphics controller	Mali-T628 MP4, frequency 600 MHz	Mali-T628 MP6, frequency 600 MHz
RAM	3 GB LPDDR3-1600	3 GB LPDDR3-1600
Flash memory	16 GB (11.5 GB available to user) + microSD	16/32 GB (we tested a 32 GB version - 25.1 GB is available to the user) + microSD
Connectors	1 × Micro-USB 2.0 1 × MicroSD 1 × Micro-SIM	1 × Micro-USB 2.0 1 × 3.5mm headset jack 1 × Micro-SIM 1 × Nano-SIM/microSD (combined)
cellular	2G/3G/4G One SIM card in Micro-SIM format	2G/3G/4G * One SIM card in Micro-SIM format + One SIM card in Nano-SIM format, instead of which you can install a microSD memory card
Cellular connection 2G	GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 MHz	GSM/GPRS/EDGE 900/1800/1900 MHz
Cellular 3G	DC-HSPA+ (42.2/5.76 Mbps) 900/2100 MHz	HSDPA (42.2/5.76 Mbps) 850/900/1900/2100 MHz TD-SCDMA 1900/2000 MHz
Cellular 4G	LTE Cat. 6 (300/50 Mbit/s) FDD: Band 1, 3, 7, 20 (2100/1800/900/800 MHz), TDD: Band 38 (2600 MHz)	LTE Cat. 6 (300/50 Mbit/s) Band 1, 3, 7, 38, 39, 40, 41 (2100/1800/2600/1900/2300/2500 MHz)
WiFi		802.11a/b/g/n, 2.4 and 5 GHz + Wi-Fi Direct
Bluetooth	4.0 + A2DP	4.0 + A2DP
NFC	No	Yes - only for the version with LTE
IR port	Yes	Yes
Navigation	GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS	GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS
Sensors		Light sensor, proximity sensor, accelerometer/gyroscope, magnetometer (digital compass)
Fingerprint's scanner	No	No
Main camera	13 MP (4160 × 3120), Back-illuminated Exmor RS CMOS sensor, Autofocus, single LED flash	Dual, 8 megapixel sensors (3264 × 2448), Software stitching of images up to 13 megapixels, Autofocus, dual LED flash
Front-camera	5.1 MP (2592 × 1952), no autofocus	8 MP (3264 × 2448), no autofocus
Nutrition	Non-removable battery: 11.78 Wh (3100 mAh, 3.8 V)	Non-removable battery 13.68 Wh (3600 mAh, 3.8 V)
Size	140 × 70 mm Case thickness: 7.5 mm	150.5 × 75.7 mm Case thickness 7.5 mm
Weight	130 g	165 g
Housing protection	No	No
operating system	Android 4.4.2 Own shell EmotionUI 2.3	Google Android 4.4.2 (KitKat) Own shell EmotionUI 3.0
Current price	23,990 rubles	25,990 rubles for the 16 GB version 29,990 rubles for the 32 GB version

* There is a version of Huawei Honor 6 Plus without LTE support, but it is not officially shipped to Russia. It has strictly 16 GB of built-in flash memory, while the version with LTE support can be equipped with 16 or 32 GB of memory. Accordingly, when purchasing a version with 16 GB of flash memory, just in case, it is worth checking whether this copy has LTE support.

⇡ Appearance and ergonomics

If you mentally compare Honor 6 and 6 Plus, the first thing you notice is that the “six-plus” is much larger than its predecessor. In terms of dimensions, it is very similar to the iPhone 6 Plus, and this is expected: their screen diagonals are the same - five and a half inches. True, the device from Cupertino is still a little larger - it has thicker frames around the screen, while on the Honor 6 Plus they do not exceed four millimeters on the sides. The screen occupies 78.2% of the front panel area, which is quite good - the space is not wasted.

And yet we are dealing with a really large smartphone: at first you will have to get used to it, especially if you are not familiar with this format of mobile phones. Using it with one hand may not be very comfortable - the size, frankly speaking, is not for everyone. On the other hand, with the release of the new generation iPhone, many users suddenly Smartphones with a screen larger than five inches are no longer considered “shovels.”

At the top of the front panel there is a light indicator, an eight-megapixel front camera lens, a speaker mesh and a light sensor optocoupler. There are no hardware buttons under the display - all keys are software. There is also no fingerprint scanner - neither on the front nor on the back, as was the case with the Ascend Mate 7. It’s clear, of course, why, but it’s still a pity - Huawei’s sensor turned out to be very convenient.

The body of the device is made of plastic, although a metal frame is hidden inside it. Another “hidden” improvement has been found - the frame of the previous model is made of plastic. The thickness of the case, unfortunately, has not changed - it is still 7.5 millimeters. This is by no means a record figure, however, due to the large body area and straight lines without any thickening, the gadget looks quite slender. The device weighs 165 grams, which is quite normal for smartphones of this size: the iPhone 6 Plus, for example, weighs only 172 grams.

Ergonomically, the Honor 6 Plus is in perfect order - all the keys and connectors are in their places, you don’t have to look for them. At the top end there is a universal 3.5 mm audio jack for connecting a wired headset and an infrared port for controlling household appliances. The power and volume keys are located on the right side of the case, right under the thumb. The buttons have a short and very “transparent” travel. Next to them are two card slots - one for Micro-SIM, and the second can be used for Nano-SIM or a microSD memory module. The Micro-USB 2.0 interface is located at the bottom end.

The body of the device is monolithic - the back cover is non-removable, users do not have access to the battery. The “back” of the device is covered with a sheet of glass, which is why the panel turned out to be quite slippery and sticky. The device gets dirty quite quickly and loses its pristine beauty, and during operation it tends to fall out of your hands.

Of particular interest on the rear panel is a block of two eight-megapixel cameras that work together. Huawei says that this trick had to be done to improve the quality of shooting and so that the main camera lens did not protrude from the body, as is done on the new iPhone. Next to the cameras is a dual LED flash. The external speaker is located at the bottom of the panel. During operation, it is difficult to close it, except perhaps by placing the device on a table. True, a fairly decent volume reserve will still not allow the user to miss a call.

Let us remind you that the back panel of the device is multi-layered, it is made of composite materials. Among other things, a layer of some “military material” is used, which quite successfully protects the device from damage. There is also a layer with a fine checkered texture, which makes the smartphone look more sophisticated and interesting.

Subjectively speaking (and it’s impossible to talk about design in any other way - this is too individual a matter), the appearance of Honor 6 Plus was a success. In gold color, the smartphone looks moderately catchy, but remains strict. Perhaps the exterior of the device will seem boring to some, but for these same people, Elton John's glasses are probably not bright enough. The smartphone comes in white, black and gold versions. We have no comments regarding the assembly - we did not find any creaks or backlashes.

The most advanced device in the family of smartphones of the new Honor brand

Honor's first anniversary as an independent brand on the market was celebrated at the very end of last year, on December 16, in the Beijing art center, just on the day of the official presentation of the Honor 6 Plus model. Encouraged by the high sales results of Honor brand devices over the past year, Huawei representatives were firmly convinced of the correctness of the chosen path and outlined further goals. Jeff Liu, President of Huawei Honor, said: “This success is just the first step. Yes, we strive to build Honor's circle of trust." The company's goals for 2015 are to increase sales to 40 million units and grow sales to $5 billion; and in 2016, Huawei Honor plans to achieve sales of $10 billion. Thus, the Honor brand is further strengthened in the title of “people's brand” and goes into online sales channels, leaving Huawei Ascend products in premium positions.

Accordingly, the first independent product of the Honor brand, which spun off from Huawei and became an independent brand on the market, is the new smartphone Honor 6 Plus, presented at the end of the year there in Beijing. The device becomes a step higher than Honor 6 and looks more attractive due to some features. Essentially, this is the same premium Ascend Mate 7, only in a simpler body and lacking additional super features (fingerprint sensor, for example). Nevertheless, the device turned out to be very interesting, especially considering its recommended price, and can even offer some unique functions that neither the more expensive Ascend Mate 7 nor other devices in its class have.

Video review

First, we suggest watching our video review of the Honor 6 Plus smartphone:

Now let's take a look at the characteristics of the new product.

Main Features of Honor 6 Plus (PE-UL00)

	Honor 6 Plus	Oppo N3	Meizu MX4 Pro	Huawei Ascend Mate 7	Lenovo Vibe Z2 Pro
Screen	5.5″, IPS	5.5″, IPS	5.5″, IPS	6″, IPS	6″, IPS
Permission	1920×1080, 401 ppi	1920×1080, 401 ppi	2560×1536, 546 ppi	1920×1080, 367 ppi	2560×1440, 490 ppi
SoC	HiSilicon Kirin 925 (4x Cortex-A15 @1.8GHz + 4x [email protected] + i3)	Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 (4 cores Krait 400 @2.3 GHz)	Samsung Exynos 5430 (4x Cortex-A15 @2.0 GHz + 4x Cortex-A7 @1.5 GHz)	HiSilicon Kirin 925 (4x Cortex-A15 @1.7 GHz + 4x Cortex-A7 + i3)	Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 (4 cores Krait 400 @2.5 GHz)
GPU	Mali-T628 MP4	Adreno 330	Mali T628 MP6	Mali-T628 MP4	Adreno 330
RAM	3 GB	2 GB	3 GB	2 GB	3 GB
Flash memory	16 GB	32 GB	16/32/64 GB	16 GB	32 GB
Memory card support	microSD	microSD	—	microSD	No
operating system	Google Android 4.4	Google Android 4.4	Google Android 4.4	Google Android 4.4	Google Android 4.4
Battery	non-removable, 3600 mAh	non-removable, 3000 mAh	non-removable, 3350 mAh	non-removable, 4100 mAh	non-removable, 4000 mAh
Cameras	rear (2×8 MP; video 1080p), front (8 MP)	rotating (16 MP; video 1080p)	rear (20.7 MP; 4K video), front (5 MP)	rear (13 MP; video 1080p), front (5 MP)	rear (16 MP; 4K video), front (5 MP)
Dimensions and weight	151×76×7.5 mm, 164 g	161×77×8.7 mm, 194 g	150×77×9.0 mm, 158 g	157×81×7.9 mm, 185 g	156×81×7.7 mm, 181 g
average price	T-11971680	T-11168101	T-11852174	T-11036156	T-11157888
Honor 6 Plus offers	L-11971680-10

• SoC HiSilicon Kirin 925, 8 cores ARM big.LITTLE (4 cores Cortex-A15 @1.8 GHz + 4 cores Cortex-A7 @1.3 GHz) + Smart-l3 processor for working with sensors
• GPU Mali-T628 MP4
• Operating system Android 4.4.2, EMUI 3.0
• Touch display IPS 5.5″, 1920×1080, 401 ppi
• Random access memory (RAM) 3 GB, internal memory 16 GB
• microSD support
• Supports Nano-SIM (1 pc.) and Micro-SIM (1 pc.)
• Communication GSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHz
• Communication 3G HSDPA 850/900/1900/2100 MHz
• Data transmission LTE FDD-LTE 2100/1800 MHz;TDD-LTE:B41 (2496-2690 MHz)
• Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n (2.4/5 GHz), Wi-Fi hotspot, Wi-Fi Direct
• Bluetooth 4.0
• GPS, A-GPS, Glonass, BDS
• USB 2.0, OTG
• Camera 8 MP (2 pcs.), f/2.0, tracking autofocus
• Front camera 8 MP, f/2.4
• Gyroscope, proximity sensor, light sensor, gravity sensor, electronic compass, infrared port
• Battery 3600 mAh, non-removable
• Dimensions 151×76×7.5 mm
• Weight 164 g

Contents of delivery

Honor 6 Plus goes on sale in a small blue cardboard box with a minimal amount of inscriptions, which makes the packaging look quite stylish and neat. Inside, all the contents are packaged in even smaller boxes, stacked one on top of the other.

The accessory kit consists of a very large and powerful charger (output current 2 A) and a Micro-USB connecting cable. In addition, the kit includes two protective films for both glass panels of the smartphone, as well as a key for removing the SIM card and several books of paper documentation. No headphones were included in the box with Honor 6 Plus.

Appearance and ease of use

The hero of the review mostly inherited his appearance from the previous model in the series: in appearance, it is practically the same Honor 6, only even more enlarged in size. The body is completely flat, without bends, with two glass panels on both sides and a wide metal rim on the side edges. This design is familiar to us; it moved into the Honor line from the more expensive fashion Ascend P series. But unlike fashion models, the more affordable Honor smartphones are made a little less elegant. Their cases are far from record thinness, everything looks a little rougher, all the elements are larger in size, and the materials are simplified. Honor 6 even had a side bezel made of plastic - at least on the new product this element is truly metal.

Both panels of the case are covered with protective glass; there are no removable covers, no curves on the back surface, and no practical materials, such as a matte or rubberized coating. All surfaces of the Honor 6 Plus are glass or metal, which is why the body is quite slippery and easily soiled.

The smartphone is very large in size; due to the straight sides without any bevels, the body also looks and feels quite thick, although this is not the case in numbers. The weight of the device for such dimensions is not that great, and when you pick up the smartphone for the first time, you expect to feel more weight. However, 164 grams is still a lot for a clothing pocket. The size of the device is certainly large for one-handed operation.

The back cover is made of particularly durable multi-layer composite material. At the presentation, Huawei employees showed a video where such material can withstand even a weapon shot.

Under the layer of transparent material, a small pattern is visible - textures made using laser engraving enhance the appearance of the smartphone, making it more complex and expensive.

Against its background, the lower rounded end made of smooth plastic, traditionally for Huawei not covered with a metal rim, looks very simple and even somehow out of place. Everyone is already used to it, but still, if Huawei had closed the metal bezel at the bottom end, the design as a whole would have looked more organic and complete.

The back cover is non-removable; a Micro-SIM SIM card and a microSD memory card are inserted into the side slots and removed using a key or a paper clip. A second Nano-SIM card can be installed in place of the memory card, but then the user will have to do without a memory card, and vice versa. This method is obviously beneficial for manufacturers, but inconvenient for the user: you will definitely have to compromise and sacrifice some of the comfort for the sake of something unknown - after all, there is more than enough space in the case for more slots and cards. On the market it is quite possible to find devices with simultaneous support for two or more SIM cards, and even with a separate slot for a memory card, so all this is possible, if desired.

Honor 6 Plus is equipped with an unusual camera: it consists of two identical 8-megapixel modules located approximately a centimeter apart from each other. There is a dual LED flash embedded next to the camera, which can work as a flashlight with the help of a special program. The flashlight can be accessed from the quick access menu in the drop-down notification shade.

The grilles for sound output from the speakers are made in the form of longitudinal slits cut in both glass panels, front and rear. Accordingly, the sound of the ringing speaker is muffled if the smartphone is lying on a hard surface with the screen facing up. On the front panel, next to the gap covered by a metal grille for the earpiece, you can see proximity and light sensors, as well as a small LED notification sensor. In the settings section, the mode of flashing notifications about incoming events can be disabled.

There are no hardware control buttons under the screen, all the buttons have become virtual, the panel can be removed by clicking on the small check mark on the left, and returned back with a bottom-up gesture. The block of buttons can be removed in any application, the icons will disappear in any case, but the black background itself in the form of a stripe can remain in place, for example, in the same games.

Since the system and application control buttons are on-screen and virtual, the Honor 6 Plus interface, like other Huawei smartphones, provides the ability to redistribute combinations of buttons in various combinations, so that each user can choose a control method that is convenient for them.

The mechanical lock and volume keys are located on the same right side, very close to each other. The keys feel practically the same, you can mistake them blindly, you need to get used to them. The buttons do not protrude very far from the body, but you can feel them. The keys themselves are quite narrow, have a short travel, but a clear response.

The Micro-USB 2.0 connector is embedded in the bottom end; it supports connecting peripheral devices in OTG mode. A 3.5 mm audio output for headphones is built into the top end, next to the infrared port, which serves to control household appliances as a remote control.

The connectors and outputs are not covered with plugs, since the smartphone is not protected from moisture and dust. The body of the device is also not equipped with a hook for attaching a strap. Three classic colors are available for sale: white, black and gold options.

Screen

Honor 6 Plus is equipped with an IPS touch matrix protected by glass with a high-quality oleophobic coating. The screen dimensions are 68x121 mm, diagonal - 5.5 inches, resolution - 1920x1080 pixels. Accordingly, the point density here is 401 ppi.

The thickness of the frames from the edge of the screen to the edge of the body on the sides is less than 4 mm, and at the top and bottom - 14 mm. The frames are extremely narrow, the Chinese do not hesitate to constantly compare all their products with Apple products at presentations, and in this case the display area of ​​the Honor 6 Plus (78.2%) naturally turns out to be larger than that of the iPhone 6 Plus (71.1 %), with which the creators from Huawei constantly compare their brainchild.

The display brightness can be adjusted manually, or you can use automatic adjustment. Multi-touch technology here allows you to process 10 simultaneous touches. When you bring the smartphone to your ear, the screen is locked using a proximity sensor. You can wake up the screen by double tapping the glass; you can operate the display while wearing gloves; to do this, you need to enable the corresponding function in the settings section for working with gestures, not with the screen.

A detailed examination using measuring instruments was carried out by the editor of the “Monitors” and “Projectors and TV” sections Alexey Kudryavtsev. Here is his expert opinion on the screen of the sample under study.

The front surface of the screen is made in the form of a glass plate with a mirror-smooth surface that is scratch-resistant. Judging by the reflection of objects, the anti-glare properties of the screen are no worse than those of the Google Nexus 7 (2013) screen (hereinafter simply Nexus 7). For clarity, here is a photo in which a white surface is reflected when the screens are turned off (Nexus 7 on the left, Honor 6 Plus on the right, then they can be distinguished by size):

The screen of the Honor 6 Plus is even a little darker (brightness according to photographs is 87 versus 95 for the Nexus 7). The ghosting of reflected objects in the Honor 6 Plus screen is very weak, this indicates that there is no air gap between the layers of the screen (more specifically, between the outer glass and the surface of the LCD matrix) (OGS - One Glass Solution type screen). Due to the smaller number of boundaries (glass-air type) with very different refractive indices, such screens look better in conditions of strong external illumination, but their repair in the case of cracked external glass is much more expensive, since the entire screen has to be replaced. The outer surface of the screen has a special oleophobic (grease-repellent) coating (very effective, even better than that of the Nexus 7), so fingerprints are removed much more easily and appear at a lower speed than with regular glass.

When manually controlling the brightness and displaying the white field in full screen, the maximum brightness value was about 450 cd/m², the minimum was 8.5 cd/m². The maximum brightness is high, which means, given the excellent anti-glare properties, readability even on a sunny day outdoors should be at a good level. In complete darkness, the brightness can be reduced to a comfortable value. There is automatic brightness adjustment based on the light sensor (located above the front speaker slot). In automatic mode, as external lighting conditions change, the screen brightness both increases and decreases. The operation of this function depends on the position of the brightness adjustment slider. If it is 100%, then in complete darkness the auto-brightness function reduces the brightness to 120 cd/m² (too much), in an office illuminated by artificial light (about 400 lux) it sets it to 310 cd/m² (it could have been lower), in very bright environment (corresponds to lighting on a clear day outdoors, but without direct sunlight - 20,000 lux or a little more), the brightness increases to 450 cd/m² (to the maximum - this is what you need); if the adjustment is approximately 50%, then the values ​​are as follows: 8.5, 145 and 450 cd/m² (acceptable values, although in the dark the screen darkens too much), the regulator at 0% is 8.5, 38 and 195 cd/m² (values underestimated, which is logical). We were more satisfied with the option with the slider at a value of approximately 80% - 24, 235 and 450 cd/m². It turns out that the auto-brightness function works quite adequately and allows the user to customize their work to individual requirements. At any brightness level, there is virtually no backlight modulation, so there is no screen flickering.

This smartphone uses an IPS matrix. The microphotographs show a typical IPS subpixel structure:

For comparison, you can see the gallery of microphotographs of screens used in mobile technology.

The screen has good viewing angles without significant color shift even with large viewing deviations from perpendicular to the screen and without inverting shades. For comparison, here are photographs in which the same images are displayed on the screens of Honor 6 Plus and Nexus 7, while the screen brightness is initially set to approximately 200 cd/m², and the color balance on the camera is forcibly switched to 6500 K. There is a white field perpendicular to the screens:

Note the good uniformity of brightness and color tone of the white field. And a test picture:

Color rendition is good, the color balance differs insignificantly, but the colors of the Honor 6 Plus are overly saturated. Now at an angle of approximately 45 degrees to the plane and to the side of the screen:

It can be seen that the colors have not changed much on both screens, but on the Honor 6 Plus the contrast has decreased to a greater extent due to the strong highlighting of blacks. And a white field:

The brightness at an angle of the screens has decreased (at least 5 times, based on the difference in shutter speed), but the Honor 6 Plus screen is still brighter (brightness according to photographs is 236 versus 228 for the Nexus 7). When deviated diagonally, the black field brightens greatly and acquires a red-violet hue. The photographs below demonstrate this (the brightness of the white areas in the direction perpendicular to the plane of the screens is the same!):

And from another angle:

When viewed perpendicularly, the uniformity of the black field is good, but not ideal, since in several places along the edge the brightness increases slightly:

The contrast (approximately in the center of the screen) is high - about 1200:1. The response time for the black-white-black transition is 25 ms (14 ms on + 11 ms off). The transition between halftones of gray 25% and 75% (based on the numerical value of the color) and back takes a total of 36 ms. The gamma curve, constructed using 32 points with equal intervals based on the numerical value of the shade of gray, did not reveal any blockage in either the highlights or the shadows. The exponent of the approximating power function is 2.40, which is higher than the standard value of 2.2. At the same time, the real gamma curve in some places noticeably deviates from the power-law dependence:

Due to the dynamic (but not very aggressive) adjustment of the backlight brightness in accordance with the nature of the output image (in dark images the brightness decreases slightly), the resulting dependence of brightness on hue (gamma curve) does not correspond to the gamma curve of a static image, since the measurements were carried out at sequential output of shades of gray almost to the entire screen. For this reason, we carried out a number of tests - determining contrast and response time, comparing black illumination at angles - when displaying special templates with a constant average brightness, and not monochromatic fields in the entire screen.

The color gamut is noticeably wider than sRGB:

The spectra show that the primary colors are well separated:

As a result, the colors of images - drawings, photographs and films - oriented to the sRGB space (and these are the vast majority) have an unnaturally high saturation. This is especially noticeable on recognizable shades, such as skin tones. The result is shown in the photo above. The balance of shades on the gray scale is good, since the color temperature is not much higher than the standard 6500 K, and the deviation from the blackbody spectrum (ΔE) is less than 10, which is considered an acceptable indicator for a consumer device. At the same time, color temperature and ΔE change little from hue to hue - this has a positive effect on the visual assessment of color balance. (The darkest areas of the gray scale can be ignored, since color balance there is not very important, and the error in measuring color characteristics at low brightness is large.)

This device has the ability to adjust the color balance by adjusting the tint warmer or cooler.

The curves in the graphs above Without corr. correspond to the results without any color balance correction, and the curves Corr.— data obtained after shifting the correction slider to the “warm” side until setting approximately 6500 K on the white field. It can be seen that the change in balance corresponds to the expected result, since the color temperature became closer to the standard over most of the gray scale, but ΔE, unfortunately, increased slightly.

To summarize: the screen has a high maximum brightness and has good anti-glare properties, so the device can be used outdoors without any problems, even on a sunny summer day. In complete darkness, the brightness can be reduced to a comfortable level. It is also possible to use a mode with automatic brightness adjustment, which works adequately. Also, the advantages of the screen include an effective oleophobic coating, the absence of air gaps in the layers of the screen and flicker, high contrast, and good color balance. The disadvantages are the low stability of black to the deviation of the gaze from perpendicular to the screen plane and overly saturated colors. Nevertheless, taking into account the importance of characteristics for this particular class of devices, the screen quality can be considered high.

Sound

In terms of sound, the Huawei Honor 6 Plus smartphone is not bad. The device has only one main speaker built-in, but it sounds loud enough, and the sound at maximum volume remains clear, although there is not an abundance of low frequencies. The sound in the headphones is also loud and clear. To control sound quality, it is possible to use the DTS software package. The smartphone comes standard with an FM radio, and there is also a voice recorder. The radio cannot record programs and will not work without headphones connected as an external antenna. Using standard tools, the device is capable of recording telephone conversations from the line; you just need to press the appropriate button in the telephone application directly during a conversation, and the conversation will be automatically recorded.

But of particular interest here is the main camera, made in the form of a system of dual 8-megapixel modules (matrix pixel size 1.98 microns, f/2.0 aperture), located approximately a centimeter next to each other. Using a software method, the images are “stitched”, giving a maximum photo resolution of 13 megapixels (4160x3120). The cunning plan of the developers is partly explained by the fact that in this way they avoided the issue of a module protruding outside the body (like the notorious iPhone 6, with which Huawei flagships are always compared): on the Honor 6 Plus, the back surface of the body remains absolutely flat. In addition, two sensors help to obtain more light, which means better pictures in low light. Vision Camera technology allows for greater depth of field and focusing speeds of just 0.1ms. It is also mentioned that the Kirin 925 SoC, on which the smartphone is based, is distinguished by the presence of its own image processing module.

You can get acquainted with the possibilities of combining two cameras in Honor 6 Plus in this video (in Chinese, with English subtitles):

The camera control interface is rich in settings. The menu is organized as a scrolling list with expanding sub-items. Everything is drawn large and clearly; in bright sunlight the menu remains readable. Additional shooting modes include panorama, HDR, night photography, as well as a decoration mode with a slider for adjusting the degree of embellishment. A more practical one is a special mode with the function of changing the depth of field of the image, also adjustable using the slider, and thus obtaining a blurred background.

The camera can shoot video in a maximum resolution of 1080p, there is a slow motion mode, examples of test videos are presented below.

• Video No. 1 (55 MB, 1920×1080@30 fps)
• Video No. 2 (45 MB, 1920×1080@30 fps)
• Video No. 3 (37 MB, 1920×1080@30 fps)

	Good and uniform sharpness across the entire frame.
	Some soapiness is present on small parts. Moreover, they are clearly visible even in the shadows.
	Toward distant plans, the soapiness noticeably worsens, although overall the sharpness is not bad.
	The color of the sky is quite even.
	In the distant plans, the soapiness is again noticeable. There is also sharpening on the branches.
	Even at this distance, the branches begin to merge, but the car license plates are clearly legible.
	The car number is visible. However, everything is fine with branches too.
	Good work with noise in shadows.
	HDR mode works well.
	The text is well done, although a little washed out in places.
	The camera copes well with macro photography.

We also tested the camera on a laboratory bench using our method.

Despite fairly good sharpness, small details, especially in the background, look blurry, as if the result of interpolation, which can be explained by adding two images together. Nevertheless, the pictures come out quite good: the sharpness is quite uniform across the entire field of the frame and across the plans, and the camera copes well with noise, and in any shadows. In addition to the unpleasant soapiness, the bright sharpening that occurs from time to time catches the eye. All this does not spoil the pictures much, but it also does not allow us to unambiguously call the camera a flagship. Although she copes with dignity.

The laboratory test shows a fairly strong drop in resolution compared to its predecessor - probably due to the lower real resolution and soapiness caused by interpolation, which was not present in Honor 6. And in general, the photos of Honor 6 were still more pleasing to the eye. It seems that all these are costs of the “dual” camera format. However, even in this form it is well suited for various use scenarios.

"Diaphragm"

More recently, we remembered former flagships that tried to imitate shallow depth of field. Now we can add one more to the list. In this case, we have nothing unusual; almost the same thing was implemented in HTC One (M8). Is that, unlike HTC’s “ultra-pixels”, here we are dealing with Huawei’s “double pixels”. The camera is described beautifully and not very clearly, but for some reason I don’t want to delve into the intricacies of the “technology”, because marketers could invent something like this without even having any special technical background. Nevertheless, we have a completely proven stereo design, which is also a rangefinder, both cameras of which are active, that is, they receive the signal and then sum it up. How this works physically is not so easy to explain (if at all possible), so, most likely, the signals are added after some kind of software correction, otherwise we would see a double image.

So we can get "twice" the light with the same noise just by taking two cameras. This phrase, of course, sounds somewhat absurd, given that the light hits different sensors. However, it makes sense that by adding two identical images, we will get larger “total” pixels with the same noise and less grain. In principle, this idea is not new, and some have already obtained a large photo by adding several small ones. But do you need a second camera for this?

In addition to simulating shallow depth of field, Huawei decided to really go all out and add aperture adjustment. Or rather, its imitation. The pseudo-aperture can take values ​​from f/0.95 (!) to f/16, which immediately covers the entire range of currently available relative apertures. In fact, it was possible to do without loud numbers, which, moreover, have almost no relation to reality and, moreover, do not even affect the exposure.

Now it's time to answer the big question: how well does this thing work? Unfortunately, we have not seen any noticeable progress. That is, everything works approximately the same as with the devices mentioned above, except that here we can adjust the degree of blur quite subtly, but only during shooting.

The blur in some places is quite nice, and its “pattern” even depends on the aperture value, but the main problem of this effect remains unresolved: the camera still has difficulty “separating” the object from the background. Although, we must pay tribute to the programmers, it succeeds in this much better than the devices that tried to do this before.

Often the camera will simply blur everything except the subject it's focusing on, but sometimes it actually succeeds in simulating a shallow depth of field. However, this does not make it any less “software”. And all these achievements are only a small step in the pursuit of the goal, which at this rate will obviously not be achieved soon.

Below is the best series of shooting results at different pseudo apertures.

Examples of pseudo-diaphragm operation

Telephone and communications

The smartphone works as standard in modern 2G GSM and 3G WCDMA networks, and also supports fourth generation networks TD-LTE / FDD-LTE (Cat6). However, the model intended for the Asian market, which we tested (PE-UL00), does not support LTE frequencies used in Russia:

16GB Rom Version (PE-UL00)
SIM card slot 1:
4G: FDD-LTE 2100 /1800MHz;TDD-LTE:B41(2496-2690MHz);
3G: WCDMA 2100/1900/850/900MHz
2G: GSM 850/900/1800/1900;

Not support NFC

In order for your smartphone to support Russian frequencies, you should choose the PE-TL10 modification for purchase:

32GB Rom Version: (PE-TL10)
SIM card slot 1:
4G: FDD-LTE 2100/1800/2600MHz ;TDD-LTE:;
3G:WCDMA 2100/1900/850/900MHz
2G: GSM 850/900/1800/1900MHz
SIM card slot 2:GSM:900/1800/1900
Support NFC

The network capabilities of the smartphone are wide: in this modification, the device does not have an NFC module, but there is Bluetooth 4.0, two Wi-Fi bands are supported (2.4 and 5 GHz), Wi-Fi Direct, Wi-Fi Display, you can organize a wireless access point via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth channels. The Micro-USB 2.0 connector supports connecting external devices (USB Host, USB OTG), so you can connect flash drives and mice with keyboards to the Micro-USB port. The navigation module works not only with GPS (with A-GPS), there is also support for the domestic Glonass and the Chinese Beidou (BDS). There are no complaints about the operation of the navigation module; the first GPS and Glonass satellites are detected literally within a minute. Among the smartphone's sensors is a magnetic field sensor (Hall sensor), which is the basis for the much-needed digital compass in navigation programs.

The phone application supports Smart Dial, that is, while dialing a phone number, a search is immediately carried out by the first letters in contacts; there is also support for continuous input such as Swype. For those who find working with such a large screen inconvenient, it is possible to reduce the size of virtual keyboards and move the keys closer to one side of the display.

The smartphone supports working with two active SIM cards in Dual Sim Dual Active mode, that is, the device has two radio modules, and communication can be carried out via two telephone lines simultaneously. In conversation mode on two parallel lines, it is enough to instantly change the active line with one simple movement, while the interlocutor on the second line will be on hold. The slots for SIM cards are equivalent in their capabilities: any slot supports high-speed data transmission in 3G (4G) networks, but only one of the cards can function in this mode at the same time. To change the assignment of slots, cards do not need to be swapped - this can be done directly from the convenient and clear phone menu. When dialing a number in the interface, you can always choose which SIM card to make a call from at the moment.

OS and software

The device uses the Google Android software platform version 4.4.2 as a system with the proprietary Emotion UI 3.0 shell installed on top. Exactly the same interface with the same capabilities is installed in the top-end Ascend Mate 7. There is still no separate menu for installed applications, all icons are evenly distributed across desktops, and the creation of folders and widgets is supported. A timeline has appeared in all menus of the proprietary interface, for example in the notification menu or in the SMS list, showing the exact time of the recorded event.

Traditionally, there is a monitoring utility - a dispatcher that monitors the most power-hungry applications and gives advice on saving energy, as well as scanning the system for viruses, etc.

Separately, the developers mention the Honor Wallet application, which was first introduced in the Honor 6 Plus smartphone. Honor Wallet offers users high-level security for mobile payments. Its bank card management features include wireless card activation, account statements, balance replenishment and online payments to major online platforms. Honor Wallet provides users with the ability to connect their phone to UnionPay POS terminals with QuickPass support, allowing them to replace their bank card with a smartphone.

In general, there are a lot of pre-installed applications, some of them are already carefully arranged in thematic folders, but most of the programs are intended for the Asian market and are not applicable to us.

Performance

The hardware platform of Honor 6 Plus is built on a single-chip system (SoC) of Huawei's own production - HiSilicon Kirin 925, the same as in Ascend Mate 7. This SoC is almost identical in characteristics to the Kirin 920 installed in Huawei Honor 6, but differs from it the presence of an additional processor responsible for working with sensors. The new SoC includes two quad-core processors that implement the ARM big.LITTLE concept: one with Cortex A-15 cores (operating at 1.8 GHz), and the second with Cortex-A7 cores (1.3 GHz), which allows dynamic switch between CPUs depending on application needs. There is also another processor called Smart i3, which allows you to save even more energy by taking over the work with the fingerprint sensor and sensors.

The modern high-performance video accelerator Mali-T628 MP4 is responsible for processing graphics in the SoC. The smartphone's RAM capacity is 3 GB. For the user's needs, the device has about 11.5 GB of flash memory out of 16 nominal (there is also a version with 32 GB). The memory capacity can be increased using microSD memory cards, but then you will have to remove the second SIM card. You can also connect external flash drives, keyboards and mice to the Micro-USB port in OTG mode.

According to benchmark testing results, the smartphone demonstrated the highest level of performance to date, almost on par with the Ascend Mate 7, which is not surprising, because both devices are built on the same hardware platform. There were no records, there are also more productive solutions in the rankings of top smartphones, but the gap from them is not so great. In any case, this does not prevent the hero of the review from coping with any tasks assigned to him, including the most demanding games. The hardware capabilities of Honor 6 Plus will be relevant for a long time, there is a power reserve.

Testing in the latest versions of comprehensive tests AnTuTu and GeekBench 3:

For convenience, we have compiled all the results we obtained when testing the smartphone in the latest versions of popular benchmarks into tables. The table usually adds several other devices from different segments, also tested on similar latest versions of benchmarks (this is done only for a visual assessment of the obtained dry figures). Unfortunately, within the framework of one comparison it is impossible to present the results from different versions of benchmarks, so many worthy and relevant models remain “behind the scenes” - due to the fact that they once passed the “obstacle course” on previous versions of test programs.

Testing the graphics subsystem in 3DMark game tests,GFXBenchmark, and Bonsai Benchmark:

When testing in 3DMark, the most powerful smartphones now have the ability to run the application in Unlimited mode, where the rendering resolution is fixed at 720p and VSync is disabled (which can cause the speed to rise above 60 fps).

	Honor 6 Plus	Oppo N3	Meizu MX4 Pro (Exynos 5 Octa 5430/ Mali T628)	Lenovo Vibe Z2 Pro (Snapdragon 801/ Adreno 330)	Huawei Ascend Mate 7 (HiSilicon Kirin 925/ Mali-T628 MP4)
3DMark Ice Storm Extreme (more is better)	9113	Maxed out!	Maxed out!	Maxed out!	9088
3DMark Ice Storm Unlimited (more is better)	13849	17166	18043	16609	13749
GFXBenchmark T-Rex HD (C24Z16 Onscreen)	17 fps	23 fps	17 fps	19.5 fps
GFXBenchmark T-Rex HD (C24Z16 Offscreen)	17 fps	23 fps	25 fps	27.2 fps
Bonsai Benchmark	3726 (53 fps)	3658 (52 fps)	3019 (43 fps)	3023 (43 fps)	3737 (53 fps)

Browser cross-platform tests:

As for benchmarks for assessing the speed of the javascript engine, you should always make allowance for the fact that their results significantly depend on the browser in which they are launched, so the comparison can only be truly correct on the same OS and browsers, and this is possible during testing not always. For Android OS, we always try to use Google Chrome.

Playing video

To test the omnivorous nature of video playback (including support for various codecs, containers and special features, such as subtitles), we used the most common formats, which make up the bulk of the content available on the Internet. Note that for mobile devices it is important to have support for hardware video decoding at the chip level, since it is most often impossible to process modern options using processor cores alone. Also, you shouldn’t expect a mobile device to decode everything, since the leadership in flexibility belongs to the PC, and no one is going to challenge it. All results are summarized in a table.

According to the testing results, the subject was not equipped with all the necessary decoders that are necessary for full playback of most of the most common multimedia files on the network. To successfully play them, you will have to resort to the help of a third-party player - for example, MX Player. True, it is also necessary to change the settings and manually install additional custom codecs, because now this player does not officially support the AC3 sound format.

Format	Container, video, sound	MX Video Player	Standard video player
DVDRip	AVI, XviD 720×400 2200 Kbps, MP3+AC3	plays normally	plays normally
Web-DL SD	AVI, XviD 720×400 1400 Kbps, MP3+AC3	plays normally	plays normally
Web-DL HD	MKV, H.264 1280×720 3000 Kbps, AC3		The video plays fine, but there is no sound¹
BDRip 720p	MKV, H.264 1280×720 4000 Kbps, AC3	The video plays fine, but there is no sound¹	The video plays fine, but there is no sound¹
BDRip 1080p	MKV, H.264 1920×1080 8000 Kbps, AC3	The video plays fine, but there is no sound¹	The video plays fine, but there is no sound¹

¹ sound in MX Video Player was played only after manually installing an alternative custom audio codec; The standard player does not have this setting

Tested video output features Alexey Kudryavtsev.

We did not find the MHL interface, like Mobility DisplayPort, 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 “Methodology for testing video playback and display devices. Version 1 (for mobile devices) 1080/24p Red marks indicate possible problems associated with the playback of the corresponding files.

According to the criterion of frame output, the quality of playback of video files on the screen of the smartphone itself is good, since frames (or groups of frames) can (but are not required) be output with more or less uniform alternation of intervals and without skipping frames. When playing video files with a resolution of 1920 by 1080 pixels (1080p) on a smartphone screen, the image of the video file itself is displayed exactly along the border of the screen, one to one in pixels, that is, in the original resolution. The brightness range displayed on the screen corresponds to the standard range of 16-235 - in the shadows, only a couple of shades closest to black do not differ from it in brightness, but in the highlights all gradations of shades are displayed.

Battery life

Honor 6 Plus received a very capacious 3600 mAh battery, so its very decent battery life is not at all surprising. Testing, of course, was carried out in the most productive operating mode without any restrictions, although by default all Huawei smartphones have three possible operating modes in the settings: from balanced to energy-saving.

	Battery capacity	Reading mode	Video mode	3D Game Mode
Honor 6 Plus	3600 mAh	20:00	10:00 am	4 hours 30 minutes
Oppo N3	3000 mAh	16:40	11:40 am	3 hours 15 minutes
Meizu MX4 Pro	3350 mAh	16:00	8 hours 40 minutes	3 hours 30 minutes
Meizu MX4	3100 mAh	12:00 pm	8 hours 40 minutes	3 hours 45 minutes
Lenovo Vibe Z2 Pro	4000 mAh	13:20	8 hours 40 minutes	4 hours 30 minutes
Huawei Mate 7	4100 mAh	20:00	12:30 pm	4 hours 25 minutes
Vivo Xplay 3S	3200 mAh	12:30 pm	8:00 am	3 hours 30 minutes
Oppo Find 7	3000 mAh	9:00 a.m.	6 hours 40 minutes	3 hours 20 minutes
HTC One M8	2600 mAh	22:10	13:20	3 hours 20 minutes
Samsung Galaxy S5	2800 mAh	17:20	12:30 pm	4 hours 30 minutes

Continuous reading in the FBReader program (with a standard, light theme) at a minimum comfortable brightness level (brightness was set to 100 cd/m²) lasted about 20 hours until the battery was completely discharged, and when continuously watching videos in high quality (720p) with the same brightness level over a home Wi-Fi network, the device lasted about 10 hours. In 3D gaming mode, the smartphone functioned for 4.5 hours! The capacious battery also takes a long time to charge; a full charge takes at least 4 hours.

Bottom line

In conclusion, it can be noted that with a recommended price of $325 for a modification with 16 GB of memory and about $405 for a version with twice as much memory, the Honor 6 Plus smartphone is certainly an excellent offer for those who are not intimidated by huge mobile devices. In general, we have before us a more than decent and not too expensive tablet phone with fundamental characteristics that are no worse than those of true flagships: a powerful platform, a good screen, good sound and camera, decent battery life - the hero of the review has all this. Compared to the flagship Ascend Mate 7, of course, there are not many “tricks” here, the materials are simpler, and the appearance is not so expressive, you can’t argue with that. But this is, in fact, what the developers were striving for: to provide the user with an alternative to the expensive top-end flagship, which is simpler in appearance, but also more affordable. Another thing is that official deliveries of this model to our market are not yet planned, and therefore, you can forget about the price of $400. It’s a pity, this would be a worthy purchase, especially against the backdrop of extremely expensive alternatives in the form of Lenovo Vibe Z2 Pro, Huawei Ascend Mate 7, not to mention the sky-high prices for Samsung Galaxy Note 4 and Apple iPhone 6 Plus, which the hero of the review could have paid quite worthy competition, even despite the lack of some flagship superpowers.