TECH LASS

OUR VERDICT Huawei's Mate 8 might not be one of the best known phablets on the market, but it offers solid specs at a more affordable price than its competitors. It's not without faults, but the Mate 8 is one of the best choices if you want a larger Android phone. Although Chinese manufacturer Huawei still can't claim much in the way of brand recognition, it's expanded its reputation in the US and UK with every release. That's down to the eternally appealing equation of more for less: the company offers high-end hardware at affordable prices. The new Huawei Mate 8 is no exception. It offers the top-end spec you'd expect from a flagship phone, but at a lower price than the big competition like Samsung and Apple. Following up on the  Huawei Ascend Mate 7  that impressed us last year, the company has taken what it did right and eliminated a lot of the issues we had with that device. It's also wisely eliminated the Ascend name, so this time it...

POSITIVES Compact size for a large phone Porsche Design Mate 9 has a great display Excellent performance Feature-rich hardware Dual camera can take stunning photos Battery lasts for days EMUI 5 is a polished interface NEGATIVES Low-light camera could be better Porsche Design Mate 9 is expensive EMUI 5 still has a few quirks "Only" a Full HD screen on regular Mate 9 RATING Battery 9.5 Display 8.8 Camera 8.8 Performance 9.2 Software 8.8 Design 8.8 BOTTOM LINE The Mate 9 brings a familiar design with more powerful internals, a clever dual camera and a revamped software experience. The result is an excellent big-screen Android smartphone that is easily Huawei's best ever. 9 The spectacular  failure of the Galaxy Note 7  earlier this year has presented an opportunity for companies to create the best big-screen Android alter...

OUR VERDICT       The Huawei P10 looks to be a great phone you'll love if you're upgrading from a two year old handset, but not much has changed here to keep true Huawei fans thrilled by the flagship line. Huawei has been making consistently great phones for a number of years now, yet has struggled to establish itself as a household name in western markets – and its latest flagship, the Huawei P10, offers a glimpse as to why that’s the case. he Huawei P10 is a culmination of everything the company has been doing right, with a few minor tweaks from the P9 to make sure it keeps up with the big guns such as Apple and Samsung.  But they are minor tweaks, and the P10 is a limited upgrade – and if you're already running a recent phone from the company you may not be inspired to upgrade, although you might want to check out the slightly larger and better-specced Huawei P10 Plus instead. The Huawei P10 looks like an iPhone 6S – there’s no escaping t...

OUR VERDICT The P9 is another accomplished smartphone from Huawei, with an innovative camera setup and plenty of power under the hood. But it's not perfect, and there are still issues with the heavy Emotion UI. Huawei wants to play with the big boys. The Chinese company wants to be taken seriously as a competitor to Apple and Samsung, but right now it's rooted firmly among the second tier of Android manufacturers, competing with the likes of Sony, LG, HTC and Motorola in western markets. A reputation for pairing high-end specs with lower prices than some of its competitors, backed up with some solid marketing, has enabled Huawei to start standing out a little from the crowd. And now the company hopes the P9, plugged with an ad campaign starring none other than Superman (Henry Cavill) can take it to the next level. But Huawei still needs to impress people. No one buys a phone from a manufacturer they barely know without doing a little research first. Huawei knows i...