In a world filled with rectangular blocks with displays, it takes a large effort to differentiate. The new Honor 10, launched today at an event in London, follows the trend of premium smartphones in 2018: more display, and added a notch. Under the hood is the latest HiSilicon Kirin 970 chipset, as seen in the Huawei Mate 10 and P20, with the added AI functional blocks to accelerate certain apps built on machine learning algorithms. The Honor line is always seen as a more cost effective way to yet most of the latest features from the Huawei main brand, and this year is no different.
From the front, visually, identifying which notched phone you are looking at is like identifying aircraft at a distance - all notches look roughly similar without knowing any of the minor detail. The Honor 10 is similar in that regard, featuring a 5.84-inch IPS LCD screen with a 2280x1080 resolution for a 19:9 aspect ratio and 432ppi. The display uses Honor's TrueColor naming scheme, and is rated at 96% NTSC (sRGB mode was not stated). At the top is the notch, with a front facing camera, almost circular speaker, and a light detector.
For the last two generations, Honor's main smartphone line (the one just called by its number, such as Honor 8 and Honor 9) has impressed by virtue of its color options. The hue of the Honor 8 in metallic blue was one of the first times I truly appreciated a nice color on a smartphone. The Honor 9 did not stretch my emotions as far, but the Honor 10 strikes a good balance, with the 'Phantom Blue' version we have at hand being like the Honor 8 blue but with a tinge more green in general, moving towards a grue-like appearance, then at extreme angles looking violet.
The undisturbed homogeneous plateau of color is a trend I am becoming a distinct fan of. The other colors available are a Phantom Green (a mix of sea blue and jewelry green), Midnight Black and Gray.
Hardware on the rear consists of a dual camera design, with a main 16MP color sensor (f/1.8 aperture) joined by a 24MP black and white sensor (f/2.4 aperture) to assist with phase detection auto focus, contrast focus, and create Bokeh-like photography. No mention as yet if either camera has OIS, or if the smartphone is using Huawei's 'AI Assisted Stabilization' (AIAS, or AIS) which uses the onboard chip to stabilise shots or help take longer exposure shots without a tripod mount. On the rear Honor has put the words 'AI Camera', just in case you forget. Video recording goes up to 4K30 or 1080p60, in either H.264 or HEVC, meaning that Honor has decided not to implement any slo-mo mode as seen on the higher cost flagships. The front camera is a 24MP selfie camera with f/2.0 aperture and support for 1080p video and a front facial unlock.
The configuration we received used the Kirin 970 at standard frequencies, with Arm Mali-G72MP12 graphics, and came with 4GB of LPDDR4X, and 128GB of storage. Exact configurations will be given at launch, so we might expect to see a 4/64 and 6/128 (or 6/256) versions as well. One of the key points to our briefings on this smartphone is how little information on the specifications we were given before launch - we were handed a phone a few days before along with a first draft of a reviewers guide, and our subsequent questions have gone unanswered. This was most irregular. Hence we are currently unsure as to the memory frequencies or the type of storage (eMMC, UFS) in use here.
For battery, the Honor 10 is equipped with a 3400mAh unit, suitable we are told for X hours of use, and equipped with Huawei's Supercharge for up to 5V/4.5A with suitable chargers. While the design uses an aluminium frame with a Corning Gorilla Glass front and back (exact version unknown), there is no wireless charging. The fingerprint sensor is on the front (much to my disappointment), which Honor states is the industry first ultrasonic fingerprint sensor under glass for a smartphone. The Wi-Fi module enables dual-band 802.11ac with BT 4.2. On the bottom is the USB Type-C port (USB 2.0 speeds) and a 3.5mm headset jack. On the top is an IR blaster.
Honor (X) Smartphones AnandTech Honor 10 Honor 9 Honor 8 SoC HiSilicon Kirin 970
4x A73 @ 2.4 GHz
4x A53 @ 1.8 GHz
Mali-G72 MP12 HiSilicon Kirin 960
4x A73 @ 2.4 GHz
4x A53 @ 1.8 GHz
Mali-G71 MP8 HiSilicon Kirin 950
4x A72 @ 2.3 GHz
4x A53 @ 1.8 GHz
Mali-T880 MP4 NPU Yes No No Display 5.84-inch IPS LCD
2280x1080, 19:9
432 ppi 5.15-inch IPS LCD
1920x1080, 16:9
428 ppi 5.2-inch IPS LCD
1920x1080, 16:9
423 ppi Dimensions 150 x 71 x 7.7mm
153g 147 x 71 x 7.5mm
155g 146 x 71 x 7.5 mm
153g DRAM 4GB 6 GB 4GB or 6GB 4GB Storage 64 GB 64 GB
128 GB 64 GB
128 GB 32 GB
64 GB microSD Yes Yes Yes Battery 3400 mAh 3200 mAh 3000 mAh Front Camera 24 MP
f/2.0
1080p Video 8 MP
f/2.0 8MP
1.4 micron
f/2.4 Rear
Camera 1 16 MP RGB
f/1.8
4K@30fps 12 MP RGB
f/2.2
4K@30fps
2x Zoom 8 MP
f/2.2
1080@60fps
720p@120fps
1.25 micron Rear
Camera 2 24 MP B/W
f/2.4 20 MP B/W
f/2.2 8 MP
f/2.2
1.25 micron Modem HiSilicon Cat 18 HiSilicon Cat 12 HiSilicon Cat 6 SIM Size Dual NanoSIM Dual NanoSIM Dual NanoSIM Wireless 802.11ac, BT 4.2
NFC, GPS 802.11ac, BT 4.2
NFC, GPS 802.11ac, BT 4.2
NFC, GPS Connectivity USB Type-C 2.0 USB Type-C 2.0 USB Type-C 2.0 Features Front Fingerprint
20W SuperCharge Front Fingerprint
SuperCharge Rear Fingerprint Colors Phantom Blue
Phantom Green
Midnight Black
Glacier Grey Glacier Grey
Sapphire Blue
Midnight Black
Gold
Blue Bird
Robin Egg Blue Pearl White
Midnight Black
Sapphire Blue
Gold Launch Price 6+64GB: 400 EUR
6+128GB: 450 EUR ~320 EUR ~260 EUR
Band support on the Honor 10 for 4G is 1/3/5/7/8/19/20/38/40/41.
After using the device for several days, the immediate feature that has taken my interest is the AI Camera mode. It can recognize 500+ scenarios in 22 categories in real-time with the viewfinder, much like the P20, however Honor states that the Honor 10 uses the industry-first Semantic Image Segmentation technology, allowing it to identify multiple scenarios within a single image, and allows the user to manipulate each scenario independently. This is different to other AI-accelerated scene recognition tools that can only detect one scenario per frame. For me, having not personally used the Mate 10 or P20, the way the AI mode detected scenes and enhanced the photos was essentially night and day.
AI left, right non-AI
The obligatory portrait shot (using the rear cameras, as the AI camera mode is not used on the selfie camera) with my work glasses on adjusted the photo to move me to the center and auto-applied a form of bokeh to ensure that I was the subject of the photo. By default a small amount of beauty mode is also applied for smoother skin and skin lightening.
AI left, right non-AI
In a low artificial light environment in the evening, this photo of Katamari with the AI mode shows a lot more detail and color depth. She was certainly identified as a kitty. We can see that the mode applied some additional vignetting as well.
AI left, right non-AI
The artificial plant was definitely a plant, with nearby shadows. The AI Camera was able to brighten up the scene and draw out some of the colors that the non-AI mode would not have done.
Food: AI left, right non-AI
Station: AI left, right non-AI
Street: AI left, right non-AI
Moving Train: AI left, right non-AI
The Honor 10 will go on sale in 26 countries from today. The 6GB + 64GB models will cost 400 Euro, while the 6GB + 128GB models will cost 450 Euro.
Related Reading
Honor may have already introduced the Honor 10 in China, but the company is now hosting an event in London where the phone will make its global debut.
We’re yet to know when the Honor 10 will hit the stores and at what price. The phone already appeared exclusively on Flipkart in India with an arrival date of May 15 but that seems to be the start of the pre-order campaign.
Huawei Honor 10 in Mirage Purple, Mirage Blue, Grey Gull and Magic Night Black
The Honor 10 sports the latest HiSilicon Kirin 970 chipset, an IPS LCD 19:9 notched screen and 6 GB RAM. The dual camera setup has one 16 MP RGB sensor and a secondary 24 MP B/W one.
The livestream will start at 12:45PM UTC and you have 15 minutes to tune in before the actual event begins at 1PM UTC.
Honor, Huawei’s sub-brand that happens to have its own CEO, is out with a new Android flagship today, and it’s a lovely, more budget-friendly reinterpretation of the Huawei P20 Pro. The new Honor 10 exhibits the same design philosophy as the P20 Pro: ugly notch on the front, stunning blue-purple iridescence on the back. Its display measures 5.84 inches diagonally, with a 19:9 aspect ratio, making this a quite compact device by modern flagship standards. Honor opts for an LCD rather than OLED, helping it cut costs, though the resolution is still a satisfyingly dense 2280 x 1080 (432ppi).
Grid View Photo by Vlad Savov / The Verge
Photo by Vlad Savov / The Verge
Photo by Vlad Savov / The Verge
Photo by Vlad Savov / The Verge
Photo by Vlad Savov / The Verge
Photo by Vlad Savov / The Verge
Photo by Vlad Savov / The Verge
Photo by Vlad Savov / The Verge
Photo by Vlad Savov / The Verge
Photo by Vlad Savov / The Verge
Photo by Vlad Savov / The Verge
Photo by Vlad Savov / The Verge
I tried out the Honor 10 ahead of its announcement today, and this phone gets a bunch of the fundamentals and essentials right.
Its ergonomics are good, with an under-glass ultrasonic fingerprint reader occupying the chin at the bottom of the phone and providing a reliable and consistent method for unlocking. I haven’t had much previous experience with fingerprint sensors of this kind, but the only real difference from the more common optical technology is that you have to press in a little bit more (which is something many people might prefer as it helps reduce accidental unlocks).
The camera bump at the rear is mercifully small, though the absolute star attraction of this phone has to be its Phantom Blue rear case. Honor says that it discards one in every five of these 2.5D glass backs that are manufactured, owing to the difficulty of producing the desired effect. Unlike the P20 Pro, the Honor 10 catches the light in distinct vertical stripes, and the way it shifts from the purple is also different. Just like the P20 Pro, though, this phone exudes the glamorous premium feel that every phone company strives for but most fall short of achieving. That Honor has done this with a phone targeting the upper mid-range of the market is very much commendable.
The dual-camera system employed in the Honor 10 is basically a trickle-down from parent company Huawei, with a 16-megapixel main sensor and a 24-megapixel monochrome sensor working in concert. Both have lenses with an f/1.8 aperture. Honor also borrows some of the AI scene and object recognition that Huawei has made a focal point of its P series, but of course, you shouldn’t expect P20 Pro imaging performance.
Beside the display, which isn’t the best but is still of a high quality, Honor really hasn’t cut any corners at all. The processor inside is the same as in the Huawei P20 Pro, the Kirin 970, and it’s accompanied by 4GB of RAM and a generous 128GB of storage. The battery is also large for the screen size, coming in at 3,400mAh. This phone even has a couple of nice extras that most flagships now neglect: a headphone jack and an IR blaster.
The Honor 10 is going on sale immediately across Europe, with its price set at €449 (roughly $540) for the 128GB version or €399 if you can live with 64GB. In the UK, only the 128GB variant will be available, costing £399.
Last year's Honor 9 was an award-winning affordable flagship smartphone. Its successor for 2018 has now been announced at the global launch event in London and, you guessed it, it's called the Honor 10. Just like its predecessor, this phone provides hot specs for a decent price.
Remember that Honor is a sub-brand of Huawei, so super specs tend to drip down into new Honor handsets from similar Huawei handsets. This time, the Honor 10 features much of the wonderment as found in the rather excellent Huawei P20. It's not identical by any means, though, so here's everything you need to know.
UK launch event today
China reveal has taken place
The Honor 10 was unveiled in China in April 2018, then released on 27 April. It's priced at 2599 yuan (£290, $414) for the 64GB model, or 2999 yuan (£336, $478) for the 128GB model.
The global launch in London on 15 May revealed the UK price: £399 for the 128GB model, which is the only storage version coming to Europe. It's available to buy right now, while various carriers' contract details will follow.
5.84-inch, 19:9 aspect ratio Full HD+ (1080 x 2280 pixels) IPS LCD screen
Yes, there's a notch (can be hidden via software)
Front-facing under-glass fingerprint scanner
UK colours: Phantom Blue, Phantom Green (TBC), Glacier Grey, Midnight Black (TBC)
Global colours: Mirage Blue, Mirage Purple, Gray Gull, Magic Night Black
The first thing to note about the Honor 10 is that there is the same "notch" design at the top of the screen that we're now seeing on a lot of Android phones. We're fine with notches, to be truthful and they're hardly intrusive when they're minimal in size like this; the Honor 10's is a lot smaller than the notch on the iPhone X, for example.
There's a definite similarity between Honor 10 and Huawei P20. Because the base of both phones have a fingerprint reader there's a notable bottom bezel. However, the fingerprint reader on the Honor 10 is underneath the screen glass, so it sits flush with the handset, without any indent like on the Huawei P20.
This new fingerprint reader is a great idea - but as we said in our Honor 10 review, it doesn't work as well as many other implementations. We're also not sure why Honor abandoned rear fingerprint readers for its flagship phones, as we prefer such a solution and think the one on the Honor 8 looked the part and worked a treat.
The Honor 10's screen is 5.84-inches in size, so it's not the same size as the Huawei P20, giving it a further point of differentiation. Well, that and the colour finishes.
The UK finishes are Phantom Blue (which is like a two-tone blue and purple), Phantom Green (similar, but two-tone green and purple), Mignight Black and Glacier Grey. Global colours differ slightly, with Mirage Blue (same as Phantom Blue), Mirage Purple (same as Phantom Green), Magic Night Black (same as Midnight Black), and Gray Gull (same as Glacier Grey).
Dual camera: 16MP f/1.8 colour; 24MP f/1.8 monochrome; phase-detection autofocus
24MP front-facing camera
AI Camera for artificial intelligence auto scene recognition
The Honor 10 also features dual cameras - as you'd expect in any Honor phone these days - with 16-megapixel colour and 24-megapixel monochrome sensors paired together. There's also a huge resolution 24MP sensor on the front, too.
The camera's big push - as emblazoned on the rear in unnecessary white text - is the "AI camera", which deploys artificial intelligence for automatic scene recognition and image adjustment. It's a rather clever solution and can be toggled on/off after shooting a frame to see the difference.
Note the Honor experience is different to the Huawei and Leica co-engineered project in the P20 / P20 Pro. In the Honor the software layout is different, there's not the Leica endorsement, and some modes (such as the rather excellent Night mode for handheld long exposure) also lack. Still, for a £400 phone, the Honor 10 has as much camera goodness as you could want.
Kirin 970 processor, 6GB/4GB RAM (likely region dependent)
3.5mm headphones jack, dual SIM
3,400mAh battery capacity
USB-C for fast-charging
EMUI 8.1 software
The Honor handset features HiSilicon's Kirin 970 processor, as found in the Huawei P20, which is a good performer. While the international version has a 6GB RAM option, the UK will only receive the 4GB RAM option alongside 128GB on-board storage.
The battery is a 3,400mAh cell, paired with USB-C for fast-charging. Thankfully there's also a 3.5mm headphone jack, which is becoming something of a rarity in flagship handsets these days, and is great to see here.
Like its Huawei cousin, the Honor 10 runs the EMUI 8.1 re-skin over Google's Android operating system. It adds some fun quirks - such as knuckle gesture controls, screen colour temperature controls, and per-app battery controls.
