We go hands-on with the Ascend G6!

Huawei Philippines sent over their Ascend G6 over to the Unbox HQ for review, and today we’ll be sharing our initial thoughts with you about their new mid-range smartphone. Announced during MWC, the Ascend G6 is touted by the company as a mid-range LTE device with enhanced selfie capabilities, though the device that the company sent us was the 3G version.

Huawei Ascend G6

• 1.2Ghz quad-core Qualcomm MSM8926 processor
• 1GB RAM
• 4.5-inch capacitive display, 960 x 540 resolution
• 8GB internal storage, expandable up to 32GB via microSD
• 8-megapixel main camera
• 5-megapixel front facing camera
• Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Wi-Fi hotspot, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS, A-GPS
• 3G, HSPA
• 2000mAh battery
• 130 x 65 x 7.5 mm
• Android 4.3
• Php 9,990

Initial Impressions: Definitely a thin and sexy phone for selfie lovers

The Ascend G6 is definitely one of the smaller phones we’ve reviewed in a while. With a 4.5-inch capacitive display, it fits nicely in the palm of our hands, though we’re not really blown away by the qHD resolution display. The overall design of the G6 is pretty good though, and obviously takes several cues from their previous flagship, the P6. The phone is nice and thin, measuring only 7.5mm at its thickest point.

While the review unit sent to us was white, the G6 will come in several colors including black with light gunmetal grey or road gold highlights, or in white with pink or champagne gold. There’s a metal band that runs along the side of the G6 that serves to break up the monotonous white build on the bezel and back of the device.

Speaking of the back, the G6 uses a matte white plastic back that really feels great to the touch. The volume rocker and power button are located on the right side of the device and are treated to the same finish as the band on the side of the G6. The USB port is located on the top, while the 3.5mm jack is located on the bottom, at the left side of the G6.

When you pick up the phone, you’d probably assume that the G6 uses a closed back construction. That’s not the case though, as you can pry out the rather thin plastic back to reveal the micro SIM slot and microSD card slot. The battery is not removable though, and is firmly attached to the back via several small screws.

As far as performance is concerned, the G6 delivers typical mid-range performance from AnTuTu. The G6 also sports Huawei’s own UI called Emotion, which mirrors other UI overlays in that it takes away the traditional app drawer and just lays everything out there. We’re not completely impressed by the Emotion UI, as it feels simplistic and the iconography leaves much to be desired.

The G6 also sports a 5-megapixel front camera that has additional features put in for the selfie crowd.

First, it does a relatively good job with poor indoor lighting – the photo of the Mi Bunny was taken with an overhead fluorescent lamp. There’s also enhanced shooting modes that allow you to take photos while keeping your hands away from the shutter. You can tell the camera to take a shot when it detects a smile, for instance, or you can just yell out (or in a relatively quiet room, snap your fingers) to trigger the shutter.

That’s it for this hands-on, check back later on for the full review.