We review the Huawei G6!

It seems that Filipinos can’t get enough of selfies. While the photography trend isn’t unique to our country, we’ve embraced it with open arms, judging from the sheer number of selfie pods that have turned mobile phones (and action cameras) into dedicated selfie machines. It’s only natural then that companies like Huawei try to get into the action by offering selfie-focused models like their Ascend G6, announced back in February during Mobile World Congress. Does the Ascend G6 have other qualities that’ll endear it to tech savvy users or is it simply a one trick pony?

Huawei Ascend G6 specs

• 1.2Ghz quad-core processor
• 1GB RAM
• 4.5-inch capacitive display, 960 x 540 resolution
• 4GB 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

Very sexy phone that’s not heavy on the pocket

While everyone is in love with 5-inch smartphones, Huawei decided to go a little bit smaller with the Ascend G6. It’s definitely one of the more petite phones that we’ve tested recently. At just 7.5mm at its thickest point, it’s also pretty slim, and won’t take up too much room in your pocket.

While the Ascend G6 is mostly made out of plastic, it still feels pretty premium, which is thanks mostly to its overall design. There’s a faux-metal strip of plastic that surrounds the Ascend G6, and while the phone looks to have a non-removable back, you can actually take the thin plastic matte back off to reveal the microSD card slot and the micro SIM slot. The battery is unfortunately non-replaceable.

Button layout for the Huawei G6 is typical of most 4.5-inch smartphones. You have both the volume rocker and the power button on the right side, with the USB port on the top. The 3.5mm is located on the side of the Huawei G6, at the bottom left, making for some weird ergonomics when you have your headphones attached.

The Ascend G6 sports a 4.5-inch, qHD display with fairly large bezels. The Android navigation keys lie directly below the display. The display is generally good, with decent detail and clarity.

Decent performer, but Emotion UI is a bit childish looking

The Ascend G6 sports some fairly decent hardware, as Huawei decided to use QUalcomm’s silicon in the device rather than their own homegrown solutions. The Ascend G6 uses a 1.2Ghz quad-core Qualcomm processor, which provides decent performance across the board. Our review unit was the 3G variant, however there will also be an LTE version of the AScend G6 for sale later on.

The hardware on the Ascend G6 manages to do a good job as far as performance is concerned, generally delivering smooth, lag free experience. Like other devices with roughly the same specifications, the Ascend G6 managed to deliver an okay score as far as AnTuTu is concerned.

Probably our only gripe with the Ascend G6 at this point is their proprietary Emotion UI layered on top of Android 4.3 Jellybean. Like Xiaomi’s MiUI, Huawei’s Emotion UI takes away the app drawer and kind of lays everything out in the open. Unlike MIUI, the Emotion UI doesn’t really add that much in terms of functionality, though in its defense there’s a couple of decent widgets on tap.

 

 

 

Really good cameras, front and back

Imaging is one of the things the Ascend G6 is supposed to be good at, and thankfully the device delivers on its promise. The Ascend G6’s 8-megapixel rear camera is pretty good, producing crisp and well detailed photos.

But the star of the show is undoubtedly the Ascend G6’s 5-megapixel front camera. It’s a wide angle lens, so you won’t really have to stretch your arms too much or use a selfie-pod to get everyone in the photo.

It also has beauty slider that modifies the image epending on the level. Unfortunately, it does not have an option to hide male pattern baldness :(.

Rather good battery life

One of the nice things about having middlin’ specs is that the battery isn’t taxed too much. In the case of the Ascend G6, it managed to give us more than one day of battery life with moderate use. You can also extend the battery even further with the phone’s power saving mode if you want to stretch your battery.

Verdict: good performance out of the two cameras, but there are better options out there

Huawei’s Ascend G6 is a good phone, offering decent performance and good quality snaps from both cameras. Unfortunately, that may not be enough to convince people to drop Php 9,990 on the device, especially when the market is saturated with other, good phones. Still, the rather attractive design and selfie optimized front camera may just be the ticket for some people who just can’t stop taking selfies.