Huawei Mate 10 Pro Unlocked Phone, 6" 6GB/128GB, AI Processor, Dual Leica Camera, Water Resistant IP67, GSM Only - Midnight Blue (US Warranty)

Where do I begin with how well rounded and as close to perfect you can get that this phone is? Everyone has their preferences – some people want a great camera, some a big easy to read screen, and others it may be long battery life. For me, I love to travel and the two most important features were battery life and the camera. With a 4,000 mAh battery and an in-house manufactured Kirin 970 processor, the battery life is insane. Of course, it’s a lot like cars and fuel mileage; how you drive them and how you use them affects results. For me, heavy WhatsApp, medium camera and video use, and YouTube. I always get a full day of use with around 35% left over, and I consider myself a heavy user. Don’t just take it from me though, read reviews on the Mate 10 Pro and you’ll constantly see it’s battery is among its highest-rated attributes. The reason I mentioned the processor is that by utilizing their in-house System-on-a-chip (SOC), Huawei can better program the phone and processor to best use available resources and achieve amazing battery life.Second, the camera. Wow! Again, check out how Huawei scored with their phones over at DxoMark, a prestigious camera ranking firm. They are not only #1 on the list but also have several phones in the top 10. I can’t always have my DSLR with me, so, I needed a phone which can achieve the best results from mobile photography I can find. And, if you’re into photography, you’ll know the Leica name. The dynamic range is superb, there are not any blown out highlights or over-sharpening, and details are clear. The camera app is stable with no crashes and shoots pictures at a very fast speed.I’ve been using the phone case that came in the box and I don’t feel the need for an aftermarket. It’s clear, so it doesn’t hide how gorgeous the phone is, and isn’t slippery either. Another huge benefit is the integrated EMUI desktop mode. You only need to purchase an HDMI to type-c adapter (around $15), and you get a great desktop experience. Most all apps run full screen, and I hook up a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse and run Word to do my schoolwork. I’ve even played some games (with a Bluetooth controller), and it’s an awesome mobile gaming rig when you’re at a hotel!There are a couple of cons about the phone which are not extremely negative, but suggestions for Huawei. First, I work in an environment that is fairly loud most of the time. I can’t seem to find a ringtone that is loud enough for me always to hear it. I’m not sure if it a speaker issue, or that I’m going deaf. On that note, the vibration of the phone isn’t that strong. It’s definitely adequate, and I understand you don’t want something to vibrate so much that parts fly off, but, the unit could use some improvement in that area. The phone is “water-resistant” rated, so I understand why the concept of no expandable memory is there, but, there is a SIM tray so it shows it could be done. Also, I understand the idea behind the “cloud” so physical memory isn’t that important. However, when you’re away from signal on a hiking trip and recording gobs of 4k video, physical memory becomes important until you can upload it. 128GB is a great amount, but either offer 256GB and 512GB variants, or allow for expandable memory in the future.Speaking of the future, this saddens me. Huawei makes a stunning and gorgeous phone with amazing performance and features, and because of “concerns” by the United States government, they have lobbied U.S. cell phone companies to not sell their products. To me, without proof, this is unfounded. Heck, the NSA probably spies on me more than a foreign country does. I fell in love with Huawei devices after I started using them with the Mate 9. However, I had to get an international version of the Mate 9 at the time and even though it worked in the U.S., it did not have all the LTE bands. I noticed when using the Mate 9, my signal would not always be the greatest and speeds were acceptable. Upon buying the Mate 10 Pro (which Huawei included U.S. bands for the market), I get all the bands, great reception, and ridicules LTE speeds. Huawei recently released a phone called the P20 Pro with a 40 MP sensor and three camera system. Co-engineered with Leica, it achieves stunning results and is not a marketing gimmick. I would do anything to have this device here in the U.S! Yes, I can buy the “international version”; however, it does not function as well as the phones tuned specifically for U.S. markets. Now, all I can do is a dream and hope Huawei will continue to try and break into the U.S. market with their exceptional products.In closing, if you want a gorgeous phone that runs buttery smooth with no hiccups, takes breathtaking photos, has insane battery life, and is a great price – please please please consider buying this phone! I can not say how satisfied and happy I am I made this purchase! I just hope to have a U.S. version of the P20 Pro one day.

So I've upgraded to a Mate 10 Pro from a Mate 9 which was an upgrade from a Panasonic DMC-CM1. My holy grail: a really good phone, combined with a really good camera, with a large-ish screen that fits my large-ish hands.I have both the Mate 10 Pro and the Mate 9 in hand right now, with the intent to keep the one that I prefer. I am likely going to be keeping the Mate 10 Pro.Where It's Better than Mate 9- Viewing angles on screen- Light evenness on screen- Performance (slightly)- Maximum camera aperture (f/1.6 vs. f/2.2—the primary reason I'm upgrading)- Built-in memory capacity (128GB vs 64GB)Where Mate 9 is Better (IMO)- Screen size (both are 6" diagonal, but the 9 is 16:9 HD, while the Mate 10 is 18:9 and has less area)- Dual SIM capable and SD capable (Mate 10 Pro is one SIM, no SD)- Build quality (not a fan of all-glass)- Speakers (Mate 9 has more of them and they sound better)- Screen color (richer than Mate 10 Pro, which is odd, because 9 is IPS while Mate 10 Pro is AMOLED)At the end of the day, both the Mate 10 Pro and the Mate 9 are VERY good to excellent Android phones, easily a match for any manufacturer's flagships right now. Blindingly fast and smooth, great screens, industry-leading battery life and battery optimization, industry-leading fingerprint scanner, great compatibility, just a joy to use all around.The Camera QuestionIf you're like me, however, the main reason you were drawn to these phones is for the camera. On this front, neither is as good as the Panasonic DMC-CM1 (nothing else on the market is, either). I still miss it daily, but the phone half of that phone was getting to be too old to be usable as a phone.The Mate 9 at max f/2.2 aperture is pretty good, but noise reduction artifacts become an issue indoors and in dimmer light. Enough of an issue to bug me and cause me to invest in the Mate 10 Pro as an experiment for comparison. Also, the tiny sensor and f/2.2 aperture just meant absolutely no DOF control whatsoever. Yes, there is software simulation of shallow DOF, but it only really works for portraits—when there is something in the foreground and something in the background.If you want to see this software simulation fall down quickly, just get something long (a bridge, railroad tracks, a subject lying down) and photograph them using software DOF mode. The part nearest the lens will be in focus. The part farthest away from the lens will be blurred. And in the middle, rather than a gradual transition (as you would get from a real wide aperture lens on a large sensor), you see a sudden transition from sharp to blurry where the software decided the transition from "foreground" to "background" happens.In short, it's not real DOF control and in most non-portrait shooting situations, it just can't be made to look like real DOF control.That said, I do very much like the rest of the image quality coming out of the Mate 9/10 series, particularly in RAW mode. So the goal became to get the largest aperture possible for this tiny sensor. That is f/1.6 on the Mate 10 Pro.Is it worth the upgrade? For me it is.What would my ideal be? Probably the Mate 10 Pro camera in the Mate 9 body.Or even better, the same camera module but with an f/1.0 lens (I don't mind if it protrudes a bit like some other phones) in the Mate 9 body.But you go with what's available—and that's the Mate 10 Pro, for now. Five stars because in comparison to all the other phones on the market, it's amongst the top 2-3, if not the very top.