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Ainol novo7 fire烈焰介绍+刷机教程+ROM汇总+综合讨论
开始之前，简单说一下烈焰的规格：搭载双核处理器——美国Amlogic-M6，40nm的制程工艺，相比上一代65nm的工艺节省30%以上的能耗。双核CPU最高主频达到1.5GHz，运算能力同比提升接近300%；Mali400双核GPU及高速DDR3内存，让浏览网页更快速，对于大型3D游戏运行也更流畅、更稳定。在屏幕上，NOVO7烈焰采用分辨率全视角IPS硬屏，任意角度的色彩还原出色细腻。前置200万像素摄像头，后置500W像素摄像头，且具有AF自动对焦及带闪光灯功能，双重摄像，随时视频，领先同级。
详细规格表：
操作系统& & & & Android4.0.4
标称主频& & & & 1500MHz
3D图形加速& & & & Mali 400
系统内存& & & & 1GB DDR3缓存
存储卡& & & & 支持MicroSD（TF）卡，最大32GB
电池类型& & & & 5000mAh
电源适配器& & & &&&DC：2A/USB：500mAh
屏幕尺寸& & & & 7英寸
屏幕分辨率& & & &&&
屏幕色彩& & & & 1600万色
屏幕材质& & & & IPS屏
触摸屏& & & & 电容式触摸屏（五点）
WIFI功能& & & & 支持
支持蓝牙& & & & 蓝牙2.1
摄像头& & & & 双摄像头（前置200万像素摄像头，后置500万像素摄像头）
视频输出& & & & HDMI输出
重力感应器& & & & 支持
OTG功能& & & & 支持
其他描述& & & &
支持日历，时钟，以太网RJ45
USB接口& & & & USB2.0
音频接口& & & & 耳机3.5mm接口
亮点1： IPS屏，是和华为Mediapad完全一样的台湾原产奇美群创屏
亮点2：黄光工艺的触摸屏，不同于以往国产PAD绝大部分采用的薄膜工艺，苹果 三星等大品牌的高端pad全部采用这种触摸屏，实测效果确实出色，整个触摸屏一圈最边沿的每一个像素都灵敏有效也没发现mediapad上边角有时不灵的情况
亮点3：WIFI集成蓝牙，这是艾诺第一次采用集成蓝牙的产品，使用蓝牙键盘鼠标等时候将会更方便，驱动兼容也好
亮点4：3.7V 5000mah 大电池
亮点5：前后双摄像头 后置500万像素 AF自动对焦 带补光灯
亮点6：前摄像头边上有光线感应器
亮点7：后盖镁铝合金背壳（摄像头位置少部分工业塑料材质便于wifi信号穿透）
亮点8：压电陶瓷喇叭，同等音量下耗电明显低于普通喇叭，也就是外放不会再明显成为续航压力
亮点9：配備了一顆實體的主頁鍵 -- 因為它是可以支援到全螢幕操作的，這狀態下螢幕上的虛擬按鍵會消失，不会留下难看的黑边
购机注意事项：
烈焰采用了两款屏幕。一款是天马屏，出厂固件后缀为tm；一款是奇美屏，出厂固件后缀为qm。两者显示效果区别不大。
2种屏幕的分别:
&&& && &天马屏& && && && && && && && && && && && && && && && && && && && && && && && && &&&奇美屏
点阵：& && && && && && && && && &&&粒子比较明显& && && && && && && && && && && &&&很难看出粒子
屏幕色彩：
&&白色：& && & 偏黄& && && && && && && && && && && && && && && && && && && && && && && && && && &&&偏灰& && &
&&黄色：& & 稍微鲜艳& && && && && && && && && && && && && && && && && && && && && && && && && &&&适中&&
&&蓝色：& && &正常& && && && && && && && && && && && && && && && && && && && && && && && && && && &正常
&&红色：& && & 正常& && && && && && && && && && && && && && && && && && && && && && && && && && &&&正常
省电：天马屏比奇美屏省电。
以上为个人感觉，且不是观察艾诺得到的。故仅仅作为参考，希望有的两台不同屏幕烈焰的大虾作个对比。
经yeongjey测试对比，天马屏，真的是是物美价廉啊。具有“高亮度、高清晰度、低耗电的优势”。
但由于屏幕参数有区别，所以固件不能通用。因此，请出厂固件后缀为tm的机器暂时不要刷其他固件。
官方已开始上传天马0907的出厂固件，请已刷了其他固件的tm机器稍候，等待更新。
关于屏幕，再说两句。怀疑天马屏是不是IPS的可以不用纠结了。有两种屏幕都有的用户已经用显微镜观察过了，能够确定两款都是IPS。而且，天马屏的亮度更高，耗电更低，也就意味着理论上天马屏的机器续航会更久。
开箱评测篇
玩机评测文章（来自科技网站/Aino论坛/Mdroid论坛机油）
P/S:评测文章大同小异，所以只精选这几篇来分享，从略勿怪。
上手玩视频：
ROM列表（轉自Ainol論壇/Slatedroid論壇）
* 完全源码编译版本
* 调整了cpu核心电压（主要对上次调整可能过低的低频率档位的CPU电压进行了调整，应该能对睡死、自动重启等情况有效果）
* 更新了触摸驱动fw（应该就会避免个别情况刷新固件更新触控IC的FW导致触控失灵问题）
* 提升了最大亮度，最低亮度也更暗
* 修复视频强制拉伸问题
* 状态栏三种隐藏方式可选（始终显示、始终不显示、自动）
* 添加了重力坐标系选择 （绝大部分游戏应该都是默认重力坐标系就行了，飞翔的企鹅等少数游戏需要选择特殊坐标系）
* home键改成短按back，长按home
* init.d支持，应用对齐优化
* cifs支持（预置cifs管理器）
* 完全市场
* 优化版的启动器
*&&pl2303，cp210x驱动支持，usb免驱手柄，ps系列手柄支持
*&&额外增加USB RJ45网卡芯片支持rt8150，dm9601
* 电量显示尝试修正
* 重力驱动灵敏度修正
* 通知栏自动感光修正
* tun模块，pppoe拨号模块
PS：调高了亮度后目前在最大亮度下背光供电部分的类似荧光灯整流器样的脉冲电流声（非最高亮度安静环境下贴近机壳可听到）基本完全消失，也就不会影响到录音和视频聊天之类了，目前有此需求的玩家可以暂时使用这种办法来录音和语音通话
飞羽编译的固件并没有动颜色代码，但是固件出来的色彩比AML官方偏暖，且饱和度更高，目前尚未找到原因
相对于0827
* 最高频率锁定到1.32
* 修正颜色偏暖的问题
* 更新apx驱动，解决电量问题
* 修正TP的reset控制，触摸延时优化
* 集成更多的usb手柄驱动
* 更多的语言支持
* 修复第一次启动无法调出输入法的bug
* 修复flash性能下降的问题
* 增加便携式热点功能
* 调整自动感光的阈值
* 调整一些默认选项
* 通知栏加入wifi开关
* 修复蓝牙关屏断开连接的问题
* 修复打开wifi待机造成睡死的问题
* 修复wifi始终保持连接策略，关屏可保持连接
* 更新部分谷歌应用
音量补丁第2版：
* 降低电流声
* 减少待机时的啪啪声
1. 在状态栏弹出菜单添加了自动调节背光的
2. AXP 使用了新的driver
3. wifi待机策略更新
4. 蓝牙耳机导致视频播放卡
5. TP的reset控制
6. 闪光灯关机的时候会闪一下
7.改善将声音放最大，插拔耳机后本机声音很小
8.亮度值调到255
9.改善Gsensor反应不灵敏
10.改善机器关机后插充电器无充电图标
基础上主要更新（AML发的部分更新内容）：
1. HDMI audio兼容的问题
2. 升级完第一次调节背光没反应
3. 加快待机唤醒速度
Feiyu Kernel 0827RootedGAPPSUS branding (to fix Google Play and Currency issues.)131 MB FootprintNexus 7 FingerprintDeodexedDefault Language: English (US)Chinese apps deletedGuided first timegTalk video chatadhoc support. Refer to this post How to Connect to Ad-Hoc NetworkUSB Host Support3G Dongle SupportADB RootBluetooth SupportFull Dictionary in Latin IMEFull Screen SupportWPA Supplicant Update - Fast Auth DHCP enabledWarning! This first release formats your internal SDCARD to UBIFS (instead of FAT32) -- you will lose ALL data. Please backup.The format stops the problem this SOC has with checking the integrity of the FAT32 drive partition.
Coming Up:
OTA Update
Feiyu Kernel 0930
US branding (to fix Google Play and Currency issues.)
161 MB Footprint
Nexus 7 Fingerprint
Default Language: English (US)
Chinese apps deleted
Guided first time
gTalk video chat
adhoc support. Refer to this post How to Connect to Ad-Hoc Network
USB Host Support
3G Dongle Support
Bluetooth Support
Full Dictionary in Latin IME
Full Screen Support
WPA Supplicant Update - Fast Auth DHCP enabled
Warning! This release reparitions your internal storage -- you will lose ALL data. Please backup.
This repartition gives the system 2GB of storage instead of 1GB.
Features (Ripped from Aurora II post)
* UbiFS (like stock roms)
* Bluetooth USB dongle support
* USB GPS support (cp210x and pl2303)
* Xbox 360 gamepad support (xpad)
* PS3 USB gamepad support (hid-sony)
* Generic / chinese (Pantherlord / GreenAsia) gamepads support (hid-pl and hid-gaff)
* OpenVPN support (tun)
* Veno congestion control algorithm
* ELF-II: updated kernel (added BFQ I/O scheduler as default and enabled cgroup_autosched)
* Aurora-II: updated kernel (new compatibility zip includes a kernel very close to the ELF-II one)
* Crystal: moved to ELF-II kernel
* Ramos W22 PRO: updated compatibility zip, now both cameras should work
* Fire / Flame: initial support for both TM/QM screens
* Removed PPP Widget since it was causing troubles to Crystal's wlan
* Android detects both usbnet/eth ethernet (to use ethernet you have to type these commands from terminal emulator: & netcfg eth0/usbnet0 netcfg eth0/usbnet0 dhcp&)
* Other minor stuff
* Updated upstream sources
* Bump Android version to 4.1.2
* Fixed (maybe) pops during sleep
* Aurora-II: download new compatibility zip v2.0 (1.5 GH built with linaro 4.7 and CFLAGS optimization
* Crystal: added initial support
* Other minor stuff
* Updated upstream sources
* Flame Download Compatibility Zip RC1
* Fire / Flame: new compatibility zip
* Updated amlogic video playback library (now seek is working in apps like YouTube)
* Added &Expanded desktop& capabilities (enable it from Power Menu's settings to be able to hide status bar)
* Other minor stuff
* Updated upstream sources
* Updated compatibility zips for Elf, Aurora and Crystal
* Re-inserted missing file that broke wifi
* Incre flash videos using latest apk work decently and in hw mode. Sometimes you may not hear audio but toggling fullscreen mode will fix it.
* Other minor stuff
* Updated upstream sources
* Fixed Netflix 2.x compatibility
* Potential fix for the few games that were still having a choppy/stuttering audio
* Aurora-II / Elf-II: fixed unresponsive WiFi when the screen was turned off
* Other minor stuff
* Updated upstream sources
Auto rotate is not fully functional.
Stock Camera app keeps crashing. Cameras are broken.
Possible minor instability. More testing is needed.
* ELF-II: updated kernel. Starting from now ELF-II requires a compatibility zip too. I've removed boot.img from the main rom because if someone with a Fire forgets the compatibility zip he can damage the touchscreen. So better safe than sorry, just add the compatibility zip in the pipe of the flashing files
* Aurora-II: updated kernel
* Crystal is now supported support
* Ramos W22 PRO is now supported
* Fire TM/QM is now supported
* Bump Android version to 4.1.2
* Updated amlogic video playback library (now seek is working in apps like YouTube)
* Fixed (maybe) pops during sleep
* Vold now can switch memories, see FAQs for more info
* Other minor stuff
* Android detects both usbnet/eth ethernet (to use ethernet you have to type these commands from terminal emulator: & netcfg eth0/usbnet0 netcfg eth0/usbnet0 dhcp&)
* Updated upstream sources
* Added &Expanded desktop& capabilities (enable it from ROMControl's Power Menu settings to be able to hide status bar). On AOKP you can even bind status bar toggle to home button long press trigger. Just add the app &ToggleBar& to the home button long press action in ROMCOntrol's Navigation Bar settings.
* Updated upstream sources
* Updated many compatibility zips, please check the section below
* Fixed HDMI (dual display and single panel) on Fire
* Updated elf/aurora DHD driver (and moved to NL80211 mode instead of WEXT)
* Cherry-picked &bionic: Add ARMv7 optimized string handling routines& commit
* Other minor stuff
* Updated upstream sources
* Updated compatibility zips for Elf, Aurora and Crystal
* Re-inserted missing file that broke wifi
* Incre flash videos using latest apk work decently and in hw mode. Sometimes you may not hear audio but toggling fullscreen mode will fix it.
* Other minor stuff
* Updated upstream sources
* Other minor stuff
* Updated upstream sources
最新1031相对于下面1029的更新：
恢复采用大容量存储模式USB连接以增强兼容性修复充电时候图标显示问题优化装东西多了开机比较慢的问题
* 加入天马屏（原本固件版本是TM的）烈焰支持（最下面有天马屏固件的最新地址）
相对于飞羽大上一版0930烈焰DIY固件1029的主要变化是：
全语言支持修复奇美屏电流声问题修复爆音问题修复蓝牙耳机音频断断续续的问题修复部分电视HDMI无声的问题外放喇叭音量加大修复媒体播放器部分字幕BUG状态栏隐藏方式更改为三种模式可选加可手势调出状态栏隐藏后，每次手势调出显示5秒更改默认WiFi待机策略为从不采用1022官方固件的MTP模式连接USB磁盘
Bluetooth stack has changed too, and USB bluetooth is n but Fire / Hero UART (internal) bluetooth works.
If your device has only a front camera you won't have a camera launcher icon, but you can install this app
Because of an older hwcomposer (non jelly bean ready) 4.1 releases may be smoother
刷机教程+實用技巧（不定时更新）
烈焰刷机方法有2种：
将下载好了的固件包拷贝到TF卡根目录下关机状态，先按住音量减不松，再一起按开关键等屏幕画面出现就可以松开了会进入recovery刷机界面，首先进行wipe data、wipe cache、wipe media（原则上同一版本核心wipe media也可以不做，当然做这步更稳妥）三个操作（方向减移动、开关键选择，小房子键返回）选择update项，选择tf卡里面的.zip固件包升级即可，升级完毕后请不要再做wipe动作返回主菜单选择reboot重新启动就行了
P/s：第一次进入系统稍慢，进入桌面后请不要按一键全杀，到处看看体验下，10分钟左右后再重新启动机器一次，然后即可正常使用了
一直以来.. AML方案的平板都是使用卡刷(也就是把刷机档放在TF卡中,再用Recovery刷进机器里).. 也有人因为卡刷失败而变砖进而需要回厂处理的... 而在不久前..烈焰的韧体可能是有点小状况..于是..AML公布了线刷的方式(也就是利用电脑连线刷机,就像之前A10平板用LiveSuit及RK平板使用RKBatchTool来刷机一样).. 不过这个线刷程式..目前只支援32位元的作业系统(XP或Win7),如果是使用64位元的XP或Win7的使用者..想要线刷的话. .请去借一台安装32位元作业系统不然可是无法使用的哦,因为线刷会把平板开机成线刷模式,这时连上电脑的话,需要驱动程式,而AML公布的驱动程式目前只有XP和Win7的32位元版本. ( 目前已有Win7 64位元驱动程式,请至文章开头下载 ) 好..废话不多说..烈焰线刷要下载的档案很简单.（以下以台湾机油修改的Jet ROM例子）
1. AML线刷程式:
2.线刷档案:最新是JetROM 0921版(择一下载) 　　
LCD密度160版(字较小):
LCD密度184版(字较大):
3.下载线刷程式(RAR档)请解开成一个叫USB-Burning-tool的目录
4.下载的刷机档(ZIP档)请勿解压缩,直接放到USB-Burning-tool目录下即可.
5.打开USB-Burning-tool目录.执行ImageBurnTool-sp3.exe档
6.把你的烈焰关机.把USB线接上,按着HOME键(上面按键最右边那颗)不放,再按下Power键(上面按键最左边那颗)大约4秒后放开,这时您的电脑会开始找到新硬体并安装,当然,一定安装失败..这不管它.
7.到电脑(我的电脑)上按右键,选管理,并选装置管理员,就会看到有一个叫M3- Chip前面打了个?号(刚刚安装失败的)
8.在那个M3-Chip上按右键,选择更新驱动程式,出现对话框后请选浏览电脑上的驱动程式软体
9.选让我从电脑上的装置驱动程式清单中挑选
10.选显示所有装置,按下一步
11.按从磁片安装
12.按浏览,找到刚刚下载的USB-Burning-tool下的AmlogicusbBurningdriver资料夹及使用的作业系统后,按确定\
13.应该会出现WorldCup Device,点选它按下一步
14.会跳出安全性视窗,请选仍然安装此驱动程式,等待它安装完成
15.至此这台电脑已经有驱动程式了,下次要线刷就不需要再安装了.
16.接下来,回到ImageBurnTool视窗..会发现其中一个USB上已经Connect了.(我的例子是Port 6)
17.按下功能表的&配置&,选&导入升级文件&,选择刚刚下载的刷机档(我的例子是Novo7Fire_JetROM_0921Full_160_USB.zip)
18.按下开始键,此时就会开始刷机..&&
19.在状态那一栏会出现目前的状态..
20 .最后..闪动着绿色方块..状态栏则闪动着Success就代表已经刷机完成(此时平板自动关机)
注意事项：
1.线刷档解开后会看到有个卡刷用的档(Novo7Fire_JetROM_0921Full_signed.zip),在还没线刷过0921前请勿自行卡刷这个档,不然直接变砖(只能线刷解 决)
2.在线刷过0921后...如要重刷0921的话,直接卡刷里面那个Novo7Fire_JetROM_0921Full_signed.zip档就行
再次警告：使用非烈焰版cwm recovery将会导致触摸屏失效
* 修复包未经验证，仅供触摸失效的朋友测试
* 触摸完好的朋友请不要随意测试，后果自负
* 依然无法修复请及时返厂
使用方法：
* 将压缩包内的两个文件复制到tf卡根目录
* 关机状态下按住电源和音量减键进入recovery
* 手动选择刷入fire-tp-fix.zip
* 进入系统，几分钟后重启确认效果
下载地址：
烈焰已知硬件/固件问题
1. 爆音                                                                    
2. 点击任务栏控制面板自动亮度调节变手动调节      
3. 电量100%问题                                                    
4. 电量显示不准确问题                                                
5. 蓝牙发送不了APk应用程序等BUG                        
6. 录音录像存在电流声                                            
7. 照相对焦不太准                                                  
8. 视频硬解码部分问题                                              
9. 待机唤醒慢                                                        
10.wifi待机有睡死机率    
持续更新……
    
烈焰用户顶一下～沙发，板凳，地板全没了～
卫斯立 发表于
烈焰用户顶一下～沙发，板凳，地板全没了～
呵呵～因為要補充的東西很多～
本帖最后由 astrayred 于
17:09 编辑
feiyu 0930
* 部分驱动和代码更新
* HDMI兼容性改善
* 待机唤醒速度改善
* CPU最高频率还原到1.5
* ROM扩容到2G
* 添加mcs7830 usb网卡支持
* 启动器布局调整
* 非隐藏通知栏模式bug修正
* 媒体播放器字幕功能增强
&&- 字体大小范围更改为24-72，默认28
&&- 字体添加阴影效果
&&- 去除mkv内置字幕调节限制
&&- 改善mkv内置字幕消失过快
* 减少使用中的爆音
* 提供两种屏幕的固件版本
* 建议把固件包中的文件全部复制到tf卡上，进行自动更新固件方式
* 自动更新固件将执行wipe data和wipe media的操作，请做好重要文件的备份
* 经测试使用中的爆音已经很少，待机爆音依然存在，如在意请不要更新
之前所有刷过固件并正常工作的机子都是奇美屏，官方固件版本号中有qm字样
刷奇美屏固件亮度变暗，官方固件版本号中有tm字样
flamebe 0930
1.& & Feiyu Kernel 0930
2.& &Rooted
3.& & GAPPS
4.& & US branding (to fix Google Play and Currency issues.)
5.& & 161 MB Footprint
6.& & Nexus 7 Fingerprint
7.& & Deodexed
8.& & Default Language: English (US)
9.& & Chinese apps deleted
10.& & Guided first time
11.& & gTalk video chat
12.& & adhoc support. Refer to this post How to Connect to Ad-Hoc Network
13.& & USB Host Support
14.& & 3G Dongle Support
15.& & ADB Root
16.& & Bluetooth Support
17.& & Full Dictionary in Latin IME
18.& & Full Screen Support
19.& & WPA Supplicant Update - Fast Auth DHCP enabled
Warning! This release reparitions your internal storage -- you will lose ALL data. Please backup.
This repartition gives the system 2GB of storage instead of 1GB.
解压出来，全部copy进sdcard就行了~
infinity 发表于
呵呵～因為要補充的東西很多～
话说，我今天安装了whatsapp 之类的东西进去，完全能操作呢～就连Go sms pro 也能～难道能发信息？
卫斯立 发表于
话说，我今天安装了whatsapp 之类的东西进去，完全能操作呢～就连Go sms pro 也能～难道能发信息？
之前有提过~
我把公司手提号码放去viber激活，结果有我电话号码的人都显示可以用
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Templated ByHuawei Mate S review: Yes mate! - Pocket-lint
Huawei Mate S review: Yes mate!
23 September 2015
Pocket-lint
4.5 stars - Pocket-lint recommended
?TBC for pressure-sensitive model
Good display, fingerprint scanner and shortcuts, Force Touch, some great software additions
A little heavy-handed with Android in the UX which leads to some odd looking results
Over the past year we've seen the rising tide of Chinese smartphones. As established companies like HTC and Sony Mobile have reported some difficulties, the likes of OnePlus and Xiaomi have stolen headlines.Huawei has long been saying it has ambitions to establish itself globally as a consumer smartphone brand. We've seen a number of devices come close to breaking through, with the P7 and P8 handsets having their moments, and sub-brand Honor showing off what's possible in the affordable and excellent Honor 7.&But in the Huawei Mate S, we've got the company's best smartphone ever, and a genuine reason to sit up and take notice. Has Huawei finally made a phone that will make loyal buyers look to it as a viable and intelligent alternative?Huawei Mate S review: DesignThe Huawei Mate S follows on from the
and P8 devices, offering a large-format 5.5-inch device with a metal body. It's easy to look at the zero-gap construction and liken it to HTC or Apple, and for a brand that is traditionally more affordable, that's not necessarily a bad association.Importantly, the Huawei Mate S exhibits great quality, both in design and build.
in one hand and the Huawei Mate 7 in the other, yes, we think HTC might be a little more substantial, but this Huawei is still a good quality handset. It measures 149.8 x 75.3 x 7.2mm, which is compact as 5.5- smaller and lighter than the , for example, and weighing only 156g.If we've one criticism it might be that the gold version we have on review is a little too kitsch. It lacks the contemporary swish of
or the minimalist confidence of the iPhone 6S Plus, but in many ways this comes down to personal taste.&In the hand there's plenty of grip. Although it's a metal body, which can be slippery, the anodisation gives some friction. The volume and power buttons are on the side, falling conveniently under your fingers when gripping the phone and there's the addition of the fingerprint scanner on the rear, which we'll cover in more detail later.There's some neat machining across the bottom for the speakers, colour-matching for the radio antenna breaks across the back, as well as in the camera surround, leading to a cohesive overall look.Pocket-lintHuawei Mate S review: Models and differencesBefore we go any further, let's clear up the different models that Huawei offers for the Mate S. There's the standard version, which has 32GB of internal storage and comes in grey or champagne colours. It will cost you ?469 and this is the model that's current on .&Then there's the premium version that has 64GB internal storage. This model comes in gold and coral (pinkish). It will cost you EUR699 (approximately ?512).Finally there's a third model, which we have on review here. This luxury model has a pressure-sensitive display, similar to Apple's 3D Touch display in the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus, along with 128GB of internal storage. However, we don't know what the price will be or where it will be available at the time of writing.The important thing to note about these models is that the top-tier luxury version is the only one that has the pressure-sensitive display that was demonstrated at the launch. The others just house a normal AMOLED panel - still a touchscreen in each case, of course, just not with the multiple levels of pressure sensitivity available.Pocket-lintHuawei Mate S review: Hardware & battery performanceAside from the storage and the display sensitivity, the rest of the hardware in the Mate S is the same. There's a HiSilicon Kirin 935, which is an octa-core 64-bit chipset, at the heart, paired with 3GB of RAM. HiSilicon is Huawei's own silicon manufacturer and while it lacks a bigger brand name it doesn't do the performance any damage: the Mate S is a good performer, we've not found it to suffer from overheating or other complications during daily tasks.It might be a little weak graphically speaking, however, and although things have been mostly smooth, we've found it sometimes stutters when scrolling through long lists, like in Twitter.As we mentioned, there's 128GB of storage in this model which is masses of space. This can be expanded via microSD and Huawei has cleverly combined the SIM and microSD card slots, as it's done in some of its other recent devices. That means there's only one tray and you have the choice of either adding microSD, or using the slot for a second SIM card instead.There's a 2,700mAh battery in the Mate S too, which is fairly average in terms of capacity, but it's a good performer. In most cases we've managed to get through a busy day without having to seek out a charger. It out-performs the likes of the HTC One M9+ we recently reviewed, as well as the Samsung Galaxy S6. In some cases we've sailed through day and night, only recharging the next day.&That's perhaps not expected from a 2,700mAh cell, but there's also a lot of battery management going on in Huawei's software. When an app appears to be eating battery in the background, you'll get a notification with the option to close the app. Nine times out of ten, we've closed these apps when reminded, whereas other devices we'd have just left them to roll-on. Like Sony's Stamina mode, it's diligent management that pays dividends here.Pocket-lintHuawei Mate S review: DisplayIn 2015 the display has been one of the major battlegrounds for smartphones, especially in these larger sizes. The Huawei Mate S doesn't bump the resolution like many rivals, sticking to 1920 x 1080 pixels on the 5.5-inch display, delivering a 401ppi density. It's a 2.5D display, so curved towards those edges, topped with scratch-resistant Gorilla Glass 4.Some might see that as sensible, others as rather reserved. The , while t. But,
and the iPhone 6S Plus, Huawei sticks to something rather more familiar at Full HD - and arguably as high-resolution as you'll need at this scale.There's an argument raging about resolutions in smartphones and how much benefit you get through increasing the resolution. Yes, there will be sharper displays and therefore more devices that can pack more detail into your images. But currently you're not going to be losing out on streaming media or detail in games, because they don't necessarily use that extra resolution.And we think the Huawei Mate S display is very good. We've seen some better visuals from the likes of Samsung recently, but like the big S, this is an AMOLED panel, exhibiting the traits of that technology in its vibrant colours and deep blacks. It can, on occasion, look a
for example we noticed that some of our contacts' faces looked a little flush in a messaging app, but otherwise it's fairly well balanced.On the whole the Mate S delivers a slick visual experience. Those chasing the highest quality might be tempted to drift off elsewhere, but here you're getting good quality from a Full HD display without breaking the bank, or murdering that already low-capacity battery.Pocket-lintHuawei Mate S review: Force Touch displayBut there's something else to consider when it comes to the top Mate S device: the pressure-sensitive display. At the launch at IFA 2015, Huawei made much of the "Force Touch capabilities" of the handset. As you might know,
is a name used by Apple for its Watch and MacBook trackpad, which both offer pressure as a navigation option.&We suspect Huawei wanted to capitalise on Apple's use of that terminology, although when the iPhone 6S was announced, Apple called it 3D Touch instead. That aside, on the device Huawei simply calls it a pressure-sensitive display.Technically, Huawei was the first to announce a device offering display pressure as a navigation tool, although Apple beat it to the punch on the shelf, as the iPhone 6S launches before Huawei has fleshed out any details on this luxury version of the Mate S.We've looked at what pressure-sensitivity brings to the display previously (follow the link below for the lowdown), but we'll cover off the essentials here.READ: &Firstly, it's not as comprehensive as Apple's navigation offering. Apple benefits from being able to mate hardware and software in native apps, something that Huawei can't do so effectively (there's no support in stock Android apps, for example). That gives you things like Peek and Pop (peeking to preview content without opening apps in full, unless it's important in which can pop into the full app quickly) on the iPhone 6S, which could be really useful in the Huawei, but you don't get. Apple's integration of haptic feedback is also a lot more precise than that of Huawei.But Huawei has enabled it so pressure can be used for navigation, using a heavy press to replace the standard Android buttons of back, home and recent apps. We've been using this since we moved into the Huawei Mate S and we've found it very natural, and barely does it catch you out. The benefit is that you get an uncluttered display.The other area that Huawei has put it to use is in magnification in the gallery. This lets you zoom in on an area for a closer look, but that's slightly less effective than a pinch zoom and feels more like a demo for the technology than something that actually benefits you greatly.In reality, Huawei has introduced this hardware feature on the luxury Mate S and its potential isn't fully realised. We like it as a feature, but it currently doesn't offer enough to make you rush out and by this edition of the phone. We suspect we'd need to see wider adoption by other manufacturers for it to make any headway in the Android world.Huawei Mate S review: Fingerprint scanner and knuckle controlCommon to all the Mate S models, and very welcome indeed, is the fingerprint scanner on the rear. The position might cause you to raise an eyebrow, but it's well placed for unlocking the device with a tap of the finger. We found it to be very reliable and faster to unlock than some devices we've lived with this year, such as the Samsung Galaxy S6 family. We've found we can unlock the phone as we're lifting it out of a pocket, like some sort of super-smartphone-whipping-quick-draw cowboy. It's very slick.But this isn't just about locking, Huawei has added some clever control options into the scanner, rolling out what it's calling Fingerprint 2.0. We saw a range of clever functions on the Honor 7 and these are reflected in the Mate S too. The one we like the most is being able to swipe down the notification area with a swipe down on the scanner. You can clear notifications with a double-tap.&On a device this size it really facilitates one-handed use.You can also use the scanner to swipe through images in the gallery, perfect for showing off photos without obstructing things with a greasy finger. Finally you can use it to trigger selfies, again, a big nod to practical use. We definitely give Fingerprint 2.0 the thumbs-up.One of Huawei's rather more comical options is knuckle control. It's a slightly derided feature, but there's one thing about it we really like: you can trace letters on the display with your knuckles to launch apps and we've been using it to launch the camera. We didn't plan to, it just sort of happened, which suggests to us that it's actually a really useful feature. When we tested the P8 smartphone we found the knuckle experience dreadful, but that's not the case in the Mate S: presumably this pressure-sensitive display is far more adept at recognising those nuances of pressure.The good thing is that you can knuckle your phone no matter whereever you are in the user interface and for the camera that means you can jump to taking photos really easily. It's not as fast as double clicking the home button a Samsung Galaxy S6, but it's faster than rooting out the icon for the camera in the apps tray.Pocket-lintHuawei Mate S review: SoftwareOne of our greatest criticisms of Huawei over the past few years and previous generation devices, was the extent of the software changes to Android. On the Huawei Mate S, you still get a lot of Huawei modification. Much of this steps away from Android's material design and changes some things for the worse.&The best example is the app icons. Huawei's so-called EMUI interface wants to put each icon on a background with matching colour. We have no idea why, when Android presents some lovely icons, and Huawei messes them up. Look at the ugly handling of Calendar or even the Play Store icon, for example. It works for Huawei's own apps, but even those will change their imagery based on the theme you pick on the device, which is the very definition of inconsistency.We think that EMUI is a little awkward visually compared with the sophistication of HTC Sense or the latest Samsung TouchWiz, but we can see that this is what Huawei is trying to emulate as a method of differentiation. We just think it would be a better user experience if it toned things down a bit.But there are also some great elements. We've mentioned that quirky knuckle control, we've mentioned the attention to power consumption, and there are other options galore that add to Android 5.1.1 Lollipop. You can manage the individual default apps, for example, you can manage two types of notifications for each app (features coming to Android 6.0 Marshmallow), you can turn off the network name, or you can show the data speed you're getting.Pocket-lintIn short, there's a lot here for smartphone fans to geek out about - and we like that. But we think&that the Huawei apps miss the mark compared to Android stock apps, so the Mate S offers a better software experience once you install apps like Messenger and Calendar, and an alternative keyboard.&One of the big things that we don't like is the launcher in EMUI. It ditches the apps tray in favour of just swiping into pages of apps. It feels like it apes the iPhone's iOS interface and replaces it with something else - like Google Now Launcher - making you feel a little more in control of things.But critically, this is now a smooth user experience. We didn't find any lag or unexpected behaviour. Yes, we moved things back towards Android norms, but the result was an excellent smartphone experience. Simply put, Huawei's software changes shouldn't be a barrier to considering one of its phones, but it would be an easier sell if it embraced material design and at least attempted to sing from the Android hymn sheet.Huawei Mate S review: CameraOne area that Huawei has performed well in the past is in the camera. The company makes a lot of noise about its cameras and so it should. The camera app is a little close in design to that of Apple iOS, but it's simple enough to use. There are a lot of options and settings in addition to the major shooting modes, should you want to dig out a specific control.There's a 13-megapixel camera on the rear with f/2.0 aperture, offering optical image stabilisation and a dual-tone twin LED flash. It's a great camera, fast to focus and the results are good. We've got snapped shots with plenty of detail and good&natural colours, although it can be a little muted in some situations.We suspect this is due to being slightly aggressive with processing to sweep image noise away, and you might find on closer examination that some dark areas or backgrounds get reduced to a fine grain.&Low-light performance is pretty good too, because you still get usable results, even though there's some inevitable noise - but again there's the processing going on to make sure it doesn't get too offensive.Pocket-lintWhen it comes to the front 8-megapixel camera, again it will give you some great results. There's a whole range of beauty functions to enhance your selfies, as well as the option for a front illuminator to aid with pictures in low-light. We've good some good quality results, but we've noticed that the default picture is reversed, so everything is backwards when you look at it, which is odd.Imagine our disappointment when we took a photo in the new
to find that the embroidered RR logo on the headrest was backwards. Fortunately the image editor will let you flip the image, but nowhere could we find this option at the point of shooting.One thing that's missing from the Mate S is 4K video capture. It offers up to Full HD capture, which will cater for most users, but for whatever reason this handset doesn't embrace UHD video like an increasing number of flagships - a shame considering we've got the 128GB model.
There's a lot to love about the Huawei Mate S. We like the finish of the metal body and the slimness that Huawei has achieved. The display, although not being the highest resolution out there, offers great visuals and, on this particular model, offers the advantage of pressure-sensitivity (even if that function could offer so much more).The fingerprint scanner is excellent too, and there's great performance from both cameras, along with some impressive attention to detail in Huawei's software. There's plenty of power, meaning daily tasks will happen with ease, and a battery life that matches if not betters many of the flagship handsets currently available (a surprise given the 2,700mAh capacity on offer).&But the Mate S finds itself in a slightly awkward place. It's undercut in price by the excellent OnePlus 2 and perhaps won't turn heads as readily as something like the Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+. That said, it is substantially cheaper than the Samsung and the likes of the iPhone 6S Plus, which should make it attractive for those looking for a great handset in this sub-premium sector.The Huawei Mate S is a commendable smartphone and a welcome addition to the company's range, worthy of consideration for those looking for top-notch quality without the cost. We just wish that Huawei had a slightly lighter touch with Android.