The Ultimate Review: iPhone X or Huawei Mate 10 Pro?

Breaking down the features you actually care about

When it comes to technology, most of us tend to be pretty brand-loyal. Whether its Apple or Android, we like to maintain a solid eco-system with various products that seamlessly work together to make our very complicated lives a whole lot easier.

The thing is, brand loyalty tends to be blinding, especially when it comes to our choice in smartphones. Apple iPhone sales are constantly surging, even when the competition has more to offer in terms of specs, design, and overall innovation.

That’s not to say Apple isn’t great, I faithfully use my iPhone every day. And I especially love using the camera’s portrait setting – but, when I got my hands on Huawei’s Mate 10 Pro, I started to question my allegiance to Apple and started seriously considering the Chinese manufacturer’s latest piece of technology.

Before making any irrational judgements, MILLE decided to do a thorough assessment of both companies’ latest releases: iPhone X and the Huawei Mate 10 Pro.

Design
 If you’ve been an avid iPhone user, you’ve probably grown to love Apple’s sleek design. But, the conglomerate kept us waiting for three years (equivalent to three decades in tech years) to release an updated design. The iPhone X is sleek, minimal, and admittedly pretty sexy (available in Space Grey and Silver). Although the phone is water-resistant, we’re a little worried about the new glass backing – if you have clumsy tendencies, you might want to think twice before buying the iPhone X because fixing it is actually pretty costly.

The Mate 10 Pro also holds its weight in terms of design. Huawei hit the mark with a sleek and subtle curvy design fitting the modern aesthetic. The phone is a step up from previous releases, putting it in direct competition with the iPhone X. In terms of colour, it offers more variety with Midnight Blue, Titanium Grey, Pink Gold, and Mocha Brown options. The rear is also glass, featuring a surrounding ultra-thin bezel that adds a refined touch to an otherwise simple design. As with the iPhone, glass finishes are prone to damage so you’ll also have to be careful if you want to keep your gadget looking good.

Winner: iPhone X

Display
Featuring a 5.8-inch edge-to-edge display, iPhone X’s new design has no home button. Its functions have been replaced with Face ID and other software features on the new iOS 11, so if you’re buying the phone for your mom or dad, you might need free up some time for a quick tutorial. The company switched gears with this release and abandoned the LCD Retina displays and opted for a more superior OLED display, providing higher levels of colour, contrast and overall screen quality.

When it comes to Huawei’s Mate 10 Pro, the elongated 6-inch screen—which also utilizes the OLED technology—makes it measure up nicely with the iPhone X. The display dominates the front with no visible buttons with a control menu simply built into the software that can be positioned anywhere on the screen. As far as unlocking your phone goes, the fingerprint censor is strategically placed on the rear. Mate 10 Pro also features oleophobic screen coating, meaning you don’t have to worry about ugly fingerprint smudges ruining your pretty phone.

All in all, both phones offer similar qualities in terms of display. To be fair though, the iPhone X does surpass the Mate 10 Pro in resolution with 2436x1125p versus Huawei’s 2160x1080p, though the difference is not dramatically visible.

Winner: iPhone X

Performance
The iPhone X runs on an A11 Bionic Chip, which is just tech jargon for Apple’s newest processor, which they claim is their fastest yet (Apple does have a reputation for holding up their end of the bargain in terms of processing power). When it comes to storage, the phone can hold up to 64GB or 256GB of data – meaning that the 128GB option is no longer on offer.

For the Mate Pro 10, Huawei stepped up its innovation game with the new Kirin 970 chip, matching up with other devices on the market. The new processor helps boost the phone’s artificial intelligence features and is considerably fast. The phone is available in 64GB and 128GB versions, and unlike the iPhone X, the Mate 10 Pro offers a micro SD expansion slot so you can add storage to suit your needs.

Considering the similar processing muscle, Huawei’s Mate 10 Pro won us over with the option of storage expansion, especially since we’re not into paying a monthly fee for a cloud subscription to save all our pictures.

Winner: Huawei Mate 10 Pro

Battery Life
If you’re always on your phone, battery life is always a top priority. Since most of us spend the majority of our time on the internet, you can expect a full 12-hours of uninterrupted scrolling through your favourite meme pages on an iPhone X. The largest improvement however, is the wireless charging option, but you won’t be able to purchase your new AirPower yet.

With a 4000mAh battery, you can expect your Huawei Mate Pro 10 to last all day. Apple’s iPhone X uses a 2,716mAh battery, so the difference is stark. A cool feature on the Mate Pro 10 is the use of smart battery management technology, which basically means that the phone actually learns about your behaviour to minimize power waste. But, while the phone does pack a punch in terms of battery, the downside is it unfortunately doesn’t support wireless charging.

Winner: Huawei Mate 10 Pro

Camera
Camera quality can make or break your smartphone choices. The iPhone X does not disappoint. The rear has a dual-lens set up with 12 megapixels (one is a wide-angle at f/1.8 aperture, and the telephoto at f/2.8). The portrait setting still stands strong but you can expect your selfie game to significantly improve with the new front-facing camera, which now includes a depth-mapping feature.

Just like the iPhone X, the Huawei Mate Pro 10 also features a dual camera, but the company’s recent partnership with photography giant Leica sets it apart. The rear camera includes a 12-megapixel RGB sensor and a 20-megapixel monochrome sensor with f/1.6 aperture, making it one of the highest quality smartphone cameras on the market. While the front facing camera stands as pretty average in comparison with the iPhone X, the phone’s incorporation of A.I. powered digital zoom and motion detection earned it a 97/100 DxO score.

The camera battle between the two devices was a close call. The iPhone X’s improved front-facing camera makes it a very strong contender, but we have to say that we’re far too impressed with the quality of the Mate 10 Pro rear cameras.

Winner: Huawei Mate 10 Pro

Price
The price of the iPhone X entirely depends on which model you choose. The 64GB model is priced at $999, whereas the 256 GB model will set you back $1149.

The Huawei Mate 10 Pro, on the other hand, comes with a lower price tag of $939.

Winner: Huawei Mate 10 Pro

Verdict
The truth is, there aren’t too many differences between the two phones. The iPhone X’s design is certainly top notch, but when it comes to displays, they’re practically the same thing. But, because of the extra storage option, longer battery life and improved camera quality, the Mate 10 Pro is by far the most impressive – especially considering the price.

Winner: Huawei Mate 10 Pro

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