Huawei P10 Plus Review

June 12, 2017 | Amy Davies | Rating star Rating star Rating star Rating star Half rating star

Introduction

The Huawei P10 Plus was announced alongside the standard sized P10, the latest flagship mobile phones from the company. It builds on the success of last year’s P9, with its most interesting (for photographers) feature being its dual-camera setup, which has been co-engineered with Leica. The new Leica Dual Camera 2.0 Pro Edition includes features such as precise 3D facial detection, dynamic illumination and natural portrait enhancements. On the front of the phone is a new front-camera, which is also co-engineered with Leica. It promises to capture twice the amount of light as the previous model, which should make it better for self-portraits. Both of the rear cameras feature 20 megapixel sensors and SUMMILUX-H lenses with a large f/1.8 aperture. Other interesting features include 4K video shooting, optical image stabilisation and an ultra-fast Kirin 960 processor. The main difference between the P10 and the P10 Plus - at least from a photography perspective, is that the lenses are different. For the Huawei P10 Plus, more expensive Leica SUMMILUX lenses are used, compared with the cheaper SUMMARIT lenses, and they’ve also got a larger maximum aperture (f/1.8, compared with f/2.2).

Ease of Use

As you might guess from the Plus in the name of the phone, the Huawei P10 Plus is on the large side - which means you’ll probably find you need to use two hands if you’re typing messages or emails.

Like most modern smartphones there are very few buttons on the Huawei P10 Plus. There’s an on/off button, which you can also press just once to turn the screen on/off, rather than switching the phone completely off. There’s a rocker switch, which controls volume, but you can use it to fire off the shutter release, zoom or adjust focus when using the camera app, too (depending on how you program it).

On the front of the phone there’s a fingerprint sensor, which you can set up to recognise your fingerprint for unlocking the phone. When it comes to opening up the camera app, you have a number of different options. You can program the down button to open up the camera app with a double tap - you can also program it to open up the app and automatically take a shot.  An alternative way is to swipe up from the bottom right hand corner of the lock screen - if you do this, you’ll be able to take pictures, but you’ll only be able to view images you’ve taken during that “session”. Finally, you can completely unlock the phone and find the camera app from the listings on the phone itself.

Huawei P10 Plus
Front of the Huawei P10 Plus

Once the camera app is open, you have a number of different options, but you can just use the camera on the automatic option straight away. If you swipe up from the bottom of the camera, you’ll unlock “pro” mode, which gives you the opportunity to change key settings, including ISO, shutter speed, exposure compensation, AF mode, white balance and metering. It’s great to have this option available for enthusiast photographers who want to take a little more control.

When you’re in pro shooting mode, you can also shoot in raw format. To do this, you need to swipe right from the main screen and you can switch raw shooting on. You can also change other settings, such as image resolution, switching on a grid to help you compose your shots, using a timer, switching on a horizontal level, and adjust how the volume button works.

To make any changes in pro mode, you select the parameter you want to change, then use the slider to make the change. Unfortunately, just like with the P9 model, it’s still not possible to change aperture on the Huawei P10 Plus, which is a shame. If you want to go back to the default settings at any point when in pro mode, let's say you’ve adjusted ISO and shutter speed, you can tap the sun icon to quickly restore everything to the base settings. This makes it quick to start afresh when you need to, rather than having to adjust each setting individually.

Huawei P10 Plus
Rear of the Huawei P10 Plus

Along the top of the screen (or left if you’re holding the phone in landscape format), there’s a few options to be aware of. The first is the flash on/off icon, while the second is the shallow depth of field mode, which you can use to recreate the look of shooting with a very wide aperture lens. Tap this icon, and then you can drag a slider on screen to move between shooting very wide and shooting very narrow. When in playback, you’ll be able to change the focus point by tapping around the screen - this is because the effect is added after the fact.

Also at the top of the screen is Portrait mode, which basically switches on image smoothing for your skin. You can change the “film” mode to choose between Standard, Vivid or Smooth Colours. There’s also a range of digital filters to give your images a more expressive look, such as Valencia, Halo and Nostalgia. Lastly, there’s an icon to switch from using the rear camera to using the front one.

At the bottom of the screen (or right if you’re holding the phone in landscape), you’ll see you can switch between stills and video recording. In the middle of the bottom is the on-screen shutter button - if you’re not using the volume button to capture images, this is what you’ll need to press. If you hold down the shutter button, you’ll shoot continuously until you release it again.

Huawei P10 Plus
The Huawei P10 Plus In-hand

If you swipe to the left from the main screen, you’ll see there’s a host of other options you can use. There’s the standard “Photo”, but just next to it is “Monochrome” - one of the dual sensors is Monochrome, which is used for colour images to deliver detail, but here you have access to shoot only with it. There’s also a range of other modes, including HDR, Slow Motion, Watermark and Panorama.

To change the AF point, like most other smartphones on the market, you tap around areas of the screen that you want to change it to. You can utilise digital zoom by performing an outward pinch motion on the screen - but you can’t zoom if you’re using the highest resolution of 20MP.

Start-up time is quick, presuming you already have the Huawei P10 Plus switched on.  Using the camera app is also nice and speedy, with it locking onto the subject usually quite easily, especially in good light. If you try to get too close to a subject, you will likely see some noticeable hunting around to try and get the subject in focus - with close-up shots you may also see some false confirmations of focus, which is just something to watch out for and check in playback.

Image Quality

All of the sample images in this review were taken using the 20 megapixel JPEG setting, which gives an average image size of around 6Mb.

In good light, the Huawei P10 Plus is capable of taking some lovely pictures - and for those who are looking for a phone specifically for its camera capability should be pleased in this respect. However, once again extremely bold claims are being made regarding just how good the phone is - and it’s difficult to live up to that.

At low sensitivities, image quality is great, but as we’ve seen before, once you start moving into lower light territory and having to use mid-range ISOs like ISO 400, images become smudgier, especially if you examine them closely. Of course it’s likely that the average smartphone user will only view images at quite small sizes on the screen of the phone, in which case, this problem shouldn’t bother you too much. The overall impression of detail at small sizes is fine right up to ISO 3200.

The universal DNG raw format is employed if you switch that capability on. Here you can see that there’s quite a bit of image smoothing applied to JPEG images, giving you the option of clawing back any lost detail should you feel its necessary in post-production. Again, this is probably not something that most average users will do, especially given that raw format shooting is hidden away in Pro mode.

When it comes to general image quality, colours are well saturated and vibrant, displaying a nice amount of warmth. The Huawei P10 Plus' camera copes well with artificial light sources when shooting in automatic white balance to produce colours which are roughly accurate. All-purpose metering does well to get balanced exposures in the majority of conditions.

The shallow depth of field effect is, once again, hit and miss. On some photos it works really well and it’s a pleasing and subtle effect which recreates using a DSLR - especially if you don’t scrutinise it too closely. But other images look very fake and strange, even when viewed at small sizes. The answer here is to use it sparingly, and get to learn when it might work well and when it won’t - and don’t be disappointed when it doesn’t quite look right.

Noise

The Huawei P10 Plus has 7 manually-selectable ISO sensitivity settings available at full resolution, ranging between ISO 50 and ISO 3200.

JPEG RAW

ISO 50 (100% Crop)

ISO 50 (100% Crop)

iso50.jpg iso50raw.jpg
   

ISO 100 (100% Crop)

ISO 100 (100% Crop)

iso100.jpg iso100raw.jpg
   

ISO 200 (100% Crop)

ISO 200 (100% Crop)

iso200.jpg iso200raw.jpg
   

ISO 400 (100% Crop)

ISO 400 (100% Crop)

iso400.jpg iso400raw.jpg
   

ISO 800 (100% Crop)

ISO 800 (100% Crop)

iso800.jpg iso800raw.jpg
   

ISO 1600 (100% Crop)

ISO 1600 (100% Crop)

iso1600.jpg iso1600raw.jpg
   

ISO 3200 (100% Crop)

ISO 3200 (100% Crop)

iso3200.jpg iso3200raw.jpg

Focal Range

The Huawei P10 Plus's fixed focal length lens is equivalent to 29mm in 35mm camera terms. Digital zoom is available, but with a corresponding reduction in image sharpness.

29mm

focal_range1.jpg
 

2x Hybrid Zoom

focal_range2.jpg
Di

Macro

The Huawei P10 Plus able to focus as close as 5cm from a subject. We found this claim to be accurate, though autofocusing does occasionally struggle to lock on at this kind of range.

Macro

macro.jpg

Flash

The Huawei P10 Plus uses a twin-ED flash, and as usual for this technology, it gives a weaker flash burst than a standard xenon camera flash.

Flash On

 

Flash Red-eye Reduction

 

Night

Thanks to the optical image stabilisation and a wide f/1.8 maximum aperture, the Huawei P10 Plus performs fairly well at night. This image was taken at the camera's iso 50 sensitivity at a shutter speed of 32 seconds, and though there's some noise and detail smoothing, the result is still comparable to what a typical compact camera would produce.

Night

night.jpg

Effects

The Huawei P10 Plus's camera app includes eight filter effects, but this being a smartphone, extra effects are only an app away.

filter-nofilter.jpg filter2-Blue.jpg
   
filter3-dawn.jpg filter4-impact.jpg
   
filter5-nostalgia.jpg filter6-sentimental.jpg
   
filter7-valencia.jpg filter1-ND.jpg
   
filter8-halo.jpg  

Panorama

The Huawei P10 Plus's automatic sweep panorama mode works well and lets you stop panning at will. The results aren't always perfect, but ghosting is rare. Unlike most regular camera panorama modes which produce significantly downsized images, the Huawei P10 Plus has enough processing power to capture at high resolutions, so panoramas are usually around 3000 vertical pixels.

panorama.jpg

Sample Images

This is a selection of sample images from the Huawei P10 Plus camera, which were all taken using the 20 megapixel JPEG setting. The thumbnails below link to the full-sized versions, which have not been altered in any way.

Sample RAW Images

The Huawei P10 Plus enables users to capture RAW and JPEG format files. We've provided some Huawei RAW (DNG) samples for you to download (thumbnail images shown below are not 100% representative).

Sample Movies & Video

This is a sample movie at the highest quality setting of 3840x2160 pixels at 30 frames per second. Please note that this 17 second movie is 63.9Mb in size.

This is a sample movie at the highest quality setting of 1920x1280 pixels at 30 frames per second. Please note that this 18 second movie is 38.1Mb in size.

Product Images

Huawei P10 Plus

Front of the Huawei P10 Plus

 
Huawei P10 Plus

Rear of the Huawei P10 Plus

 
Huawei P10 Plus

Front of the Huawei P10 Plus / Image Displayed

 
Huawei P10 Plus

Front of the Huawei P10 Plus / Camera Mode

 
Huawei P10 Plus

Front of the Huawei P10 Plus / Camera Mode

 
Huawei P10 Plus

Front of the Huawei P10 Plus / Shooting Modes

 
Huawei P10 Plus

Front of the Huawei P10 Plus / Settings

 
Huawei P10 Plus

Side of the Huawei P10 Plus

 
Huawei P10 Plus

Side of the Huawei P10 Plus

 
Huawei P10 Plus

Rear of the Huawei P10 Plus

 
Huawei P10 Plus

Front of the Huawei P10 Plus

 
Huawei P10 Plus

Front of the Huawei P10 Plus

Conclusion

Once again Huawei has made much of the fact that the P10 Plus' camera has been co-engineered with Leica. While it is a perfectly decent performing camera, the hyperbole that comes attached with this association means that once again it doesn’t quite deliver on some of the promises made. 

If you’re a photographer who wants a phone where you can change certain parameters, and shoot in raw format, the Huawei P10 Plus makes for a good choice of those available currently in the market. Being able to shoot in raw format is a relatively niche request for most smartphone users, but photographers may find some benefit to doing so with their phone shots. 

As we usually find with smartphone cameras, the Huawei P10 Plus performs best when lighting conditions are favourable. In these circumstances, you’ll find images are bright and vibrant, with balanced exposures and a pleasing overall amount of detail. In low light, images are acceptable if you’re only sharing or viewing at small sizes, but don’t expect to have to chuck your DSLR away if you get one of these. 

The inbuilt camera app is relatively easy to get to grips with, certainly once you’ve been using it a while. It’s nice to be able to change settings, but it would be even nicer if you could adjust aperture when shooting in the Pro mode. The gimmicky shallow depth of field effect is useful in certain situations, but with some subjects it looks terrible - so use it sparingly and wisely. 

If you’re struggling to decide between the P10 and the P10 Plus, what might swing it for you is the better lenses found on the P10 Plus - that and the fact that the larger screen is better for displaying your photos. Another plus point of the Huawei P10 Plus is that it is significantly cheaper than some other similar models on the market - namely the iPhone 7 Plus and the Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus, so for those looking for something more affordable, you could be on to a winner here. 

4.5 stars

Ratings (out of 5)
Design 4.5
Features 4.5
Ease-of-use 4
Image quality 4
Value for money 4

Main Rivals

Listed below are some of the rivals of the Huawei P10 Plus.

Apple iPhone 7 Plus

The Apple iPhone 7 Plus is the first version of the most popular smartphone in the world to offer not one, but two integrated cameras. The iPhone 7 Plus also offers photographers 12 megapixel resolution and 4K video recording, plus the intriguing new portrait mode which uses both lenses to recreate the defocused look of a DSLR with a wide aperture lens. Read our in-depth Apple iPhone 7 Plus review, complete with full-size sample images, test shots, videos and more...

Apple iPhone 7

The Apple iPhone 7 is the newest version of the most popular smartphone in the world, offering photographers 12 megapixel resolution, an f/1.8 28mm lens with optical image stabilisation, and 4K video recording. Read our in-depth Apple iPhone 7 review, complete with full-size sample images, test shots, videos and more...

HTC 10

The HTC 10 is a new flagship Android smartphone with a 12 UltraPixel sensor, OIS in both its front and back cameras, bright f/1.8 lens, 24-bit Hi-Res audio recording, RAW file support and 4K video recording. Read our HTC 10 review to find out if it's the best smartphone for avid photographers...

Huawei P9

The new Huawei P9 smartphone has been co-developed with none other than Leica, and promises to "reinvent smartphone photography" - a bold claim indeed. The P9 offers photographers a 12 megapixel sensor, not one, but two lenses (one colour, one monochrome), a fully manual shooting mode, 1080p movie recording, and a powerful 3000mAh battery. Is the Huawei P9 a dream ticket for keen photographers? Find out by reading our in-depth Huawei P9 review...

Panasonic Lumix DMC-CM1

Is it a camera? Is it a smartphone? No, it's the new Panasonic Lumix DMC-CM1, which is bravely offering both in one device. Can the Panasonic CM1 replace a high-end camera and a premium smartphone? Read our Panasonic Lumix DMC-CM1 review now to find out...

Sony Xperia XZ

The Sony Xperia XZ is a new photography-focused premium smartphone, featuring a 23-megapixel primary camera with a 1/2.3"-type Exmor RS imaging chip. Read our in-depth Sony Xperia XZ review now...

Review Roundup

Reviews of the Huawei P10 Plus from around the web.

techradar.com »

In isolation, this is a really good phone. But in comparison with what else is on the market, its proposition falls apart. It’s not the best in the flagship price category, and there are phones offering almost as much that cost less. You can do better.
Read the full review »

trustedreviews.com »

The P10 Plus is Huawei’s best phone yet. It takes the decent P10 and improves it in a variety of ways. Its Leica camera is excellent in both light and dark scenarios, battery life is impressive and it comes with a generous amount of storage. It’s the first Huawei handset that can easily compete with big-name flagships such as the LG G6, iPhone 7 and Samsung Galaxy S7.
Read the full review »

uk.pcmag.com »

We review the Huawei P10 Plus with one eye on the smaller of the two P10 flagships, both of which were unveiled by Huawei at Mobile World Congress earlier this year.
Read the full review »

Specifications

Colour

Arctic White/Dazzling Blue/Dazzling Gold/Graphite Black/Moonlight Silver/Rose Gold/Greenery

Display

5.5 inch
2560 x 1440 (2K)
16M colors, 540 PPI

CPU

HUAWEI Kirin 960 CPU, Octa-core 4* Cortex A73 2.4 GHz + 4*Cortex A53 1.8 GHz

Operation System

Android™ 7.0

Memory

VKY-AL00: 4 GB RAM + 64 GB ROM, 6 GB RAM + 128 GB ROM, 6 GB RAM + 256 GB ROM
VKY-L09 / VKY-L29: 4 GB RAM + 64 GB ROM, 6 GB RAM + 128 GB ROM

Network

VKY-AL00
Main SIM card:
LTE FDD: Bands 1/2/3/4/5/7/8/9/12/17/18/19/20
TD-LTE: Bands 38/39/40/41 (100M)
UMTS (WCDMA) / HSPA+ / DC-HSDPA: Bands 1/2/4/5/6/8/19
TD-SCDMA: Bands 34/39
CDMA: BC0 (800 MHz), Only for China Telecom (China Mainland + Macao, China)
GSM / EDGE: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz

Secondary SIM card:
UMTS (WCDMA): Bands 1/2/4/5/6/8/19
CDMA: BC0 (800 MHz), Only for China Telecom (China Mainland + Macao, China)
GSM: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz

Notes: The two SIM card slots can be Main card or secondary card.

VKY-L09:
Main SIM card:
4G TD-LTE: Bands 38/39/40
4G FDD LTE: Bands 1/2/3/4/5/7/8/9/12/17/18/19/20/26/28/29;
3G UMTS (WCDMA) / HSPA+ / DC-HSDPA: Bands 1/2/4/5/6/8/19
2G GSM / EDGE: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz

VKY-L29
Main SIM card:
4G TD-LTE: Bands 38/39/40/41 (100 MHz)
4G FDD LTE: Bands 1/2/3/4/5/7/8/9/12/17/18/19/20/26/28/29
3G UMTS (WCDMA) / HSPA+ / DC-HSDPA: Bands 1/2/4/5/6/8/19
2G GSM / EDGE: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz

Secondary SIM card (Only support voice communication):
3G UMTS (WCDMA): Bands 1/2/4/5/6/8/19
2G GSM: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz

GPS

GPS / Glonass / Galileo / BDS

Connectivity

Bluetooth 4.2
802.11ac/a/b/g/n, 2.4G / 5G
USB 2.0

Sensors

Fingerprint Sensor, G-Sensor, Gyroscope Sensor, Compass, Ambient Light Sensor, Proximity Sensor, Hall Sensor, IR

Camera

Main Camera
20 MP Monochrome + 12 MP RGB, F1.8
OIS (Optical Image Stablization)
Dual-tone Flash
PDAF + CAF + Laser + Depth Auto Focus
2x Hybrid Zoom
4K Video Recording

Front Camera
8 MP AF, F1.9

Audio

Audio File Formats: mp3 / mp4 / 3gp / wma / ogg / amr / aac / flac / wav / midi / ra
Support 192 Khz / 24 bit

Video

3gp / mp4 / wmv / rm / rmvb / asf

Emotion UI

EMUI 5.1

Battery

3750 mAh (TYP)

NFC

Support

In The Box

Handset / Headset / Charger / USB-C Cable / Eject Tool / Quick Start Guide / Pre-fitted Screen Protector / Protective Case*

*Protective case is optional.

*Disclaimer: specifications may change without notice, images are for illustration purpose only. Colours and features may not be available in all markets, please check with local retailers for exact offer.

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