When thinking of buying the latest large-screened smartphone, many probably merely consider Apple's iPhone six Plus or the Samsung Galaxy Annotation four. Granted, these are two of the best devices you can get today and thus accept received a ton of attending from the media, explaining why they're the first choice for many.

But the phablet market is certainly non limited to those two devices, with plenty of other options available. One such option is the Huawei Arise Mate 7, a half-dozen-inch handset that is full of surprises and certainly worth more than attention than it gets.

Parts of the Ascend Mate vii aren't conventional. The Hisilicon Kirin 925 is an SoC I haven't encountered earlier, and departs from the traditional use of Qualcomm or MediaTek. The Emotion UI atop Android 4.iv is besides different from what nosotros usually come across, though it could exist for the right reasons. Other parts won't surprise yous, such equally the 13-megapixel camera and 1080p IPS display that keep well inside the realms of a standard flagship handset.

Having little experience with Huawei devices in the past, the build quality of the Arise Mate 7 certainly came as a surprise. For some reason I was expecting a cheap, crappy plastic shell from the Chinese OEM, but that is absolutely not what y'all get with this flagship-class device. Instead you get a classy aluminium shell that'south one of my favorites from the 2022 releases.

The aluminium used on the Mate seven covers most of the rear panel, extending to the sides in semi-unibody mode. Aluminium has a corking shimmer and shine to it, combined with a fantastic feel, that gives the Mate 7 a high quality case that hands rivals the all-time on the market. The top and bottom of the rear panel are made from aluminium-colored plastic, just Huawei has managed to nail the colour and information technology provides breathing room for wireless radios so information technology's not a big deal.

The forepart of the Mate 7, at least on the silver model I received to review, is protected past glass with a small plastic rim. The white highlights above and below the brandish wait fantastic when combined with the aluminium body, and I'one thousand glad to see Huawei cut down on bezel wherever possible. The smooth glass feels quite swooshable, and is designed to be scratch-resistant.

While the body generally feels first-class to agree thanks to the choice of premium materials, there's no mistaking that the handset is huge. The screen itself well-nigh entirely envelops the 5-inch Galaxy S5, and when factoring in the bezel it becomes significantly larger: larger than both the Galaxy Note four and the iPhone 6 Plus. Y'all're going to demand to be a large-screen smartphone fan to handle the Ascend Mate seven, because single-handed utilize tin can certainly be tricky.

Most of the one-handed awkwardness comes from the width of the handset, which contributes to bug gripping it comfortably. Thankfully information technology'due south not as wide as the ridiculous Samsung Galaxy Note Edge, though the sheer size of the 6.0-inch display volition make it tricky to reach the corners during standard operation. It is possible to accommodate your usage to match the size of the handset, though, especially after a few weeks of solid use.

Where Huawei has managed to make the handset ergonomic, they have taken the opportunity. The ability push on the right-paw edge, which sits directly below the volume rocker, is in the perfect location for standard usage. Its metal construction has a satisfying clicky feel too, which I e'er enjoy on metal-chassis handsets. Another chemical element that I feel is in the perfect location is, possibly surprisingly, the fingerprint sensor.

Yes, the Ascend Mate 7 comes with a fingerprint sensor, located on the back panel simply beneath the camera. Having used the fingerprint sensor since the very outset day of reviewing the handset, I can tell you the location on the dorsum is much more comfortable than having it in a home button below the brandish. Having to reach below the screen on such a large device would be hugely awkward, just positioning it below the camera is a natural location for your alphabetize finger to reach in a standard grip.

The fingerprint sensor is also very responsive, thanks to the underlying static sensing technology that's very similar to the iPhone's Touch ID. Unlike the horrible sensor in the latest Galaxy products that requires y'all to swipe your finger over the abode push button, you simply need to touch your pad on the Mate vii's indented sensor to become it to register. 90-95% of the time, it will correctly register your fingerprint in nether a second, requiring no crazy finger positioning or movements.

Having this sensor work swiftly and accurately, also as it existence able to power on the display and unlock the handset in the 1 tap, makes information technology actually useful. As information technology's past far the quickest method of securing your smartphone, setting up and using the fingerprint sensor on the Mate 7 is easy to recommend.

There'south zippo besides unusual virtually the rest of the Mate 7'southward design. The master speaker for the handset is on the bottom of the back panel, which is of boilerplate quality. These days I'd like to run into primary speakers on the front of handsets, similar to HTC's BoomSound, though design constraints such as the small bezels on the Arise Mate may accept prevented this from happening. The back besides sees a slightly raised camera module, with a minor metal rim that prevents the lens from getting damaged.

With on-screen navigation buttons, there's not a whole lot to see on the forepart of the Mate 7 aside from the display. Above it you'll find the sensor assortment, forepart facing photographic camera, in-call speaker and a subconscious notification LED which I always love to see.

Due to the aluminium construction of the Mate vii, there is no removable back comprehend or replaceable battery. Instead, both the microSD card slot and micro-SIM slot are accessible through trays on the left border, which are reasonably well subconscious.