This month we take a look at the Huawei P Smart phone, a device which combines low specs with good design. We are also on the cusp of another Samsung flagship launch, see that the Rumour Mill is saying about the new Galaxy S9 below.
Huawei P Smart
Huawei is taken a slightly different direction with the P Smart range. They are similar to phone the manufacturer has launched six months ago but with an elongated screen and an aluminium back. It’s isn’t high spec, but it’s not trying to be the best… Huawei are trying to be the best in a particular section of the market, namely the low to mid-range.
The screen has an 18:9 aspect ratio which is increasingly becoming more popular as it leaves less blank border around the display and effectively gives users a slightly better experience. The 5.65-inch screen is an IPS LCD panel with a resolution of 1080 x 2160. Under the bonnet you will find an octa-core chipset which does its job, just don’t expect it to cope well if you are a heavy gamer or like doing in-depth video editing. The GPU is probably the weakest link in the phone, it uses the Mali-T830 chip which is less powerful on paper than some of its closest rivals.
The battery is a healthy 3,000 mAh which blasts through the one day barrier without any trouble but won’t you to the end of a second day. The P Smart is running Android 8.0 with Huawei's EMUI version 8.0 over the top. Huawei’s interface is actually very good, doesn’t contain any bloatware and as a result is pretty speedy. However, if you don’t like the setup there are options to change it to a more traditional Android look.
This phone is aimed at those people who are on a budget but want something that looks at little more pleasing than the competition. However, Huawei has managed to make this phone cheap but cutting several, albeit small, corners. The price? Currently Vodafone have an exclusive on the model and are starting contracts from £17/ month.
The Rumour Mill
Samsung Galaxy S9
Since its woes just a few years ago with the exploding Galaxy Note Samsung has been upping its game considerably. The S8 model released last year was a big hit and has got the industry excited as to how Samsung are going to top it. The launch of the S9 will be at the Mobile World Congress at the end of February and the rumours circulating point to an iterative update rather than a complete overhaul.
So what can we expect from the S9?
- New camera abilities
- Better Sound
- Cheaper than expected
- An in-screen scanner
- Water repellent coating
- QHD+ Super AMOLED Screen
Samsung has teased the press with the tag line of its launch event “The Camera. Reimagined”. We expect this to mean variable aperture, super slow motion video and the possibility of the world's first phone with HDR video capture.
There is the possibility of AKG stereo speakers and a free set of Bluetooth AKG headphones. Both of those things have now also been listed on an image seemingly showing the phone's box.
After the iPhone X launched with a £1000 price tag in was inevitable a price hike was in order for the rest of the market. However, rumours suggest that we will see the same launch price as the S8. That’s £689!
Rumors of an in-screen fingerprint scanner are circulating. This would be similar to the new Qualcomm Fingerprint Sensor which can sit below thick displays.
In late 2016 Samsung licensed a new glass coating technology that makes water bounce off your smartphone screen. We expect that to be included finally in the S9 model.
An image seemingly showing the Galaxy S9's retail box has been leaked online, it shows a 5.8-inch QHD+ Super AMOLED screen.
What not to expect...
- A foldable screen
Rumours of a Galaxy X, a phone with a foldable display, have been building for a few years now. However, news coming out of the Samsung camp suggest this won’t happen until 2019 at least!