​Huawei P10 Plus phone: Full, in-depth review

Battery Life

The P10 Plus comes with a generous 3,750mAh battery. While this is large in the market the phone still only lasts one day. Despite all of Huawei’s promoted optimisations, like the Mate 9, we’d expect to see better performance here. Even when we weren’t punishing the phone with its complicated photo processing, it would be low in the evening.

Other features

The P10 Plus isn’t waterproof but it is splash-proof. While this can’t compete with the fully-certified Samsung Galaxy S8 it’s better than nothing. Tales of phones dying due to a single drop of rain aren’t uncommon.

The phone also comes with a cheap, plastic case. It doesn't look great but it's thin and doesn't make the phone too bulky. More importantly it should protect against some drops and scratches.

Conclusion

For regions where the Huawei Mate 9 Plus isn’t on sale, the $1,099 Huawei P10 Plus is the company’s flagship. We haven’t seen the former but the regular Mate 9 is considerably more bulky than this, costs $100 less and has a lower-resolution, Full HD screen (which is 0.4-inches larger). If we had to choose, we’d go for this though. The camera system feels like it’s more-evolved and the screen is noticeably better. Battery life is about the same but overall it feels more refined than the Mate 9.

As for whether it’s the best phone to buy all-round? That depends... The Samsung Galaxy S8 is still brilliant with its superior low-light camera and waterproofing, but it’s not without basic usability foibles. It also costs $100 more. We'd put them neck and neck with the choice coming down to what's more important to you.