Huawei unveils P8 in SA

Huawei unveiled its new flagship phone, the P8, in Johannesburg this week, with the aim of setting a new bar on features like usability and battery life.

Huawei this week introduced its latest flagship phone, the P8, to South Africa, at a launch event in Johannesburg. It is the latest stop in a worldwide tour that has included stops in Bangkok, Singapore, New York and London, with newly appointed GM of Huawei Consumer Business Group SA, Charlene Munilall, unveiling a smartphone that, she says, “flawlessly balances artistry and creativity”.

“The goal of the Huawei P8 is to become the most user-friendly smart phone for consumers globally,” she said. “Huawei seamlessly combines the best elements of style and durability in this device, delivering a revolutionary and premium user experience. The device symbolises our continuous commitment to provide customers with access to premium quality products.”

According to Huawei, the P8 embodies classic yet inspiring design, class-leading technology and ease of use. It is aimed at the fashion-conscious, visually stimulated modern user. It will be available in South African stores and through all network operators from the second week of July.

“The P8’s outward appeal lies in its sleek, classical design that reflects its users’ sense of style and appreciation of performance and usability,” according to a Huawei statement. “Combining elegance, craftsmanship and durability, the P8 is manufactured using the latest Nano-injection moldings technology to deliver a one-piece aluminum body. The sleek design combines comfort and ease of use.”

The beveled body measures only 6,4mm in thickness, and weighs only 144g. It is available in silver, gold, black and grey.The P8 carries a 5.2’’ full HD display with a 1080p resolution.

Huawei provided the following additional detail:

These physical attributes that perfectly blend human-machine design are enhanced by clarity of thought and ease of use in the user interface that delivers a new level of usability for applications impacting everyday life – at work and at play.

This is by virtue of Huawei’s Emotion UI 3.0 (EMUI) user interface that redefines the user experience. Built on top of the Android 5.0 Lollipop operating system, EMUI offers what can only be called a containerized solution: it’s a look, feel and set of features unique to Huawei.

Android Lollipop 5.0 on the P8 features a bold design that is responsive and allows for quick ways to view and respond to messages directly from the locked screen. It comes with automatic encryption to help protect data on the device if it is lost or stolen. The inclusion of SELinux running on all applications allows for protection against vulnerability and malware. Another great feature that comes part of the Operating System is when the screen is off, simply utter the words “OK Google” to access the full Google offering.

This attention to usability detail is taken a few steps further with the ability to increase the volume by up to 58 percent above normal level in noisy environments, as well as the ability to cut out 90 percent of wind noise when using a headset or earphones with a single mic.

Add to this the super hands-free functionality that enables clear hands-free speaker calls within two meters, and the built-in independent audio decoder chipset that doubles the music volume without sacrificing audio quality.

All these features and functionality are powered by Kirin 930 Octa-Core 64-bit chipset, delivering outstanding performance that outpaces the smart phone market by 20 percent. The 2680mAh battery has been optimized through extensive research and development in the Huawei laboratories and offers 24 hours of standby power when only 10 percent battery power remains.

This has been achieved by also applying Huawei’s unique battery management technology that includes features such as balancing brightness and energy consumption that provides 20 percent higher efficiency than comparative phones.

The P8 is available with either 16GB or 64GB on-board memory, which can be supplemented with a micro SD card up to 128GB that fits into the dual SIM slot that alternatively accepts a second SIM card.

The Huawei P8 is optimized for 4G/LTE data connections as well as enhanced network roaming – which is performed nearly three times faster than competitor phone models.

By the same token, voice quality has been given a boost with Huawei’s Signal+ technology that provides seamless network connectivity, even when users are travelling on a train at a speed of up to 300 kilometers per hour.