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Chinese manufacturer Huawei claims its new [[artnid:465292|Ascend P6]] phone is the "world's slimmest smartphone". It has also equipped it with an "industry leading" 5-megapixel front-facing camera. We've been lucky enough to get a first look, so let's go hands-on!
Our Ascend P6 review unit arrived in an unbranded box. Australian packaging will obviously differ. -
There's no reference to a smartphone, until you get to the label on the bottom.
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Unboxing the [[artnid:465413|Huawei Ascend P6]].
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Huawei has put some detail into the packaging, but the absense of its logo is surprising given the company's push to market its brand.
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The Ascend P6 comes with an AC adapter, a USB to micro-USB cable and a pair of headphones with in-line microphone. Obviously Australian models will come with our local AC adapter and not the one shown in the image above.
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Huawei also bundles a case with the Ascend P6, a rarity for today's smartphones.
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The case is a simple, soft-touch silicone sleeve.
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The Ascend P6 weighs just 120g so its size and weight compares very favourably against the alternatives from more established brands like Samsung, HTC and Sony.
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The metallic body feels very well constructed and we can't fault the craftsmanship at all. It will be available in black and white colour variants in Australia.
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This is what the world's slimmest smatphone looks like. That's 6.18mm thick, if you wanted to know.
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Huawei has had to make some odd decisions in order to keep the thickness down. The micro-USB port is strangely located at the top.
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The headphone jack is on the left side of the Ascend P6, right near the bottom. It's plugged by a metal pin that conveniently opens the micro-SIM and microSD card slots on the opposite side. However, it's easily lost due to its small size.
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The right side of the Ascend P6 is certainly busy. There's micro-SIM and microSD card slots, along with a power/lock button and a volume rocker. The buttons are a little flat and do require a firm press.
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The rear-facing 8-megapixel camera has an f2.0 aperture, a 4cm macro view, and a panorama mode. It also doubles as a full HD video recorder.
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The speaker on the back is pretty well positioned, so it shouldn't be blocked regardless of which way you hold the phone.
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The front-facing camera uses a 5-megapixel sensor. Most competing smartphones use a 2-megapixel front camera.
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The 4.7in display of the Ascend P6 has a 720p resolution of 1280x720, so it won't display the same crisp text as full HD screens. However, the difference is pretty small and shouldn't detract from the overall user experience.
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The Huawei Ascend P6 runs the latest 4.2 Jelly Bean version of Google's operating system, but is skinned with Huawei's proprietary Emotion UI.
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The Emotion UI doesn't include an applications drawer, so all apps sit either on the home screens or the dock.
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We aren't a real fan of the look, take for example the boxes that third-party apps are placed in.
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[[artnid:472325|The Huawei Ascend P6 will go on sale through retailers JB Hi-Fi and Dick Smith]] for $499 from Monday, 15 July. As with most of Huawei's smartphones, it won't be sold through traditional carriers like Telstra, Optus and Vodafone.
Hands-on with the world's thinnest smartphone, Huawei's Ascend P6
21 Photos
We take a first look at the Huawei Ascend P6 Android phone