What’s the difference between the Huawei P10 Lite, Huawei P10 and Huawei P10 Plus smartphones? We take a close look at the specs, camera tech, performance and features of all three of Huawei’s new 2017 phones to see which might be best for you.
Huawei’s P10 flagship phone is a solid handset, offering innovative camera tech, blazing performance and some really sexy design work. Sadly it’s also a bit expensive, at £549 SIM-free. And if you want to upgrade to the super-powered P10 Plus, that’ll be an extra hundred quid.
But Huawei has just announced the new P10 Lite handset, which offers some strong specs at a much reduced price. Just £299 nets you this Full HD phone, boasting the latest EMUI 5.1 and Android Nougat software.
So what’s the difference between Huawei’s three new 2017 phones? Here’s our full P10 Lite vs P10 vs P10 Plus comparison review to clue you in.
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Huawei P10 Lite vs P10 vs P10 Plus: Specs at a glance
| P10 Lite | P10 | P10 Plus | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Screen size | 5.2-inches | 5.1-inches | 5.5-inches |
| Screen resolution | Full HD (1920×1080) | Full HD (1920×1080) | WQHD (2560×1440) |
| OS | Android 7.0 w/ EMUI 5.1 | Android 7.0 w/ EMUI 5.1 | Android 7.0 w/ EMUI 5.1 |
| Rear cameras | 12-megapixels | 12/20-megapixels | 12/20-megapixels |
| Front cameras | 8-megapixels | 8-megapixels | 8-megapixels |
| Processor | Kirin 658 | Kirin 960 | Kirin 960 |
| Memory | 4GB RAM | 4GB RAM | 6GB RAM |
| Storage | TBC | 64GB + microSD up to 256GB | 128GB + microSD up to 256GB |
| Battery | 3000mAh | 3200mAh | 3750mAh |
| Fingerprint sensor? | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Price | £299 | £549 | £649 |
Huawei P10 Lite vs P10 vs P10 Plus: Design and OS
The P10 is a great-looking phone, a kind of love child cross between the P9 and Apple’s iPhone 7. At 5.1-inches it’s pleasingly compact, while the larger P10 Plus demands two-handed use thanks to its larger 5.5-inch build. And while you might expect the P10 Lite to be a little smaller than the standard P10, it’s actually a 5.2-inch handset.
All three phones come with a sandblasted finish, but the P10 Lite is only launching in two colours: Midnight Black and Platinum Gold. By comparison, the P10 and P10 Plus come in a vibrant range of colours including some eye-catching new blue and green models. There’s also a choice of the ‘dazzling’ and ceramic-style finishes, which offer a fresh new look and feel.
In all three cases you also get a fast-acting and reliable fingerprint sensor, which can be used to quickly and securely unlock them. However, while the P10 and P10 Plus sport this sensor on the front of the phone, beneath the screen, the P10 Lite rehouses the scanner on the rear end. This makes for a more comfortable unlocking experience, while gesture support is once again included.
Huawei’s P10 family all boast EMUI 5.1, Huawei’s feature-packed software which sits neatly on top of Android Nougat. This offers the likes of Knuckle Mode, which can be used to enter split-screen mode, plus some clever resource management.
Read next: EMUI 5 tips and tricks to get the most from your Huawei phone
Huawei P10 Lite vs P10 vs P10 Plus: Screen and media
Both the P10 Lite and P10 sport a Full HD screen, with the P10 Lite’s 5.2-inch panel proving a tiny bit bigger than the P10’s 5.1-inch display. Either will do the job nicely for media fans, offering crisp and detailed visuals. You get the Eye Comfort mode for evening viewing too.
If you want the absolute best visuals however, the P10 Plus is the one to aim for. This 5.5-inch screen boasts a super-sharp Quad HD resolution, although vibrancy levels and the rest are pretty much on par with the smaller Huawei phones.
We’re still waiting on confirmation of the P10 Lite’s storage options here in the UK, but all three phones offer microSD expansion for boosting the on-board space.
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Huawei P10 Lite vs P10 vs P10 Plus: Performance and battery
Unsurprisingly, you get improved performance as you ascend through these Huawei P10 smartphones.
The P10 Lite offers the most basic performance in the group, with its new Kirin 658 processor. We’re yet to test out this chipset, but the 4GB of memory backing it up hopefully should make for smooth everyday performance.
Jump up to the Huawei P10 and you get Huawei’s powerful Kirin 960 chipset, first unveiled on the rather meaty Mate 9 last year. With 4GB of memory once again on board, you won’t see any stutters or pauses as you skim through Android and get busy with apps. The latest games pose no problem either.
Meanwhile the P10 Plus sports the same 960 processor, plus more RAM. With 6GB in total, we found the P10 Plus to be just as smooth as the smaller P10 and more future-proof.
You also get a larger battery as you jump from the P10 Lite to the P10 and P10 Plus, although all three sport Huawei’s quick charging tech. We’re yet to test the P10 Lite’s battery life, but the P10 offers just about a full day of heavy use between charges. The P10 Plus fares a bit better, giving close to 36 hours of play time per charge.
Huawei P10 Lite vs P10 vs P10 Plus: Cameras
The P10 boasts Huawei’s dual-lens Leica 2 camera, which can capture impressively detailed shots in most conditions. We’re particularly big fans of the sexy bokeh in the Wide Aperture Mode, which helps your subject to stand out. That’s made possible thanks to the dual lenses, which focus on a chosen point while blurring out the background.
The P10 Plus also goes for two lenses, one monochrome and one colour as on the P10. However, this upgraded wide-aperture shooter is more capable in low light, while still producing stunning snaps under normal conditions.
Both of these phones can shoot up to 4K resolution video, with efficient compression to keep the footage from taking up too much space on your handset. You also get a strong range of bonus features, such as the Portrait Mode to help your subject to stand out.
The P10 Lite sports a single 12-megapixel rear lens, with a large 1.25μm single pixel sensor. This should hopefully make for strong low light performance, although we’ll need to test this out to be sure.
Check out our in-depth Huawei P10 camera review and Huawei P10 Plus camera review for samples and detailed analysis. Stay tuned for our full Huawei P10 Lite camera review.
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