The ups and downs of Huawei smartphones (pictures)
A look at the strengths and weaknesses of recent Huawei-made handsets.
Jessica Dolcourt
Jessica is a passionate content strategist and team leader across the CNET family of brands. She leads a number of teams, including commerce, performance optimization and the copy desk. Her CNET career began in 2006, testing desktop and mobile software for Download.com and CNET, including the first iPhone and Android apps and operating systems. She continued to review, report on and write a wide range of commentary and analysis on all things phones, with an emphasis on the iPhone and Samsung devices. Jessica was one of the first people in the world to test, review and report on foldable phones and 5G wireless speeds.
Jessica began her leadership role managing CNET's How To section for tips and FAQs in 2019, guiding coverage of topics ranging from personal finance to phones to home. She holds an MA with Distinction from the University of Warwick in the UK.
Huawei isn't a household name in the U.S., and one reason is that not all its phones for U.S. carriers carry its name. The T-Mobile MyTouch and T-Mobile MyTouch Q are both fairly basic white-label Android solutions for T-Mobile, and confusingly come just months after T-Mobile released devices of the same by LG.
Release date: August 8, 2012
2 of 9Josh Miller/CNET
Huawei Activa 4G (Metro PCS)
Huawei's first LTE phone for the U.S. market, the Activa 4G, was a big win for Huawei. Specifications are on the higher end, and include a decent 5-megapixel camera. However, battery life is short, the handset is heavy, and there's no Android 4.0 upgrade in sight.
Release date: June 8, 2012
3 of 9Josh Miller/CNET
Huawei Ascend P1 (unlocked)
One of Huawei's higher-end smartphones in any market, the Huawei Ascend P1 features a sharp design, Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, and a 1.5GHz dual-core processor. Unfortunately, call quality and the 8-megapixel camera were weak spots, with or without the shooter's full HD video support.
Release date: April 19, 2012 (China)
4 of 9Huawei
Huawei Ascend D Quad (Unlocked)
Huawei wasn't shy about proclaiming the Huawei Ascend D Quad the "world's fastest smartphone," but having a quad-core processor doesn't make the statement true. It isn't as flashy-looking as the Ascend P1, but the 4.5-inch 720p HD screen and 8-megapixel rear camera at least sound high-end. The D Quad isn't headed to the U.S.
Announced: February 26, 2012
5 of 9Josh Miller/CNET
Huawei Ascend II (U.S. Cellular)
The more attractive and more modern Huawei Ascend II upgrade came with Android 2.3 Gingerbread, but also with a mediocre 5-megapixel camera and a slow 600MHz single-core processor.
Release date: January 6, 2012
6 of 9Josh Miller/CNET
Huawei U8860 Honor (Unlocked)
Another of Huawei's flagship phones to skip the U.S., the Huawei U8860 Honor impressed with its splashy design and variation on the Android interface, but handed down harsh call quality and an 8-megapixel camera that underdelivered.
Review date: December 21, 2011
7 of 9James Martin/CNET
Huawei Mercury (Cricket Wireless)
Cricket's Muve Music experience helped boost the Huawei Mercury to become one of the no-contract carrier's most intriguing options, but slow data speeds and stunted battery life held it back.
Release date: December 20, 2011
8 of 9James Martin/CNET
Huawei Pinnacle (Metro PCS)
A BlackBerry lookalike, the Huawei Pinnacle messaging phone has an easy-to-use interface, but a rather stiff keyboard. Call quality, processing power, and video-recording skill left much to be desired.
Release date: October 12, 2011
9 of 9Josh MIller/CNET
Huawei Impulse 4G (AT&T)
The attractive Huawei Impulse 4G was behind the times with Android 2.3 Gingerbread, but reached out to budget-seeking AT&T customers with its 720p HD video capture, a 5-megapixel camera, and HSPA+ support. Almost a year later, we're still waiting for an AT&T sequel.
