The Huawei P8 Review
by Andrei Frumusanu on June 4, 2015 8:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- Huawei
- Mobile
- P8
- Kirin 930
GPU Performance
On the GPU side, HiSilicon continues to rely on what is by now a quite old IP in the form of the ARM Mali T628. This is the same MP4 GPU configuration found in the Hi3630 (Krins 920's) of last year, and saw little change other than a small 80MHz boost in clocks to 680MHz. The Honor 6 and Mate 7 already disappointed in GPU performance, and we're not expecting the P8 to have any large gains over those predecessors.
We start off with 3DMark 1.2 Unlimited, which has both a graphics heavy test as well as a combined GPU and CPU heavy test.
The P8 performs as expected, as it struggles to keep up with the competition. Interestingly, it performs worse than the Kirin 920 even though it's clocked higher than its counter-part, pointing out that the weaker CPU actually might be limiting the graphics performance.
GFXBench is a more CPU-light benchmark and we see the P8 correctly outperform the Honor 6 & Mate 7 as one would expect it to. Again, we see very bad performance for a 2015 flagship as the P8 still can't match up to devices released 18 months ago.
BaseMark X paints a similar picture as GFXBench. There's not much we can say to make the scores seem better for the P8, as the GPU remains very underwhelming.
GPU Power
While I mentioned in the introduction that I wasn't able to properly dismantle the P8 without damaging it, I did try to get some numbers through the internal fuel-gauge. While these numbers are definitely not as precise as measuring directly on the hardware and should be taken with a grain of salt, they nevertheless give us a good reference point and estimate on how the SoC fares.
The P8 seems to consume around 3.7W of load power in the T-Rex Offscreen test. As a reminder, under the load power metric we understand the resulting difference of the total power of the device subtracted by the average power the device consumes in its idle state. This is done to be able to compensate for the various screen sizes and their efficiency, and to cancel out power other eventual passive platform components.
3.7W is still sadly too high from what a smartphone SoC should be allowed to dissipate in normal conditions and will lead to unavoidable thermal throttling as we see in the battery rundown log:
The P8 doesn't even manage to keep its top frequency for more than a single run, and after 7 minutes it settles down and between 50% and 40% of maximum frequency. The end performance degradation value comes in at 8.71fps, a result ironically beat only by last year's Ascend P7's and the Kirin 910T.
| T-Rex Offscreen Power Efficiency (Load Power) | ||||||
| Mfc. Process |
FPS | Avg. Power | Perf/W | |||
| Exynos 7420 (S6) | 14LPE | 56.3 | 4.82W | 11.63 fps/W | ||
| MT6595 (MX4) | 28HPM | 23.3 | 2.42W | 9.55 fps/W | ||
| Exynos 5430 (MX4Pro) | 20LPE | 28.7 | 3.55W | 8.08 fps/W | ||
| Exynos 5433 (Note 4) | 20LPE | 37.3 | 5.35W | 6.97 fps/W | ||
| Exynos 5430 (Alpha) | 20LPE | 31.3 | 4.88W | 6.41 fps/W | ||
| Kirin 930 (P8 Estimated) | 28HPM | 17.0 | 3.69W | 4.60 fps/W | ||
When looking at SoC power efficiency under 3D load that we've tested over the last few months we see that the Kirin 930 ends up in quite a dire situation as it gets beat by all other SoCs we currently have data on.
HiSilicon needs to invest in more silicon area and adopt higher GPU core numbers to be able to run at lower frequencies and lower voltages if it wants to stay competitive in graphics performance. It's weird to see the stark contrast of HiSilicon's current 28nm 4-core silicon versus Samsung's 14nm 8-core in the Galaxy S6, with both devices coming out in the same time-frame and both of them essentially employing the same GPU IP family.
It will be interesting to see how Huawei can take advantage of the next generation manufacturing processes as future Kirin SoCs are expected to be made in TSMC's 16nm FinFET node.
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hrrmph - Thursday, June 4, 2015 - link
It's probably more useful than an iPhone for people who travel a lot and occasionally go off the grid, and thus need the device to still work as a GPS, camera, miniature computer, etc, while drawing all data from fast, convenient local storage...- It has a MicroSDXC slot, so it can take the new 200GB MicroSD storage cards; and
- It has dual SIMS.
Unfortunately, it lacks a user removable battery, so it is still inferior in that regard to each of the phones and phablets that I already have. But, in general, I like what they are doing.
Something that other nationals can tend to forget is that China has a lot of wealthy people (far more than the US or possibly even Europe). Even though these elite Chinese are wealthy, many of them are shrewd spenders. They want value for their high-end spend. So there is a lot of pressure on Chinese vendors to produce high-end devices that include every possible feature.
So just like Japanese enthusiasts used to get certain stereos and cameras that America only dreamed of, the Chinese are demanding that the manufacturers provide more fully functional high-end phones that can do everything... including the things that the iPhone cannot do.
That said, the iPhone is making headway in China too...
... but just like in the US, it's for all the wrong reasons. Namely, it's a jewelry piece that holds sway as a status symbol amongst the more vacuous of minds. Owning one supposedly elevates your perceived social status - much in the way that owning a ludicrously expensive sports car or ultra-luxury car does the same (think Rolls-Royce, Bentley, etc.).
Sociologists and psychologists have hypothesized that such objects are attractive to both the buyers who display them publicly and to those who view them, particularly the opposite sex.
People who buy these objects are subliminally advertising to potential mates that they have excess money that (under the proper circumstances) can in the future be re-directed to caring and tending for children and non-working spouses.
The attraction effect is generally stronger if the object is purchased and displayed by a male, because many societies still expect the male to bear the larger burden of providing financial resources. This is especially the case while the female is pregnant and in the early years of caring for children that aren't yet school aged.
The larger the excess spend over the practical value, the higher the perception of excess earning capacity. That's why we sometimes see phones sold with precious jewels encrusting them. Apple is just doing the same thing on a lower level... right out of the box. Charging more than the inherent underlying value.
So it's rather refreshing to see the Chinese manufacturers taking a different approach.
And it is especially refreshing to see the Chinese doing this in light of the fact that Samsung vacated the market as an Apple competitor and have now lowered themselves to merely matching Apple's product features. Without the Chinese, the Apple-Samsung twins (newly conjoined) don't really have any competition. The Chinese upping their game changes things.
Of course Apple can play this game too if they want. They simply need to offer more than 264GB of storage. The P8's 64GB of onboard NAND storage combined with the new SanDisk 200GB Micro-SDXC storage card will now set a very high bar that Apple needs to try to hurdle over (if Apple wants to be taken seriously with regard to storage).
I'm thinking that if Apple offers its next phone with 512GB of storage then that would safely secure the storage crown for them (remember, Samsung used to regularly double Apple's storage by simply adding a Micro-SD slot, but Samsung has now given up on competing).
Then Apple would need to add Dual-SIM slots to improve connectivity and travelability. It may come as a surprise to the uninformed that the newly wealthy Chinese (like many other nationals) are joining the tourist-corps. They are world travelers and they want their phones to work anywhere that they are likely to travel. Having Dual-SIMs makes it both convenient and affordable (roaming data charges are still the bane of the planet, even for wealthy Chinese).
I would also argue that to be better than what I've personally already got (and most Chinese, other Asians, Middle-Easterners, Africans, and Europeans already have), Apple would need to offer user removable back covers and batteries. Nothing says "I can handle a thirty hour multiple segment, multi-modal (air, sea, and land) journey" than a couple of lightweight fully-charged spare batteries. No awkward cables... just plop in and play on like nobody's watching.
So the Chinese phones are Apple clones? Nahh, this is just the Chinese practicing for the end-game. They want to do what Samsung used to regularly do to Apple: offer the consumer more for less... and the Chinese have just proven that they can win the storage crown. So who is to say they won't eventually win the various other races to provide the best-of-the-best on the other features? All it requires is Apple-Sung to remain lazy… which is something they have lately proven to be very adept at.
pityko - Thursday, June 4, 2015 - link
I signed up just to be able to thank you for this comment. You brilliantly summarised everything that's wrong with the current "leaders" of the mobile phone industry. I've been a Samsung user for years after being disappointed by the iPhone 3G then HTC in general but now when my contract expires for my Note 3 I am leaving for a Chinese brand, I want to support a company that hasn't given up trying.pgari - Thursday, June 4, 2015 - link
Always surprises me how people in these blogs write about what Apple "should do", but for what? To be even more successful? What are their credentials?Of course, anyone can say what they like or dislike. But the implicit assumption in most of these comments is "I know better", which is, at the least, presumptuous
Rod_Serling_Lives - Friday, June 5, 2015 - link
Well said. Apple already dominates with only a handful of devices and I don't know if they could be in a better position than they are currently.nathanddrews - Friday, June 5, 2015 - link
Personally, I don't like anything about Apple except the build quality of most of its products and its stock price. Cha-ching! I don't buy Apple products or use Apple software, but I'm happy the corporation is so successful. Deep down inside, I find myself horribly judging and mocking consumers of Apple products, but then I just have to remind myself not to feel bad about it. They're already dead inside.;-)
Brakken - Friday, June 5, 2015 - link
I think it's Tall Poppy syndrome... even ignoring everything else Apple has pioneered over the years and just looking at the Apple Watch - first gen of hardware and software, and it's amazingly smooth and will have years of support and development. With the hardware makers for Android, they are all dropping support for SD cards and removable batteries, except LG (?), but no one seems to talk about it when it happens. I think people start making 'I know better' statements because they don't check history.MarcSP - Saturday, June 6, 2015 - link
I agree with many of the things you said, but your theory about iphone as a status symbol is incomplete. I mean, according to what you said it seems that most buyers should be single men, and I have seen as many women as men with iPhone in Shanghai (maybe more, as female tend to follow fashion very strongly, and most cannot choose a phone based on "tech" or "features").Also, many married couples and middle aged and old persons use iPhone. Even students have them.
It always strikes me, because in China iPhone's price is quite higher than the average salary in the first tier cities. Imagine if an iPhone cost 2000 USD in the US. Nobody would buy it, but in china they do.
I guess mostly because the "status symbol" thing, but not to impress potential sexual partners, just to say "hey, look, I am NOT POOR", even if you are and cannot afford a health insurance and use recycled oil for cooking. After the communist times, Chinese socity has gone to the other extreme. Now being poor is not just pityful, it is shameful. No matter how, even if you have to sell tainted milk to babies or steal from your fellow citizens with lies, you MUST become rich. Of course, most cannot, so that's why they think having a "symbol" is better than nothing. "Appearence" is king nowadays in China, not "substance". I guess they need 20 more years to find a balance. Too many changes, too fast.
Ethos Evoss - Friday, June 12, 2015 - link
jesu su writing a book ?jjj - Thursday, June 4, 2015 - link
You wish the iphone had a sane design like this instead of their roadkill look.puremind - Thursday, June 4, 2015 - link
If Apple had cloned this device, it would have been better. Instead of the huge bezels it would have had a much more usable form factor.