Design that set you back $450 last year makes it to a lower-end device
Alongside the MediaPad X1 and TalkBand B1, a less-flashy device, the Ascend G6, was announced to round out Huawei’s mid-range effort. If you’re familiar with the Ascend P6 from last year you’ll know the design here — but the G6 trades specs in some places and in return adds a much-wanted LTE radio. You’re getting the same plastic front and metal back with some nice accents and visual features like a 7.85mm thickness, as well as interesting color choices (our white balance isn’t bad, that phone is actually pink).
The Ascend G6 steps down the screen most notably, going to a 4.5-inch 540 x 960 (qHD) display from 720 x 1280 in the P6. It keeps the same camera setup and 2000mAh battery though, but that could be considered a downgrade considering the Ascend G6 is being released several months later. The Ascend G6 benefits from the same software tweaks and improvements that we see on the MediaPad X1 — including a few UI tweaks and new camera software features.
All small quibbles about the specs aside, the G6 is coming in at a suggested retail price, available in April, of €249 unlocked — that’s a great price for a phone that brings solid specs and a metal frame (you’re usually getting all plastic around that price point). We weren’t completely happy with the performance of the P6 last year, but that phone also cost about $450 unlocked — things are a bit different at this low of a price. We have to applaud Huawei for bringing a phone to the market with solid styling for a lower price, let’s just hope that the complete package lives up to expectations as well.