The Huawei Ascend Mate has been getting a lot of attention on the internet as well as television, thanks to the specs sheet it carries. The phablet comes with a quad core processor from Huawei and 2GB of RAM, and has been stacked up against a variety of phablets including the Samsung Galaxy Mega 5.8. This post will be concentrating on the competition between these two devices, i.e., the Huawei Ascend Mate and the Samsung Galaxy Mega 5.8.
Display And Processor
The Ascend Mate features a large 6.1 inch display, whereas the Mega 5.8, as the name suggests, features a smaller 5.8 inch display. Given the overall size of these devices, there won’t be much of a difference in the ‘feel’ of holding either of the two devices in your hand. Coming to the display resolution, the Ascend Mate’s 6.1 inch panel packs an HD resolution of 1280×720 pixels, which should be quite average if you come from a 2012 smartphone. The Mega 5.8, on the other hand, features a qHD display of 960×540 pixels. At this resolution, you’ll probably find yourself asking for more.
On the processor front, the Ascend Mate is quite a bit ahead of the Mega 5.8, since it features a quad-core HiSilicon K3V2 processor from Huawei, with all the cores clocked at a max. frequency of 1.5GHz. The Mega 5.8 comes with a much less potent 1.4GHz dual-core processor, and the Huawei should easily be the better of the two, by quite a distance.
Camera And Memory
Both devices feature the same (in terms of resolution) 8MP rear camera. Both these cameras feature a flurry of features like face detection, geo-tagging, etc. However, the Huawei Ascend Mate again wins the competition thanks to HDR, a feature lacking in the Mega 5.8. There is nothing much which brings the cameras apart from this.
Both the devices come with 8GB of internal storage which can be expanded. However, the Ascend Mate’s storage can be expanded only up to 32GB whereas the Mega 5.8 can take up to 64GB.
Key Specs
| Model | Samsung Galaxy Mega 5.8 | Huawei Ascend Mate |
| Display | 5.8 inches qHD | 6.1 inch 720p HD |
| Processor | 1.4GHz dual core | 1.5GHz quad core |
| RAM, ROM | 1.5GB RAM, | 2GB RAM, 8GB ROM expandable up to 32GB |
| Cameras | 8MP rear, 1.9MP front | 8MP rear, 1MP front |
| OS | Android 4.2 Jelly Bean | Android 4.1 Jelly Bean |
| Battery | 2600mAh | 4050mAH |
| Price | 25,100 INR | 24,990 INR |
Battery And Features
Another front where the Ascend Mate takes authority over the Mega, with the huge 4050mAh battery which promises 2 days of usage. The Mega on the other hand packs a much smaller 2600mAh unit, which should manage only about one day of usage.
Even if the Ascend Mate falls a little short of it’s promise of a 2 day runtime, it will still be worth it given the standards of smartphones of today. The Mate should probably be the most long lasting phone (in terms of battery runtime before a charge) of this year, and if you can manage to live with the massive screen, you should definitely give this beast a go.
Conclusion
As is quite obvious, the Ascend Mate wins the battle against the Mega 5.8 hands-down. Given the much better specifications (don’t forget the massive battery) and the lower price tag, it makes the competition pretty much a no-brainer. It does seem like Huawei are trying to make an impression on Indian buyers, and why should they not. Moving from dongles and low cost phones to a premium phablet, their efforts do seem worthwhile.
