MANILA - Chinese electronics giant Huawei serves up its Mate 10 with forward-looking tech in a glass body that's somewhat left behind by 2017 design trends.

The LCD screen is bright and pin sharp, especially when set to QHD instead of Full HD, the default setting out of the box.

While it looks physically bigger, images displayed on the Mate 10's 6-inch 16:9 screen seem bigger compared to similarly-sized 18:9 screens because most content, which come in 16:9, are not cropped.

The super-reflective back is a fingerprint magnet but the bundled case tames the sheen and gives the device a nice grip. A protective film is pre-installed on the screen, but it scratches easily.

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The device is powered by Huawei's own Kirin 970 processor with built-in artificial intelligence, meaning the AI function is done on the device instead of on the cloud.

The two standout features are the dual Leica lens on the back, this time accentuated by a stripe, and the battery, which at 4,000 mAh can last up to 2 days in our initial test.

The cameras, which combine standard and monochrome images, produce rich colors and detail. The images are bright, sometimes more so than the scene itself.

The built-in AI also means the camera recognizes plants, pets, food and buildings and adjusts the settings even before you press the shutter.

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It's pretty accurate, although when I zoomed into the lettuce leaves in my salad, it recognized it as as plant instead of food. See the leaf icon in the lower right corner of the screenshot below.

The Mate 10 is available in stores at P32,990, or half the price of the Apple iPhone X, and nearly P20,000 less than the Samsung Galaxy Note 8.

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