Huawei isn’t exactly the biggest name in mobile at the moment. Despite some great handsets available already, the company hasn’t managed to get a foothold quite as big as the leaders in the industry. If one wants to be a leader, though, one has to make a strong case for oneself. The Ascend D2, Huawei’s latest flagship phone offering, looks like it’ll do a good job of making that case. A sizable screen, impressive in-house built processor, and a 13 megapixel camera make it look like a sure-fire contender with the other top dogs. We wanted to see how exactly it would stack up in a tale of the tape with others in its weight class, so we lined it up against the Samsung Galaxy S3 and HTC’s Droid DNA to see who would come out on top.
For more information on all these phones, check out the Ascend D2 announcement and our review of the Galaxy S3 and Droid DNA.
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Ascend D2
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Galaxy S3  |
Droid DNA  |
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| Size | 140 x 71 x 9.4 (mm) | 136.6 x 70.6 x 8.6 (mm) | 140.9 x 70.6 x 9.7 (mm) |
| Weight | 170g | 133g | 140g |
| Screen | 5.0-inch LCD | 4.8-inch Super AMOLED | 5-inch Super LCD 3 |
| Resolution | 1920 x 1080 pixels | 1280×720 pixels | 1920×1080 pixels |
| OS | Android 4.1 | Android 4.0 with TouchWiz UI | Android 4.1 with HTC Sense 4+ |
| Storage | 32GB | 16/32GB | 16GB |
| SD Card Slot | Yes | Yes | No |
| Processor | 1.5GHz quad-core K3V2 | Dual-core Snapdragon S4 (US) | 1.5GHz, quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro |
| RAM | 2GB | 2GB | 2GB |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi, 4G LTE, HSPA+ | Wi-Fi, 4G LTE, HSPA+ | Wi-Fi, 4G LTE, EV-DO Rev.A |
| Camera | Front 1.3MP, Rear 13MP | Front 1.9MP, Rear 8MP | Front 2.1MP, Rear 8MP |
| Bluetooth | Yes, version 4.0 | Yes, version 4.0 | Yes, version 4.0 |
| Battery | 3000mAh | 2100mAh | 2020mAh |
| Charger | Micro USB | Micro USB | Micro USB |
| Marketplace | Google Play Store | Google Play Store | Google Play Store |
| Price | Unknown | $200 | $200 |
| Availability | China: 1/13 North America: Unknown | AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon | Verizon |
When it comes to screens, it’s the Ascend D2 and Droid DNA that pull ahead. Both with a 5-inch display and pixel-per-inch ratio cracking the 440 mark, these phones come with quite possibly the best looking displays we’ve seen. The in-house made, quad-core processor that powers the Ascend D2 is probably the most intriguing thing in this entire match up. During its CES 2013 unveiling, Huawei made sure to show just what the processor was capable of, and it didn’t disappoint. We’d still like to get our hands on it to experience it in person. Samsung obviously has the advantage of market share which plays to its advantage with features like S Beam, the NFC sharing system that works between other Samsung devices. While much of the contest is pretty neck-and-neck, the Ascend D2 soars when it comes to the camera. The 13 megapixel rear-facing camera might be a big enough improvement over the 8 megapixel offerings on both the Galaxy S3 and the Droid DNA to win over photography buffs. While the Ascend D2 probably won’t be in stores in North America for awhile, we’ll be looking forward to getting our hands on it and seeing what it can do.
