I'm talking about how EMUI 5.0 differs from the 'bare' one Android and what interesting features it contains.
Earlier in discussions of telephones I often met the statement that the system Android is beautiful only in its original form, it is also called 'naked'. And third-party manufacturers encroach on the sacred and disfigure potentially good phones with their shells, so much so that they can not be used. In part, such claims were justified, the same TouchWiz took up a lot of memory space and, often, negatively affected the overall performance of the device.
Now there is a tendency that companies are trying to intervene less in Android. I don’t know what it’s connected with, whether they have listened to consumer reviews or whether the system from Google no longer requires major changes. This is what Sony and HTC did, for example. Their latest smartphones differ from the canon one Android with minor 'cosmetic' interface changes and additional applications.
HTC Sense and Sony shell
Even Samsung ditched TouchWiz and switched to the new Grace UX shell, in which they showed less enthusiasm, but there are still many differences from the 'naked' Android. However, some companies continue to 'bend their line' and release phones with shells that have nothing to do with the classic Android. Xiaomi, Meizu, Huawei and many others – they change everything beyond recognition. Good or bad – everyone will decide for himself, but the devices of these companies are present in our market and cannot be avoided.
More and more often I notice that little attention is paid to the description of the shells in smartphone reviews. There are many devices, it is difficult to talk about it in every text and, as it seems to me, boring. I think the operating system is important, through it the user interacts with the device and, often, the overall impression of the smartphone depends on it. If the system is inconvenient, constantly freezes and requires modification with a 'file', then no beautiful case and cool characteristics will help. Therefore, I want to talk about the new version of the EMUI shell from Huawei, as their devices are actively gaining popularity in the world, including in Russia – 3rd place in sales in November 2016 (8.6% of the market) .
Launcher
The standard launcher has two so-called 'styles' – normal and application screen. In the first mode, all applications are located on the main desktops, as in iOS. In the second, only frequently used programs and widgets are located on the desktops, and the list of all applications is launched by a separate button. This is an excellent solution for those who are used to one or another interface. Swipe down to open a search bar on the contents of the smartphone or on the Internet.
The launcher itself does not stand out in anything, moderately simple and fast. No frills. There are several page scrolling animations, the desktop grid is configured (4×5, 5×4 and 5×5), the display of the notification counter in the corner of the application icons is supported (configurable).
If you don't like the standard icons and the interface in general, you can install a third-party theme from a special store. It doesn't matter to me, but not everyone likes the look of the EMUI shell.
Multitasking
EMUI 5.0 is closer to the original Android than the previous version, but still far from it. Changed multitasking, now applications are displayed from a carousel of cards scrolling vertically. The application can be closed by swiping in any direction or by clicking on the cross in the corner of the card. There is also a separate button to close all running programs at once, next to it the amount of free RAM is displayed. Useful for those who are worried about this. I think the app cards are too big.
With the update to Android 7.0, multi-window mode appeared. It is launched by long pressing the on-screen multitasking button ('square'). Using the slider, you can resize and swap windows. Perhaps someone will find a use for this, but I never succeeded. Unless you can simultaneously watch videos and reply to messages in the messenger, for example.
Notifications
In EMUI 5.0, the notification curtain was made more similar to that in Android 7.0. Upon opening the curtain, a tab of 5 quick icons for switching functions drops out, a brightness control and below a notification. A second drag down opens the entire list of quick settings. By the way, they can be interchanged. We added the function of quick replies directly from the notification curtain, the function is excellent and works in all instant messengers. However, I noticed that when you quickly respond to a message on Vkontakte, pressing send opens the application itself, with others there is no such problem.
Lock screen
Considering that in smartphones Huawei the fingerprint scanner reacts to touch when the display is off, you will rarely see the lock screen. And there is nothing interesting here, everything is familiar. The last notification is displayed in the middle of the screen, you can unlock the phone by swiping in any direction or by double-clicking on the notification. The camera is launched by dragging the icon in the lower right corner. The time and date are displayed at the bottom right.
Camera interface
The camera has a convenient exposure control: a small sun icon appears next to the focusing point using the spot focus, and by dragging up or down you can adjust the brightness of the picture. I didn't like the lack of an HDR button on the home screen. But there you can turn on the wide aperture simulation mode, which uses the second camera in smartphones Huawei.
Additional shooting modes are available in the left tab, opened with a swipe. It includes panorama, HDR, slow motion video, various decorations and a pro-shooting mode. Here you can choose the metering area, ISO, exposure time, autofocus mode, and white balance (presets or specify in kelvin), there is also a pro-mode for video. The right tab contains application settings.
The camera has a great feature – a quick snapshot by double pressing the volume down key when the screen is off. A photo can be taken in less than a second.
Additional functions
EMUI has been endowed with many small useful features. This is one of the few shells that has a built-in program for recording video from the screen. Recording is started by long pressing the volume up and lock button. However, the video is saved only in low resolution – 768×432 pixels. At least I haven't found where to set this up.
The shell allows you to create a second copy of the WhatsApp application and Facebook to use two accounts at once. In EMUI, I saw for the first time that such a function was built into the system.
There is a 'Do not disturb' mode, which turns off all notifications, you can leave calls and messages from priority contacts, as well as an alarm clock. You can configure automatic activation of the mode according to a schedule or events in the calendar.
I would like to pay special attention to setting up the button on the back of the smartphone, which has a built-in fingerprint scanner. Huawei called it a 'smart button'. It can be configured with three single-tap, double-tap, or tap-and-hold actions. I have a camera launch, a flashlight and a screenshot assigned so.
By the way, about screenshots. In EMUI, out of the box, you can take long screenshots of web pages and applications, where you can scroll through the list. Rarely, but sometimes it helps.
The system has flexible work with power consumption. There are two power saving modes. Sparing. where the transfer of data and the work of applications in the background is limited, animations are turned off and the brightness of the screen is reduced, and the second is aggressive, in which only 6 selected applications will work. You can also save energy by programmatically lowering the display resolution. I did not check the functionality of the function, but I did not see any visual changes in the image.
You can change the location of the virtual keys in the navigation bar. An additional button is added to open the notification shade. A swipe along the panel turns on the screen display mode in a small window. It will help if you can't reach the top with one hand.
There is an eye protection mode, the so-called night mode – the screen temperature becomes warmer. This reduces stress on the eyes and the central nervous system, and it is just more pleasant to look at the phone in the dark. You can set the schedule and the mode will turn on automatically at night. Useful for those who like to play with the phone.
Outcome
Overall, I was pleased with the EMUI 5.0 update. In the new version of the system, minor flaws were fixed. For example, before there was no schedule for the eye protection mode, it had to be turned on manually. There are more significant changes, the notification curtain was reworked, before the buttons for quick functions were in a separate tab and to access them you had to make an additional gesture. There are so many useless built-in applications in the system (I would, for example, remove the mirror, flashlight and phone manager), the shell is not overloaded and works smartly. Standard applications, dialer, contacts, clock, etc., are well done and do not cause any complaints.
EMUI 5.0 is very 'friendly' for new users. There are many nice little things, like long screenshots or quick capture by double pressing the volume down button. Unless someone may not like the look of the shell from Huawei, but this is already 'taste and color'.
Thank you for attention.