Here is my official review of the Huawei Y7 2019 smartphone. Check this out to see if this device is right for you. Read more here.
In addition to the Huawei Y7p (read review here), Huawei Philippines also launched the Huawei Y7 which is much cheaper in terms of specs and price. This device is still the same Huawei Y7 2019 that was released in some other markets last year, but the one we are getting here is much better in terms of RAM and internal ROM - 4GB RAM and 64GB onboard storage, for only Php6,990. And yes this phone has been available in the Philippines since last month.
I also did an unboxing and initial hands-on review post of this device, and if
you would like to read and see it as well, you can head to
this link here. The Huawei Y7 2019 is an entry level smartphone from Huawei which is
targeted at younger smartphone consumers with limited budget. The device
offers more than just spacious RAM and large internal storage, it's got
beautiful design and build too for its price tag as well as large 6.26-inch
HD+ display resolution, and a traditional fingerprint scanner located on the
back that has quite fast response time.
Okay so here is my review of the Huawei Y7 2019 after using it for a couple of weeks.
The front panel, on the other hand, is of course made of glass material. But Huawei did not mention if if has Corning Gorilla Glass on it for protection against scratches. Though I am happy to report that the screen comes pre-installed with a typical screen protector like many other smartphones out there. Additionally, this side of the phone sports a waterdrop notch situated right in the upper center of the panel. It's quite big and easily noticed compared with the punch-hole cutout found on the Y7p. The good news here is that, if you don't like it, you can easily hide the notch through the display settings. The side bezels are thin, but the one at the bottom part of the screen is relatively thick with Huawei branding in it.
As for its display quality, as mentioned, the Huawei Y7 offers a 6.26-inch HD+ IPS LCD display which translates to 1520 x 720 pixel resolution. It packs 266 ppi or pixels per inch. The display can be dark and bright enough for indoor and outdoor use, the quality is good with images and texts look sharp. Of course being an HD+ panel you can notice slight pixelations or roughness if you take a closer look at image and text edges. Colors don't look dull or over saturated as well. For its sub-Php7K price tag, its good.
The Huawei Y7 feels lightweight and thinner to the hand despite housing a huge battery pack inside. So if you intend to use this phone for longer period of times such as when binge-watching or playing mobile games, it's just perfect for the occasion. Even while after putting the free jelly case on the device, it still does not feel that thick. The curved edges and slightly rounded back panel adds better grip to the phone and allows users to more easily operate the phone with one hand.
For the ports and stuff, this device has the usuals such as the 3.5mm audio jack that is located at the top of the phone together with the secondary microphone. Speaker grille, primary mic, and microUSB port at the bottom. On the right side of the phone are the lock/power key as well as the volume rocker, while on the other side is the triple card tray. Yes triple card slot, meaning users can have two 4G LTE SIM cards and a microSD card running all at the same time. The phone supports up to 512GB microSD card for storage expansion.
In terms of the performance, the Huwei Y7 won't disappoint, thanks to its Snapdragon 450 octa-core processor from Qualcomm and 4GB of RAM. Though we cannot expect the phone to be the fastest around, for an entry-level device and its asking price, the phone is fast enough when executing tasks being asked of it. Using your daily apps or playing your supported mobile games, at least in mid or lowest settings, the phone is capable of delivering the job. Sometimes though, the phone starts to slow down when more and more apps are running in the background. However apart from, the overall performance of the phone is pretty okay and decent.
The rear cameras sport Aperture, Beauty, Pro, Panorama, AR Lens, HDR, Filter and Watermark modes in addition to the default Photo or Auto mode. For video recording, the phone can record in either 720p or 1080p formats at 30fps. The front 8MP snapper also supports the same set of camera modes, except for the video part where it can only record in 720p.
Due to the ongoing Enhanced Community Quarantine being implemented in our area, the implementing officers are quite strict, I was unable to go out and take photos using this smartphone. So unfortunately, I don't have any sample photos to share with you in this post. But if I still have the phone when the quarantine is lifted or at least relaxed, I will update this post with photo and video samples when I can.
But sharing with you my initial impressions of the phone's camera capabilities, I would say that it can definitely provide decent photos most especially when there is plenty of light in the environment. Don't expect better photos when there is poor lighting condition. Overall, the photo qualities are passable and can still be worth social media sharing. The cameras both front and back do not appear to sport electronic image stabilization system and while the autofocus feature works all the time, it is bit slow in focusing both in video and photo modes, and it becomes worse in dimly lit situation.
Based on my personal usage of the phone which is mostly for social media browsing, watching videos on YouTube and Netflix as well as some casual mobile gaming, the phone has been able to last for more than a day one a single charge.
I just have a concern regarding the phone's charger (see photo below). It's not the typical type of charger that we use or normally get. Sadly, the boxing does not even come with an adapter. And since this is the first time I received this kind of charger and as expected, I don't have an adapter. So I can't use it. I even asked a Huawei representative about this and was confirmed by the company that this is indeed the type of charger the Y7 2019 comes with in the official retail box. Good thing I have a spare charger to use on this phone.
Okay so here is my review of the Huawei Y7 2019 after using it for a couple of weeks.
Design, Display and Build
The review unit I got is in Aurora Purple with glossy gradient finish on its back panel, it also comes in Midnight Black. When it comes to the Huawei Y7 2019's design, I would say it pretty solid though you can noticeably feel that its back cover is made of polycarbonate plastic material. It looks nice though most especially the Aurora Purple variant, the gradient finish on the back is just nice to look at. The gradient effect becomes more or less prominent depending on the amount and direction of light that hits its surface. And as anything you would expect from a smartphone with glossy finish, the surface is fingerprints and smudge hungry. Thankfully, the packaging comes with a clear jelly for added protection.The front panel, on the other hand, is of course made of glass material. But Huawei did not mention if if has Corning Gorilla Glass on it for protection against scratches. Though I am happy to report that the screen comes pre-installed with a typical screen protector like many other smartphones out there. Additionally, this side of the phone sports a waterdrop notch situated right in the upper center of the panel. It's quite big and easily noticed compared with the punch-hole cutout found on the Y7p. The good news here is that, if you don't like it, you can easily hide the notch through the display settings. The side bezels are thin, but the one at the bottom part of the screen is relatively thick with Huawei branding in it.
As for its display quality, as mentioned, the Huawei Y7 offers a 6.26-inch HD+ IPS LCD display which translates to 1520 x 720 pixel resolution. It packs 266 ppi or pixels per inch. The display can be dark and bright enough for indoor and outdoor use, the quality is good with images and texts look sharp. Of course being an HD+ panel you can notice slight pixelations or roughness if you take a closer look at image and text edges. Colors don't look dull or over saturated as well. For its sub-Php7K price tag, its good.
The Huawei Y7 feels lightweight and thinner to the hand despite housing a huge battery pack inside. So if you intend to use this phone for longer period of times such as when binge-watching or playing mobile games, it's just perfect for the occasion. Even while after putting the free jelly case on the device, it still does not feel that thick. The curved edges and slightly rounded back panel adds better grip to the phone and allows users to more easily operate the phone with one hand.
For the ports and stuff, this device has the usuals such as the 3.5mm audio jack that is located at the top of the phone together with the secondary microphone. Speaker grille, primary mic, and microUSB port at the bottom. On the right side of the phone are the lock/power key as well as the volume rocker, while on the other side is the triple card tray. Yes triple card slot, meaning users can have two 4G LTE SIM cards and a microSD card running all at the same time. The phone supports up to 512GB microSD card for storage expansion.
Software and Performance
Perhaps one of the phone's biggest drawbacks is found on its software side. Right out of the box, the Huawei Y7 comes pre-installed with a two-year old Android 8.1 Oreo OS with EMUI 8.2 on top. I checked for a software update as soon as I was done setting up the phone, but unfortunately there was none as the phone says "up to date" referring to its software version. Don't despair though, as there is a good news to it. This Android 8.2 Oreo version does come with Google Mobile Services, and yes that includes the Google Play Store. With that being said, it means that users of this smartphone can download all of the mobile applications that they use directly from Google Play.There is the AppGallery as well
What's even more nice is that the Y7 2019 is also equipped with the world's third largest app store, the Huawei AppGallery. There are now more popular apps on the AppGallery than ever before as Huawei continuous to pour in more efforts in growing this app store for its users around the globe as sell as making it more secure.In terms of the performance, the Huwei Y7 won't disappoint, thanks to its Snapdragon 450 octa-core processor from Qualcomm and 4GB of RAM. Though we cannot expect the phone to be the fastest around, for an entry-level device and its asking price, the phone is fast enough when executing tasks being asked of it. Using your daily apps or playing your supported mobile games, at least in mid or lowest settings, the phone is capable of delivering the job. Sometimes though, the phone starts to slow down when more and more apps are running in the background. However apart from, the overall performance of the phone is pretty okay and decent.
Camera
Now for the camera, the smartphone is equipped with two cameras on the back. The primary rear camera is pegged at 13MP with f/1.8 aperture and then the secondary shooter has 2MP with f/2.4 and depth sensor for Bokeh effect. On the front, housed in the notch, is an 8MP selfie camera with f/2.0. Huawei also equipped the phone with AI tech which according the company enables the cameras to recognize up to 500 scenes with 22 labels in real-time, and every photo is optimized real time.The rear cameras sport Aperture, Beauty, Pro, Panorama, AR Lens, HDR, Filter and Watermark modes in addition to the default Photo or Auto mode. For video recording, the phone can record in either 720p or 1080p formats at 30fps. The front 8MP snapper also supports the same set of camera modes, except for the video part where it can only record in 720p.
Due to the ongoing Enhanced Community Quarantine being implemented in our area, the implementing officers are quite strict, I was unable to go out and take photos using this smartphone. So unfortunately, I don't have any sample photos to share with you in this post. But if I still have the phone when the quarantine is lifted or at least relaxed, I will update this post with photo and video samples when I can.
But sharing with you my initial impressions of the phone's camera capabilities, I would say that it can definitely provide decent photos most especially when there is plenty of light in the environment. Don't expect better photos when there is poor lighting condition. Overall, the photo qualities are passable and can still be worth social media sharing. The cameras both front and back do not appear to sport electronic image stabilization system and while the autofocus feature works all the time, it is bit slow in focusing both in video and photo modes, and it becomes worse in dimly lit situation.
Battery and Charger
One of the Huawei Y7 2019's highlighted features is its battery which received a major update compare to its Y7 2018 predecessor. From 3000mAh, it is now 4000mAh battery pack. This battery size is perfect all all-day long usage whether its for streaming videos or playing mobile games. While the battery is now bigger, the phone's weight remains lightweight which is a very good combination.Based on my personal usage of the phone which is mostly for social media browsing, watching videos on YouTube and Netflix as well as some casual mobile gaming, the phone has been able to last for more than a day one a single charge.
I just have a concern regarding the phone's charger (see photo below). It's not the typical type of charger that we use or normally get. Sadly, the boxing does not even come with an adapter. And since this is the first time I received this kind of charger and as expected, I don't have an adapter. So I can't use it. I even asked a Huawei representative about this and was confirmed by the company that this is indeed the type of charger the Y7 2019 comes with in the official retail box. Good thing I have a spare charger to use on this phone.
Final Thoughts
The Huawei Y7 2019 is still a pretty capable phone in terms of performance despite it having a quite dated operating system. And even if I personally own this smartphone, I won't want Huawei to update this to the most recent version as it might cost me one of the biggest app stores in the world. The Huawei Y7 2019 can still appeal to many Android users who are on a tight budget out there. With its huge 4GB RAM and spacious 64GB storage together with the beautiful design and build, it is a phone to consider by someone who wants to keep a brand new Huawei phone with both of the app stores available. Additionally, the phone having its own dedicated microSD card is just nice to know and have.
Its huge battery is definitely a plus and very useful especially if you are
someone who is always on the go. A single charge will absolutely last you all
throughout the day without the worry of needing to look for a power outlet
again. Depending on your use, you may still have enough power for the whole
night or the following day. The charger brick is just not making any sense to
me on this one.
Huawei Y7 2019 specs:
- 6.26-inch HD+ IPS Display
- 1520 x 720 resolution
- Octa-core Snapdragon 450 processor
- 4GB RAM
- 64GB internal storage
- Supports microSD card up to 512GB
- 13MP + 2MP dual rear camera with depth sensor and AI
- 8MP front camera
- EMUI 8.2 based on Android 8 Oreo
- Google Play
- AppGallery
- WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS
- Dual SIM with dedicated microSD slot
- 4G LTE
- Fingerprint scanner
- Face unlock
- Midnight Black, Aurora Purple
- 4000mAh battery
- Php6,990
As of writing, the Huawei Y7 is still priced at Php6,990 and still
available for purchase nationwide. In addition to the Aurora Purple, it is
also available in Midnight Black color variant.