Huawei Y7: The budget smartphone with premium specs

In my time spent with the Huawei Y7 2018, I had never used a Huawei phone. It is a relatively new brand, and I like to go for more reputable brands. I wasn’t expecting much; however, it was a surprising experience. Check out the full Huawei Y7 review here:

Unboxing

Huawei’s take on a budget phone came in a fairly standard white box. One of the annoying things about modern-day smartphones is how shiny and slippery most of them are. The back has a matte finish which makes it easy to grip. Plus it feels much more expensive than the sub £150 price tag, You also get the standard charger, manual and some very nice earphones. Huawei’s presentation of the Y7 is better than you would expect from a budget smartphone.

Battery life

I used this phone as my daily driver for two weeks. It needed charging every 36 hours which is incredible considering my smartphone addiction. Just to give you an idea, here is what a typical day looks like.

• Wake up at 6 am, and watch Youtube videos in bed till 6:30 am.
• Catch the bus at 7:30 am, and stream music over 4G till I start work at 8:30 am.
• Between 1 and 2 pm I take my lunch. I use my phone to catch up on news, watch a video or two, and call relatives.
• Between 6:30 pm and 10 pm, I spend a lot of time on social media.

At the weekend, this routine is a lot worse. Despite how far I pushed the Huawei Y7, it always made it past a day of use. Anyone with ‘normal’ smartphone habits would comfortable be able to use it for 2 days.

Performance

I wasn’t expecting much from this phone with regard to speed and responsiveness. Sure, there were times when it would freeze, but more often than note, it was a pleasant experience. It seems that Huawei did a lot of optimisations ‘under the hood’. Judging by the chip used, this phone shouldn’t be able to run as it does. I compared it to my £500 smartphone, and it kept up the pace, and even beat it in some instances.

Display

As the saying goes: “You can’t have it all.”

Compared to high-end smartphones, the display isn’t as crisp or detailed. Colours looked washed up and at times, unrealistic. You might even be able to discern pixels. However, let’s not forget that this isn’t priced at £500 or above. It’s actually £139.00 at giffgaff (the date this blog was posted).

The display is one of the most expensive parts of a smartphone. Therefore, put in a cheaper display in order to make it affordable to the masses.

Final thoughts

All things considered, this is an impressive budget smartphone. You get a stunning 5.99-inch display, superb battery life, and performance which can go toe-to-toe with any modern day smartphone. You would struggle to find a better smartphone at this price point.

You can get the Huawei Y7 directly from giffgaff and enjoy a 30-day return policy and award-winning service.