Remember those days, when buying a phone required you to save months in advance? And when you actually bought the phone, all it could do was take blurry photos and show you pixelated video content? I remember. But those days, I believe, are long gone, since mobile manufacturers realize the importance of equipping everyone with a decent smartphone.
How many people can afford a hi-end device? Quite few, actually. And those who do, they go for brands i.e. Apple or Samsung. Then comes the mid-range, which sees Samsung and Huawei compete head to head. But the entry-level segment, neglected for the past few years, is now seeing a revolution thanks to manufacturers i.e. Huawei, who understand the importance of giving more for less, since there is a whole unaccounted for demography out there still not equipped with a decent entry-level smartphone.
Say Hello to the Beautiful HUAWEI YY Prime 2018
The device above costs a mere PKR 19,999! Unbelievable, right? By the looks of it and the screen dimensions, the HUAWEI Y7 Prime 2018 looks like a solid smartphone. Available in three colors – Black, Blue and Gold – the plastic body is made to look premium with the shiny colors (in this case, our Gold device) along with its sleek design and finishing (NCVM coating technology was applied to the device’s mid-frame, which not only results in a beautiful chrome metal-like finish but scratch-proof durability). While the almost Bezel-less body makes the 5.99-inch (1440 x 720 FullView) display feel even bigger.
In the hand, the device seems light for such a big body (155g overall) and provides a pretty good grip as well (unless you have smaller hands, sorry). All in all, it is the shiny color and the bigger screen, which gives the device its beauty, and if you really want to go for a good looking entry-level device, this is it (but do try the Blue color, it looks even better).
Say Cheese! And Keep Smiling
After the phone’s looks, the other thing which users look for before purchasing a smartphone is its camera. And Huawei has definitely nailed this category. With 13MP + 2MP dual rear cameras supported by an LED flash, the HUAWEI Y7 Prime 2018 and its wide-aperture feature (f/2.2) provides DSLR like depth to photos in 4K resolution. When the wide aperture mode is switched on, the 13MP lens is responsible for capturing a subject’s details, whereas the 2MP lens provides bokeh effects (that cool, out-of-focus blur in a photograph’s background) with up to 7 aperture level for users to select from.
Moving on to the rear camera, it is comprised of a group of five precise optical lenses to capture the finest details. In addition, the cameras are equipped with blue glass IR filter to reduce falsified colors and ghost images, allowing users to take clearer and beautiful night view photos. Packed with a studio-level smart selfie toning flash, it allows automatic detection of lightening on a subject’s face and then intelligently adjusts the level of brightness for a natural looking selfie.
And lastly, the device can record FHD videos of 1080p at 30 frames per second (nothing to talk about here really).
But, How Much Juice Does it Have?
Well, in the camera and design section, the HUAWEI Y7 Prime 2018 is hands down the best in the entry-level category. So, now we move towards another category, which heavy users are mostly concerned with. Hardware wise, the device seems to be lacking in comparison to its predecessor, HUAWEI Y7 2017, which is surprising. HUAWEI Y7 Prime 2018 has a Snapdragon 430 1.4GHz octa-core processor with 3GB of RAM, which is definitely not bad for an entry-level device, but the previous version of the HUAWEI Y7 came with a Snapdragon 435 octa-core processor.
Moreover, this year’s version has a 3000 mAh battery, which sufficiently ran for a day, when after we did a host of review-related activities – but, then again, HUAWEI Y7 2017 came with a 4000 mAh battery.
Overall, even with these glaring downgrades, the device passed almost all our performance tests, including lag tests, where we brutally open up a bunch of apps and see if the phone gives up. One reason for this has to be the Android 8.0, the new EMUI 8.0, which integrates with the chipset to bring users the best advantages of software and hardware integration. Furthermore, leveraging Huawei’s machine learning algorithms, the device learns users’ behaviors and habits to intelligently predict their needs for better mobile performance.
Other Features on Offer
Fast Face Unlock
High-precision face unlock: powered by AI facial recognition algorithm, the device can automatically detect 1,024 points of a human face and perform high accuracy mapping. The device can unlock the screen in less than 900 milliseconds using facial unlock, which can be activated by touching the power key.
Fingerprint Sensor 4.0
The HUAWEI Y7 Prime 2018 features the Fingerprint 4.0 identification technology, which allows users to unlock the device in less than 0.35 seconds. In addition, the fingerprint sensor also supports multiple functions, allowing users to take photo/video, stop alarm, answer call, browse photos or show notification panel, etc.
Karaoke Mode
Wear the headset, open the karaoke or a live video streaming application, sing a song, and you will hear your voice from the headset and feel like a music star on the stage. This mode enables you to accurately adjust the tune and rhythm, and pleases the ear with your singing.
Smart Split-Screen
The HUAWEI Y7 Prime 2018 features the smart split-screen mode which allows users to multitask between selected apps at the same time. Users can enjoy videos and chatting with friends, or take notes while reading a document.
Three-card Slot for Memory Expansion
The HUAWEI Y7 Prime 2018 features three-card slot design to simultaneously support primary and secondary Nano SIM cards as well as a Micro SD card(optional) up to 256G. Both SIMs can be used at the same time, where users need to manually set primary and secondary SIM in devices settings.
Power Saving 6.0
The HUAWEI Y7 Prime 2018 features a power saving 6.0, which features eight solutions to reduce mobile power consumption, including high-power consumption apps detection, overall power consumption detection, one-touch battery optimization as well as CPU resource allocation and management.
PakScoop Verdict
HUAWEI Y7 Prime 2018 is, for us, the entry-level device of the season so far. For just PKR 19,999, it offers one almost every feature that mid-range devices offer. Its design and camera quality should entice youngsters, who are mad for a good selfie and do not want to compromise on their device’s look. And for heavy users, this device has enough power, but if they need to run heavier apps, then we suggest don’t go for entry-level devices.
All in all, HUAWEI Y7 Prime 2018, should be your first choice when buying an entry-level smartphone.
Full Unboxing pictures below:
