Huawei’s latest Y-series device, HUAWEI Y7p, was recently released in the Kenyan market and is Huawei’s first smartphone without Google Mobile Services under its HUAWEI Y Series.
Huawei Y7p runs on EMUI9.1, a customized version of Android 9 powered by a Kirin 710F with an integrated octa-core processor. It has no Google Play Store but users can find its open-source Android apps in AppGallery, it’s own version of the app store. It’s RAM stands at 4GB and a storage of 64GB which can be expanded to 512GB.
With a large 4000mAh battery, the Huawei Y7p has a 48MP AI Triple Camera, has a 6.39 inch FHD+ HUAWEI Punch FullView display and a resolution of 1560 x 720 with a small punch hole for its front-facing camera.
Here is our quick dive into the hardware design, software and functionality.
Feel and Durability
The Huawei Y7p is lovely to feel in your hands. It’s perfect fit in my hand and I can type or consume media comfortably with one hand. The Huawei Y7p comes in either Midnight Black or Aurora Blue. The unit we have is Aurora Blue and we fell in love its visual looks. The Aurora Blue is great on the phone’s metallic-ish back cover making one to easily think the phone cover is metallic or glass though it just a hardened polycarbonate cover giving the phone a touch of class.
The phone’s display has no notch as the camera has been hidden on the left-hand corner on the upper left corner. The phone’s slim bezel gives a user the whole real estate to consume their media or work comfortably anytime. The phone’s hole-punch front camera gives the phone it’s “Punch FullView Display” nickname.
On the lower side of the display, the phone has the Recent, Home and Back touch buttons.
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The back of the phone has the slightly protruding triple camera setup at the upper left corner in black. The flash is slightly below the camera setup. Below the setup is the camera description. The rear also has a fingerprint scanner and the Huawei logo.
The phone’s right has the power button and the volume rocker while the left has the dual SIM tray and the dedicated microSD card slot. The phone’s bottom has the microphone, a 3.5mm, a USB port and audio jack. On the top is the secondary microphone.
Display
The Y7p comes with a 6.39-inch display screen with a High Definition plus resolution. Without a notch and with its great screen-to-body ratio, the phone gives users a Full View Display for the media and productivity tasks. The resolution is enough for images and videos compared to phones at the same price points.
The display screen is okay for video, email, and reading on various platforms and formats. The phone’s audio, however, is a bit low and Huawei could do better especially as the target market comprises of both content creators and consumers via apps like TikTok among others. It’s a bit brittle and unpleasant to someone used to a better device but for the target market its okay. Music in the headphones works just fine.
Cameras
The Huawei Y7p’s front hole-punch camera is a 8MP on the front while the main triple camera comprise of a 48MP main, 8MP ultra-wide, and 2MP camera. Its selfies and images are great and anyone looking for an affordable camera phone should think of the HuaweiY7p. Both the day and night modes produced better photos than we expected. The images are also sharp even in low light. The videos we took with the Y7p at 1080p at 30fps can pass and be used for social media making it a great tool for buyers.
OS & Performance
By now you probably know that the Huawei Y7p does not run any Google Mobile Services therefore apps like YouTube, Google Drive, Facebook, Instagram are not pre-installed on the phone. However, Huawei Mobile Services, via its AppGallery comes with a host of other apps which will list in our subsequent reviews of this phone.
For OS, the phone runs on EMUI 9.1, based on Android 9 Pie and it’s hard for users to notice any difference from other Android phones apart from the lack of apps from the Android Play Store. The RAM is 4GB and is sufficient for work, gaming and multimedia entertainment. With a 64GB storage and ability to expand to 512GB via a microSD card slot, the phone has decent storage. For heavy media creators and consumers there is Huawei Cloud for more storage.
With a Kirin 710F chipset the phone’s productivity and performance is decent for browsing the web, social media and music. For work, the performance is still decent. The phone can also be used for gaming but not for heavy gamers as it slows down. The phone’s dual SIM slots, 4G LTE, WiFi, and Bluetooth connectivity work well.
Battery
The Y7p’s 4,000mAh battery worked for 20 hours on calls and SMS on a full two-hour charge and 15 hours on heavy calling and social media use. Gaming, heavy music and video use saw it last for 6 hours which is pretty decent for the phone. For this segment, the battery is a great asset to Y7p buyers.
Conclusion
At Ksh 18,499, the Huawei Y7p is well priced and attractive to both entry-level and mid-range buyers. It’s cute to behold and touch and a fashion statement for young buyers in these segments. Its battery is good for both productivity and media consumption and its cameras are great for social media lovers in this generation too. Therefore, don’t let the lack of Google Mobile Services deter you from getting it.
Key Specs Huawei Y7p
| Width: | 76.13 mm |
| Height: | 159.81 mm |
| Depth: | 8.13 mm |
| Weight: | Approx 176 g ( plus battery) |
| Colour | Midnight Black & Aurora Blue |
| Display | 6.39 inches |
| CPU: | Kirin 710F Octa-core Processor 4 x Cortex-A73 Based 2.2 GHz + 4 x Cortex-A53 Based 1.7 GHz |
| GPU: | Mali G51-MP4 |
| OS | EMUI 9.1 (Based on Android 9) |
| RAM | 4 GB |
| MEMORY | 64 GB ROM External Memory Support: Micro SD Card, up to 512 GB |
| Rear Camera: | 48 MP + 8 MP + 2 MP |
| Front Camera: | 8 MP |
| BATTERY | 4000 mAh (Typical Value) |
What we like:
- Great design
- Main camera
- Good battery life
What we don’t like:
- Lack of GMS
