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Huawei Y5 2017 review: the story of a mid- range device
Huawei recently launched its Y series range of phones into the Kenyan market. The range comprises of: Y5 2017, Y7…
Huawei recently launched its Y series range of phones into the Kenyan market. The range comprises of: Y5 2017, Y7 Prime and Y3 2017, I got the chance to interact with the Y5 2017 for the past few weeks, but before I tell you whether to buy it or not, here is what I thought of the.
Design and appearance
I got the Huawei Y5 2017 at a time when I had just invested in a brand-new Samsung Galaxy Grand prime +. At first glance the resemblance between the two phones is uncanny; the 5″ screens, the textured plastic shell covers on the back. At a closer look though, their designs vary, the biggest difference being the Y5 2017’s “Easy Key” button; located on the upper-left side of the device.
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The device’s design is as expected for a mid-range device with a 3.5mm headphone jack on the top-most edge of the device and a single MicroUSB port on the bottom. The device has a got an 8-megapixel camera and a dual-LED flash on the back. At the front of the device there is a 5-megapixel camera on the front with a single LED flash besides it.
Performance
When it comes to performance and mid-range phones there is always a feeling of getting what you pay for. With both the Y5 2017 and the Samsung the opening of applications especially simultaneously leads to the device hanging.
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With its 5-inch IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen and 720 x 1280 pixels, the UI is easy to interact with as it is clear and the local theme gives the applications a retro feel which I quite enjoy to look at.
The Huawei Y5 2017 is powered by a 1.4Ghz quad-core Mediatek MT6737T processor. The device comes with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of on-board storage, but is able to be expanded via MicroSD. It’s powered by a 3000mAh non-removable battery and runs on Android 6.0 (Marshmallow) coated in Huawei’s own EMUI 4.1.
I quite enjoyed the Y5 2017’s 16GB of on-board storage which is a welcome relief from the Galaxy Grand Prime’s 8 GB (which is a hustle to use without a microSD card). Both devices run on Marshmallow and let’s face it we all want to get our teeth into Oreo, especially with the cool new updates, so there is nothing much to report there.
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Camera
As earlier mentioned, the device has a got an 8-megapixel back camera with a dual-LED flash and autofocus. As you would expect from an 8-megapixel camera the photos are not of the best quality, but with the modes available, such as the HDR mode you can add a little bit more colour to your photos.
Another mode found on the device is the All Focus Mode which lets you take pictures and specify where to apply focus afterwards.
The front 5-megapixel camera has a single LED flash but lacks autofocus. The Y5 2017 can shoot videos in up to 1080p Full HD quality.
Pros
For a mid-range device, the 16 GB of internal memory made me quite happy.
The device also gives you a chance to enjoy taking photos with its different modes.
Cons
The device is still running on Marshmallow.
The phone Can’t open multiple apps without hanging.
Verdict
Being one of Huawei’s cheapest smartphones this year, retailing at just Ksh 13,000, the Y5 2017 is worth a try for someone shopping for a mid-range device. In comparison to the Galaxy Grand Prime +, which retails at around the same price, the Y5 2017 has double the memory and a more diverse camera, making it a better option at that price.