Huawei Y7 Prime 2019 Review – Essential Specs for Less


Huawei has come out with it’s new Y7 Prime 2019 smartphone which has been designed with developing markets, such as Pakistan, in mind. Where price plays a vital role, new Y7 Prime tries to capture users who are looking for the best value smartphone. We have had the device with us for few weeks and in this full review, we will thoroughly discuss how the Y7 Prime 2019 actually stacks up in real life scenarios.

Straight off, the pricing for this phone starts under $250 — PKR 29,000 — making it an entry level Android smartphone. Trying to change the notion that entry level smartphones are not worth buying, Huawei has gone ahead and designed the device quite meticulously and has outfitted it with some great hardware such as the main dewdrop display which the brand strongly boasts about. Further, there is a large battery module inside as well. And to tie it together, the design is modern Huawei. Seemingly the package is set to perform well but does it come with compromises? Let’s discuss.

Huawei Y7 Prime 2019, Aurora Blue

Let’s overview complete Y7 Prime 2019 hardware before we discuss our thoughts.

  • Network: (GSM / FDD / TDD / WCDMA)
  • Display: 6-inch HD+ HUAWEI Dewdrop display (19:9, 1520 x 720)
  • Processor: Snapdragon 450
  • OS: Android 8.1 Oreo, EMUI 8.2
  • Camera Rear: 13 MP + 2 MP (f/1.8) AI
  • Camera Front: 16 MP
  • Connectivity: microUSB, Bluetooth 4.2 and 3.5mm Headphone Jack
  • Memory: 3GB RAM + 32GB Storage
  • Dimension:92 x 76.91 x 8.10 mm
  • Battery: 4,000mAh

Huawei Y7 Prime 2019: Design and Hardware

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Except for flagships, over the past few months, Huawei has standardized all it’s modern smartphone designs. The main differences that are now left remain to be the colors and sizes and they too are becoming similar, in our opinion. Beginning from the rear, the back has a glossy finish which at first sight looks like glass but actually isn’t, it is plastic. Our unit, Aurora blue, has a blue gradient which is reminiscent of Nova and Mate series. Other color options are also available, like coral red and glossy black. The overall plastic finish is great but one thing that is a bit annoying is how easily it gets scratched. Even if you clean it, the surface will catch multiple micro-scratches. This is a drawback of having a gloss paint-job instead of matte. Further, there are dual cameras and fingerprint scanner placed on the rear as well. Leaving the camera discussion for later, the fingerprint sensor works quite well and it should as afterall it has been years since Huawei has been adding fingerprint scanners on it’s smartphones.

Arguably, the front side of Y7 Prime 2019 houses one of the biggest highlight features of the smartphone which of-course is the display. Not that multiple smartphones before this have come equipped with minimal bezel or notch-ed display panels, this is the first to offer it at such a low price-point. The size is measured at 6.26 inch and the resolution is HD + (1520 x720). Further, the notch isn’t your regular run of the mill but it is a newer dew-drop design which makes it less protruding hence allowing for a better, viewing experience. For colors, sharpness, the device is well equipped for its class. Viewing angles are great but the sharpness is a tad less — very hard to notice — which is expected due to HD+ resolution. Funnily enough, the front camera within the notch is 16MP which is a higher resolution than the rear. On top of the camera, there is a standard earpiece for calls and a notification LED as well beneath the speaker grill. In our the earpiece works quite well and despite reducing bezels, we appreciated Huawei not removing the notification LED which, in our opinion, is quite useful.

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Observing the chassis that joins the back and front, it is made of plastic and has the same color gradient as on the back. The left side, when viewed from front has all of the buttons such as the volume rocker and power button. Interestingly enough, the power button has a texture on it which helps to differentiate from others. These small things show how Huawei hasn’t really cut corners to offer Y7 Prime 2019 at a lower price. Moving along, the right consists of the SIM tray which supports Dual SIM and microSD expansion as well. Seeing internally there is 32GB ROM, expandable storage is a welcome option. Up top, there is a microphone cut-out and a standard 3.5mm headphone jack. Similarly, for the bottom, there is the standard microUSB port and also the main speaker. There are grills on each side of the port but the speaker is placed under the left grill only, whereas the other grill cut-out is for symmetry.

Now that we have covered all exterior aspects, let’s take a look at the internal offerings. For starters, Y7 Prime 2019 is powered by Snapdragon 450 processor which is one of the lower end chips out there. This CPU is then paired with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage. While both RAM and storage are satisfactory, the processor is a bit sluggish. You would notice slow-downs in high-end apps and games. We have attached ahead few benchmarks which would give a rough idea as to what to expect. For system navigation and everyday tasks, however, Qualcomm’s SD 450 is good enough.

Huawei Y7 Prime 2019: Camera

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For budget phones, even in 2019, the main difference which is noticeable straight away is the camera output. Huawei has fitted its Y7 Prime 2019 with Dual Cameras on the back. The main lens is rated at 13MP whereas the secondary module is 2MP fixed-focus. The secondary lens is there just to assist in better Portrait Shots so that the details are much more refined. There is also Artificial Intelligence assistance as well. Through AI, Y7 Prime 2019 can judge the scenes it is being pointed at and then set the correct settings. The result from this software and hardware combination is quite good. Definitely there is more to crave for especially when performing in low-light but for the price, we are quite happily surprised! Attached are some sample shots from the Y7 Prime 2019 in different lighting conditions.

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The front camera, as discussed earlier, has a higher megapixel count, rated at 16MP vs 13MP. Overall photos are quite sharp and thanks to extensive on-board processing modes such as Beauty, Y7 Prime 2019 is a great selfie taker.

Huawei Y7 Prime 2019: Connectivity and Battery

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Essential part of a modern smartphone, on top of its smart capabilities, is the connectivity it offers and how much endurance it has while executing day to day tasks. For Y7 Prime 2019, it has dual SIM slots which are quite important for developing markets such as Pakistan and it has 4G LTE speeds on each as well. Further, despite being a plastic chassis phone, the WiFi range and speeds are on par. Lastly, Bluetooth 4.2 ties up all the wireless connections offered from the phone. Missing, however, is wireless charging and NFC. To charge and transfer data, there is a microUSB port at the bottom.

Huawei has been on a roll with providing some of the best enduring smartphones at any price point. Such good performance can be accredited to Huawei’s EMUI skin, its own proprietary Kirin processor and large battery capacity. For Y7 Prime 2019, it does come with EMUI 8.2 but missing is the Kirin chipset which is replaced by Snapdragon 450 processor but the battery module is a large 4,000mAh capacity. All in all, it is quite hard to completely drain the battery in one day. Few scenarios, the phone endured two days of usage which is great to see!

Huawei Y7 Prime 2019: Software

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Connecting all hardware, Huawei is shipping EMUI 8.2 based on Android Oreo on Y7 Prime 2019. Despite having 2019 in the name, the phone has a dated Android version which is disappointing to see. However, in its current state, EMUI is surely feature-filled and easy to use. Being one of the few skins that has been around for quite some time, the experience truly shows. The notification pull-down is laden with buttons that provide direct access to various settings. Further, there are vast amount of customization options present as well including ability to modify screen resolution, hide notch and built-in extensive power saving modes.

More related to software, Y7 Prime 2019 has built-in face unlocking. Huawei is calling it Face Unlock 2.0 but actually the performance is quite slow. There is a good bit of delay before the smartphone recognizes and unlocks. This might be due to the lower-end processor but then again, presence of this recent unlock method on a budget smartphone is great in itself. Reliability, however, is great and it works well in different lighting conditions.

To top it, there are few unique Huawei apps that ship pre-installed on the Y7 Prime 2019:

Default bundled Huawei Y7 Prime 2019 Apps and Features:

  • Phone Manager: This is sort of a central app provided by Huawei to overview your phone stats and monitor it. It is helpful for cleaning out junk from storage and seeing which apps use the most RAM and all of that sort.
  • Themes: Huawei provides this Theme app from which you can download extensive themes for your EMUI device. The good thing is, it has a variety of selection and you can easily filter through.
  • HiGame: A sort of redudancy towards Google Play but HiGame basically provides the best games which Huawei has helped in development for its smartphones. Good to browse through when you are searching for an optimized game for your phone.
  • Mini Screen View: This built-in mode allows you to shorten the whole display towards the bottom of the screen so that you can use the phone effectively with one hand.
  • Huawei Clone: For users transferring from older smartphones, Huawei Clone offers you to copy over older SMS, photos and other user data to your new Y7 Prime 2019 quite effectively and automatically.

Huawei Y7 Prime 2019: Screenshots

Huawei Y7 Prime 2019: Gallery

Taimur Akmal
Taimur Akmal

Devoted writer, enjoys developing code. Appreciates excellent food, exceptional coffee and great company. He is also into sublime design and nicely built cars.

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