Geek Lifestyle Review: Huawei Y7p

Last February, Huawei launched the Y7p, a budget-friendly smartphone that packs a 48MP shooter, a mid-range Kirin 710F processor, and a fairly large 4000mAh battery. While there have been a lot of Y-series smartphones released in the Philippines already, the Y7p is the first in the lineup is special for a number of reasons (which I’ll go into full detail below).

Given its specs and affordable price tag, does the Huawei Y7p deliver? Find out here in our full review of Huawei’s latest budget contender!

Geek-sthetic

At first glance, the Huawei Y7p may look a bit plain from the back, especially in the black colorway. Sure, the glossy black finish looks pretty nice, but other budget or mid-range smartphones have much “louder” designs.

When light hits the back though, the Huawei Y7p looks quite dazzling. Near the edges of the phone’s back, you’ll see a nice holographic effect that makes for a nice-looking border. At the middle part of the phone, the holographic effect is also there, though a bit more subdued than the edges.

From the front, the Huawei Y7p looks great for a budget phone. Unlike other budget smartphones that have larger notches, Huawei opted for a tiny holepunch notch for the Y7p. In fact, the Y7p looks almost like a Nova 7i from the front; which is great for the Y7p given that the Nova 7i is a good-looking phone in its own right.

Binge-watching Factor

The Y7p’s display is a 6.39-inch screen with an HD+ (720p) resolution. Given that it’s not Full HD, it won’t be the sharpest display out there, but it’s still a great display for binge-watching (for a budget phone) as it has good color output and can get fairly bright. Plus, the phone’s minimal bezels makes for slightly more immersive viewing.

Audio-wise, the Y7p features a single, bottom-firing loudspeaker. While it works okay for some light video watching, I wouldn’t recommend it for binge-watching or for music listening as audio quality lacks detail and has audible distortion near max volume. Good thing the phone has a 3.5mm headphone jack for your headphones/external speakers.

Gaming Prowess

The Huawei Y7p is powered by a Kirin 710F, a processor that Huawei has used for its mid-range devices since the Nova 3i back in 2018. The difference this time is that the Y7p is squarely a budget device.

Given this, the Kirin 710F-powered Y7p is a good match for gaming, especially for common titles such as Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (which it ran pretty well). As for more hardware-intensive titles such as Asphalt 9, the Y7p also ran it smoohtly, albeit at the low graphics setting.

Geek Photoshoot Capabilities

For its cameras, the Huawei Y7p has a triple rear camera setup consisting of a 48MP F/1.8 main, an 8MP ultra-wide, and a 2MP depth sensor. As for the front camera, the Y7p packs an 8MP selfie shooter.

Thanks to the 48MP main camera, the Huawei Y7p is able to take good photos in broad daylight, with images in these lighting conditions turning out clear and detailed. Quality takes a slight dip indoors though, but not by too much.

: Auto Mode

: Night Mode

: Auto Mode

: Night Mode

While 48MP cameras are touted for their low-light photography capabilities, the Y7p struggled a bit in this regard. Auto mode low-light shots lack sharpness and detail; though with night mode, low-light photos look much better. Still, it seems that the Y7p can’t really take full advantage of the 48MP sensor; not surprising given this is a budget phone after all.

The same can be said for the 8MP ultra-wide camera — daylight and indoor shots are of good quality, while it struggles in low-light conditions. In my time with the phone, the ultra-wide camera can’t be used in the Y7p camera app’s night mode; here’s hoping it gets updated soon.

: Selfie

: Portrait

Finally, the Y7p takes pretty nice portrait shots and selfies. Portraits turn out a bit soft, but they have a good background blur effect. Selfies meanwhile are of surprisingly good quality, especially considering the front shooter only uses an 8MP sensor.

Everyday Reliability

The Kirin 710F is a tried-and-tested chipset for everyday use, so it’s no surprise that the Y7p is a great phone for day-to-day tasks. Whether you use social media or productivity apps, the Y7p is able to handle them all with ease.

Aside from being a snappy phone for everyday use, the Y7p also easily lasts for a day of use thanks to the 4000mAh battery. The only thing it doesn’t have when it comes to battery is a fast charger. Still, this shouldn’t be a problem given its sub-10k price point.

Remember what I said above regarding how special the Huawei Y7p is? Well that’s because the Y7p does not have the Google Play Store. Instead, it comes packed with Huawei’s own app store, the AppGallery.

While having no Google Play takes some time getting used to, it shouldn’t pose much of a problem for a lot of users, especially considering that lots of top apps are already on the AppGallery (such as Viber, TikTok, Lazada, GCash, and many more). What’s more is that users can also download apps from the third-party apk stores, if they have an app they want that’s currently not available on the AppGallery.

Right now, a phone with only the AppGallery and no Play Store is definitely usable; but of course, the AppGallery will provide a better experience once more apps are made available on it down the line.

Final Geek Lifestyle Verdict – 8/10

Overall, the Huawei Y7p is a fairly good budget smartphone as it packs a mid-range level processor, a triple camera setup, and a big battery, all at a price tag of PHP 9,990.

There are some things holding it back from being one of the best smartphone options. One such thing is that it doesn’t take full advantage of the 48MP camera; there’s also the fact that not every app is available now on the AppGallery (even if there are easy workarounds). Lastly, the budget smartphone market is just filled with great deals.

Still though, at its price point, you can’t really go wrong with the Y7p.

Huawei Y7p Specs: