Huawei Y7a Review: Mid-Range Smartphone with an Entry-Level Price

January 31, 2021

SaveSavedRemoved 0

The entry-level segment was dominated by two smartphone brands for the past couple of years. Seeing there is still room for another major player in that segment, Huawei rebranded their Y-series lineup and joined the fray. In 2020 alone, Huawei has released a slew of entry-level smartphones and tablets, and their latest model, the Huawei Y7a wants to prove it can also slug it out with other phones in this category. Here is my Huawei Y7a review.

HUAWEI Y7A REVIEW SPECS:

OS:	Android 10 with EMUI 10.1
Processor:	2.0 GHz Kirin 710A Octa-Core processor \| Mali-G51
Display:	1080 x 2400 6.67" FHD+ IPS LCD
Wireless Connections:	LTE, Bluetooth 5.1, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, A-GPS, GLONASS
Memory:	128GB Internal Storage expandable with a MicroSD Card, 4GB RAM
Connectors:	Type-C USB 2.0, OTG
Cameras:	48 Megapixels f/1.8 wide + 8 Megapixels f/2.4 ultra-wide + 2 Megapixels macro + 2 Megapixels depth (Main) 8 Megapixels f/2.0 (Front)
SIM Card Slots:	2x Nano SIM Card
Battery:	5,000 mAh
SRP:	P8,999

THE LOOKS AND FEEL

I mentioned in my first impressions blog post that I didn’t expect the Huawei Y7a to be a big phone. I actually like big phones since I always prefer the big screens that comes with them so I do not really mind about its size at all.

The entry-level smartphone segment is already hot and gone are the days where phone manufacturers come up with cheap looking designs. Huawei made the Y7a’s design more like a mid-range phone but with an entry-level price. The Crush Green color I received for my review unit looks stunning and it’s my favorite color for the Nova 5T and Y6p I reviewed before.

The phone is made of plastic but because it feels solid you wouldn’t notice that you’re holding an entry-level phone at all. The Y7a is comfortable to hold and it’s not slippery on my hands.

THE DISPLAY

I watch a lot of YouTube and Netflix videos so if the phone has a bigger screen, the better for me to view more shows. The Huawei Y7a comes with a 6.67″ Full HD+ screen made of IPS display technology. Having a Full HD resolution is a rarity in entry-level smartphones and I am happy that the Y7a has it. While other phones in this price range still has an annoying tear-shaped notch which makes them look stuck in 2018, the Y7a has a punch-hole on top which houses the 8 Megapixel front camera. This is less of a nuisance when in full screen mode than the ones with notches. You also have the option to hide it by going to the display settings and select Hide cutout.

Since it uses IPS display, I already expect it to have good screen quality. True enough I watched a lot of Netflix and YouTube videos under different conditions. Colors always looked sharp and enjoyed the large resolution the phone has.

CLICK HERE to Purchase the Huawei Y7a through the HUAWEI Official Store at Shopee

THE PERFORMANCE

Under the hood of the Huawei Y7a review unit is the ol’ reliable Kirin 710A. Both tech reviewers and Huawei enthusiasts know that this processor has gone a long way, powering mid-range phones in the past. We already know how the benchmark test results would come out, but we still did it anyway. Here are the results:

The phone works really well with my daily tasks and never experienced a problem with basic functions like calls, messaging and internet connectivity. It has a generous 128GB of internal storage and 4GB of memory that can handle more open apps than other entry-level phones. It also has an expansion slot for a MicroSD card to store more media files and apps.

With the Kirin 710A processor, a lot of the latest popular games can be played on the Huawei Y7a. I played two popular games Mobile Legends: Bang Bang and Call of Duty Mobile. Settings for Mobile Legends was set to high frame rate while Call of Duty’s graphic quality was set to Medium with High Frame Rate. These games played very well and didn’t experience any hiccups for hours. We would recommend the same type of settings (low to medium graphics) for other mobile games you intend to play.

The Y7a has EMUI 10 pre-installed based on Android 10 and apps can be installed via the Huawei AppGallery and other app sources like APKPure and APK Mirror where you can download apk files of the apps.

THE CAMERAS

The Huawei Y7a comes with a quad-camera system composed of a 48 Megapixels wide lens, 8 Megapixels ultra-wide, 2 Megapixels macro and 2 Megapixels depth. One of the features I like with the Y7a’s cameras is its Night Mode, and again this is not usually found in entry-level smartphones.

Photos turned out really well even in low light conditions. The ultra wide-angle photos aren’t distorted which means Huawei did great in this area. As I’ve said, Night Mode is my favorite feature and it does its job really well capturing images at night. Not only these photos stand out but also I didn’t detect any noise in the background. While it would take 5 seconds and steady hands to take photos using Night Mode, the effort will be rewarded. Too bad Night Mode is not available in ultra wide-angle lens.

I took a couple of selfies with the 8 Megapixel front camera and so far they looked alright for me.

Here are some images taken by the Huawei Y7a:

THE BATTERY LIFE

Battery life is not an issue with the Huawei Y7a. In my PCMark Battery test, we were able to get 15 hours and 29 minutes for the Y7a’s 5,000 mAh battery capacity. For my personal usage with the usual phone calls, messaging, 4 hours accumulated of video streaming, spotify and mobile gaming, I’m able to last the day with 40% battery life left on the Y7a. Charging is fast thanks to its 22.5W charger which usually takes around 2 hours from 0 to 100%

DR’S CONCLUSION

The Huawei Y7a can actually pass for a mid-range phone thanks to its Full HD display, Kirin 710A processor, quad-camera system and large battery capacity. The processor may be years old but it can still help the phone work on its everyday tasks as well as play mobile games albeit with low to medium graphics. For P8,999, I think it’s a good price for what it offers in an entry-level smartphone.

PROS: