Last year, I was able to review the first Huawei GR5 and it was an a-ok device for the specs and price. Earlier this year, I never expected that it will gonna have a follow-up and there were some new additions and a new processor. Is the GR5 2017 a worthy upgrade? Here's my Huawei GR5 2017 review.
I already had a preview on this one at it's launch. Good thing, I had no problems on navigation of this EMUI launcher. One thing that I learned (as there is no app drawer here) to maximize the groupings of your must-have apps. The Kirin 655 octa-core processor, 3 GB RAM and 32 GB internal storage was a breeze for me in terms of multi tasking. From going back and forth in my files from the internal memory and USB thumbdrive (yes, it has OTG support unlike in the first Huawei GR5) , the transfer speed was fast enough for a midrange device.
I knew that I had a bit of issue in terms of connectivity on the Huawei P9 but I knew what the brand can do in terms of this segment. Calls, texts, Bluetooth, LTE, WiFi and GPS had no problems in the number of days that I reviewed this one. Like in previous Huawei phones, I love the 4G toggle icon in their pulldown menu which is my one-tap switch to go LTE when you need it (and the phone is set to 2G/3G mode to survive the day) . Their expertise at the fingerprint sensor continues on the GR5 2017 as this is one of the most convenient phablets that I had with the said feature
The benchmark results are the same as I saw in their launch. Obviously, I will gonna pick this over a Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 octa-core processor.
With the processor made on a 16 nm process, I already have an idea that this will be a power-efficient phone. In my video battery rundown test, the phone got it at 14 hours and 57 minutes which is pretty good for a phone with 5.5 inch Full HD display. In real-life usage, I can max out this one on 24 hours of usage with 7 hours of screen on time in power saving mode. Even at it's 5V 2A supplied charger, it was a bit slow charging for me at around 165 minutes on it's 3340 mAh battery inside.
In gaming, the phablet does not have the performance. When I played Asphalt 8, it worked best for me to turn off any of the power-saving options. The result, almost no lag and heat in my 30 minutes of gaming.
If there is one letdown for me is on the sound department. The enabled SWS icon on their stock music app sucked big time for me in the number of available 3rd party earphones that I had in my hub. It will give you an average sound output once you turn it off.
If there is really one head-turner of the GR5 2017 is the camera segment not just only that it has 2 cameras, one is the main shooter and the other is for those bokeh effects. Different weather conditions, indoors, outdoors, low light - GR5 2017 was my fave smartphone shooter so far in the midrange phones that I had. I really enjoyed with the output of it in the number of media events that I attended to a number of rock gigs that I had. Speaking of rock gigs, the stereo output of this one was very good and can withstand those over-the-top noise. The pro video mode also helped me to tweak some of my own flick. The 8 MP selfie shooter was also not bad.
The camera samples:
Mix of indoor and night shots on the main camera
Sample bokeh shot at Satchmi
Huawei GR5 2017 8 MP front camera sample
In this year alone, Huawei GR5 2017 was the leader of the pack so far in my own opinion in the rating game for it's overall value even that it has a bit slow on making this phablet full and on the sound output. Gaming, battery efficiency, fingerprint reader, nice looks and very good camera performance were the things that I really loved this device. For me, I will gonna give a 4.5 for the Huawei GR5 2017.
