In a move that I never expected in the start of 2017 was the target of some international phone brands going on under the 6K price bracket. I already reviewed one each from two different brands and Huawei is joining in that stiff competition hoping to win the hearts of Pinoys on the budget segment.
This is their current bet, the Huawei Y5 2017. The GR3 and GR5 2017 were both in orange so it is quite interested that they chose to have the sky blue as their primary color for their packaging.
The front has 5 inch IPS HD display, 5 MP front cam with flash and Huawei logo. The screen protector is not yet applied on this one (but I hope at least those Huawei Experience stores can do it as their added service). They chose the on screen navigation for this one.
The back has 8 MP rear cam with flash, Huawei logo with removable back cover. Even that I had some little light for this shoot, the textured design is quite visible which adds some character to the Y5 2017 despite that it is placed at the lower-end segment. On the internals, it has EMUI 4.1 based on Android 6.0 Marshmallow, 1.3 GHz Mediatek MT6737T 64-bit quad-core procesor, 2 GB RAM, 16 GB ROM, LTE, dual micro SIM, Bluetooth, WiFi, GPS and 3,000 mAh built-in battery
The top has 3.5 mm. audio jack and the left portion is not the power/unlock button but a custom key which you can use to put in various commands for a maximum of 3 options. Single press, double press and press & hold. So far, I like it for screenshots and opening some apps.
The right portion has power/unlock button and volume rocker while at the bottom, it's the single speaker, pin hole mic which is hiding from that another speaker (just like what they did on the GR5 2017 and micro USB port. Unfortunately, they did not include USB OTG function on this one.
Here is the view if you will remove the back cover. Pardon for that folded paper to secure it's IMEI. The built-in battery has an extra metal covering for protection.
The package also includes a hard protective case, user manual, warranty card, earphones, micro USB to USB cable and a 5V 1A charger.
So far compared from the two other under-6k international phones of 2017 that I reviewed, this is on my top list in terms of build design and quality plus it has the highest battery capacity so far. The accompanying items are good too as you will literally just use it on the go and the custom key too. Two downers for me so far is the lack of OTG function which the other two competitors have and the EMUI 4.1 which is a bit old compared to it's nearest phone from Huawei at 3,000 pesos more now on EMUI 5.0 based on Android 7.0 Nougat, Huawei GR3 2017.
Can the Php 5,890 price tag of Huawei Y5 2017 will give some justice and can be on the overall top list? We will find out on our review
