An affordable smartphone which provides all you need…

Introduction

Huawei Y series smartphones are known for their affordability and decent specifications and features, the Huawei Y3 II was recently released In the Nigerian market and I got to review it, so here are my views.

Packaging: The Y3 II comes nicely packaged in a red rectangular box with two seals with the inscription “I’m secure, check contents if seal is broken or VOID displayed” to ensure users are not cheated in their purchase as some dishonest phone sellers sometimes remove or switch accessories in phone packages, so if you see void displayed on the seal, check the box to ensure all content is complete.

Some specs are written on the box such as the colour, battery capacity, screen size, camera size, processor and Android version however there is no information about the phone’s RAM, Internal Storage and whether or not it has a microSD slot which are things buyers take very seriously, Huawei needs to add these details on their phone boxes.

What’s in the Box: Huawei Y3 II phone, battery, screen protector, clear glass phone case, earpiece, USB cable, charger adapter (to be used with USB cable) and phone manual.

huawei y3 II

Design: The Huawei Y3 II has a nice design; it is sleek, light and easy to hold. It has an aluminum build with curved edges and a glossy finish. There are no hard keys on the phone, all the three buttons are soft keys.

Screen: The Y3 II has a 4.5 inch FWVGA, 480×854 pixel touchscreen which is just okay for its price. The display quality is in the same range with similarly priced smartphones.

Gaming and App Performance: I installed some games and other apps on the Y3 II and it had a decent performance, however it is not well suited for very high graphics and power consuming games as it has just 1 GB RAM. The Huawei phone manager software provided by the Emotion User Interface (EMUI) however helps you conserve power and manage apps effectively to optimize the phone’s performance.

huawei y3 II

Specs:

Release Date: April 2016

Dimensions: 134.10 x 55.70 x 9.90 (mm)

Weight: 150.00 grams

Battery: 2100 mAh Li-Po Removable battery

Colours: Black, Gold, White

Screen Type: Touchscreen

Screen size: 4.50 inches

Screen Resolution: 480 x 854 pixels

Processor: 1.3 GHz quad-core MediaTek MT6582M

OS: Android v5.1 Lollipop

UI: Emotion UI 3.1 Lite

RAM: 1GB

Internal Storage: 8GB, 3.42 GB available

Memory Card Slot: 32GB capacity microSD card slot

SIM: Dual microSIM

Rear Camera: 5 MP with autofocus and dual LED flash

Front Camera: 2 MP

Connectivity: Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi hotspot, Bluetooth, GPS, 3G

Headphones: 3.5mm

FM: Yes

Sensors: Proximity Sensor, Accelerometer, Ambient light sensor, Gyroscope

Battery

The Huawei Y3 II’s 2100 mAh Li-Po battery is capable of providing enough power to run apps and games and last for several hours when fully charged.

Camera

The feature of the Huawei Y3 II which impressed me most is the phone’s front and rear cameras. The 5 MP rear camera has dual LED flash and takes superb pictures for the phone’s price range, the 2 MP front camera is also very good for the price. Here are some pictures I took with the cameras.

Movies and music

The Y3 II has average speakers and average audio quality, the video quality is also average.

Special Features

Easy Key: This is a special key at the left edge of the Huawei Y3 II phone which is multifunctional and can be set to perform specific functions by pressing, double pressing and pressing and holding. The key can be set by going to system settings.
Rainbow Lights for Fun: This is a feature which allows you assign different colours of the rainbow to different functions which are:
Heart Breathe: Calling Blink; Assign a colour to a contact, that colour will blink when the person is calling.
Morse Language: Convert text to morse code using colours
Music Blink: Selected colour of light blinks with rhythm of music
Startup Indicator: Assign different colours to different notifications
Price: The Huawei Y3 II’s price in Nigeria is in the range of 33,000 Naira to 35,000 Naira.

Huawei Y3 II vs other phones in same price range

Specs Huawei Y3 II Tecno W3 4G Gionee P5 Mini Innjoo Halo X Infinix Hot 3 LTE
Screen 4.5 inch, 480X854 pixels 5.0-inch, 480×854 pixels 4.5 inch, 480X854 pixels 5.5 inch HD IPS, 1080 x 1920 pixels


5.5 inch HD IPS, 1080 x 1920 pixels
OS Android OS, v5.1 (Lollipop)


Android OS v6.0 (Marshmallow) Android OS,v5.1 (Lollipop) Android OS 6.0 Marshmallow Android OS v6.0 Marshmallow


Processor Quad-core 1.3 GHz MediaTek


Quad-core 1.3 GHz MediaTek


Quad-core 1.3GHz MediaTek Quad-core 1.3GHz MediaTek Octa-Core 64-bit Qualcomm Snapdragon
RAM 1GB 1GB 1GB 2GB 2GB
SIM Dual SIM Dual SIM Dual SIM Dual SIM Dual SIM
Primary Camera 5MP with Dual LED flash 5MP with Dual LED flash 5MP 8MP 13MP
Secondary Camera 2MP 2MP with LED flash 2MP 2MP 5MP
Internal Storage 8GB 8GB 8GB 16GB 16GB
MicroSD Yes, 32 GB capacity Yes, 32 GB capacity Yes, 32 GB capacity Yes, 128 GB capacity Yes, 32 GB capacity
Network 3G 4G 3G 3G 4G
Battery 2100mAh Li-Po 2500mAh Li-Ion 1800mAh Li-Ion 3000mAh 3000mAh
Price on Jumia 32,450 Naira 34,100 Naira 33,660 Naira 34,500 Naira 37,900 Naira


From the table above, it can be seen that the Huawei Y3 II has specs similar to its competitors but cannot be said to be better than them.

Verdict

I rate the Huawei Y3II 6/10 and recommend it to those looking for a premium smartphone with decent features at an affordable price.