Smartphone Huawei Y6 Prime 2018 is a rare example of a budget gadget that combines premium features, stylish appearance and affordable price.

Laconic and stylish

The smartphone received a spectacular and practical design. The strict plastic case with a matte finish is complemented by a chrome frame, which gives the gadget both a classic and modern look. The screen, as it should be in 2018, is FullView with thin frames, with glossy 2.5D glass. There is nothing superfluous on the front panel, since all navigation buttons are on the screen.

High build quality is complemented by user comfort. The smartphone has an extremely pleasant ergonomics, which is achieved by rounded edges and corners. Dimensions also contribute convenient management with one hand: with a height of 152.4 mm, a width of 73 mm and a thickness of 7.8 mm, the gadget weighs only 150 grams. So the hand does not get tired even after many hours of using the device.

Full palette of colors

Y6 Prime 2018 received a 5.7-inch IPS screen with a resolution of 1440 by 720 pixels and an aspect ratio of 18:9. The display is characterized by high contrast, good detail and natural color reproduction.

Even in sunny weather, all information remains readable without losing color tints, so you can see the smallest details of on-screen interfaces. In addition, the already developed technology of eye protection is used here. You can adjust colors and contrast depending on the time of day, adjust the color temperature, and change the screen resolution.

Iron, time-tested

The smartphone runs on one of the most popular Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 quad-core chipsets clocked at 1.4GHz. This model"pebble" has shown itself perfectly in several generations budget smartphones, providing high performance in multitasking mode. This SoC is also distinguished by excellent energy efficiency indicators, due to which the 3000 mAh battery is able to hold out at maximum modes for a whole day.

The Adreno 308 3D accelerator runs games consistently at medium and high settings. BUT random access memory 2 GB is more than enough for both everyday tasks, and to run heavy applications. If you do not have enough internal memory of 16 GB, you can additionally buy a 256 GB card, especially since there is a separate slot for it.

Particular attention is paid to the smartphone sound quality. The audio processing system, combined with a powerful speaker, delivers clear and loud noise up to 88 dB. At the same time, you can synchronize two gadgets via Bluetooth, creating a truly surround sound music party.

A camera that doesn't miss a single detail

The 13-megapixel main photo module of the smartphone features fast focusing and excellent detail in good light. And at dusk, HDR mode will come to the rescue.

Particular emphasis in the smartphone is on the quality of the selfie. The 8 MP front camera with f/2.0 aperture, in addition to the standard settings, is equipped with the “Perfect Selfie” function. With it, you can fine-tune facial contours, eye size, skin tone, and ambient lighting. Also, the finished photo can be decorated with cute stickers.

Also, the capabilities of the front module are expanded due to the face recognition function, which allows you to unlock the smartphone screen.

Huawei Y6 2018 at first glance seems to be a slightly enlarged copy of the model. But in fact, there are quite a few differences, ranging from a different SoC to better cameras. However, not only this distinguishes the tested smartphone from its younger relative. For example, already during the initial examination, you can notice that the subject has a second microphone, as well as a dedicated system speaker, which the more accessible one does not have. But, as our testing has shown, the differences do not end there.

Specifications

Appearance

Externally, Huawei Y6 2018 is barely noticeable from the smaller one. If you do not make a direct comparison, then these two smartphones are quite difficult to distinguish. However, there are still differences. The tested smartphone is much thinner, and the surface of the plastic frame is not matte, but glossy. In addition, there is a second microphone near the camera unit, and a dedicated system speaker at the bottom end.

The build quality is very high, but due to the large dimensions and rather small thickness, the smartphone lends itself well when trying to twist it, but, remarkably, it does not make any sounds, and rainbow stains do not appear on the display.

In front of the display are proximity/light sensors, speaker, front camera and front flash and led indicator states. On the back, you can see a block consisting of a camera and a flash, as well as a dedicated noise reduction microphone, which is also used for video recording.

On the left side surface, only the tray for separate installation of a pair of SIM cards and nanoSIM media is noticeable. On the right side are the usual lock and volume keys. It is worth noting that, unlike when tapping on the case, these keys do not rattle.

Only the standard audio jack is installed on top. At the bottom is the system speaker, microphone and microUSB connector. In 2018, at the price asked for the tested smartphone, I want to see USB Type-C. Of course, the system-on-a-chip used does not allow implementing USB port 3.0, but even without that, symmetrical USB Type-C is corny more convenient to use.

Display

The smartphone uses a rather large IPS-matrix with a diagonal of 5.7 inches, a resolution of 720 * 1440 pixels (HD+) and, accordingly, an aspect ratio of 18:9. With such a large display and a relatively low resolution, you can see the hotel points, but for this you will have to try. But if we remember that the Y6 2018 is still a relatively inexpensive smartphone, then such shortcomings can be forgiven. The display supports up to 10 simultaneous touches, which is twice as many as in the case of . However, it cannot be said that this is a significant advantage, because often the simultaneous recognition of 5 touches is more than enough for work.

The maximum brightness of the white field is 391.05 cd / m 2, which is slightly lower than that of. At the same time, the brightness of the black field, on the contrary, is slightly higher - 0.397 cd / m 2, which is why the final static contrast ratio is less - 985:1. However, the static contrast ratio is still good by the standards of smartphones.

In the display settings, only color temperature adjustment is provided. With the default settings, the color temperature is significantly overestimated, the blue component predominates in the color balance, and the Delta E color deviation on the gray wedge is quite large - up to 18.7, but on primary colors (RGBCMY) does not exceed 9.5, which is a good result for a relatively inexpensive smartphone. The gamma correction curve is quite far from the reference value.

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Sound

Camera

The smartphone is equipped with a front camera with a resolution of 5 megapixels and f / 2.2 lens aperture. It seems to be the same as in . But the matrix, judging by the pictures, is completely different, and most importantly, with a large physical size, which allows you to get not too noisy pictures even with typical lighting in a residential area. A smartphone in low light is able to shoot quite good selfies with good detail, which is not expected from a budget solution.

Like the younger model, the experimental smartphone is equipped with a front-facing LED flash. And although outwardly the flash modules and Y6 2018 are extremely similar, their power differs significantly. The tested smartphone at a distance of 1 meter was able to provide illumination of 3.27 lux, against a miserable 1.37 lux for the younger model. But you should not rejoice too much, because the result shown is actually also extremely modest. For example, the front flash was able to give out 24.7 lux, which is this moment is a record figure among all the smartphones we tested.

The rear flash is also more powerful than that of the younger model, and the advantage is not purely formal, but very significant. When measured at a distance of 1 meter from the smartphone, a level of 33.7 lux was recorded. This is far from a record, but a very good indicator.

The rear camera is based on a sensor with a resolution of 13 megapixels and a lens with an aperture of f / 2.2. The optics are of better quality than in, so the blurring of the corners is much less pronounced. The manufacturer announced a 5-point phase autofocus, thanks to which the tested smartphone focuses quite quickly even in low light. The overall photo quality is higher than that of the younger model, but there are still enough shortcomings. To begin with, it is worth noting a rather narrow dynamic range. And everything would be fine, but if there are zones with a large difference in brightness in the frame, the automation is not able to correctly set the exposure - the pictures turn out to be either strongly overexposed, or, conversely, significantly underexposed. In principle, the HDR mode could have been saved here, but it is not activated automatically, and to call this function you have to go to the mode menu, which is not very convenient. If there are no large differences in brightness in the frame, then in good light, the smartphone is able to take shots of quite decent quality.

There is no manual mode in the settings, there is no possibility to select the sensitivity level or white balance settings, although these functions are provided in frankly budgetary ones. But the subject has a hidden trump card - the ability to transfer control of the camera using the Camera 2 API third party applications where everything standard settings available. In addition, third-party software has the ability to shoot in RAW, which is extremely rare in budget smartphones.

To evaluate the image quality, the test pattern was filmed in the program Adobe Lightroom with ISO 100-3200 in steps of 1 EV. Below are the crop snippets.

Snapshot examples

macro photography

Illumination 3 lux + flash

Video recording

The system-on-a-chip used in the smartphone is limited to 1080/30p video recording. The smartphone manufacturer did not further limit the already modest video capabilities of the SoC, implementing the video recording mode to the fullest extent possible. Unlike the tested smartphone, there is no pronounced problem with blurring the edges and corners of the image, and in general, the video quality is much higher.

Offline work

Huawei Y6 2018 is equipped with a 3000 mAh battery, which for such large smartphone may seem insufficient. But, as testing has shown, the test subject is able to work for a long time on a single charge. The smartphone lasted 870 minutes in reading mode, 671 minutes in FullHD video playback mode, and 278 minutes in game mode.

Complete Charger not very powerful - only 5 W (5V / 1A), although the SoC used supports the technology fast charging Quick charge 2.0. From 0 to 85%, the battery is charged in about 127 minutes, and fully charged in 160 minutes.

Conclusion

The tested smartphone is extremely similar to the recently reviewed one, both outside and inside. But at the same time, there are a lot of differences in small but important details. For example, Huawei Y6 2018 has a second microphone, a dedicated system speaker, and a very high class by the standards of budget smartphones. The front camera, judging by the declared characteristics, seems to be identical, but the noise level is lower, and the overall photo quality is higher. The main camera is equipped with a phase detection autofocus sensor, and the size of the rear photomatrix is ​​clearly larger than that of the younger model. In addition, the subject has a significantly more powerful rear flash. The performance of the used system-on-a-chip is similar, but its energy efficiency is higher. It is also worth noting that there are modifications of Huawei Y6 2018 with an NFC module.

Minuses:
- low torsional rigidity of the case;
– no fingerprint reader;
- a microUSB connector, which in 2018 is excusable only for frankly cheap models;
– almost useless frontal flash;
– low performance at the level of the more affordable Huawei Y5 2018.
Pros:
– high contrast display;
- loud system speaker with a very decent sound quality;
– a very good front camera;
– relatively powerful rear flash;
- long battery life.

Smartphone for $200? - To you in that department where more and more run up the eyes. Manufacturers try very hard to succeed here, because price segment really very massive. There are more angry and more glamorous here. Today we have a device from the second category. Let's quickly see what kind of animal it is.

What's this?

Huawei Y6 Prime 2018 is a large (display diagonal 5.7”) budget Android smartphone in a plastic case. In modern times, you can not add that it is “almost full screen” (18x9 aspect ratio), but it is important to note that without “bangs / monobrows”.

Why is he interesting?

First, we need to clarify that the word Prime in the title is very important. If we remove it, we get a completely different model. The younger and already clearly budget: 2 GB of RAM, 16 permanent memory, without a fingerprint scanner, and with a worse front camera. But without external differences, except for the golden version of the body color (black and blue are also found). It was he who came across to us: it is immediately clear that this is a model with the Prime title.

Here's something a little more solid. The screen resolution, as in the younger model, is 1440x720, but the RAM is already 3 GB, and the permanent one is 32 GB. At the heart of the device platform Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 (MSM8917) - a quad-core processor with a frequency of up to 1.4 GHz. 3000 mAh battery, microUSB connector, fingerprint scanner on the back panel… Boring? Prime also has more interesting features. Frontal flash, a full-fledged tray for 2 SIM + 1 MicroSD, the function of unlocking the device with your face, double ... Stop. It's not double. It seemed? Let's take a closer look.

What's in the box?

Nothing extra in the box. In addition to the smartphone itself - a charger, a cable and a paper clip. Jokes are jokes, but the paper clip is really necessary thing. There is still no standard for the SIM tray ejection holes, and a clerical pin that can easily open the tray in the iPhone does not fit into the opening of the Huawei Y6 Prime, verified. So don't lose your paperclip. And be careful with the card tray, it's as long as a French baguette.

From the pleasant - a neat protective film is already pasted on the screen for constant wear. From the unpleasant: it is more like a film than glass, and it scratches quite easily. And also - no headset in the kit (but it will be in commercial deliveries, I just had no luck with the sample).

What does it look like?

More expensive than it is. Although this is a subjective assessment. But precisely because of the characteristics appearance it may seem that the camera here is double. Its lens and flash are covered with a black elongated module, exactly the same, behind which it is customary to put two lenses in more expensive models (the same Y7 Prime). But here he is alone. In addition to this module, on the rear panel there is a “dot” of the second microphone and a traditional round fingerprint scanner.

The bezels around the edges of the screen are quite thin. At the top of the front panel there is an LED indicator, a light sensor (which pretends to be a second front camera), the front camera itself, a speaker and an inconspicuous selfie flash. The front camera is also used to unlock the smartphone with face recognition. After pressing the power button and before the face is recognized, you can see the corresponding inscription on the screen.

Under the screen there is only a mirror logo of the manufacturer, all control buttons are drawn on the screen itself. On the bottom side - the most banal (like everyone else) round slots for a microphone and a speaker on the sides of the MicroUSB connector. On the right is the power button and volume rocker, on the left is only the card tray, and on the top end there is a 3.5 mm headphone jack. So far, fortunately, only flagships have abandoned it, as well as MicroUSB - in favor of Type C.

Everything is plastic, but assembled to the conscience, nothing creaks or dangles. The roundness of the forms and the glossy mirrored bezel around the perimeter of the device generally make it a kind of glamorous little thing. At least this white and gold version. For some reason, I remembered the iPhone of the first three generations, their polished metal edging made a similar impression.

How good is the screen?

Once upon a time, a 5.7-inch screen was considered huge, in modern times it is just big. For some reason, the programs that display the characteristics of the device are synchronously confused and determine the diagonal at 5.9 ”, but the ruler confirms: 5.7. Despite the relatively a high resolution, the pixels are invisible, with viewing angles everything is fine. The maximum brightness is 345.131 cd/m2, the black field brightness is 0.393 cd/m2, and the contrast ratio is 878:1. Good performance, but the color gamut let us down a bit and the screen is a bit cold. However, this is not the first time we have encountered such a feature of displays from Huawei. Let me remind you that the measurements were carried out with the default parameters, if desired, the color can be corrected in the settings.

What about performance, autonomy, sound?

The Snapdragon 425 processor is an old and proven option for budget employees. They have been built on it for more than one generation. Here and Xiaomi with the Redmi 4 and 5 A series, and the Samsung J-series, and the E5-e Moto, and many other models. Performance is predictable. In tests, the numbers are depressingly low, but in real life there is not much to complain about. The interface works smartly, simple toys work without problems. Something a little heavier like NFS: No Limits or Minecraft (a world with a lot of objects) also goes, although not as fast as demanding players would like.

Let me remind you that the Prime model has only 32 GB of permanent and 3 GB of RAM. Normal for the modern average. Wi-Fi (2.4GHz only), Bluetooth, GPS/GLONASS available - standard set. Excesses like NFC or an infrared remote control are not allowed. The most attentive readers will object that there should be NFC, but this chip is not in our modification with the ATU-L31 index. And it is available only in the ATU-L11 version, I can’t say anything about its deliveries to our market. But I can wish Huawei to buy modern Wi-Fi modules as soon as possible, because this story with the lack of support for the five-GHz range in almost all devices except flagships has been dragging on for a long time and it would be time to solve it.

But there is an FM radio. By the way, let's note the sound. The marketing campaign for this device mentions a particularly loud speaker delivering "up to 88 dB". Indeed, subjectively, it sounds louder than average. At the same time, it does not wheeze at maximum volume and quite accurately fulfills frequencies, which is higher. Bass transfer is worse for obvious reasons. But all the same, for scoring gatherings in the absence of other speakers, it will do better than most “classmate devices”.

Although this figure of 88 decibels haunts, let's check. We take a device for comparison (in our case, it is the iPhone 8), on it and on the experimental one, we alternately launch the same pieces from the repertoire of Metallica and AC / DC. We measure the noise level with a third smartphone using a software sound level meter from the Smart Tools package from a distance of 2 cm from the speaker. We count the average values ​​and compare. Y6 Prime at the peak gave out 84 dB, on average - 79. The opponent got 83 and 78, respectively. Dry numbers say that the speaker is hardly a head louder than everyone around. But it's still loud. And you can make it even louder in the "Party" mode, for which you will need at least one more of the same smartphone: they will "sing in chorus".

The battery is average, at 3000 mAh, this is a common capacity. The device removed from charging in the morning by 10 pm shows 50-60% of the charge. With an average level of use. Just do not ask what is included in it, you will still be wrong. If you use less intensively, you can do without charging for two days. Even more is possible, especially if you use the maximum power saving mode. This feature, familiar from other Huawei devices, turns the smartphone into a dialer, turning off everything secondary and reducing the brightness of the screen backlight to a minimum. In an extreme situation, when there is absolutely nowhere to recharge, it can help, it is useful.

What about firmware and interface?

Here we have Android 8.0 Oreo with the EMUI 8 shell. Nothing radically new, desktops and folders are like in iPhones, like most Chinese competitors. However, those who wish can put applications on a separate screen, such an opportunity is in the settings. EMUI has its own versions of the popular functions of cleaning up memory, reducing the visible area of ​​the screen for one-handed operation, and optimizing performance. For each of the two SIM-cards, you can configure a separate ringtone, call forwarding settings, allow or prohibit data transfer in general or only in roaming. There are a number of interesting little things like the "pocket" mode (which increases the volume of the call when the phone is in your pocket), the ability to end the call with the power button, or the bluetooth tethering mode (in addition to the usual hotspot function). WiFi access). There is a vision protection mode (blue filter), it can also be turned on automatically according to a schedule (but you cannot say "turn on after sunset", as in MIUI). I will not dwell on the shell in detail, it was recently written about in reviews or.

The top curtain with notifications seems to be the same as everyone else. But in Huawei devices, it can traditionally be pulled out without touching the screen, but by swiping down from the top of the fingerprint scanner. And tap on it - clear the read notifications in this curtain. Personally, this solution seems to me very convenient: every time you switch from Huawei smartphone to another device with the same rear scanner location, at first you curse at a non-working function. A number of types of special alerts that are irrelevant to our market are supported: emergency situations, "serious danger", AMBER alert and non-switchable (!) "presidential notices". It is interesting how often the latter come to the owners of a smartphone in its homeland.

Another feature of the device is unlocking by face recognition. The trend set in the iPhone X has already reached the $200 segment. This function works quite stably and at any angle, that is, the phone can be held upside down, the main thing is that the face falls into the frame of the front camera. But recognition does not always happen instantly, you should get used to it. If you grimace, the face is not recognized. I don’t have a twin brother, I couldn’t check this aspect of security.

How is the camera?

As we already understood, the main camera is single. It has a 13-megapixel matrix, while the front camera has an 8-megapixel sensor. Both cameras are equipped with flashes (both are also single), for fans of self-portraits, the presence of a backlight on the front panel is a clear plus. For them, there is also a "perfect selfie" function. In this mode, you can correct the oval of the face, the size of the eyes and the lighting parameters. In my opinion, good way make yourself look like an alien, nothing more. There is already a traditional setting for correcting skin defects (called "decoration mode") and stickers ("watermark") with the date, place, weather or all sorts of pictures, which are now proudly called "augmented reality elements". The shooting interface is quite simple, it does not indulge in an abundance of functions. The maximum video resolution is FullHD, there is no slow motion mode. I also did not find a time-lapse, but there is a panorama.

In headphones, the sound, however, is far from the standard. On the one hand, the sound is very "smooth", that is, there is enough bass, and the vocals sound normal, and the "decorations" in the songs do not fall out anywhere. The volume reserve is good, even high-impedance headphones the smartphone can “shake” to a sufficient level.

But the sound quality, I would say, is “folk” - no matter how rich in details the audio track in your player is, in headphones the sound is still the same as if you are listening to MP3 with a bit rate of 128-160 kbps. This seems to be due to the fact that the percussion sounds "poisonous", and the hissing sounds are played with a metallic tint and cut the ear.

Trouble, you say? Compared to the sound in the Snapdragon 410/615, it's really not good. But smartphones based on MT6735/6737/6753 sound even worse, and it’s impossible to tell about the sound in Spreadtrum processors without a mat. Therefore, the musical potential of the Y6II is more or less enough for ordinary workers, and no one invited audiophiles to the class of cheap phablets.

Iron

In the best traditions of the Russian automobile industry, our hero received an old stuffing with a new appearance. Say, "hey brother, don't call the car Lada-Sputnikwhen it comes to VAZ-2114!". Harasho, darling, I will not argue about marketing positioning, but the processor in Huawei Y6II cannot be called new even with a stretch, and this is worth talking about in more detail.

Huawei has long figured out what to create cheap smartphones will succeed only if the processors do not have to be bought on the side. Therefore, the Chinese have long been designing their own Hisilicon Kirin, and then their friends at TSMC churn out chips on an industrial scale. At first, Huawei released extremely slow "freaks" like the K3V2 (the culprit of the torment of the owners of the MediaPad 10 FHD) and Kirin 910 (formed the basis of the clumsy MediaPad X1 and Mate 2), but later the situation improved a little. In 2015, Huawei and Honor smartphones received quite sensible Kirin 620 (for state employees) and Kirin 930-935 (for older models).

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