Huawei Y6 (2019)

Huawei arrives with its new fashionable budget, Huawei Y6 (2019). Priced at Rs. 9,499, the eccentric design of this phone will at least make you want to feel the phone in your hands.

The Huawei Y6 (2019) scores not only on its design. It comes with a suitable performance and good battery life. While it is neither premium nor mid-range, the phone is value for money. The only reason the phone might falter in the market is due to exaggerated advertising.

The Huawei Y6 (2019) comes with a distinct design which is specifically Huawei. The phone has a rear surface that is made of real leather, though it does not seem so since it feels a bit cheap and dry. However, it does bring a change from the plastic, metal, and glass rear panel. The frame looks like metal but is plastic. It means that it can seem a bit shabby after some time. However, build quality-wise, the phone is quite decent. The buttons are on the right and are ergonomic. Also, it has excellent torsional rigidity as well. There is a slight camera bump but it does not cause any issue. The front camera is the top-centre housed within the notch. The phone also comes with the notification sensor as well. It is quite light at 150 grams. One of the faults with the phone is that in 2019 it still has the micro USB port and has not switched to the USB Type-C port. Sadly, it does not have a fingerprint scanner too.

The Huawei Y6 (2019) comes with a 6.1-inch screen with a resolution of 1560×720 pixels. It has about 280 pixels per inch, which is quite low and hence, there is a noticeable drop in sharpness. The brightness is quite good compared to the price and goes up to 485 cd/m². It is evenly distributed across the screen too. The blacks are better on this set than the Y6 2018. It is quite readable outside, and the viewing angles are decent. However, harsh sunlight will drop down the legibility of the device. The phone has narrow bezels, so you get enough screen space to work with.

The Huawei Y6 had advertised that their product was “equipped for outstanding performance”, but the MediaTek Helio A22 MT6761 chipset proves that it is an exaggerated claim. The phone does have about a 10-20% increase in the CPU and GPU performance, yet Redmi 7 turns out to be a better performer. It scores 2354 points in multi-core in Geekbench and is defeated by the 4301 points acquired by Redmi 7. Daily tasks can be handled well with the phone, and it can also manage to multitask without facing any issue in general. However, the real problem arrives with gaming. High-end games like Asphalt 9 will struggle with this phone. The reason is entry-level smartphone fails to run 3D games properly. However, the phone is capable enough to run light games like Angry Birds or Subway Surfers. Hard-core gamers should opt for other phones.

The Huawei Y6 (2019) arrives with a 13 MP primary camera. The single-camera has an aperture of f/1.8. The daylight shots are quite sharp. It has an excellent dynamic range, and the rich details are held together. The photos look crisp, but when it comes to the darker areas, the software overly sharpens the area and causes it to become artificial. In low-light conditions, the camera performance is abysmal. It takes up a lot of visual noise and drowns the subjects.

The front camera is weak when it comes to low-light images. The bright areas also do not produce good pictures as the pictures appear blown out of proportion most of the times. It is okay for rare selfies and video calls.

The phone does not come with any stabilization, so the videos turn out to be jerky.

Huawei Y6 (2019) comes with a 3020 mAh battery. It is a capable battery and is quite a leap from the previous set. The energy consumption is there, but the battery holds its own. The phone was able to last for about 1.5 hours longer than the Y6 2018. With light use, it can smoothly run for about two days. Hence, the battery backup is a plus for this phone.

The Huawei Y6 (2019) is a good phone, but if it does fail, it is due to inadequate and misleading advertising. It has a capable performance but not an outstanding one. Neither is its camera suitable, especially when we consider the low-light shots. The phone is a no-no if you are a gamer too. However, if you want a more-or-less immersive display and a new kind of design, you can go for this budget phone. You can also get the Huawei trust with it. However, the use of a micro USB port and the lack of fingerprint scanner does make the phone dated.