Huawei still isn’t a big name in the UK, but it’s quietly making flagship phones with innovative features and low price tags, so it arguably deserves more attention.
We were reasonably impressed with the Huawei Honor 6 when we reviewed it last year, concluding that while it’s not the complete package it is a great deal.
Now the Huawei Honor 7 has arrived, but just how much has changed? And can it deliver on the Honor 6’s potential?
Huawei Honor 7 (143.2 x 71.9 x 8.5mm 157g metal unibody) vs Huawei Honor 6 (139.6 x 69.7 x 7.6mm 130g plastic)
One thing we really weren’t thrilled by on the Huawei Honor 6 was its uninspiring plastic design. The edges had a metallic glint to them, but they were still plastic and the front and back were just plain black or white plastic, though it was at least slim and light at 7.5mm thick and 130g.
Huawei has had a rethink with the Honor 7 and given it a ceramic sand-blasted aluminium unibody, leaving it looking and feeling far higher end. Though that comes at a cost, as it’s thicker and heavier at 8.5mm and 157g.
Huawei Honor 7 (5.2-inch 1080*1920 424ppi) vs Huawei Honor 6 (5.0-inch 1080*1920 445ppi)
While both the Huawei Honor 7 and the Huawei Honor 6 have 1080 x 1920 IPS LCD displays, the screen on the Honor 6 is 5.0 inches, while the display on the Honor 7 is a slightly larger 5.2 inches.
That also means that it has a slightly lower pixel density of 424 pixels per inch, versus the Honor 6’s 445 pixels per inch, but the difference is negligible and the size is a larger factor.
Huawei Honor 7 (2.2GHz octa-core 3GB RAM) vs Huawei Honor 6 (1.7GHz octa-core 3GB RAM)
It almost wouldn’t be a new phone without a new processor, so it’s no surprise that the Honor 7 has had a boost in this area. It has an octa-core Kirin 935 processor with four cores clocked at 2.2GHz and four running at 1.5GHz, while the Honor 6 uses an octa-core Kirin 930 chip with four cores at 1.7GHz and the other four going at 1.3GHz.
The Huawei Honor 7 is a little faster then, though both phones have 3GB of RAM.
The Honor 6 is stuck on Android 4.4.2 KitKat, while the Honor 7 comes with the newer and superior Android 5.0 Lollipop. A word of warning though: Huawei doesn’t always bother to update the OS on its phones, which is why the Honor 6 is still running KitKat, so even if you opt for the Honor 7 we wouldn’t expect it will necessarily get upgraded to Android Marshmallow.
Huawei Honor 7 (20MP rear 8MP front-facing) vs Huawei Honor 6 (13MP rear 5MP front-facing)
While the Huawei Honor 6 has a 13 megapixel rear camera and a 5 megapixel front-facing one, the Huawei Honor 7 has a 20 megapixel rear snapper and an 8 megapixel front-facing one. So both cameras have had a megapixel boost and while more megapixels doesn’t always translate into better pictures in this case they seemingly have, as the Honor 7 is a highly capable cameraphone.
Huawei Honor 7 (3,100 mAh 16/64GB 4G) vs Huawei Honor 6 (3,100 mAh 16/32GB 4G)
Both the Huawei Hono 7 and the Huawei Honor 6 have 3,100 mAh batteries, so they’re similarly long lasting.
With 16 or 32GB of storage plus a microSD card slot with support for cards of up to 64GB the Huawei Honor 6 isn’t particularly lacking for storage, but nevertheless the Huawei Honor 7 has more, with either 16 or 64GB built in and a microSD card slot with support for cards of up to 128GB.
Connectivity options on the two phones include Wi-Fi, 3G, 4G, Bluetooth 4.0 and NFC.
Huawei has added a fingerprint scanner to the Honor 7. This is a feature you won’t find at all on the Honor 6 and it’s a pretty good one. It sits on the back of the handset in a position where your fingertips should easily find it and not only can it speedily unlock the phone, it can also launch different apps or functions if you swipe up or down on it.
Another feature Huawei has added to the Honor 7 is a Smart Key, which is a physical button that you can press, long press or double press, with each interaction launching a different app or feature of your choice, giving you a handy shortcut to your most used phone functions.
While almost every change works out in the Honor 7’s favour there’s one which doesn’t and that’s the price. Both phones are bargains for the specs, but while the Huawei Honor 6 can now be picked up for around £210 the Huawei Honor 7 will set you back around £250.
Still, that’s only a £40 difference and for that you get a far more premium design, a faster processor, a better camera, a bigger screen, more storage potential and new features, like a fingerprint scanner and a Smart Key, so it’s probably well worth it.
