With the number of phones going for bigger, bulkier, and more feature-laden phones lately. Some would just prefer to have a simpler smartphone that they can just pretty much use on the daily. Options on these have been admittedly limited, and most of the choices aren’t really visually appealing. But it seems like Huawei is giving us an answer to this want with the Huawei Y5p.

To start things off here’s the short rundown of the phone’s specs:

Specs

Dimensions and Weight	Height: 146.5mm Width: 70.94mm Depth: 8.35mm Weight: Approx. 144g (Battery included)
Colors	Midnight Black Mint Green Phantom Blue
Display	Size: 5.45 inches Type: TFT LCD (IPS) Resolution: HD+1,440 x 720 pixels
Processor	Mediatek MT6762R CPU: Octa-core Processor 4 x Cortex-A53 2 GHz + 4 x Cortex-A53 1.5 GHz GPU: IMG GE8320 650 MHz
Operating System	EMUI 10.1 (Based on Android 10)
Memory and Storage	2 GB RAM + 32 GB ROM External Memory Support: Micro SD Card, up to 512 GB
Battery	3,020 mAh (typical value)
Charging	5V/1A
Camera	Rear Camera: 8 MP (f/2.0 aperture), AF Front Camera: 5 MP (f/2.2 aperture), FF
Connectivity	WLAN: 802.11b/g/n, 2.4 GHz Bluetooth: Bluetooth 5.0 USB: microUSB, USB 2.0 (*The standard USB cable supports USB 2.0.) Earjack: 3.5 mm
Sensor	Ambient Light Sensor Proximity Sensor Gravity Sensor
Audio	HUAWEI Histen mp3, mid, amr, awb, 3gp, mp4, m4a, aac, wav, ogg, flac, mkv

Media and apps

The Huawei Y5p has a 5.45″ HD bezel-less TFT LCD screen. This allows watching of videos on the phone pleasant since the colors still pop out even if it’s on Netflix or on YouTube. Audio-wise, the speakers which are located on the top of the screen provides a subpar level of performance but it’s what you’d expect from the price point of the Y5p. It’s better that you could just connect with Bluetooth speakers or through the 3.5mm audio jack found on top of the phone.

Out of the box, you don’t get google mobile services also with the Huawei Y5p. You would need to capitalize on Huawei’s Petal Search if you want to use your apps on the Huawei Y5p. Also since the phone only has 32GB memory you may find it pretty lacking. Huawei provides a solution for this lack of memory with the capability of being able to increase the phone’s memory with a microSD slot that you can put up to 512GB.

Gaming

Gaming on the Huawei Y5p was pretty convenient. I’ve tried playing ROCKMAN X DiVE on it. With the screen almost fitting in the palm of my hand, playing with the Y5p on two hands is a pretty nifty experience. The small screen allowed me to easily tap movements and commands in the field especially with a platformer like ROCKMAN X DiVE. However, the small form factor can be problematic with guys like me who have big pudgy hands since my fingers will pretty much overlap especially with the weird way I play shooters (Garena Free Fire) on the phone.

I wasn’t able to play long Huawei Y5p since the phone has a measly 3,020 mAh. I had to do a few adjustments to be able to eke out an hour playing with the phone.

Camera Shots

Conclusion

The Huawei Y5p checks all the features a person would look for in a smartphone in this day and age adequately. However, with the very competitive pricing of phones out at the market, the price tag of ₱4,490 may seem a bit steep considering its software features. However, in exchange, you have a smartphone that can be the daily driver that you can hardly notice, compact, and would be able to do the job even without the access to the GMS.

With the market shifting to bigger, bulkier phones within the price range, the Huawei Y5p stands as the David in the ₱5,000 Goliath market right now.