Huawei P Smart review

Introduction

This one's perhaps a little unexpected given it was rumored to be the Enjoy 7S. It's by no means a nasty surprise though. In fact, quite the opposite. You see, Huawei's Enjoy phones aren't getting much love usually - either because they're a strictly domestic lineup, known as the Y-series globally, or because they're ... well... easily eclipsed by the flagship P's and the Mates.

Now, welcome the Huawei P Smart and get ready to be surprised.

Quite competitively priced for what it offers, the P Smart may turn out to be one of the company's most compelling recent offers. The overall package is downright solid, with a couple of highlights - the dual-camera rig and the FullView tall aspect ratio screen.

The Huawei P Smart maybe familiar if you're watching Huawei closely. It has clearly borrowed bits and pieces from the Honor 7X, although it has a smaller screen and a 13MP primary cam instead of 16MP. The rest is more or less the same. And it sounds really great on paper: the latest midrange Kirin chipset, a pair of cameras at the back, Android 8 with EMUI 8, all wrapped into a great-looking aluminum body.

Huawei P Smart specs:

• Body: Aluminum body
• Screen: 5.65" IPS LCD of 1,080 x 2,160px resolution (427ppi)
• Camera: 13MP + 2MP dual-camera with phase-detection AF, f/2.2 aperture; LED flash; 1080p video capture @ 30 fps;
• Selfie cam: 8MP f/2.0; 1080p @ 30fps video
• Chipset: 16nm Kirin 659, octa-core CPU (4xCortex-A53@2.36GHz + 4xCortex-A53@1.7GHz), dual-core Mali-T830 GPU
• Memory: 3GB / 4GB of RAM, 32GB / 64GB of storage; hybrid microSD slot
• OS: Android 8.0 Oreo with Huawei EMUI 8.0
• Battery: 3,000mAh Li-Po (sealed)
• Connectivity: Dual-SIM; LTE-A (Cat.6 300/50Mbps); microUSB; Wi-Fi b/g/n; GPS/GLONASS; Bluetooth 4.2; FM radio; NFC (region-dependent)
• Misc: Rear-mounted fingerprint reader

What we have here is pretty much middle ground between the Mate 10 Lite and the P10 Lite. The sweet spot really - the P Smart is better than the P10 Lite and cut back on just some of the trimmings of the Mate. It has a smaller screen and a single selfie cam - though it keeps the simulated bokeh anyway. The best thing is the price was slashed accordingly to make the P Smart one of the most affordable Huawei phones around. Let's see what comes in the box.

Huawei P Smart unboxing

Going against the midrange grain, not only does the Huawei P Smart bundle a proper microUSB cable and a 10W charger plug, but also a pair of headphones with an integrated mic.

Although the headset looks rather basic, we always welcome a complete package, which saves you the hassle of searching for a compatible accessory. We dream of the days where all manufacturers will bundle a case and a screen protector too. But we digress.

Follow us on the next page for a closer look on the design and build quality.