GSMArena team, 25 January 2019

Huawei P Smart 2019 review

3. Lab tests - display, battery life, loudspeaker, audio quality

6.21 inches of color accuracy, so-so brightness

The P Smart 2019 is equipped with a 6.21-inch IPS display with a dewdrop notch in the middle. It's got a tall aspect ratio of 19.5:9 and a 2340x1080px resolution for a pixel density of 415ppi - pretty standard numbers these days.

In our testing, the P Smart posted average results for brightness and contrast. There's no boost in auto mode, and the 430-something nits you can get in manual is the ceiling in auto as well. You can get more nits from some of the competition and the one phone in this bunch that does crank up the brightness in its auto mode, the Galaxy A7 (2018), is actually the brightest.

Display test	100% brightness
Display test	Black, cd/m²	White, cd/m²	Contrast ratio
Huawei P Smart	0.356	531	1492
Huawei P Smart 2019	0.325	437	1345
Huawei P20 Lite	0.27	482	1785
Huawei Mate 20 Lite	0.313	460	1470
Huawei Honor 10 Lite	0.344	441	1282
Samsung Galaxy A7 (2018)	0	402	∞
Samsung Galaxy A7 (2018) (Max Auto)	0	602	∞
Honor 8X	0.346	427	1234
Huawei Honor 10 Lite	0.344	441	1282
Oppo F9	0.29	526	1814
Xiaomi Mi 8 Lite	0.322	468	1453
Nokia 7 plus	0.254	432	1701
Oppo Realme 2 Pro	0.306	537	1755
Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro	0.314	481	1532
vivo V11	0	418	∞

Under direct light, the P Smart 2019 fares decently and produces an average contrast score for its class. It's a noticeable improvement over the old model and it's also superior to the Honor 10 Lite, but the OLED displays of the Galaxy A7 (2018) and the vivo V11 will remain more easily legible out in the sun.

Sunlight contrast ratio

Apple iPhone XS
5.171
Apple iPhone X
5.013
Huawei Mate 20 Pro
4.965
OnePlus 5T
4.789
Samsung Galaxy S8
4.768
Asus ROG Phone
4.765
Samsung Galaxy S8+
4.658
Samsung Galaxy S9
4.63
Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+
4.615
Samsung Galaxy S9+
4.537
Samsung Galaxy Note9
4.531
Apple iPhone XS Max
4.516
Sony Xperia XZ3
4.502
Motorola Moto Z2 Play
4.459
Oppo R11
4.454
Samsung Galaxy S7 edge
4.439
Oppo RX17 Pro
4.434
OnePlus 3
4.424
Samsung Galaxy S7
4.376
Google Pixel 3
4.35
Samsung Galaxy A7 (2018)
4.324
OnePlus 6
4.321
Xiaomi Mi Mix 3
4.291
vivo NEX Dual Display (second display)
4.289
HTC One A9
4.274
LG V40 ThinQ
4.256
Oppo R15 Pro
4.251
Samsung Galaxy Note7
4.247
Samsung Galaxy A3
4.241
Nokia 8
4.239
Google Pixel 2 XL (pre-update)
4.234
OnePlus 3T
4.232
Samsung Galaxy A9 (2018)
4.22
Google Pixel XL
4.164
ZTE Axon 7
4.154
Samsung Galaxy Note8
4.148
Meizu Pro 7 Plus
4.147
OnePlus 6T
4.138
Samsung Galaxy S6 edge
4.124
Samsung Galaxy A7 (2017)
4.124
vivo V11
4.113
vivo NEX Dual Display
4.108
Huawei Mate 10 Pro (normal)
4.096
Samsung Galaxy Note5
4.09
Huawei P20 Pro
4.087
Xiaomi Mi 8
4.086
Meizu 15
4.082
Nokia 6 (2018)
4.052
Google Pixel 2 (pre-update)
4.023
LG V30
4.022
Huawei Nexus 6P
4.019
vivo NEX S
4.012
Honor Magic 2
4.01
Samsung Galaxy J7 Pro
3.998
OnePlus X
3.983
Vivo Xplay5 Elite
3.983
LG G7 ThinQ (outdoor)
3.978
Oppo R7s
3.964
Apple iPhone 7
3.964
Apple iPhone 8 (True Tone)
3.957
Huawei P9 Plus
3.956
Oppo Find X
3.954
Meizu Pro 6 Plus
3.935
Lenovo Moto Z
3.931
Samsung Galaxy A7 (2016)
3.918
OnePlus 5
3.914
Samsung Galaxy C5
3.911
Xiaomi Mi 8 SE
3.901
Samsung Galaxy C7
3.896
Samsung Galaxy A5
3.895
Samsung Galaxy J7 outdoor
3.879
Samsung Galaxy J2 outdoor
3.873
Motorola Moto G6 Plus
3.865
Samsung Galaxy A8
3.859
Samsung Galaxy A8 (2018)
3.842
Apple iPhone 6
3.838
Microsoft Lumia 950XL
3.837
Samsung Galaxy A6+ (2018)
3.834
Sony Xperia XZs
3.818
Samsung Galaxy A9 (2016)
3.817
Motorola Moto X (2014)
3.816
Samsung Galaxy J7 (2017)
3.812
Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017)
3.804
Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016) outdoor mode
3.802
Xiaomi Redmi Pro
3.798
LG V20 Max auto
3.798
Sony Xperia XZ
3.795
Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016)
3.789
Apple iPhone 6s
3.783
Meizu Pro 5
3.781
Microsoft Lumia 650
3.772
Xiaomi Mi 6
3.767
Sony Xperia XZ1
3.765
Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016)
3.756
Nokia 8 Sirocco
3.745
Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact
3.729
Apple iPhone 8 Plus (True Tone)
3.725
Oppo F1 Plus
3.709
Vivo X5Pro
3.706
Samsung Galaxy A3 (2017)
3.688
Huawei P20
3.683
Apple iPhone SE
3.681
Huawei Mate 9
3.68
Samsung Galaxy A7
3.679
Sony Xperia XZ2 Compact
3.675
Meizu PRO 6
3.659
BlackBerry Priv
3.645
Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra
3.597
Apple iPhone 7 Plus
3.588
Sony Xperia XZ2
3.58
LG G6
3.556
Apple iPhone 6s Plus
3.53
Motorola Moto Z Play
3.526
Samsung Galaxy J3 (2016)
3.523
Samsung Galaxy J3 (2016) outdoor mode
3.523
Acer Jade Primo
3.521
Microsoft Lumia 950
3.512
Oppo R7 Plus
3.499
Nokia 7 plus
3.479
nubia Z11
3.466
Huawei P10 Plus
3.456
HTC U Ultra
3.453
Motorola Moto G6
3.448
Sony Xperia XA2 Ultra
3.445
Sony Xperia XA2 Plus
3.445
Samsung Galaxy J7
3.422
Motorola Moto G6 Play
3.419
Meizu MX5
3.416
LG V20
3.402
Samsung Galaxy A6 (2018)
3.397
Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 AI Dual Camera
3.393
LG G7 ThinQ
3.39
Huawei P10
3.379
Samsung Galaxy J5 (2016)
3.378
Oppo R9s
3.352
Honor Play
3.349
Honor 8 Pro
3.341
Oppo F7
3.333
Oppo R7
3.32
Lenovo P2
3.316
Archos Diamond Omega
3.305
Honor 9
3.289
Xiaomi Mi 5s
3.276
Nokia 5
3.261
Nokia 6 (Chinese version)
3.244
Xiaomi Mi 5
3.24
Nokia 6 (Global version)
3.238
Samsung Galaxy J2
3.235
Oppo Realme 2 Pro
3.235
Sony Xperia X Performance
3.234
Xiaomi Mi Note 2
3.228
Motorola Moto X Play
3.222
Oppo F3 Plus
3.218
BlackBerry KEY2
3.212
Huawei Mate 9 Pro
3.206
Huawei P9
3.195
Xiaomi Mi Mix 2
3.19
ZTE Nubia Z17
3.159
Oppo R11s
3.153
Lenovo Vibe Shot
3.113
Honor 8X
3.113
HTC U11 Life
3.108
Motorola Moto X Force
3.105
LG Nexus 5X
3.092
HTC U11
3.089
Xiaomi Mi A2 Lite
3.087
HTC U12+
3.085
Xiaomi Redmi S2 (Y2)
3.077
Huawei Mate S
3.073
Huawei P Smart 2019
3.069
Oppo F9
3.069
Microsoft Lumia 640 XL
3.065
Xiaomi Mi Max 3
3.061
Xiaomi Pocophone F1
3.059
Huawei Mate 20
3.052
Huawei Mate 20 Lite
3.051
Motorola One (P30 Play)
3.026
Apple iPhone 6 Plus
3.023
Asus Zenfone 4 ZE554KL
3.019
Sony Xperia XA1
3.012
Motorola Moto X4
3.012
Oppo Realme 2
3.006
Sony Xperia L1
2.994
Sony Xperia X
2.989
LG Q6
2.987
Huawei P10 Lite
2.974
Samsung Galaxy Note
2.97
Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro
2.966
Huawei P20 Lite
2.952
Xiaomi Redmi 5
2.951
Huawei Mate 8
2.949
Sony Xperia XA2
2.938
Oppo Realme 1
2.932
Razer Phone 2
2.932
Xiaomi Redmi 4
2.92
Xiaomi Redmi 3S
2.913
Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus
2.913
Sony Xperia XA Ultra
2.906
LG G5
2.905
Huawei Honor View 10
2.896
Xiaomi Redmi 3s Prime
2.893
Xiaomi Mi 5s Plus
2.884
Sony Xperia XZ Premium (sRGB)
2.877
Sony Xperia XZ Premium
2.877
Sony Xperia Z5
2.876
Nokia 3
2.871
Sony Xperia XZ2 Premium
2.867
Xiaomi Mi 8 Lite
2.862
Microsoft Lumia 550
2.851
Nokia 3.1
2.837
Realme U1
2.815
Lenovo Moto M
2.813
Nokia 7.1
2.804
Xiaomi Redmi 3 Pro
2.803
Sony Xperia Z5 compact
2.784
Honor 10 (Vivid)
2.757
Nokia 2
2.752
Meizu MX6
2.751
LG V10
2.744
Huawei Mate 10 (normal)
2.742
Motorola Moto G5S Plus
2.737
Xiaomi Redmi 3
2.735
Huawei Honor 7X
2.734
Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625)
2.714
Meizu M5
2.71
Xiaomi Mi A2
2.696
Sony Xperia M5
2.69
Xiaomi Mi A1
2.689
Huawei P9 Lite
2.679
Xiaomi Redmi 4 Prime
2.679
vivo V7+
2.671
Vivo V3Max
2.659
Xiaomi Mi Mix
2.658
Huawei Mate 10 Lite
2.654
Oppo F5
2.653
Doogee Mix
2.642
Xiaomi Mi 4i
2.641
Xiaomi Redmi 4a
2.635
Sony Xperia Z3
2.618
Xiaomi Mi 5X (Standard)
2.616
Sony Xperia XA
2.609
Motorola Moto G4 Plus
2.582
Motorola Moto G4 Plus (max auto)
2.582
Meizu M5s
2.58
Xiaomi Mi 4c
2.574
LeEco Le Max 2
2.567
Microsoft Lumia 640
2.563
Asus Zenfone 3 ZE552KL
2.563
Huawei P Smart
2.563
Xiaomi Mi Max 2
2.561
HTC U11+
2.556
Xiaomi Redmi Note 5A (Y1)
2.556
Lenovo Moto G4
2.544
Lenovo K6 Note
2.544
Oppo F1
2.528
Sony Xperia Z5 Premium
2.525
Huawei Honor 7 Lite / Honor 5c
2.506
Sony Xperia M4 Aqua
2.503
Huawei Honor 10 Lite
2.497
BlackBerry Motion
2.494
Oppo F1s
2.481
Motorola Moto G
2.477
Lenovo Vibe K5 Plus
2.473
Huawei G8
2.471
Huawei nova
2.467
Sony Xperia Z
2.462
Lenovo Vibe K5
2.459
Meizu m3 max
2.447
Xiaomi Mi 5X (Auto)
2.417
HTC 10 evo
2.407
Huawei Honor 7
2.406
Vivo V7
2.404
Sony Xperia E5
2.386
ZUK Z1 by Lenovo
2.382
HTC 10
2.378
Oppo F3
2.376

We've been saving the best bit for last - the P Smart 2019 can be spectacularly accurate in representing the sRGB color space. In the Normal+Default display setting it achieves an average DeltaE of 1.2 but a slight tweak with the color wheel brings that down to a negligible 0.6.

Custom color setting

Of course, that's not the default mode, because people tend to prefer livelier colors. The Vivid+Default setting (the actual out-of-the-box state) delivers those, but it also renders slightly bluish whites though it still manages a decent average DeltaE of 5.5 when compared against an sRGB target.

One issue we observed that doesn't fall into any of the usual categories is the less than ideal uniformity of the panel. On bright screens you'll be able to notice some dimming around the edges - it's not a deal breaker, but it's the type of display flaw we thought we had left in the past.

Huawei P Smart 2019 battery life

The P Smart 2019 packs a 3,400mAh battery, up from the 3,000mAh of last year's model. It does have a larger display area to light up, to the tune of 15%, which is that extra bit more than the bump in capacity.

The newer and more efficient chipset played its role too, and this year's model showed vastly improved endurance in standby and 3G voice calls, slight increase in video playback longevity and a minor (within the margin of error) decrease in Wi-Fi web browsing. Neither screen-on test returned spectacular numbers, but 10 hours of looping our web script and 11 hours of video playback are quite reasonable results. Overall, the P Smart 2019's Endurance rating works out to 88 hours - a tangible 15-hour improvement over the predecessor.

Our battery tests were automated thanks to SmartViser, using its viSer App. The endurance rating above denotes how long a single battery charge will last you if you use the Huawei P Smart 2019 for an hour each of telephony, web browsing, and video playback daily. We've established this usage pattern so that our battery results are comparable across devices in the most common day-to-day tasks. The battery testing procedure is described in detail in case you're interested in the nitty-gritty. You can check out our complete battery test table, where you can see how all of the smartphones we've tested will compare under your own typical use.

We were gearing for some heavy ranting after we saw the plain 5V/2A charger, but in reality it filled an empty battery in 1:42h which isn't too shabby. Sure, the 36% we got after a 30-minute stint isn't mind-blowingly fast, but the whole charging experience wasn't really rant-worthy.

Loudspeaker

The P Smart 2019 has a single loudspeaker - a classic bottom-firing one next to the charging port. It's plenty loud and won't leave ringtones unnoticed, but using it for any sort of music playback is likely to disappoint you due to some clipping at high volume and distinct lack of punch in the low frequencies.

Speakerphone test	Voice, dB	Pink noise/ Music, dB	Ringing phone, dB	Overall score
Honor Play	68.3	73.8	75.8	Good
BlackBerry KEY2	66.5	72.0	79.8	Good
Nokia 7 plus	67.5	71.3	79.7	Good
Samsung Galaxy A7 (2018)	69.4	70.9	79.9	Very Good
Honor 8X	67.1	72.9	81.6	Very Good
Huawei Mate 20 Lite	67.8	70.0	84.2	Very Good
Huawei P Smart	65.9	70.8	85.8	Very Good
Huawei P20 Lite	66.3	71.5	84.9	Very Good
Xiaomi Mi 8 Lite	67.5	77.8	77.6	Very Good
vivo V11	70.7	73.8	80.7	Very Good
Realme 2 Pro	69.1	74.8	81.4	Very Good
Oppo F9	71.7	74.4	81.6	Very Good
Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro	70.1	73.1	85.4	Excellent
Huawei P Smart 2019	69.5	73.6	86.0	Excellent
Huawei Honor 10 Lite	70.0	73.8	87.0	Excellent
Nokia 7.1	75.6	76.0	81.1	Excellent

Audio quality

The Huawei P Smart 2019 had above average loudness with an active external amplifier and excellent scores across the board, which was a very promising start.

Unfortunately, headphones did quite a lot of damage - volume dropped to way below average, frequency response got somewhat shaky and some intermodulation distortion crept in. Stereo crosstalk increased by an above average amount too, adding up to a rather mediocre performance in the more important part of the test.

Test	Frequency response	Noise level	Dynamic range	THD	IMD + Noise	Stereo crosstalk
Huawei P Smart 2019	+0.02, -0.02	-93.1	93.0	0.0039	0.0088	-81.9
Huawei P Smart 2019 (headphones)	+0.64, -0.38	-88.6	91.9	0.0069	0.606	-50.6
Xiaomi Mi 8 Lite	+0.04, -0.04	-93.5	93.4	0.0011	0.0070	-93.4
Xiaomi Mi 8 Lite (headphones)	+0.45, -0.18	-93.4	93.4	0.021	0.457	-54.9
Honor 8X	+0.01, -0.04	-92.3	92.4	0.0041	0.0085	-80.7
Honor 8X (headphones)	+0.45, -0.54	-92.2	92.8	0.0084	0.492	-51.5
Samsung Galaxy A7 (2018)	+0.02, -0.02	-93.1	92.9	0.0026	0.0089	-92.5
Samsung Galaxy A7 (2018) (headphones)	+0.25, -0.17	-91.4	91.6	0.115	0.306	-55.4
Nokia 7.1	+0.02, -0.06	-91.0	88.6	0.0021	0.016	-94.4
Nokia 7.1 (headphones)	+0.05, -0.03	-93.8	89.6	0.0019	0.034	-54.9

Huawei P Smart 2019 frequency response

You can learn more about the tested parameters and the whole testing process here.

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3. Lab tests - display, battery life, loudspeaker, audio quality

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