Huawei Ascend P7 review
Love it or hate it, there’s no question that Apple’s iPhone lineup brings some things to the table that rival devices do not. Specifically, Apple’s designs and its attention to detail are completely unmatched. There are some Android phones with gorgeous designs and there are some with sleek software enhancements, but none offer the total package that Apple’s iPhone affords.
It stands to reason, then, that rival companies would copy the iPhone in some ways. There is nothing wrong with that of course, and Apple has copied various things from other companies as well. The iOS Notification Center was inspired by Android, Apple’s new app switcher interface in iOS 7 is a blatant webOS ripoff, and the company’s iPhone 4, 4S, 5 and 5S all bear a striking resemblance to an LG smartphone that debuted in 2006.
It’s the nature of the beast.
Of course, many Android phone makers take inspiration from different aspects of Apple’s iPhone — not just Samsung. Try as they might, however, no other company has been able to offer an end-to-end user experience that even approaches the iPhone.
Until now, perhaps.
I have spent more than a week testing Huawei’s new Ascend P7 and I’ve come away completely surprised. Everything about this phone was surprising to me, from the hardware to the software to the user interface design.
We’ll start by stating the obvious: The Ascend P7 has borrowed a great deal from Apple’s iPhone.
Huawei’s handset design is quite unique in some ways, but it is also very familiar in others. The front and back of the phone are covered with Corning’s latest Gorilla Glass, and beneath the rear glass panel lies a wonderfully detailed pattern that catches the light and draws the eye. Huawei says it took seven different layers of various materials to achieve the effect, and it really is gorgeous and unique.
While certain individual elements of the design are new, the overall look is quite familiar — it looks like an iPhone 5 with no home button that has been flattened by a steam roller.
The overall shape of the phone is the same flat, rounded rectangle that we have seen from Apple for the past two years. The sides and top of the phone are also wrapped with a gorgeous anodized aluminum band with polished, chamfered edges. Again, just like the iPhone. Similarities between the Ascend P7 and Apple’s iPhone also extend to the phone’s software, which is a heavily customized version of Android 4.4.2 KitKat.
Huawei calls its Android interface “EmotionUI,” and it includes a number of cool and useful features. It also takes a few obvious cues from iOS. For one thing, EmotionUI is the only Android build from a major smartphone vendor that does away with Android’s app grid. Most Android phones have a series of home screens on which users can arrange application shortcuts and widgets, and then there is a master app grid that lists every app installed on the phone.
The P7 has no such grid. Instead, it is set up like iOS, where icons for each and every app on the device are spread across the various home screens.
Beyond that, the P7 also ships with several pre-installed themes that can change the look of the interface, and each one includes a different icon set. It just so happens that one of those pre-installed themes — “Dream” — features flat designs and bold, bright colors… just like iOS 7.
There is really no question that Huawei’s new flagship phone was inspired by Apple’s iPhone. Is that a bad thing? Certainly not. If you’re going to look somewhere for inspiration, the best-selling smartphone in the world isn’t a bad place to look. Of course, we’re not sure Apple will feel the same way.
The materials and build on the Ascend P7 are phenomenal. There is barely any plastic on the phone’s exterior aside from the bottom of the device and thin strips that help seat the glass face and rear panel.
Huawei’s Ascend P7 also features a design that is positively gorgeous. At just 6.5 millimeters thick, the P7 is shockingly thin and it feels fantastic in the hand. For comparison, the HTC One (M8) is 9.35 millimeters thick, the Samsung Galaxy S5 is 8.1 millimeters thick, and Apple’s iPhone 5s is 7.6 millimeters thick.
Equally impressive is the fact that Huawei was able to make the bezel on the sides of the P7′s full HD 1080p display so narrow. The result is a smartphone with a nice big 5-inch screen that is still quite comfortable to use with one hand.
Despite the fact that the Ascend P7′s display is a full inch larger than the screen on the iPhone 5s, Huawei’s handset is only 17 percnet wider than the iPhone. It’s pretty remarkable, actually. In terms of striking a balance between screen size and overall handset size, it really doesn’t get any better than the Ascend P7.
Also impressive are the cameras on Huawei’s new phone. Huawei’s rear camera on the P7 is a 13-megapixel Sony unit with five elements that captures very clear photos with impressive color reproduction. The camera software is also well-made and versatile, packing in plenty of filters and effects that novices and more skilled photographers alike will appreciate.
The bigger story may be around front, where Huawei has fully embraced the selfie era with a front-facing 8-megapixel camera, also with five elements. For those keeping score, that’s the same resolution as the iPhone’s rear camera.
It’s easy to joke about selfies but the fact of the matter is that they are now a hugely important part of the smartphone experience for millions upon millions of users. The quality of front-facing cameras on smartphones is going to improve dramatically as a result, and Huawei is way ahead of the curve.
Also included in the camera software is a special group selfie feature called “groufie” that captures more people in a single frame using panorama stitching, an option to capture selfies with a voice command, and an “ultra snap shot” feature that can open the camera app and snap a photo in just 1.3 seconds while the phone is asleep.
Battery life was a bit subpar during my testing. I found that the P7 was just able to carry me through a full day of average use, but it died several times overnight unless I charged it a bit in the evening. And with heavy use, it was ready to die by sundown unless I charged it during the day.
I should note that the Ascend P7 model Huawei sent me to test was not a U.S. phone. As such, it is possible that constantly looking for 4G LTE frequencies that are not available in the U.S. had a negative impact on battery life.
Huawei’s new Ascend P7 will begin launching in some markets next week, and the vendor has plans to release the phone in many markets across the globe.
Huawei Ascend P7 review