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Huawei Ascend P7 Review: No More Selfie

Introduction
Huawei may not be as popular as other manufacturers like Apple, Samsung or HTC. But the Ascend P7 is one of the flagship devices you cannot look down. Can the Ascend P7 manages to kill off other flagship devices? We'll find out in this review.

  
Huawei Ascend P7 official photos

Specifications
- Dimensions: 139.8 x 68.8 x 6.5 mm
- Weight: 124 g
- Display: 5" Full HD (1,080 x 1,920 pixels) IPS LCD
- Processor: 1.8 GHz quad-core HiSilicon Kirin 910T
- RAM: 2 GB
- Memory: 16 GB, microSD card slot
- Camera: 13 MP Camera, 1080p video recording, 8 MP front
- Battery: 2,500 mAh
- OS: Android 4.4.2 KitKat

Unboxing
  
Huawei Ascend P7 retail package

The retail package is same as Ascend G6, it contains the device, AC adapter, MicroUSB cable, headsets and a couple of NFC tags.

Design
The Ascend P7 packs similar design language as last year's Ascend P6. It has double C design and what we like about it is the double glass construction.

          
Huawei Ascend P7 live photos

The front and the back are protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 3, which means you are free from scratches. The front is fingerprint magnet as usual, but it's hard to notice any fingerprint at the back thanks to the radial groove pattern and tiny dots that lie under the glass.

 
Huawei Ascend P7 handling

The bezels are narrow and it has the best handling compared to the rest of the 5" smartphones out now.

Display
5" 1080p display is common for a flagship device, so there's no exceptional on the Ascend P7.

 
Huawei Ascend P7 display

The IPS LCD display is very bright and has wide viewing angle. The colors are vibrant and you can set the color temperature if you wish to.

Performance
The looking had scored pretty high marks but when it came to the performance, it really disappoints us. It is powered by 1.8 GHz quad-core HiSilicon Kirin 910T processor backed up by Mali-450MPH GPU and 2 GB of RAM.

    
Huawei Ascend P7 benchmark results

The device scored 6,524 on Quadrant Standard and 29,015 on AnTuTu benchmark. These results are unimpressive as the Ascend P7 is the flagship device in the Ascend series. The gaming performance is even worse than certain mid-range devices, so don't expect snappy experience on it.

Software
Huawei has inplanted the EMUI 2.3 based on Android 4.4.2 KitKat to the Ascend P7.

Android 4.4.2 KitKat

Just like the rest of the Chinese companies, the user interface lacks of apps drawer and you are able to download the themes from EMUI official website, instead of dedicated themes store.

    
Lockscreen | Homescreen | Notification area | Quick settings | Themes selection

The user interface is smooth, except for the notification drops down. Huawei keeps the latest EMUI as simple as it can without changing much from stock Android. Phone manager is an app that helps to optimize your phone as well as speed up the phone.

 
Simple home | Suspend button

You can switch the homescreen to simple home if you think that the normal homescreen is complicated to use. Suspend button is something like Apple Assistive Touch. You are able to navigate home and back buttons, clear the task manager, lock the screen and open up a small app.

Camera
Front camera is the main selling point of the Ascend P-series, but let's just focus at the back first.
The 13 MP camera is equipped with a Sony BSI sensor and f/2.0 aperture.

  
Camera interface

The camera interface stays unchanged and it comes with several camera modes just like the rest of Huawei smartphones. However, Huawei has added a new feature on the Ascend P7. Double press the volume down button for ultra snapshot so you can take a photo from sleep within a second.

        
Camera samples

The images quality are very detail and the noise level are under control. The dynamic range seems not that good but you can switch to HDR mode to solve it, though it will take longer time to capture a photo.

The 8 MP front-facing camera comes with 5-pieces lens coupled with IMAGESmart 2.0 software that boasts 10 level auto-facial enhancement and wide-angle photo function. Huawei has added a feature calls groufies, which is able to shoot panorama selfie. The front-facing camera captures impressive selfie shoots.

Battery
The Huawei Ascend P7 has a 2,500 mAh non-removable battery. The battery has a good standby time. Based on our usage, it can last for around 13 hours with moderate usage. You can switch to different power saving modes, but there will be some cut down on its performance.

Final Words
Just when other Chinese manufacturers have price their flagship device with low price tag, Huawei choose to price the Ascend P7 at RM 1,499. The Ascend P7 is one of the smartphones with attractuve looking we've ever reviewed. Its front camera is able to shoot good selfies, but the performance is disappointing.

Pros
- Nice design
- Handling is the best among other 5" devices
- Impressive cameras

Cons
- Unimpressive performance
- No dedicated themes store
- Notification drops down lagging

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