When you first glance at the Huawei Ascend G7, you'd be forgiven for thinking, even momentarily, that it was the HTC One M8. The handset's (almost) all metal body certainly echoes the style of HTC's previous flagship phone.
But the Ascend G7 is more than just an imitation of the One M8; it’s a decent phone in its own right, and it’s more budget-friendly than some of the alternatives.
Huawei and the other Chinese phone makers are starting to make inroads into the Irish market, mainly through cheap but reliable phones that are giving them a name among consumers. And that’s the key challenge: in a market where a few big names dominate, newer phone makers have to prove themselves before they can start charging more for their premium smartphones.
And so we have the G7. On the outside, it has aircraft grade aluminium. On the inside, a 64 bit 1.2GHz quad core processor. So how does it stand up against its rivals?
The good
As far as smartphones go, you can’t fault the G7. It certainly does what it sets out to: makes calls with decent voice quality, allows you to download some apps, and includes LTE so you can take advantage of the new 4G networks here.
And of course it has Huawei’s communications equipment. There’s dual antennae in the phone so your phone will switch between them when the network gets a bit patchy. Ultimately, it means fewer dropped calls, and in the time I had the handset to review, it dropped no calls. The same can’t be said of my regular handset.
The G7's screen may be large, but that's the norm these days. The phone has a 5.5 inch display, which puts it up there with the larger phones, although it is still smaller than some of the monster phones that appear to be trying to take on the tablet market. If you've been using a Samsung Galaxy Note 4 or an iPhone 6 Plus, this won't be a huge leap. In fact, it feels much the same.
Speaking of the aesthetics, that metal body gives it a premium finish but it also gives it a bit of weight; not as much as you might think though. At 165g, it won’t weigh you down, but you’ll know it’s there.
Meanwhile, how does the camera compare? The main camera is 13 megapixels for still images, and gives some decent photos – not quite beating the iPhone 6 Plus on the end result though. The images were slightly softer and less crisp, but only when you really zoomed in on the details.
The front facing camera is 5 megapixels – aiming at the “selfie” fans again, though at a lower resolution than the P7, which also introduced the concept of the group selfie.
Battery life is impressive. The G7, with its 3,000 mAh battery, kept going long after other handsets gave up, and when things got down to the last bit of power, I eked out a bit more with Huawei’s ultra power saving mode, which shuts down everything except calls and text services, and access to contacts.
The not so good
The screen may be big, but it’s not full HD. Compared to other screens of a similar size that are full HD, you can see the difference. Still, it’s only apparent when the devices are side by side.
It’s a good thing that the phone includes expandable storage capabilities. A good chunk of the 16GB on the phone I reviewed was swallowed mostly by apps and software before I even started installing my own choices, or shooting video.
The rest
Like most phone makers these days, Huawei has chosen to go the route of built-in battery.
That may be a deal breaker for some, but it seems everyone is heading in that direction. That’s the price you pay for the unibody design. The G7 certainly has a nice look to it. The metal body gives it a slightly higher-end finish.
The exception is the plastic pieces on the top and bottom of the rear casing; that is, apparently, to allow the phone’s signal to work more effectively.
The Emotion UI has been tweaked too, so it looks a bit sleeker than previous versions.
Although the phone comes with Android KitKat, it’s Lollipop ready, when the update is available.
Verdict
HHHH The Ascend G7 is a solid phone that looks a bit more premium than its price tag would suggest.
