Huawei Nova Y70: A budget-friendly smartphone that punches above its weight

Robert Cerff / 02-09-2022 / Reviews

The Huawei nova Y70 is setting the bar for affordable smartphones. With its massive battery, triple-rear camera, great storage size and large, dynamic screen, the Huawei nova Y70 might be the midrange smartphone you need.


Crystal Clear Display 


The Huawei nova Y70 boasts a big 6.75-inch screen with a premium look. The display features HD+ resolution, a screen-to-body ratio of 84.1% and a TFT LCD. While it does not have a higher-end OLED display, the nova Y70 setup emulates the display with its bright, accurate colours, crystal clear quality, and good viewing angles.


Photos that Pop


This smartphone sports a solid 48MP triple camera system at the back AI, which includes a 5MP ultra wide-angle camera and a 2MP depth lens. Then, there’s an 8MP snapper at the front. Together the cameras capture vibrant, high detail photos. Colours are accurate and natural, especially in good lighting conditions. Some of the standout features of the nova Y70 is portrait mode which expertly blurs the background and the depth lens which produces incredibly detailed close-up images.


One Charge Wonder

 

Packing a massive 6000mAh battery, the nova Y70 provides premium endurance on a budget. With light  usage, this smartphone can last up to 2 days on just a single charge. Like playing a game or two?

With light gaming, the Huawei nova Y70 can keep going for around 11 hours.

While the battery is long lasting, the charging  process takes a little longer than other smartphones on the market right now. This is mainly due to the fact that it’s a modest 22.5W system.  

A fully depleted battery can go from 0 – 50% in just under an hour and reach full charge in around 1 hour 45 minutes.


Super Software

The nova Y70 runs on Android 10 with Huawei's EMUI 12 skin. Android 10, released at the end of 2019, features plenty of perks, such as a system-wide dark mode, tighter security and privacy measures, and more streamlined multitasking. There are also some cool modes available such as Focus Mode, which allows you to concentrate on tasks by pausing other apps temporarily.


Responsive Performance 


The performance of the Huawei nova Y70 relies on the Kirin 710 chipset with an octa-core CPU and Mali-G51 GPU. Although this is not cutting-edge technology, it is reliable and ideal for a mid-tier handset. Coupled with 4GB RAM and 128GB inbuilt memory (which is expandable up to 512GB) the nova Y70 has more than enough onboard and removable storage for pictures, music, videos and apps.

 

The chipset and RAM produce smooth and snappy performance that punches way above its mid-range weight. You get no lags while browsing the web, scrolling through your socials and switching between apps.  


Huawei AppGallery 


Since Google Mobile Services and Play Store are no longer available on Huawei, the Chinese tech giant has been hard at work improving its AppGallery. It now has over 45 000 apps, including big names like Microsoft, Amazon, Deezer, TikTok, Tidal and Adidas. For those constantly on the road, you also get Petal Maps for easy navigation, live traffic and public transport. Other popular apps from Huawei’s own mobile services are Health, Cloud, My Huawei and Huawei Wallet. These work much like Google does, so you won’t miss out if you decide to make the switch.


An obvious downside is the lack of core apps like Netflix, Instagram, WhatsApp and Facebook. But the good news is there’s an easy workaround in the form of Petal Search. You can download APKs of apps directly to the nova or any other Huawei smartphone, so you never have to do without these popular apps.


Verdict


The Huawei nova Y70 is a powerful entry-level phone with excellent battery life, smooth performance, decent camera capabilities, and seamless integration with Huawei Mobile Services. It’s a smartphone that accomplishes plenty on just one charge and doesn’t slow down while multitasking. If 4GB of RAM isn’t a deal breaker, this solid smartphone is ideal for those on a budget.

TECH NEWS

previous
Huawei Mate 30 Pro – Rumours, Specs and Release Date

Following the success of the Huawei Mate X and Mate 20 Pro , the Chinese tech giant is gearing up for the release of the latest devices in their Mate series – the Huawei Mate 30 and Mate 30 Pro. There have been a few leaks surrounding the upcoming Mate 30 Pro recently, but nothing has been officially confirmed. The device was expected to be released in mid-October this year, but it seems more likely that the Mate 30 devices will drop in September 2019. Let’s take a look at what could potentially be in store for the Huawei Mate 30 Pro. Operating System A few months back, Huawei were hit with a trade ban in the United States. Thankfully the ban has been l ifted, so Huawei fans can rest assured that their new Mate 30 devices will ship with Google’s Android operating system, most likely Android Q. Although Huawei recently unveiled their Harmony Operating System, also known as Hongmeng, there doesn’t seem to be plans for their latest devices to run this OS just yet. Internal Hardware One thing is certain - the Huawei Mate 30 Pro will get a significant upgrade to its processor and is rumoured to run the Kirin 985 along with a Balong 5000 5G modem. Cameras The Mate 30 Pro’s predecessor, the Mate 20 Pro, housed its cameras in a square cut-out at the rear, but the word among techies is that the Mate 30 Pro may house a rectangular or even a circular cut-out to accommodate more cameras, possibly five lenses at the back of the phone or four lenses with a space for the camera flash. It will boast a 5x optical zoom and a 50x digital zoom. The set up could be similar to the recent P30 Pro, hosting wide, ultrawide and telephoto lenses. It’s unclear whether the front facing camera will be placed in a hole punch, a notch or under the screen. Additional Features & Pricing The Mate 30 Pro is rumoured to have a 4200 mAh battery with 55W fast charging support, and will reportedly be available in Black, Red, Gold White, Blue, Chrome White, Classic Blue, and Classic Red. No official pricing has been released yet, but it is likely to be in the same ballpark as current flagship devices from Samsung, Huawei and Apple, which hover around the R20 000 mark. We’ll keep you updated as more information rolls in.

Read More...

Huawei Announces Free Service Days for South African Customers

Huawei South Africa has been quite pro active in reassuring their customers after the US ban, which threatens to cut off access to Google apps and updates on all Huawei smartphones . In fact, they’re so sure you’ll be using a Huawei smartphone for years to come, Business Tech reports that Huawei have announced free service days to ensure you keep your device in peak condition. Over the final weekend of every month, from Thursday until Sunday, Huawei will offer customers free exterior phone cleaning, free screen protectors, free software updates and support, as well as free out-of-warranty labour so you will only pay for parts that are replaced. Added to that, just for the month of June, you will be able to get a free battery replacement. If your Huawei is still under its standard two-year warranty, your battery will be replaced free of charge. If it is out of warranty, you will only pay R199 for a new battery. The following phone models are eligible for this offer: Y-Series Y3 2018 Y5 Prime 2018 Y7 2018 P-Series P8 lite 2017 P8 lite P9 P10 P10 Plus P20 Pro, P20, and P20 lite. These services are available at the following Huawei customer service centres: Durban – Shop U91, Cornubia Dr, Mount Edgecombe Country Estate 2, Mount Edgecombe; Johannesburg – Shop H37G,The Piazza, Melrose Arch; Cape Town – Shop 96, Canal Walk Shopping Centre, Century Boulevard, Century City; Cape Town – Shop G 231, Somerset Mall, Centenary Dr, Somerset West

Read More...

How Does the Huawei US Ban Affect South Africans?

US President Donald Trump issued a ban last month, barring American companies from trading with certain Chinese companies, including Huawei, which has grown rapidly over the years to become one of the major players in the market with the release of popular devices like the Mate 20 and P30 Pro. As you may know, the ban means that Google would have to cut off Huawei’s access to its Android operating system, Google apps and security updates, leaving Huawei smartphone owners worried that their beloved devices just turned into expensive paperweights. There’s no need to panic, yet. Not long after the ban was announced, Huawei was granted a 3-month grace period that would allow them to continue doing business with Google, meaning that current users of its devices would not be affected and can still access the Google Play Store, download apps such as Gmail and YouTube, and receive security updates and patches. The long-term plan is still unclear though as no-one can predict what will happen after the 3-month grace period ends on 19 August 2019, but just in case, Huawei is developing a backup plan. Once news of the ban broke, Huawei revealed that it has been working on its own app store and operating system, similar to Apple’s App Store and iOS. It’s reportedly called Hong Meng, but details on whether it will be ready in time if the ban continues after the grace period have been scarce. Another concern is whether there is room for a new operating system, as Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android pretty much dominate the smartphone industry worldwide. Even Microsoft had to abandon their Windows mobile OS because of poor adoption and lack of support from app developers. The other option Huawei has is switching all users to the open-source version of Android, but this OS will be limited in terms of access to Google’s apps, which will have to be accessed via a web browser or by side-loading the apps on devices, which may seem like too much trouble for the average user looking for a phone that just works right out of the box. Huawei recently released a statement to the media: “Huawei has made substantial contributions to the development and growth of Android around the world. As one of Android’s key global partners, we have worked closely with their open-source platform to develop an ecosystem that has benefitted both users and the industry. Huawei will continue to provide security updates and after-sales services to all existing Huawei and Honor smartphone and tablet products, covering those that have been sold and that are still in stock globally. We will continue to build a safe and sustainable software ecosystem, in order to provide the best experience for all users globally.” For now, Huawei users will not be affected by the ban and can continue using their phones and updating them as usual. Just in case you were wondering, you cannot return your Huawei smartphone to the network you bought it from as, according to law, sellers cannot be held liable or responsible for external events that are out of their control. The bottom line is that you may never need to sell or dump your Huawei smartphone as the ban could be lifted even before the grace period runs out should Trump’s trade negotiations with China move ahead amicably.

Read More...

next