Huawei recently surprised us with a new launch that comes straight from the “future.” It is the Huawei P Smart 2021, a new member of the P Smart family that includes different improvements such as the design, the battery or the photographic section, but which, unfortunately, is still weighed down by the absence of Google services. I have been able to test it during the last days and today I want to tell you about my experience of using the Huawei P Smart 2021 .
Fabled design changes
One of the aspects that we see renewed in this last member of the P Smart family is that of design and, in addition, in several details.
The first changes are detected with the naked eye on its rear . On the one hand, the camera module has been widened to go from 3 to 4 lenses, which we will talk about a little more in detail later. On the other hand, we say goodbye to the fingerprint reader on the back. This does not mean that it disappears, but it happens to be on the side of the body, integrated in the unlock button. These changes leave a much cleaner and more aesthetic rear that I personally have found incredibly beautiful and elegant. This back is available in 3 colors : teal, pink and black.
Other modifications that look incredibly good to this new Huawei phone is the farewell to the notch on its front. Now we find a much more used screen, with the hole that hides the only front camera of this phone. This camera is responsible for the facial recognition of the device. An unlocking system that works correctly like the fingerprint reader but, despite this, personally I always continue to opt for this second option because of its greater speed.
And we will find few more changes in the aesthetic section. What’s more, Huawei has decided to keep old acquaintances such as USB-C for charging and the 3.5mm jack at the bottom.
In short, I think that these changes have been a success by the manufacturer, keeping what its users needed and adding those aspects that make it a current, elegant and striking mobile, without going into eccentricities. I think that, with these modifications, Huawei aims to attract not only those users who want a good phone but also those who value the design within one of the most complicated ranges of smartphones. Gets it? At least in this aspect I think so, but let’s see if in the rest of the details it has kept the bar.
Complies but does not stand out in multimedia
Going a little deeper into the front of this P Smart 2021, it has a 6.67 ″ IPS panel , with a maximum resolution of FullHD + . Does this screen sound familiar to you? Exact, it shares technology and resolution with its predecessor, improving in aspects such as the use of the front and its size.
With this I do not want to underestimate the experience when playing content on the panel. The colors are very correct , the screen looks good both inside and outside the home and we can enjoy watching series and movies with that screen size. But of course, in these times, I would say that it lacks something to highlight. Something like a higher screen refreshment or a somewhat higher resolution as other smartphones offer for the same or even a lower price. This would greatly enhance the experience when playing multimedia content, navigating menus, or playing games. An experience that is just about which we now speak in depth.
Headline commensurate with performance experience
Much more conservative have been from Huawei with what this phone hides under the screen. We find the Kirin 710A , an old acquaintance, along with a modest 4 GB of RAM and a capacity of 128 GB , expandable by cards of up to 512 GB.
Being totally honest, I was worried that in the section of the daily use experience this smartphone could fall short by looking at the list of specifications. But, turning my expectations around, he has finally performed very well in all sections.
Moving through the menus, browsing the internet or using it to view Instagram or Twitter is something he has done without messing up. Then, when it was time to ask for the maximum, I was surprised that those 4 GB of RAM (which was what worried me the most) have not burdened the experience to play powerful games at any time. You may, very occasionally, have noticed a drop in fps but it has been totally anecdotal.
Of course, as I told you in the multimedia experience section, I have missed a higher refresh rate that would give greater smoothness in the movements when playing. It’s not critical, but it would have made it shine brighter.
An outstanding autonomy
What I do want to highlight before finishing this section on performance and going on to other details, is the big change regarding the internal components of this new P Smart: the battery . We have a 5,000 mAh capacity , compatible with 22.5 W fast charging . What does all this translate into, because if you are looking for a phone with outstanding performance in the autonomy section, this may be one of the best options to consider.
It may be due to not having a higher resolution, refraining from a higher refresh rate or a good optimization at the software level (now we will talk about this in depth). Be that as it may, reaching the end of the day with this mobile should not be a problem at all and, if you need an extra, the fast charge will give us 50% in just 30 minutes .
Problems from the past that still weigh on
Reviewing the software section, this Huawei P Smart 2021 has Android 10 , on which EMUI runs in version 10.1 , the manufacturer’s customization layer. Despite having one of the latest versions of Google’s operating system, this smartphone continues to suffer from the same problem as the latest launches of the manufacturer: the lack of the services of the great G.
To alleviate this problem, Huawei includes its App Gallery service , or Petal Search, among others. In a slightly more elaborate way, we can install WhatsApp, Facebook and many other applications, but services such as location or email via Gmail will still not work. Many users may not care too much, but for others it may be paramount.
The experience with the system is not bad in any respect. Everything runs smoothly, without lags or slowdowns of any kind. It is true that EMUI is still not the preferred layer for those looking for the pure Android experience but, it cannot be denied that it is doing better and better in terms of design and optimization.
Comment according to the photograph
We now turn to one of the fundamental aspects for many users, the photographic section . Here it is true that we see a significant improvement over the previous launches of the P Smart family. We went on, as I told you at the beginning of this analysis, to have 5 cameras in total:
- 48 mp main sensor , with an aperture of f / 1.8.
- 8 mp wide-angle sensor , with an aperture of f / 2.4 and a viewing angle of 120º.
- 2 mp macro sensor , with an aperture of f / 2.4.
- Depth sensor (improves portrait mode) of 2 mp, with an aperture of f / 2.4.
- Selfie camera with 8 mp sensor, with an aperture of f / 2.0.
Does this outfit sound familiar to you? Exactly, it is the usual pack that we usually see in the section of the cameras of this range of smartphones. A solvent but not perfect compendium. How have these cameras behaved on a day-to-day basis? Well, as usual with these cameras, in the average of other smartphones in the range.
When the light conditions are good the result is very correct. Good colors and definition in the main lens and, in the rest of the lenses, something inferior. Perhaps the sensor with the lowest quality will be the macro, but if we place it in good condition it will achieve a correct result.
And by lowering the light, the quality of the photographs will also decrease. The noise in the image makes an appearance and, despite having a night mode in which we can easily adjust the ISO and shutter speed parameters, the photos that we can take are precisely the type of captures that we see in phones of this range.
Huawei P Smart 2021: enough but not decisive
In short, we are facing a phone in which the changes with respect to the previous generation have suited it very well, but certain inherited aspects make it difficult to decide on it. It is important to know that this phone has a starting price of 229 euros .
This is a phone with a very beautiful and modern design, an extraordinary battery and good performance . The pictures? Correct, in the average of what phones in this range usually offer, with good photos in ideal light conditions and typical problems at night. But of course, I have missed something that stood out in the multimedia section as a higher refresh rate that would give it that extra point that, in my opinion, would have been great.
The problem is when we compare it directly with other competitors that are strong in the market such as, for example, the recently introduced realme 7. In it we find a higher fast charge, the same battery capacity, the same set of cameras and a better refresh rate in the screen. And most importantly, all this for a much lower price and without the problems of Google services.
Is it a bad phone? Not at all, but I think it needs to mature a bit in the market, hoping for a slight price drop that will make it more interesting, and of course still hoping that someday the problems with Google services will end.