Quick Verdict
If you want to make a sensible choice when it comes to buying a smartphone, don't want to spend hundreds, or even thousands, on a device but still want decent specs, the Huawei P smart 2019 is well worth considering. Does it have the best camera? No, but it's not terrible by any means and it does lack some of the bells and whistles other smartphones have but, for under £200, we're sure you won't miss them too much.
The Huawei P smart 2019 is an affordable, 'head overrules heart' smartphone and so long as you read the specs/features list before parting with your cash, you won't be disappointed.
+ Pros
- Good battery
- Display is excellent
- Lovely design
- Lightweight
- Price
- Cons
- Plastic body marks/scratches easily
- microUSB port
- No video stabilisation
- Photos get a bit smudgy in low light
The Huawei P smart 2019 is a new budget-friendly smartphone from Huawei that's available for under £200! Considering the price point, you may think you'd be better off looking elsewhere but with improved cameras, a bigger screen and a much smaller front notch, similar to the one seen on the Honor 10 Lite, this money-saving smartphone has specs (on paper) that shouldn't be ignored. Shall we find out how it performs in real life?
Huawei P smart 2019 Features
The new version of the Huawei P smart improves on last year's offering with a bigger screen (6.21-inch vs 5.65-inch), a better chipset (Kirin 710) and a much better battery (3400mAh) but the microUSB port is a little disappointing to see. Plus, you can't really miss the introduction of a dewdrop notch rather than the more familiar rectangular shape sitting at the top of the smartphone.
As for the cameras, you get a 13MP f/1.8 rear camera (featuring phase detection autofocus) with a 2MP secondary camera for depth sensing, as well as an 8MP f/2.0 wide-aperture selfie camera which is a fixed focus lens. There are plenty of clever photography tricks built in including an aperture mode, portrait mode and a night mode - something we're seeing on a lot more reasonably priced smartphones.
The Huawei P smart 2019 runs Android 9.0 Pie, has 3GB of RAM, 32/64GB storage options available and has a microSD slot for expanding the memory further.
We have to mention the colour options, too, as they're actually really cool. You have Midnight Black, Aurora Blue, Sapphire Blue, and Coral Red. On test is the Aurora Blue option and its ombre effect that goes from light to dark blue is very eye-catching. The rest don't have this gradient effect but this doesn't stop them from looking cool.
The price is the most impressive bit, coming in at under £200! Which, you have to admit, is a bargain price for a smartphone.
Huawei P smart 2019 Key Features:
- 6.21-inch, 2340x1080, 19.5:9 display, Dewdrop Display
- 3400mAh battery
- Kirin 710 octa-core chipset
- Dual AI cameras
- 8MP f/2.0 wide-aperture selfie camera
- 13MP f/1.8 rear camera with 2MP secondary camera
- Virtual aperture range of f/0.95-f/16
- Portrait Mode
- Aperture Mode
- Pro Mode
- Night Mode
- Beauty/Bokeh effects
- Recognises over 500 scenes
- Huawei AI Image Stabilisation
- FullHD or HD video
- Colours: Midnight Black, Aurora Blue (on test) and Turquoise Blue
Huawei P smart 2019 Handling
When you first pick the Huawei P smart 2019 up, the first thing you will notice (apart from the colour) is probably how light it is and that's because it has a plastic back. By foregoing glass, Huawei probably saved money but it does mean it's more prone to collecting marks and scratches. You don't get a clear case with the P smart 2019, as you do with other Huawei or Honor smartphones, either, so you will need to purchase one if you want to protect your device a little better.
Some may think the lack of weight makes the device feel cheap and yes, of course, it feels 'plasticky' as it's a plastic phone but it doesn't feel like Huawei has skimped on quality when it comes to build.
Edges and corners are nicely rounded and we've already commented on how great the Aurora Blue colour is - we like it a lot. Also on the back is a fingerprint sensor which sits in the perfect place for unlocking the device with your index finger along with the dual camera and flash. On the bottom of the smartphone, you find a speaker, mic, headphone jack (this will please some) and a microUSB port (not quite as pleasing). On top, there's another mic and the card slot for a microSD card (and nano-SIM).
To the side are the usual volume/power buttons but it's the front where a big change has come as there's a dewdrop notch instead of the usual rectangular shape we're more familiar with. As a result, the 6.21-inch screen takes up most of the space on the front with minimal bezels surrounding it. There is a slightly bigger chin but with the technology built into these devices, there's no way of getting around this without adding a more expensive price tag. Hidden in the chin is an LED which shows you when the smartphone is charging and when you get a notification.
The 6.21-inch, 2340x1080, 19.5:9 display is really nice, bright and doesn't cause any complaints. The smartphone, overall, also fits in the hand well and doesn't feel overly big. It won't easily slip out of your hand and can be navigated one-handed quite easily.
As for the camera app, it's the same as you find in other Huawei smartphones and offers various creative features including a portrait mode, aperture mode, night mode, pro mode and more. A video mode is available but it only shoots up to 1080p FHD quality and there's no stabilisation which is a shame as some of the phone's competitors, such as the older Samsung Galaxy S5, do have 4K built in. Although, the dedicated night mode isn't something we see on many other budget smartphones so that's a big plus point.
Battery: The battery is rated at 3400mAH and we had no issue with the battery after an afternoon of shooting photos and capturing video. The lack of a glass back means no wireless charging but hey, it's no biggy.
For those who like numbers, the Geekbench score is 1371 single core and 5075 multi-core while the AnTuTu score is 120027, which is impressive for a budget smartphone.
Huawei P smart 2019 Performance
The performance section is where we look at the image quality performance of the camera. Additional sample photos and product shots are available in the Equipment Database, where you can add your own review, photos and product ratings.
Huawei P smart 2019 Sample Photos
Sample Photos - As there's a 13MP f/1.8 rear camera with a 2MP secondary camera for depth sensing, you get the option for creating bokeh in your photos and in the aperture mode, you can pick how much bokeh/blur is added to your backgrounds with the simulated aperture slider (f/0.95 to f/16). It's a cool feature but there are clipping issues which become really noticeable when you view high res versions of images.
Phase detection autofocus is built in but there's no optical image stabilisation OIS (down to the price point, probably) so you do have to keep pretty still when capturing images in less the ideal light conditions.
Colours are accurate, particularly on sunny days, with blues popping well but overcast days shouldn't be avoided either as colours are still accurate.
An AI mode is built in (we've come to expect this with Huawei) and actually, it can do a good job sometimes. On an overcast day, for example, it recognised the grey sky and also sharpened the image (perhaps a touch over-sharpened), producing a better result than just the camera alone did. Greens/blues can be a bit oversaturated but not quite at the level some other Huawei smartphones do which is positive. If you do use the AI mode, images are saved at 8MP instead of 13MP, though.
Shooting indoors, or when light levels drop outdoors, causes some issues for the P smart 2019 with detail becoming smudgy, almost taking on an oil painting quality but colours remain accurate. Night mode does make detail a little sharper but, as you probably should expect for the price-point, it won't blow you away with amazement quite like the more premium smartphones with night modes do. Images are also outputted at 8MP, not 13MP.
The 8MP f/2.0 wide-aperture selfie camera, which has a fixed focus lens, produces pleasing results with accurate colours and good depth of field when using the bokeh feature. Yes, there is a bit of clipping but generally, the results are really great.
When using the portrait mode, you can adjust the background blur or remove it altogether (we're not quite sure why you would, though), use different lighting simulations and add beautification effects (as you can when shooting selfies). As with other modes, portraits captured with their specific mode are outputted at 8MP.
There's a pro mode so you can adjust the ISO, shutter speed etc. if you want to and plenty of creative modes can be found under the 'More' tab which includes a rather cool light trail mode.
You also have access to digital zoom with a 'click and pinch' but we'd advise not using it as results aren't great.
Huawei P smart 2019 ISO test images
ISO Noise Performance - The ISO range goes from 50-1600 and as always, for the best results, stick to the lower ISO possible as even ISO400 starts to show a loss in detail.
Huawei Honor Play White-balance test images
White Balance Performance - Auto White Balance does a great job under all lighting scenarios (with Tungsten, perhaps, edging towards slightly warm) but the fluorescent preset has a very green colour cast to it.
Huawei P smart 2019 Digital filters
Digital Filters - Several digital filters are built into the native camera app and they can be found under the 'More' tab. These include Sentimental, Impact, ND, Valencia, Blue, Halo, Nostalgia and Dawn.
Panorama mode - As you'd expect, the panorama mode auto stitches the images together once you've panned to capture the scene in front of you. Colours are accurate and there doesn't appear to be any stitching issues. Although the one captured in the train station does lack some detail (most likely down to low light levels).
Video - 4K video isn't built in sadly, and there's no stabilisation either so footage can look a bit shaky. You can shoot in 1080p, though, at 30fps or 60fps.
Value For Money
At under £200, you can't argue that the Huawei P smart 2019 isn't a good-value smartphone. To find out what other smartphones you can get for under £200, take a look at our top list of best buys.
If you can push the budget a bit (over £200 but less than £300), you might want to consider the Honor Play, Honor 8X or the Honor 7X smartphones. You can also find more smartphones, which are available at a still decent price of £300 or less, in our other 'Best Smartphones' round-up.
Huawei P smart 2019 Verdict
If you want to make a sensible choice when it comes to buying a smartphone, don't want to spend hundreds, or even thousands, on a device but still want decent specs, the Huawei P smart 2019 is well worth considering. Does it have the best camera? No, but it's not terrible by any means and although it lacks some of the bells and whistles other smartphones have, for under £200, we're sure you won't miss them too much.
Photos captured are great for those who just want to share images on social media and don't intend to do much else with them and, of course, the price means you shouldn't expect flagship quality anyway. Having said that, when light levels are good, the camera performs well and there are plenty of creative effects (aperture mode, portrait mode, light painting etc.) built in, too. There's no 4K video which is a shame as some competitors do offer this but the battery is rather impressive, even if the inclusion of a microUSB port isn't quite as appealing.
As for the smartphone's design, the ombre effect on the device we had in for testing is lovely and the rounded corners/edges, as well as the dewdrop top-notch, give the smartphone a more premium look without the price. Yes, it's constructed from plastic but it certainly doesn't look cheap - but it is prone to collecting scratches/fingerprints so pop a case on it.
The Huawei P smart 2019 is an affordable, 'head overrules heart' smartphone and so long as you read the specs/features list before parting with your cash, you won't be disappointed.
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If you want to make a sensible choice when it comes to buying a smartphone, don't want to spend hundreds, or even thousands, on a device but still want decent specs, the Huawei P smart 2019 is well worth considering.. |
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