The Y5 (2019) is affordable, but it looks like it rocks leather. Many have been fooled by its faux leather back. But is this the only good thing about it? Let’s talk about this below.
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The handset stretches 5.71 inches across. If you have smaller hands, you won’t have any trouble picking it up.
It isn’t very heavy. It comes in at 146 grams. Cheaper devices should have heft – they’d feel more premium. But its Amber Brown variant makes it look like a million bucks and it has a faux leather back. You usually don’t see such a colour on phones either.
The Y5’s other variants rock plastic. Their rears have a glossy finish to them.
The device is not the slimmest – its dimensions are 147.1 x 70.8 x 8.5 mm. Unfortunately won’t see a fingerprint sensor on it.
The handset has easy-to-reach buttons. They also feel great underneath your fingers.
We mentioned that it comes in brown and countless other shades. You may be wondering what they exactly are. They are the following:
There is a MicroSD slot and headphone jack of course.
The Y5 doesn’t come with the most vibrant screen. You’re met with an IPS LCD display. Although the panel doesn’t produce the best colours, it’s known to be sharp. Speaking of sharpness, you’re getting a 720 x 1520 Pixel screen.
Its screen-to-body ratio is not that good. It’s only 78.1%. There’s considerable bezel action, but you don’t get a very large notch. It’s a water-drop, and you can disable it through the phone’s settings.
You probably shouldn’t get too rough with it – its screen is regular strengthened glass.
Something surprising is that its display is kind of bright. It can easily handle the outdoors at max brightness. There’s also very little distortion when you use it at angles. Unfortunately, there’s a blue tint to it.
Although thick, the handset doesn’t host a large battery. The unit inside is 3020 mAh. As the phone is plastic and affordable, you may be wondering if you can remove its battery – this is not the case. It will last a day when fully charged. It doesn’t offer the most extensive power saving modes, so you won’t be able to prolong its battery for long.
You don’t usually see phones this cheap with fast charging. No surprise, the Y5 utilizes 10 W regular charging. It takes over 2 hours to go from 0-100%.
Compared to the Y5 (2018), it has a better processor. It comes with the Helio A22, while its predecessor rocked a Mediatek MT6739 unit. That being said, its processor still isn’t good. It lags and can’t handle extensive tasks.
Not only is its processor bad, but so is the RAM available. You can pick it up with 2 GB of it, and 16 or 32 GB of space. Its limited RAM will force close apps when many are running in the background. Its storage options aren’t enough – you’ll be happy to know that you can expand them.
Out of the box, you’re met with Android 9. If you’re wondering about Android 10, know that the update is in the works.
It runs EMUI like its Huawei counterparts – you’ll meet EMUI 9.1. It’s super customizable, but you won’t get an app drawer. This is something seen across Huawei phones. Many have issues with it.
In terms of its back camera, you’re getting a single shooter. It is a 13 MP sensor and is quite good, outdoors at least. It takes realistic shots with a bit of saturation. We’re surprised that it doesn’t get aggressive with it. The true cherry on top is its pro mode You don’t see such a thing from phones its price – it lets you take full control of shots.
Its front camera is a 5 MP lens. It’s not worth writing home about. However, its beauty mode is really good. It surprised us as well, it did not make us look artificial. Unfortunately, cheaper handsets with beauty modes turn darker skin an odd shade lighter.
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Now that you know everything about the Y5, let’s see how it compares against others.
The Y5p is newer than the Y5. It came out this year. It’s smaller, though. You’re looking at a 5.45-inch device. It weighs a bit less too. Like its counterpart, it comes with a plastic back. It’s glossy as well. No, it doesn’t have a variant with faux leather back.
It has an IPS LCD screen – as you know, this means that it’s not very vibrant. Unfortunately, it comes with a screen-to-body ratio that’s worse than the Y5’s. It is 73.8%. Not only are you getting considerable bezel action
If you’re wondering about its screen resolution, know that it’s 720 x 1440 pixels. It’s not as sharp as its counterpart’s.
The device runs Android 10 out of the box. You’re met with EMUI 10.1, which is based on it. We’ve got some bad news for you – there is no Google Play Services. You’ve probably heard about the US’ restriction on Chinese tech companies.
Its processor is the Helio P22. Compared to the A22, it is more powerful. But at the end of the day, it’s still not very good.
You can pick the Y5p in one memory variant. It is 32 GB of space with 2 GB of RAM. You can expand its storage if you want.
Battery-wise, you’re met with a familiar unit. It is 3020 mAh. However, it lasts a bit longer than the Y5’s. No, you can’t take it out of its back. To charge the phone, you’ll be utilizing 10W regular charging. It takes over 2 hours to go from 0-100%.
The camera on its back is an 8 MP wide lens. Its front camera is 5 MP.
The handset is pretty much the same size as the Y5. It weighs a bit more, though. Like the Huawei device, it rocks a plastic body. It doesn’t have a glossy finish to it and looks more metallic. This is especially true in its red variant.
It has a PLS TFT screen. It works similarly to an IPS LCD but is sharper. Speaking of sharpness, you’re met with the same screen resolution as in the Y5. Something else that’s similar is screen-to-body ratios.
Out of the box, you are getting Android 10. We’re huge fans of Samsung’s One UI. It’s more pleasing to the eye than EMUI. It’s not as customizable, though. In terms of its processor, a Snapdragon 439 chip is present. It’s superior to the Helio A22 in the Huawei phone.
It doesn’t come with an array of memory variants. You’re met with 16 and 32 GB of space, along with 2 GB of RAM. Yes, you can expand its storage.
Its battery is a bit smaller than its counterpart’s. That being said, it lasts about the same time. It’s non-removable and you’ll be using 10 W regular charging. The device takes over 2 hours to go from 0-100%.
It has a dual set-up on its rear. Its primary camera is a 13 MP wide lens while its secondary camera is a 2 MP depth sensor. Its front camera is 5 MP.
You’re looking at an older device – the Redmi 6 was released in 2018. Its back is made from plastic too. It is small. It comes in at 5.45 inches. Weight-wise, it weighs as much as the Y5. Its back isn’t very glossy. It’s got a metallic look to it.
Its screen resolution is not that good. You’re met with a 720 x 1440 pixel front. Something else that’s not as good, is its screen-to-body ratio, it is 72.7%.
The device runs Android 8.1 out of the box. Unfortunately, you can’t update it to Android 10. The processor it hosts is the Helio P22. It beats the A22. If you remember, we saw it in our Huawei Y5p review.
The UI inside is MIUI 11. It’s super customizable, but you don’t get an app drawer.
Storage-wise, you’re met with really good options. You can pick the phone up in 32 and 64 GB of space. Along with it, 3 and 4 GB of RAM is available. Although you get quite a bit of storage, you can still expand its memory.
Its battery isn’t that good. It is 3000 mAh, like the entry above. It lasts as long as it too. To charge the phone, you will be using a 10 W regular charger. As you know, this means it takes a long time to charge. We found it is like the rest, taking over 2 hours. No, its battery is not removable.
There’s a dual-camera set-up on its rear. Its primary sensor is 12 MP while its second one is a 5 MP depth sensor. Its front camera is a single shooter – it hosts a 5 MP lens.
If you’re looking for a budget phone that looks good, the Y5 (2019) is the one for you. The faux leather in its Amber Brown variant will turn heads. It makes the device look more expensive than it is. Unfortunately, its other options don’t come with a leather-looking back but it’s still glossy.
In terms of its specs, the phone holds its own against alternatives. But it’s still not a power-house. This shouldn’t be a surprise as it’s super affordable.
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