HuaweiHonor Holly

Review in pictures

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2

A tad on the chubby side

The Huawei Honor Holly is a budget performance device

Features a two-tone finish with a glossy, removable plastic back cover

Sports a row of capacitive Android keys in the front, but these are not backlit

Weighing 159g and measuring 9.4mm in thickness, it’s fairly chubby

Dual-SIM device with 3G only on one slot

DE

SIG

N

High definition display, but lacks protection

Sports a roomy 5-inch display, one of the largest in its price range

Misses out on a protective coating, hence gets scratched easily

Features 720p resolution, resulting in a pixel density of 294ppi

Good brightness levels and vibrant colours

But sunlight legibility isn’t a strong point

DIS

PLA

Y

Snappers get the job done

Features an 8MP primary camera with a Samsung BSI sensor and LED flash, and a 2MP front snapperOffers the usual scenes, HDR, Panorama and Face Beauty modesColour effects are also availableA few manual settings like exposure, white balance and ISO can be tweakedShooting modes include voice capture, continuous shot, self timer and smile shot

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ME

RA

But results won’t blow you away

Primary snapper has difficulty focussing, especially with regard to close-upsImages feature vibrant colours, that are a tad oversaturatedZooming in reveals a lack of detail and sharpnessNoise is an issue, and gets worse in low light and night shotsThe fixed-focus front camera can take an acceptable selfie in bright light and is good enough for video calls

Low Light

Sunlight CA

ME

RA

A stripped-down version of Emotion UI…

The Honor Holly runs

Android 4.4.2 KitKat,

layered with Huawei’s

Emotion UI 2.3

This is a stripped-

down version of EMUI,

omitting many

advanced features

found on the Honor 6

Features the same

colourful, cartoony

icons

No app drawer, but

you can group apps

into folders

US

ER

INT

ER

FAC

E

…that leaves a lot to be desired

Simple Home changes

the UI into an easier

interface with larger

icons and text

You can adjust the

scroll effect that

appears when you

swipe between

homescreens

Settings has a

dedicated section for

managing SIM cards

Double tapping the

home button launches

the multi-tasking menu

US

ER

INT

ER

FAC

E

Reliable daily performer

Powered by a 1.3GHz quad-core MediaTek MT6582 processor, paired

with 1GB of RAM and a Mali 400-MP2 GPU

Daily performance is mostly smooth, with a few hiccups owing to the heavy

UI

Can handle most games with ease, although intensive titles cause

overheating

Offers a generous 16GB of expandable storage, from which 12.8GB is

user available

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RFO

RM

AN

CE

Battery lasts through the day

The Honor Holly is

equipped with a

2,000mAh battery

Lasts until the end of

the day with normal

use, and offers good

standby times as well

In our video loop battery

drain test, it lasted for 7

hours and 30

minutes, which is a

good result for its price

range

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RFO

RM

AN

CE

At a glance…

5-inch, 1,280 x 720 pixels (294 ppi)1.3GHz quad-core MediaTek MT6582 processorMali 400-MP2 GPU1GB RAM16GB inbuilt storage with microSD slot8MP primary camera with flash, 2MP front cameraAndroid 4.4.2 with Emotion UI 2.3 2,000mAh batteryDual-SIM, 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, micro-USB and GPS

Pros and Cons

HD displayGenerous internal storageReliable performanceAffordable price

Bulky, boring buildUnderwhelming UINo protection for the screen

Pricing & Verdict

Price: Rs 6,999

“The Huawei Honor Holly has a lot going for it. It offers a roomy display with HD resolution, reliable performance, generous storage and most of all, the magic price tag of Rs 6,999. But, it faces some tough competition from the Xiaomi Redmi 1s, Motorola Moto E and Android One smartphones, to name a few. We do have a few gripes with the device, such as the uninspiring UI, lack of screen protection and plasticky build, but all-in-all, it remains one of the best options in the budget performance segment.”