Although Huawei is the largest Android OEM in China, the company has so far been unable to replicate its massive global success as a smartphone vendor in the US. While China remains the largest market for Huawei, the past couple of years has seen the company’s Honor brand of smartphones prove massively successful in Europe and other parts of the world, making it one of the most successful Android smartphone makers in the world right now. The company’s next-generation smartphone – the Huawei P9 – has been leaked often in recent times, and going by the torrent of info that’s been flowing in, it will certainly be a device to watch out for when it launches in London along with its multiple variants on the 6th of next month.
However, the flagship P9 is not the only device Huawei has been working on, if reports are anything to go by. The company is apparently also spending its time and R&D dollars on beefing up its entry-level portfolio for this year. So with that being the case, Huawei is reportedly ready to add a new entry-level smartphone to its lineup, called the Huawei Y5 II. The device is expected to be the follow-up to the Huawei Y5, which was launched by the company last year with decidedly entry-level hardware. However, this year’s upgrade will reportedly bring along distinctly more attractive hardware, which is certainly something that will please many potential customers worldwide, who may be looking for a cost-effective smartphone from a reputable manufacturer without having to break the bank. Having said that though, there’s no specific info regarding the pricing of the upcoming gadget, but the original Y5 did sport a $165 price-tag at launch.
According to reports, the upcoming Y5 II will feature a 5-inch 720p IPS display, which is a fairly generous step-up over the 4.5-inch, FWVGA display found on the last-gen device. The handset, however, will still come with just 1 GB RAM and 8 GB of internal storage as standard. The phone is also expected to be powered by a MediaTek MT6735P SoC, meaning a quad-core 1.3 GHz CPU will be doing duty under the hood, as opposed to a Snapdragon 210 SoC with a quad-core 1.1 GHz CPU that’s found on the original Y5. The rear-camera on the upcoming device will be an 8-megapixel unit instead of the 5-megapixel one on the outgoing handset, while the front camera will still have a 2-megapixel sensor. The device is also expected to have Android 5.1 Lollipop, carry a 2,200 mAh battery and come in a range of colors, including obsidian black, arctic, white, sand gold, rose pink and sky blue.