Huawei P Smart review

The price of the Huawei P Smart has dropped a lot recently – and you can now pick it up for as little as £18 a month or under £200 SIM free.

But with the latest Android ‘Oreo’, an ultra-sharp bezel-less display and two rear cameras, its specs are still as competitive as ever.

The Huawei P Smart is pretty similar to another best buy budget smartphone, the Honor 9 Lite, but its back is aluminium not glass.

In this jargon-busting Huawei P Smart review, we’ll clue you in on everything you need to work out if the most affordable smartphone is the right phone for you (all its tech specs as well as real user reviews).

Plus, we’ll link you to the best mobile phone deals on pay monthly and SIM free, so you can save on what’s already a great value handset.

✔ PROS – Premium feel, decent size, two rear cameras, amazing value
✘ CONS – Middle of the road battery life
★ VERDICT – An ultra-budget Huawei that doesn’t feel it

In this Huawei P Smart review we cover:

Huawei P Smart pros and cons

The good

• Feels premium quality – This Huawei feels every bit as good as it looks
• Great screen size – 5.7 inches is perfect if you like to watch videos
• Top value for money – This is the cheapest Huawei out there
• Two rear cameras – You won’t find that on too many phones

The less good

• Battery life could be longer – But light users will get around 17 hours
• Micro USB not USB-C – Micro USBs tend to charge more slowly

Huawei P Smart pricing

RRP £259.90

Best SIM free deals (unlocked Huawei P Smart)

The cheapest unlocked Huawei P Smart deal right now is at the Carphone Warehouse for just £169 new and unused.

Best pay monthly dealsWhether you like your EE coverage or Virgin customer support, you might be surprised to know you can find the best pay monthly deals on all networks on comparison sites like the Carphone Warehouse, rather than buying direct.

Huawei P Smart user ratings

Startups rating★★★★★ (4.3)
Build ★★★★★ (4.5)
Speed ★★★★★ (4.5)
Screen ★★★★★ (4)
Battery ★★★★★ (3.5)
Camera ★★★★★ (4)
Value ★★★★★ (5)
Customer feedback★★★★★
151 customer user reviews on Carphone Warehouse

• Value: “For the price, I dont think you can get better.” – Dorset
• Design: “Runs games well and with 32 GB of storage you can fit plenty enough on there.” – Luke87
• Specs: “I bought this product 5 months ago. It works very well, is very fast and the camera quality is great.” – Anonymous
• Battery: “The battery rivals the iPhone X and the speed is incredible.” – PhoneMaster

Huawei P Smart user experience

Slick design

The Huawei P Smart is a thousand times removed from the clunky designs you often get with big, budget handsets. It’s actually a bit of a stud: an aluminium-cased 5.7-inch smartphone with a display that stretches to the corners.

Fast processor and 3 GB of RAM

With the Kirin octa-core processor and 3 GB of RAM, this phone is fast. It comes with the latest version of Android (the ‘Oreo’ or 8.0) which is pretty hard to beat and the Huawei EMUI (Emotion User Interface) is there to give you a smooth and smart mobile experience.

Huawei P Smart features explained

Near edge-to-edge 1080p display

The Huawei P Smart is almost an edge-to-edge ultra-high resolution screen which makes reading from it that bit more comfortable. This larger size 18:9 ratio display is also great if you ever like watching videos or doing a bit of shopping on your phone.

Pin-sharp screen

This 15cm-long screen creates a really great user experience. It’s crystal-clear, even under broad daylight which is where most budget mobile phones fall down.

Pretty good battery

Larger display sizes are always a drain on the battery, but you can do a lot worse than between 17 and nine hours (depending on whether you’re a light user or phone junkie). That’s better than most iPhones – for a lot less money.

Two rear cameras

You won’t find too many phones with two rear cameras at this price point. The 13-megapixel and 2-megapixel lenses work together to bring you a sharper finished image, with plenty of depth and no fuzziness.The 8 Mp front-facing camera will also deliver a decent selfie, even in low lighting.

Good storage

With all-you-can-eat storage available to everyone on the cloud these days, 32 GB should be more than enough for more phone users. And if it isn’t, there’s always a micro SD card slot if you’re keen to fill your boots.

Anything else?

The aluminium case makes the Huawei P Smart feel much more expensive than it actually is – as does the fingerprint sensor.

Verdict

The cheapest Huawei in town, but doesn’t feel it

If you’re looking for a budget smartphone, but don’t want to compromise on size or quality, the Huawei P Smart might just be the phone for you.For around £18 a month or little over £200 SIM free, you get a 5.7-inch near edge-to-edge display, an octa-core processor and two rear cameras. And then there are the bonus features like the fingerprint sensor and aluminium build.

We think the Huawei P Smart is a smart choice!