Review: Honor 7

You guys are going to love this one. The Honor 7 is an affordable, budget smartphone with specs and features that will excite you.

The 7 features a 5.2-inch Full HD display, sports 20MP and 5MP cameras, and runs on Android 5.0. The device also features a HiSilicon Kirin 935 chip with a 64-bit octa-core processor at 2.2 GHz, similar to the one found in its posher cousin, the Huawei Mate S.

The 7 has a non-removable 3,100mAh battery that supports fast-charging — a reported 50 per cent in less than 30 minutes. A useful related feature is reverse charging, which allows you to charge other devices from your phone via a cable sold separately.

That’s on the inside, on the outside – it gets better. The 7’s rocking an extremely detailed metallic body treated to a ceramic blasted finish. The phone is light at about 157g, yet sturdy and quite solid. Around the edges are the speakers and microUSB port at the bottom; volume buttons and power switch on the right; a 3.5mm audio jack on the top and a Smart button on the left.

What makes this device a little more special is what’s on its back — a “360° self-learning” fingerprint sensor. This sensor, similar to the Mate S, doubles as a mini track pad that allows users to swipe down for the notification bar, dismiss alerts by swiping left or right, and close it with a light flick.

The mini trackpad also doubles as a shutter button for the device’s 20MP camera. The camera is packed with the usual features one would expect from a smartphone these days. One feature that stood out is its Perfect Selfie. The camera suggests you click a few selfies in a variety of angles and then processes your perfect selfie with the option to thin your face and enlarge your eyes — useful if you’re into an elfish/anime look that is. Another camera mode is Good Food. Tuned specifically to “take appealing close-up shots of your food”. Wow – I can’t even… but Foodstagrammers will be pleased.

So there you have it guys — the Honor 7, packed with a ton of amazing specs alongside some quirky features. Its official price isn't available right now, but you can find it online from Dh1,600 onwards.