Huawei Y540 Smartphone Review
For the original German review, see here.
Huawei's Y540 smartphone is available for less than 100 Euros (~$111). The buyer gets a 4.5-inch screen with 854x480 pixels and Android 4.4 KitKat for that. It is logical that cutbacks have been made in other places, such as in the SoC or internal memory. Huawei installs MediaTek's MT6572 dual-core SoC that clocks at 1.3 GHz. The graphics solution is the integrated ARM Mali-400 MP. In contrast to the former Huawei Ascend Y530, the model name "Ascend" has now been omitted and the working memory has been doubled to 1 GB. The 4 GB of flash storage that can be expanded via a micro-SD card is the same. Our in-depth test report reveals whether the austerity measures have a noticeable impact.
The number of contenders in this price range is increasing steadily. We use Motorola's Moto E 2015, LG's Leon and the company siblings Microsoft Lumia 435 and Microsoft Lumia 532 for the direct comparison.
Case
The design of Huawei's Y540 is basic, and it is quite pleasant to hold thanks to its rounded edges and corners. However, visual uniqueness is sooner a rare thing in this price range. Among the contenders, Microsoft's colorful Lumia 435 and Lumia 532 particularly stand out from the masses here. Huawei wants to at least keep up in terms of colors and offers its Y540 in gray like our review sample, pink and blue in addition to classic black and white. The somewhat slippery high-gloss finish of our review sample was noticed adversely.
The Y540 weighs considerably more than its rivals at approximately 150 grams. Solely Motorola's Moto E 2015 (145 g) is in the same weight class. However, the review sample's height of 10.3 mm is slightly lower than that of the others, which all feature an overall more compact build.
The build quality is moderate, and the casing is relatively stiff. Warping attempts barely had an effect, but they produced a cracking noise in the area of the battery cover. The gaps are throughout smooth and even, which is not a matter of course in this price range.
Connectivity
Huawei's Y540 is powered by MediaTek's MT6572 dual-core SoC that clocks at 1.3 GHz and integrates an ARM Mali-400 MP graphics card. The 1 GB of working memory is up-to-date. However, the incorporated 4 GB of internal storage is tight especially when considering that only 2.11 GB is available and that App2SD is only supported to a limited extent - not all apps can be moved to the SD card. At least a micro-SD slot is present for multimedia files, which functioned with 64 GB cards as opposed to the manufacturer's specification of 32 GB. The review sample features dual-SIM functionality and an exchangeable battery under the removable back cover.
The physical buttons, such as power and volume, have been placed conveniently on the casing's right. The position of the micro-USB port at the upper edge is a bit unusual.
Software
The Android 4.4.2 KitKat operating system is installed. Huawei covers it with its intuitively designed EMUI 3.0 Lite user interface, which only involves minor modifications to the stock Android OS, for example in the keyboard. In addition to the usual Google bundle, apps like an FM radio, Twitter and the Kingsoft Office Suite are preloaded.
Communication & GPS
Huawei's Y540 can gain some ground here and enables connections via GSM quad-band (850/900/1800/1900 MHz) and UMTS dual-band (900/2100 MHz) almost everywhere. However, only SIM slot 1 supports UMTS. Mobile browsing is possible with up to 21 MBps in download and 5.76 MBps in upload in the UMTS network. Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n and Bluetooth 4.0 are installed for short-range communication. NFC is not installed. The Wi-Fi connection presented a relatively low yet stable reception quality with satisfactory website opening speeds in the test.
The GPS module presented a swift and accurate localization even indoors, which increased gradually outdoors in the GPS Test app. Huawei's Y540 was not as accurate in our acid test on a bike and in a direct comparison with the Garmin GPSMap 64s navigation system, and it reduced the test route by 360 meters. The review sample took clear shortcuts particularly in the difficult bridge and railway crossing areas.
Telephone & Voice Quality
The phone app corresponds to Google's stock application and provides all important features such as call lists, favorites and groups. Additionally, the dual-SIM functionality has been incorporated nicely and always allows easy switching between both SIM cards. Unfortunately, only SIM slot 1 can be used in the UMTS network; the second slot only functions in GSM networks.
The voice quality was a bit disappointing in the test. Our contact also confirmed a slightly noisy sound. However, the maximum volume was decent. The hands-free mode suffered under low volume and poor sound over the lousy speaker.
Cameras & Multimedia
Photo enthusiasts will find a front-facing camera with only 0.3 megapixels and a primary camera with 5 megapixels besides an LED flash in Huawei's Y540. The latter only shoots pictures in a maximum resolution of 2560x1920 pixels (4:3). The resolution drops to 3 megapixels in the 16:9 format (2560x1440 pixels). Videos can be recorded with a lag-free 30 frames per second in Full HD.
While the VGA resolution of the front-facing camera is barely suitable for popular selfies or groupies and only produces faded pictures, the primary camera can take quite acceptable photos in good light. The low image focus and slightly distorted color reproduction is particularly noticed in a direct comparison. However, pictures exhibit massive image noise as soon as they are shot in dimmer indoor rooms. The low-light performance is abysmal, and photos almost look like VGA. In total, Huawei's Y540 does not do well in this aspect.
Accessories
The box of Huawei's Y540 contains the battery, quick-start guide, charger, USB cable, and a cheap-looking stereo headset besides the device itself.
Warranty
A warranty period of 24 months is included on the phone. The battery is only covered for 6 months and the headset for only 3 months.
Input Devices & Handling
Virtually everything described in the review of the former Huawei Ascend Y530 is also true here. Huawei has slightly modified the virtual stock Android keyboard, which contains some useful features. For example, the number keys are always available in the first letter row, and the space bar enables directly accessing the useful word suggestion feature. The smiley button has been axed, but it is still possible to directly switch between the German and English keyboard layouts.
The sluggish implementation of commands will regularly slow down savvy typists. Otherwise, the 4.5-inch screen responds quite accurately up into its corners. However, the sleekness could be a bit better but is still satisfactory.
Display
Huawei's Y540 features a 4.5-inch screen with a resolution of 854x480 pixels. In view of the size, that is simply too little and sometimes leads to a slightly grainy reproduction. The measured rates of the screen sound good, though. A maximum of 496 cd/m² at an impressive average rate of 463.8 cd/m² is twice as bright as the screen in Motorola's Moto E 2015. The other contenders cannot compete with that, either. Unfortunately, the screen is not very homogeneous with an illumination of 83%. Only Microsoft's Lumia 435 and Microsoft's Lumia 53 can offer a higher homogeneity. The high black level of 0.76 cd/m² and the resulting contrast of 637:1 are disappointing. LG's Leon and Motorola's Moto E 2015 achieve considerably better rates here.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Brightness Distribution: 83 %
Center on Battery: 484 cd/m²
Contrast: 637:1 (Black: 0.76 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 11.06 | 0.5-29.43 Ø4.87
ΔE Greyscale 11.88 | 0.5-98 Ø5.1
Gamma: 2.33
| Huawei Y540 Mali-400 MP, MT6572, 4 GB Flash | LG Leon LGH340N Adreno 306, 410 MSM8916, 8 GB eMMC Flash | Microsoft Lumia 532 Adreno 302, 200 MSM8212, 8 GB eMMC Flash | Microsoft Lumia 435 Adreno 302, 200 8210, 8 GB eMMC Flash | Motorola Moto E 2. Gen 2015 Adreno 306, 410 MSM8916, 8 GB eMMC Flash | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Screen | 21% | 3% | 5% | 26% | |
| Brightness middle | 484 | 326 -33% | 301 -38% | 284 -41% | 217 -55% |
| Brightness | 464 | 323 -30% | 302 -35% | 282 -39% | 204 -56% |
| Brightness Distribution | 83 | 81 -2% | 93 12% | 92 11% | 55 -34% |
| Black Level * | 0.76 | 0.36 53% | 0.58 24% | 0.56 26% | 0.15 80% |
| Contrast | 637 | 906 42% | 519 -19% | 507 -20% | 1447 127% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 * | 11.06 | 4.81 57% | 6.36 42% | 5.64 49% | 4.12 63% |
| Greyscale dE 2000 * | 11.88 | 4.82 59% | 7.49 37% | 5.69 52% | 4.87 59% |
| Gamma | 2.33 94% | 2.03 108% | 2.58 85% | 2.11 104% | 2.38 92% |
| CCT | 12908 50% | 7288 89% | 9135 71% | 7817 83% | 6019 108% |
* ... smaller is better
Our detailed measurements using CalMAN software and X-Rite iPro2 colorimeter reveal a visible bluish cast caused by a much too cool color temperature of 12908 Kelvin - the ideal rate would be 6500 K. The color shifts in ColorChecker and Grayscale are also too high with a DeltaE of 11.06 and 11.88, respectively. This is very visible in the grayscale gradient with a bluish discoloration in the dark area. Generally, the color reproduction is far remote from the norm, and the close to standard gamma of 2.33 cannot save anything, either.
The high brightness makes outdoor use possible, but the highly reflective screen limits that. However, outdoor use is unconditionally possible when direct light does not shine on the screen.
Huawei states an IPS screen in the spec sheet of its Y540. However, we would presume that it is a low-cost TN LED screen due to rapid color inverting particularly in impractical acute angles over the screen's upper edge.
Performance
Huawei's Y540 is based on MediaTek's MT6572 dual-core SoC clocked at 1.3 GHz. The SoC integrates an ARM Mali-400 MP graphics chip. Huawei treats the SoC to 1 GB of RAM and 4 GB of flash memory. The review sample's performance is almost always worse than that of the contenders based on stronger equipment. It can only outperform Microsoft's Lumia 435 somewhat in the Linpack benchmark but is clearly inferior in all other tests.
| Geekbench 3 | |
| 32 Bit Single-Core Score (sort by value) | |
| Huawei Y540 | |
| Motorola Moto E 2. Gen 2015 | |
| 32 Bit Multi-Core Score (sort by value) | |
| Huawei Y540 | |
| Motorola Moto E 2. Gen 2015 | |
| Smartbench 2012 - Productivity Index (sort by value) | |
| Huawei Y540 | |
| Motorola Moto E 2. Gen 2015 | |
| LG Leon LGH340N | |
| Linpack Android / IOS - Multi Thread (sort by value) | |
| Huawei Y540 | |
| Microsoft Lumia 532 | |
| Motorola Moto E 2. Gen 2015 | |
| LG Leon LGH340N | |
| Microsoft Lumia 435 | |
| AnTuTu v5 - Total Score (sort by value) | |
| Huawei Y540 | |
| Motorola Moto E 2. Gen 2015 | |
| LG Leon LGH340N | |
| 3DMark | |
| 1280x720 offscreen Ice Storm Unlimited Physics (sort by value) | |
| Huawei Y540 | |
| Motorola Moto E 2. Gen 2015 | |
| LG Leon LGH340N | |
| 1280x720 offscreen Ice Storm Unlimited Graphics Score (sort by value) | |
| Huawei Y540 | |
| Motorola Moto E 2. Gen 2015 | |
| LG Leon LGH340N | |
| 1280x720 offscreen Ice Storm Unlimited Score (sort by value) | |
| Huawei Y540 | |
| Motorola Moto E 2. Gen 2015 | |
| LG Leon LGH340N | |
| 1920x1080 Ice Storm Extreme Physics (sort by value) | |
| Huawei Y540 | |
| Motorola Moto E 2. Gen 2015 | |
| LG Leon LGH340N | |
| 1920x1080 Ice Storm Extreme Graphics (sort by value) | |
| Huawei Y540 | |
| Motorola Moto E 2. Gen 2015 | |
| LG Leon LGH340N | |
| 1920x1080 Ice Storm Extreme Score (sort by value) | |
| Huawei Y540 | |
| Motorola Moto E 2. Gen 2015 | |
| LG Leon LGH340N | |
| 1280x720 Ice Storm Standard Physics (sort by value) | |
| Huawei Y540 | |
| Motorola Moto E 2. Gen 2015 | |
| LG Leon LGH340N | |
| 1280x720 Ice Storm Standard Graphics (sort by value) | |
| Huawei Y540 | |
| Motorola Moto E 2. Gen 2015 | |
| LG Leon LGH340N | |
| 1280x720 Ice Storm Standard Score (sort by value) | |
| Huawei Y540 | |
| Motorola Moto E 2. Gen 2015 | |
| LG Leon LGH340N | |
| GFXBench (DX / GLBenchmark) 2.7 | |
| T-Rex Onscreen (sort by value) | |
| Huawei Y540 | |
| Microsoft Lumia 532 | |
| Motorola Moto E 2. Gen 2015 | |
| LG Leon LGH340N | |
| 1920x1080 T-Rex Offscreen (sort by value) | |
| Huawei Y540 | |
| Microsoft Lumia 532 | |
| Motorola Moto E 2. Gen 2015 | |
| LG Leon LGH340N | |
The review sample scored worse in all browser-based benchmarks than LG's Leon and Motorola's Moto E 2015. At least Huawei's Y540 could outrun both Microsoft's Lumia 435 and Lumia 532 smartphones in the Google v8, Octane v2.0 and Kraken 1.1 tests.
| Google V8 Ver. 7 - Google V8 Ver. 7 Score (sort by value) | |
| Huawei Y540 | |
| Microsoft Lumia 532 | |
| Motorola Moto E 2. Gen 2015 | |
| LG Leon LGH340N | |
| Microsoft Lumia 435 | |
| Sunspider - 1.0 Total Score (sort by value) | |
| Huawei Y540 | |
| Microsoft Lumia 532 | |
| Motorola Moto E 2. Gen 2015 | |
| LG Leon LGH340N | |
| Microsoft Lumia 435 | |
| Octane V2 - Total Score (sort by value) | |
| Huawei Y540 | |
| Microsoft Lumia 532 | |
| Motorola Moto E 2. Gen 2015 | |
| LG Leon LGH340N | |
| Microsoft Lumia 435 | |
| Mozilla Kraken 1.1 - Total (sort by value) | |
| Huawei Y540 | |
| Microsoft Lumia 532 | |
| Motorola Moto E 2. Gen 2015 | |
| LG Leon LGH340N | |
| Microsoft Lumia 435 | |
* ... smaller is better
The flash memory has a decent performance according to the Androbench 3.0 benchmark. However, both Motorola's Moto E 2015 and LG's Leon usually score better here.
| AndroBench 3-5 | |
| Random Write 4KB (sort by value) | |
| Huawei Y540 | |
| Motorola Moto E 2. Gen 2015 | |
| LG Leon LGH340N | |
| Random Read 4KB (sort by value) | |
| Huawei Y540 | |
| Motorola Moto E 2. Gen 2015 | |
| LG Leon LGH340N | |
| Sequential Write 256KB (sort by value) | |
| Huawei Y540 | |
| Motorola Moto E 2. Gen 2015 | |
| LG Leon LGH340N | |
| Sequential Read 256KB (sort by value) | |
| Huawei Y540 | |
| Motorola Moto E 2. Gen 2015 | |
| LG Leon LGH340N | |
Games
The integrated ARM Mali-400 MP graphics card is a bit weak and no longer quite up-to-date. While games like Trials Frontier run properly, Huawei's Y540 exhibits minor stutters in more demanding games, such as Modern Combat 5. The screen's low resolution is obvious in Angry Birds Transformers. However, the touchscreen, position sensor and accelerometer function impeccably and accurately.
Emissions
Temperature
Huawei's Y540 does not show any irregularities here. The measured surface temperatures never protrude into an unpleasant range. Admittedly, the smartphone presented temperatures of up to 41.1 °C in some spots on the front during permanent full load, but only 36.9 °C was reached on the more important back. The device was barely lukewarm during practical use with an average of 31.3 °C. The power supply also always remained within an uncritical range.
The battery test of GFXBenchmark 3.0 clearly proves that the review sample does not throttle at all and consequently that it does not heat up excessively.
(±) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 41.4 °C / 107 F, compared to the average of 35.1 °C / 95 F, ranging from 21.9 to 63.7 °C for the class Smartphone.
(+) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 39.6 °C / 103 F, compared to the average of 33.9 °C / 93 F
(±) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 32.1 °C / 90 F, compared to the device average of 32.8 °C / 91 F.
Speaker
The mono speaker, untypically located directly beside the camera module, is not suitable for either listening to music or for other multimedia applications. The treble-heavy sound without bass support and the low maximum volume is no fun. However, the 3.5 mm jack does not give reason for complaint with the low base noise and decent maximum volume.
Energy Management
Power Consumption
Unfortunately, we could not ascertain any feasible data in the power consumption tests. We had some doubts about the manufacturer's battery life specifications in view of the bright screen, especially since the 6.4 Wh (1730 mAh) lithium-polymer battery is even a bit smaller than that in the former Huawei Ascend Y530. Motorola's Moto E 2015 (2390 mAh) and LG's Leon (7.2 Wh, 1900 mAh) both have a higher capacity, and Microsoft's Lumia 532 and Microsoft's Lumia 435 both have somewhat less with 5.8 Wh (1560 mAh) each.
With approximately three hours, Huawei's Y540 was depleted faster than Motorola's Moto E 2015 (four hours 20 minutes) and LG's Leon (three-and-a-half hours) under full system load and maximum brightness. Wi-Fi browsing using a screen brightness set to 150 cd/m² (20%) allows the review sample to outrun both LG's Leon and Microsoft's Lumia 532, but Motorola's Moto E 2015 manages a considerably longer runtime. Full HD videos can also be enjoyed for 360 minutes longer on Motorola's Moto E 2015 and 422 minutes more on Microsoft's Lumia 435.
| Huawei Y540 Mali-400 MP, MT6572, 4 GB Flash | Motorola Moto E 2. Gen 2015 Adreno 306, 410 MSM8916, 8 GB eMMC Flash | LG Leon LGH340N Adreno 306, 410 MSM8916, 8 GB eMMC Flash | Microsoft Lumia 435 Adreno 302, 200 8210, 8 GB eMMC Flash | Microsoft Lumia 532 Adreno 302, 200 MSM8212, 8 GB eMMC Flash | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Battery Runtime | 33% | 7% | 14% | -25% | |
| H.264 | 272 | 360 32% | 422 55% | ||
| WiFi v1.3 | 397 | 506 27% | 381 -4% | 298 -25% | |
| Load | 184 | 260 41% | 215 17% | 132 -28% | |
| WiFi | 410 | 376 |
Pros
Cons
"Mediocrity" could be the slogan for Huawei's Y540. Although it does not display any unreasonable weaknesses, it does not stand out from the mass in almost any aspect. The review sample offers a 4.5-inch screen with high brightness for approximately 100 Euros (~$111). One of the two SIM slots also supports UMTS, and the battery is removable. The latter is not as weighty owing to the decent battery life. The communication modules do a good job without major slips.
The speaker and the awful camera modules disappointed us. Besides that, not all apps can be moved to the micro-SD despite the much too small internal storage. USB OTG is not supported, either. It is logical that the performance division of this price range will not cause any excitement, but routine use could be a bit faster anyway. The stronger contenders all show how to do this better.
Other manufacturers simply have more to offer, and thus we cannot give Huawei's Y540 an unconditional purchase recommendation. Potential buyers should definitely look at one of the two Microsoft Lumia models beforehand, providing that Windows Phone 8 is not a determent.
Huawei Y540
- 06/09/2015 v4 (old)
Michael Moser
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