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Huawei Y6 II Compact Smartphone Review

Cheap Thrills. "Cheaper is always possible", Huawei thought, and it thus reduced the price of the lower mid-range with its Y6 II Compact. Is that enough for a convincing presentation?

For the original German review, see here.

Entry-level and mid-range meet at approximately 200 Euros (~$255) on the smartphone market. The smartphones are already configured with a bit more storage, an HD or sometimes even Full HD screen, and they are usually bigger than 5 inches. Decent performance rates that allow smoothly navigating through the menu and most apps can also be expected for just below 200 Euros.

Huawei wants to be a match for other devices that once cost around 200 Euros, though now these cost about the same as an undiscounted Y6 II Compact. The buyer has the option of the larger Huawei Y6 II with a 5.5-inch screen and a bit more power for almost 200 Euros (~$255).

Huawei's Y6 II Compact dual-SIM smartphone is presently available for just below 160 Euros (~$180). That is very cheap; LG's K10 is currently found in a similar range. HTC's Desire 530, Samsung's Galaxy J3 (2016), and Honor's 5C by Huawei's subsidiary still range between 160 and 200 Euros (~$180 and $255).

Huawei Y6 II Compact (Y Series)
Processor
Mediatek MT6735 4 x 1.5 GHz, Cortex-A53
Graphics adapter
Memory
2048 MB 
Display
5.00 inch 16:9, 1280 x 720 pixel 294 PPI, capacitive touchscreen, IPS, glossy: yes
Storage
16 GB eMMC Flash, 16 GB 
, 10 GB free
Connections
1 USB 2.0, Audio Connections: 3.5-mm headset jack, Card Reader: micro-SD max. 128 GB, Brightness Sensor, Sensors: proximity sensor, accelerometer, compass, WiFi Direct, DLNA, USB OTG, FM radio
Networking
802.11 b/g/n (b/g/n = Wi-Fi 4/), Bluetooth 4.0, GSM (850/​900/​1800/​1900), UMTS (900/​1900/​2100), LTE (B1/​B3/​B7/​B8/​B20); bandwidth (download/​upload): 150 MBps / ​50 MBps (LTE), 42 MBps / ​11.5 MBps (UMTS); SAR rates: 0.36 W/kg (ear), 1.23 W/kg (body), Dual SIM, LTE, GPS
Size
height x width x depth (in mm): 8.95 x 144.2 x 72.5 ( = 0.35 x 5.68 x 2.85 in)
Battery
8.4 Wh, 2200 mAh Lithium-Polymer, removeable, Standby 2G (according to manufacturer): 160 h
Operating System
Android 5.1 Lollipop
Camera
Primary Camera: 13 MPix AF, dual-LED flash
Secondary Camera: 5 MPix LED-flash
Additional features
Speakers: speaker on lower edge, Keyboard: virtual keyboard, designs, phone manager, HiCare, 24 Months Warranty, fanless
Weight
140 g ( = 4.94 oz / 0.31 pounds), Power Supply: 46 g ( = 1.62 oz / 0.1 pounds)
Price
169 Euro
Note: The manufacturer may use components from different suppliers including display panels, drives or memory sticks with similar specifications.

 

Case

The casing of Huawei's Y6 II Compact is made of plastic. Buyers who want a metal casing will have to invest more - but not much: Honor's 5C features brushed aluminum for roughly 40 Euros (~$45) more. Our review sample's casing is pleasant to hold. All edges are curved; the back has a light texture and a classy feel.

The build is also decent: the removable back fits very flush in the casing, and the buttons hardly wobble. Relatively high pressure on the front is needed before it is passed to the liquid crystals, and the screen almost completely defies pressure on the back. It is possible to warp the handset slightly, and the removable back then produces quite a loud cracking noise.

Huawei's 140 gram (~5 oz) Y6 II Compact weighs just as much as HTC's Desire 530 and the slightly bigger LG K10. Subjectively, our review sample seems light but also high quality.

Size Comparison

146.6 mm / 5.77 inch 74.8 mm / 2.94 inch 8.8 mm / 0.3465 inch 140 g0.3086 lbs147.1 mm / 5.79 inch 73.8 mm / 2.91 inch 8.3 mm / 0.3268 inch 156 g0.3439 lbs146.9 mm / 5.78 inch 70.9 mm / 2.79 inch 8.3 mm / 0.3268 inch 140 g0.3086 lbs144.2 mm / 5.68 inch 72.5 mm / 2.85 inch 8.95 mm / 0.3524 inch 140 g0.3086 lbs142.3 mm / 5.6 inch 71 mm / 2.8 inch 7.9 mm / 0.311 inch 138 g0.3042 lbs148 mm / 5.83 inch 105 mm / 4.13 inch 1 mm / 0.03937 inch 1.5 g0.00331 lbs

Connectivity

16 GB of storage and 2 GB of working memory place Huawei's Y6 II Compact at the upper end of this price range. Two micro-SIM ports are present; both slots support 4G but only one at a time. The other can only be used with 2G then. Conveniently, the user can select which slot is to support the 2G network and which one is to support all networks so that the SIM cards do not have to be swapped. It is also possible to choose which slot is to be normally used for mobile data and which slot for calls and SMS.

The USB port on the lower edge also supports connecting external storage devices (USB OTG). Devices in the same Wi-Fi network can communicate via Wi-Fi Direct and DLNA. NFC is not present, but an FM radio is installed.

Right: Volume control, standby button
Right: Volume control, standby button
Left: Smart Key (softkey)
Left: Smart Key (softkey)
Upper edge: 3.5-mm headset jack
Upper edge: 3.5-mm headset jack
Lower edge: USB 2.0 port, speaker, microphone
Lower edge: USB 2.0 port, speaker, microphone

Software

First reports have been confirmed: The Y6 II Compact is unfortunately based only on Android 5.1, which is the second-to-last Android version. Emotion UI version 3.1 covers it. An update to a newer version was not available at test time.

All bloatware and adware that Huawei preloads are found in the folder "Top Apps": The "WPS Office" software might still be useful, but many users will find apps for hotel reservations or Twitter superfluous.

At least some fairly useful apps, such as "HiCare" or a flashlight, are also preloaded.

Communication and GPS

It has become normal to offer at least basic LTE functionality in the lower mid-range. Huawei apparently agrees with this and furnishes its smartphone with the high-speed mobile network standard. The bandwidths B1/​B3/​B7/​B8/​B20 are supported, which should make it possible to cope quite well at least in Europe. A short practical test in an urban area resulted in decent reception rates indoors and good quality outdoors.

The Wi-Fi standards 802.11 b/g/n can be used, which excludes the 5 GHz network. We measured the Wi-Fi module's reception and transmission performance a meter (~3 ft) away from the Linksys EA8500 router. Honor's 5C managed slightly higher speed, but high-end devices like LG's G5 or Samsung's Galaxy S7 Edge offer considerably higher transmission rates thanks to 802.11 ac support.

We perceived the speed at which pages opened to be fast with full reception near the router. 3/4 of the signal was still displayed at a distance of ten meters (~33 feet) and through three walls. Although pages opened quickly, it was clearly slower.

Networking
iperf Server (receive) TCP 1 m
LG G5
Adreno 530, 820 MSM8996, 32 GB eMMC Flash
303 MBit/s +539%
Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge
Mali-T880 MP12, Exynos 8890, 32 GB UFS 2.0 Flash
303 MBit/s +539%
Honor 5C
Mali-T830 MP2, Kirin 650, 16 GB eMMC Flash
49.8 MBit/s +5%
Huawei Y6 II Compact
Mali-T720 MP2, MT6735, 16 GB eMMC Flash
47.4 MBit/s
iperf Client (transmit) TCP 1 m
Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge
Mali-T880 MP12, Exynos 8890, 32 GB UFS 2.0 Flash
290 MBit/s +453%
LG G5
Adreno 530, 820 MSM8996, 32 GB eMMC Flash
151 MBit/s +188%
Honor 5C
Mali-T830 MP2, Kirin 650, 16 GB eMMC Flash
58.3 MBit/s +11%
Huawei Y6 II Compact
Mali-T720 MP2, MT6735, 16 GB eMMC Flash
52.4 MBit/s
GPS test indoors
GPS test indoors
GPS test outdoors
GPS test outdoors

The tracking module supports GPS and GLONASS. It could not locate us indoors, but localization was very fast with an accuracy of up to 4 meters (~13 ft) outdoors.

We put Huawei's Y6 II Compact alongside Garmin's Edge 500 professional navigation system in our backpack and took them on a bike trip to provide practical rates. The measured route deviated by 200 meters (~656 ft), which is quite an obvious aberration on an almost eight-kilometer (~5 mile) route.

While slight deviations from the route were seen in the crossing area, the Y6 II Compact placed us clearly off the route in the woods. Although Garmin's Edge 500 is not perfect here, it is considerably more accurate.

GPS Garmin Edge 500 – Overview
GPS Garmin Edge 500 – Overview
GPS Garmin Edge 500 – Crossing
GPS Garmin Edge 500 – Crossing
GPS Garmin Edge 500 – Underpass
GPS Garmin Edge 500 – Underpass
GPS Huawei Y6 II Compact – Overview
GPS Huawei Y6 II Compact – Overview
GPS Huawei Y6 II Compact – Crossing
GPS Huawei Y6 II Compact – Crossing
GPS Huawei Y6 II Compact – Underpass
GPS Huawei Y6 II Compact – Underpass

Telephone and Call Quality

Huawei uses its own phone app with a slightly different design than Google's stock app. The keypad and recent calls are displayed when the app is opened. Contacts and notifications can be accessed directly via tabs at the upper edge. Important contacts can be placed at the top of the list in the contact folder. This phone app is not really an improvement to Google's stock app; it simply displays things a bit differently. It can be used just as well, and thus the question arises why Huawei had to develop its own app at all costs when the Android app already functions very well?

The call quality is decent. We understood our contact well and the speaker does not produce static but it is relatively muffled. Our contact also perceived us a quite muffled. The microphone transmits the voice to the contact quite poorly when talking quietly.

Cameras

Front camera photo
Front camera photo

The rear-facing camera of Huawei's Y6 II Compact has a resolution of 13 megapixels, and an autofocus alongside a dual-LED flash support it. The camera's photos do not look as sharp as from high-quality cameras in bright ambient light. The autofocus seems to have some problems since it is virtually impossible to shoot sharp photos even in the dark without the flash. Then again, bright areas overexpose quickly. Colors have a visible yellowish tint.

Videos can be recorded at a maximum of 720p. The quality is quite decent, and the exposure adapts quickly when changing from bright to dark surroundings.

The front-facing camera has a resolution of 5 megapixels and an LED flash as a small special feature. Colors look very vivid and larger colored areas sometimes look spotty. Bright areas overexpose quickly, but dark areas are quite well furnished with details.

Image Comparison

Choose a scene and navigate within the first image. One click changes the position on touchscreens. One click on the zoomed-in image opens the original in a new window. The first image shows the scaled photograph of the test device.

Scene 1Scene 2Scene 3
click to load images

The camera in Huawei's Y6 II Compact does a better job in defined light conditions. The reference card that we photographed looks very sharp. Minor hazing is visible at the text edges in detail, but the autofocus really gets going in high contrasts and produce a very sharp photo. As expected, the color reproduction is extremely saturated.

Photographed reference card
Photographed reference card
Reference card (detail)
Reference card (detail)
Screenshot of ColorChecker colors. Reference colors are displayed in the lower half of each patch.
Screenshot of ColorChecker colors. Reference colors are displayed in the lower half of each patch.

Accessories and Warranty

Although its availability is good on the Internet, Huawei's Y6 II Compact is not found on Huawei's German website. This model is not even listed on Huawei's international page. An official supply of accessories does not exist, either. However, this is usually limited in this price range anyway.

A 24-month warranty is included.

Input Devices and Handling

Huawei Swype is the name of the keyboard that the smartphone uses. It provides relatively large keys and also very extensive setting options: starting with keyboard height over themes, inputting in two languages or vibrating while typing up to automatically entering a space - many things can be set. Voice recording and inputting by swiping over the keyboard are of course also integrated. Some user might find the keyboard perhaps a bit too stuffed since every key has a second assignment. Google's stock app makes a simpler and more clearly arranged impression.

The touchscreen is very sensitive into the corners; the user interface can be scaled down for one-hand use when necessary. Various gestures for controlling the smartphone, such as turn to mute or double tap to wake, are present. Letters can also be drawn on the disabled screen to open applications. Although it takes a moment before recognized, it functions quite reliably.

The Smart Key softkey is on the casing's left. Like the volume control and standby buttons, it also has a clear pressure point that is easily felt.

Keyboard portrait mode
Keyboard portrait mode
Keyboard landscape mode
Keyboard landscape mode

Display

Subpixel screenshot
Subpixel screenshot

Models with a 5-inch screen are considered compact today, and therefore a screen of this size is installed in Huawei's Y6 II Compact. It has the category-standard resolution of 1280x720 pixels, and it can get very bright with up to 503 cd/m². Its average brightness is 487 cd/m² - a really good rate that only Honor's 5C surpasses. It is also the only comparison model with a Full HD panel.

The illumination of the screen in our review sample is a very homogeneous 92 percent, and thus large surfaces are illuminated evenly.

472
cd/m²
487
cd/m²
481
cd/m²
479
cd/m²
491
cd/m²
503
cd/m²
465
cd/m²
503
cd/m²
501
cd/m²
Distribution of brightness
tested with X-Rite i1Pro 2
Maximum: 503 cd/m² (Nits) Average: 486.9 cd/m² Minimum: 15.92 cd/m²
Brightness Distribution: 92 %
Center on Battery: 491 cd/m²
Contrast: 546:1 (Black: 0.9 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 6.6 | 0.5-29.43 Ø5
ΔE Greyscale 4.9 | 0.57-98 Ø5.3
Gamma: 2.12
Huawei Y6 II Compact
IPS, 1280x720, 5.00
LG K10
IPS, 1280x720, 5.30
HTC Desire 530
IPS, 1280x720, 5.00
Honor 5C
IPS, 1920x1080, 5.20
Samsung Galaxy J3 2016
Super AMOLED, 1280x720, 5.00
Screen
7%
22%
14%
-5%
Brightness middle
491
370
-25%
375
-24%
515
5%
295
-40%
Brightness
487
355
-27%
376
-23%
498
2%
299
-39%
Brightness Distribution
92
92
0%
91
-1%
93
1%
96
4%
Black Level *
0.9
0.28
69%
0.32
64%
0.49
46%
Contrast
546
1321
142%
1172
115%
1051
92%
Colorchecker dE 2000 *
6.6
6.7
-2%
6
9%
6.2
6%
5.8
12%
Colorchecker dE 2000 max. *
12.9
17.8
-38%
9.5
26%
11.4
12%
8.6
33%
Greyscale dE 2000 *
4.9
7.9
-61%
4.5
8%
7.4
-51%
4.8
2%
Gamma
2.12 104%
2.21 100%
2.26 97%
2.28 96%
1.84 120%
CCT
7090 92%
9072 72%
6975 93%
8664 75%
6252 104%

* ... smaller is better

Adapted color temperature
Adapted color temperature

Although Samsung's Galaxy J3 with its AMOLED panel is considerably brighter than our review sample, it also has a virtually infinitely high contrast ratio since it can reproduce absolute black. Huawei's Y6 II Compact cannot compete with that - the black value of 0.9 cd/m² is even quite high and the contrast ratio of 546:1 consequently also very low. This leads to a relatively pale picture on the screen.

A more detailed color reproduction analysis is possible using CalMAN software and a spectrophotometer. The color reproduction can be adapted to personal needs to a certain degree in the menu, under Display - color temperature. However, adapting the setting does not completely eliminate a minor bluish tint. Furthermore, the grayscale reproduction accuracy is only improved marginally. Colors still deviate quite strongly from the reference color space.

CalMAN ColorChecker - adapted
CalMAN ColorChecker - adapted
CalMAN Grayscale - adapted
CalMAN Grayscale - adapted
CalMAN ColorChecker - standard
CalMAN ColorChecker - standard
CalMAN Colorspace - standard
CalMAN Colorspace - standard
CalMAN Grayscale - standard
CalMAN Grayscale - standard
CalMAN Saturation Sweeps - standard
CalMAN Saturation Sweeps - standard

Display Response Times

Display response times show how fast the screen is able to change from one color to the next. Slow response times can lead to afterimages and can cause moving objects to appear blurry (ghosting). Gamers of fast-paced 3D titles should pay special attention to fast response times.
       Response Time Black to White
24 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined↗ 9 ms rise
↘ 15 ms fall
The screen shows good response rates in our tests, but may be too slow for competitive gamers.
In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.1 (minimum) to 240 (maximum) ms. » 48 % of all devices are better.
This means that the measured response time is worse than the average of all tested devices (21.6 ms).
       Response Time 50% Grey to 80% Grey
44 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined↗ 22 ms rise
↘ 22 ms fall
The screen shows slow response rates in our tests and will be unsatisfactory for gamers.
In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.2 (minimum) to 636 (maximum) ms. » 69 % of all devices are better.
This means that the measured response time is worse than the average of all tested devices (33.9 ms).

Screen Flickering / PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation)

To dim the screen, some notebooks will simply cycle the backlight on and off in rapid succession - a method called Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) . This cycling frequency should ideally be undetectable to the human eye. If said frequency is too low, users with sensitive eyes may experience strain or headaches or even notice the flickering altogether.
Screen flickering / PWM not detected

In comparison: 53 % of all tested devices do not use PWM to dim the display. If PWM was detected, an average of 18110 (minimum: 5 - maximum: 3846000) Hz was measured.

The viewing angles are very good thanks to the IPS technology. The image on the screen can still be recognized well even when looking from the side. Huawei's Y6 II Compact does a mediocre job outdoors. The high brightness faces the low contrast and glossy surface. Recognizing something on the screen also becomes difficult in the shade when the brightness is not set to maximum.

Viewing angles
Viewing angles
Outdoors - maximum brightness
Outdoors - maximum brightness
Outdoors - half brightness
Outdoors - half brightness

Performance

The four cores in MediaTek's MT6735 SoC in Huawei's Y6 II Compact clock at a maximum of 1.5 GHz. The now somewhat older mid-range SoC still allows navigating relatively smoothly through menus and apps, and its performance is perceivably higher than that of most rivals - with exception of Honor's 5C.

An ARM Mali-T720 MP2 graphics unit is installed, and it is also much stronger than the graphics units in equally priced handsets.

AnTuTu v6 - Total Score (sort by value)
Huawei Y6 II Compact
33786 Points
LG K10
27383 Points -19%
HTC Desire 530
23561 Points -30%
Honor 5C
53143 Points +57%
Samsung Galaxy J3 2016
24748 Points -27%
3DMark
1280x720 offscreen Ice Storm Unlimited Score (sort by value)
Huawei Y6 II Compact
4885 Points
LG K10
4339 Points -11%
HTC Desire 530
4261 Points -13%
Honor 5C
11755 Points +141%
Samsung Galaxy J3 2016
3535 Points -28%
1280x720 offscreen Ice Storm Unlimited Graphics Score (sort by value)
Huawei Y6 II Compact
4296 Points
LG K10
3774 Points -12%
HTC Desire 530
3871 Points -10%
Honor 5C
11319 Points +163%
Samsung Galaxy J3 2016
3037 Points -29%
1280x720 offscreen Ice Storm Unlimited Physics (sort by value)
Huawei Y6 II Compact
9393 Points
LG K10
9106 Points -3%
HTC Desire 530
6583 Points -30%
Honor 5C
13588 Points +45%
Samsung Galaxy J3 2016
8322 Points -11%
2560x1440 Sling Shot OpenGL ES 3.0 (sort by value)
Huawei Y6 II Compact
203 Points
LG K10
52 Points -74%
Honor 5C
563 Points +177%
2560x1440 Sling Shot OpenGL ES 3.0 Graphics (sort by value)
Huawei Y6 II Compact
167 Points
LG K10
41 Points -75%
Honor 5C
480 Points +187%
2560x1440 Sling Shot OpenGL ES 3.0 Physics (sort by value)
Huawei Y6 II Compact
826 Points
LG K10
730 Points -12%
Honor 5C
1418 Points +72%
2560x1440 Sling Shot OpenGL ES 3.0 Unlimited (sort by value)
Huawei Y6 II Compact
192 Points
2560x1440 Sling Shot OpenGL ES 3.0 Unlimited Graphics (sort by value)
Huawei Y6 II Compact
157 Points
2560x1440 Sling Shot OpenGL ES 3.0 Unlimited Physics (sort by value)
Huawei Y6 II Compact
848 Points
2560x1440 Sling Shot Extreme (ES 3.1) (sort by value)
Huawei Y6 II Compact
124 Points
LG K10
Points -100%
Honor 5C
383 Points +209%
2560x1440 Sling Shot Extreme (ES 3.1) Graphics (sort by value)
Huawei Y6 II Compact
100 Points
LG K10
Points -100%
Honor 5C
317 Points +217%
2560x1440 Sling Shot Extreme (ES 3.1) Physics (sort by value)
Huawei Y6 II Compact
873 Points
LG K10
Points -100%
Honor 5C
1418 Points +62%
GFXBench (DX / GLBenchmark) 2.7
T-Rex Onscreen (sort by value)
Huawei Y6 II Compact
15 fps
LG K10
9.7 fps -35%
HTC Desire 530
8.9 fps -41%
Honor 5C
20 fps +33%
Samsung Galaxy J3 2016
7.6 fps -49%
1920x1080 T-Rex Offscreen (sort by value)
Huawei Y6 II Compact
8.4 fps
LG K10
5.2 fps -38%
HTC Desire 530
4.8 fps -43%
Honor 5C
19 fps +126%
Samsung Galaxy J3 2016
4.6 fps -45%
GFXBench 3.0
on screen Manhattan Onscreen OGL (sort by value)
Huawei Y6 II Compact
6.1 fps
LG K10
4.1 fps -33%
HTC Desire 530
4 fps -34%
Honor 5C
8.4 fps +38%
1920x1080 1080p Manhattan Offscreen (sort by value)
Huawei Y6 II Compact
2.8 fps
LG K10
1.8 fps -36%
HTC Desire 530
1.7 fps -39%
Honor 5C
7.9 fps +182%
GFXBench 3.1
on screen Manhattan ES 3.1 Onscreen (sort by value)
Huawei Y6 II Compact
4.1 fps
LG K10
fps -100%
Honor 5C
4.9 fps +20%
1920x1080 Manhattan ES 3.1 Offscreen (sort by value)
Huawei Y6 II Compact
1.7 fps
LG K10
fps -100%
Honor 5C
4.5 fps +165%
PCMark for Android - Work performance score (sort by value)
Huawei Y6 II Compact
3400 Points
LG K10
3999 Points +18%
HTC Desire 530
2922 Points -14%
Honor 5C
5120 Points +51%
Samsung Galaxy J3 2016
3350 Points -1%
BaseMark OS II
Overall (sort by value)
Huawei Y6 II Compact
203 Points
LG K10
536 Points +164%
HTC Desire 530
149 Points -27%
Honor 5C
1225 Points +503%
Samsung Galaxy J3 2016
423 Points +108%
System (sort by value)
Huawei Y6 II Compact
1093 Points
LG K10
1050 Points -4%
HTC Desire 530
742 Points -32%
Honor 5C
2600 Points +138%
Samsung Galaxy J3 2016
1134 Points +4%
Memory (sort by value)
Huawei Y6 II Compact
571 Points
LG K10
453 Points -21%
HTC Desire 530
300 Points -47%
Honor 5C
1504 Points +163%
Samsung Galaxy J3 2016
315 Points -45%
Graphics (sort by value)
Huawei Y6 II Compact
283 Points
LG K10
310 Points +10%
HTC Desire 530
231 Points -18%
Honor 5C
814 Points +188%
Samsung Galaxy J3 2016
158 Points -44%
Web (sort by value)
Huawei Y6 II Compact
10 Points
LG K10
562 Points +5520%
HTC Desire 530
10 Points 0%
Honor 5C
707 Points +6970%
Samsung Galaxy J3 2016
569 Points +5590%
Geekbench 4.0
64 Bit Single-Core Score (sort by value)
Huawei Y6 II Compact
549 Points
64 Bit Multi-Core Score (sort by value)
Huawei Y6 II Compact
1581 Points
Compute RenderScript Score (sort by value)
Huawei Y6 II Compact
795 Points

Legend

 
Huawei Y6 II Compact Mediatek MT6735, ARM Mali-T720 MP2, 16 GB eMMC Flash
 
LG K10 Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 MSM8916, Qualcomm Adreno 306, 16 GB eMMC Flash
 
HTC Desire 530 Qualcomm Snapdragon 210 MSM8909, Qualcomm Adreno 304, 16 GB eMMC Flash
 
Honor 5C HiSilicon Kirin 650, ARM Mali-T830 MP2, 16 GB eMMC Flash
 
Samsung Galaxy J3 2016 Spreadtrum SC9830A, ARM Mali-400 MP2, 8 GB eMMC Flash

Browsing the Internet is also a bit smoother with Huawei's Y6 II Compact than with equally priced comparison devices. It is not as important how fast the Internet connection is, but rather how fast the smartphone can process intricate web technologies, such as HTML5.

Mozilla Kraken 1.1 - Total (sort by value)
Huawei Y6 II Compact
13234 ms *
LG K10
16638 ms * -26%
HTC Desire 530
17471 ms * -32%
Honor 5C
9111 ms * +31%
Samsung Galaxy J3 2016
13702 ms * -4%
Octane V2 - Total Score (sort by value)
Huawei Y6 II Compact
2805 Points
LG K10
2838 Points +1%
HTC Desire 530
1796 Points -36%
Honor 5C
4188 Points +49%
Samsung Galaxy J3 2016
2842 Points +1%
WebXPRT 2015 - Overall (sort by value)
Huawei Y6 II Compact
50 Points
LG K10
47 Points -6%
HTC Desire 530
34 Points -32%
Honor 5C
73 Points +46%
Samsung Galaxy J3 2016
39 Points -22%
JetStream 1.1 - Total Score (sort by value)
Huawei Y6 II Compact
18.3 Points
LG K10
17.48 Points -4%
HTC Desire 530
12.1 Points -34%
Honor 5C
27.93 Points +53%
Samsung Galaxy J3 2016
16.2 Points -11%

* ... smaller is better

Our review sample also accessed the internal storage quite fast. In particular, the read transfer rates are one big strength of Huawei's Y6 II Compact.

It does not look as good when accessing the micro-SD card. We test all mobile devices with our reference card - a very fast Toshiba Exceria Pro M401. Our present review sample scores very badly here: Writing on the card is performed at a speed of just 17.12 MB per second and read at just 31.57 MB per second. 80 MB per second in write and 95 MB per second in read would be possible with the card. Apps cannot be moved to the SD card.

AndroBench 3-5
Sequential Read 256KB (sort by value)
Huawei Y6 II Compact
211 MB/s
LG K10
131 MB/s -38%
HTC Desire 530
127 MB/s -40%
Honor 5C
263 MB/s +25%
Samsung Galaxy J3 2016
64.4 MB/s -69%
Sequential Write 256KB (sort by value)
Huawei Y6 II Compact
75 MB/s
LG K10
78 MB/s +4%
HTC Desire 530
55.8 MB/s -26%
Honor 5C
75.5 MB/s +1%
Samsung Galaxy J3 2016
41.4 MB/s -45%
Random Read 4KB (sort by value)
Huawei Y6 II Compact
23 MB/s
LG K10
9.2 MB/s -60%
HTC Desire 530
11.82 MB/s -49%
Honor 5C
61.7 MB/s +168%
Samsung Galaxy J3 2016
16.82 MB/s -27%
Random Write 4KB (sort by value)
Huawei Y6 II Compact
15.5 MB/s
LG K10
7.5 MB/s -52%
HTC Desire 530
8.96 MB/s -42%
Honor 5C
15.7 MB/s +1%
Samsung Galaxy J3 2016
9.43 MB/s -39%
Sequential Read 256KB SDCard (sort by value)
Huawei Y6 II Compact
31.57 MB/s
LG K10
75.5 MB/s +139%
HTC Desire 530
35.56 MB/s +13%
Honor 5C
51.9 MB/s +64%
Samsung Galaxy J3 2016
20.82 MB/s -34%
Sequential Write 256KB SDCard (sort by value)
Huawei Y6 II Compact
17.12 MB/s
LG K10
45 MB/s +163%
HTC Desire 530
18.22 MB/s +6%
Honor 5C
24.21 MB/s +41%
Samsung Galaxy J3 2016
18.7 MB/s +9%

Games

We tested the gaming suitability with the demanding 3D games "Asphalt 8: Airborne" and "Dead Trigger 2". Huawei's Y6 II Compact achieved a frame rate of roughly 30 FPS in both games, but only in very low settings in the racing game "Asphalt 8". The somewhat older SoC at least supports OpenGL ES 3.1. However, more state-of-the-art interfaces, such as OpenGL ES 3.2 or Vulkan, might prevent future high-end mobile games from running on Huawei's Y6 II Compact.

"Asphalt 8: Airborne"
"Asphalt 8: Airborne"
"Dead Trigger 2"
"Dead Trigger 2"
Asphalt 8: Airborne
 SettingsValue
 high24 fps
 very low30 fps
Dead Trigger 2
 SettingsValue
 high29 fps

Emissions

GFXBench battery test
GFXBench battery test

Temperature

The user will not have to worry about high performance losses during prolonged load in Huawei's Y6 II Compact. Relatively stable frame rates were recorded even after the thirtieth run of GFXBench's battery test. However, the review sample reached quite high temperatures: We measured up to 45 degrees Celsius (113 Fahrenheit) on the lower front, which is exactly where the user often touches the smartphone. We also measured clearly increased temperatures of up to 42.2 degrees (~108 Fahrenheit) on the back.

The temperatures were already increased in idle mode and reached up to 37.8 degrees (~100 Fahrenheit) on the front.

Max. Load
 40.5 °C
105 F
41.8 °C
107 F
44.7 °C
112 F
 
 40.1 °C
104 F
40.5 °C
105 F
45 °C
113 F
 
 39.5 °C
103 F
39.9 °C
104 F
42.9 °C
109 F
 
Maximum: 45 °C = 113 F
Average: 41.7 °C = 107 F
41.2 °C
106 F
41.5 °C
107 F
42.2 °C
108 F
40.1 °C
104 F
41 °C
106 F
41 °C
106 F
40.2 °C
104 F
40.6 °C
105 F
40.7 °C
105 F
Maximum: 42.2 °C = 108 F
Average: 40.9 °C = 106 F
Power Supply (max.)  40.2 °C = 104 F | Room Temperature 21.9 °C = 71 F | Voltcraft IR-260
(-) The average temperature for the upper side under maximal load is 41.7 °C / 107 F, compared to the average of 32.7 °C / 91 F for the devices in the class Smartphone.
(±) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 45 °C / 113 F, compared to the average of 35 °C / 95 F, ranging from 21.9 to 56 °C for the class Smartphone.
(±) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 42.2 °C / 108 F, compared to the average of 33.8 °C / 93 F
(±) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 35 °C / 95 F, compared to the device average of 32.7 °C / 91 F.
Heat map front
Heat map front
Heat map rear
Heat map rear

Speakers

Pink Noise speaker test
Pink Noise speaker test

Our speaker analysis using the tool "Pink Noise" displays very little bass. We can confirm this after an audio test. In return, the high tones assault the ear and sometimes unpleasantly. Furthermore, the speaker sounds quieter than it actually is due to the lack of basses and mid-range. In total, not a very convincing sound presentation. At least the audio jack and Bluetooth deliver a static-free sound.

A headset is included. It is a relatively simple model that delivers an acceptable sound. The in-ear headset will not fit well in every ear - luck is needed here.

dB(A) 0102030405060708090Deep BassMiddle BassHigh BassLower RangeMidsHigher MidsLower HighsMid HighsUpper HighsSuper Highs2032.436.92531.3343131.733.8402632.85039.434.76336.231.28028.627.910025.424.412521.324.816023.325.920022.530.525022.437.131521.340.240018.444.850017.551.963017.555.680017.261.1100016.867.5125017.368.8160017.465200016.673.6250017.375.5315017.676.1400017.679.2500017.779.5630017.475.7800017.7711000017.967.31250018.161.51600018.142.9SPL29.886.4N1.356.8median 17.7median 61.5Delta1.715.635.432.335.235.428.226.137.828.228.63028.428.630.629.833.830.637.53739.537.529.329.434.329.328.426.927.328.432.229.130.832.238.426.526.238.441.22323.841.246.227.322.946.252.23322.452.2573819.95759.641.220.459.666.748.418.766.768.25117.768.270.25317.970.272.957.21872.973.857.117.873.873.255.11773.276.758.216.976.777.558.217.477.579.359.217.879.377.757.117.577.775.254.217.375.27858.817.3787253.4187264.646.318.364.663.245.517.963.253.33617.953.387.568.330.187.569.722.11.469.7median 69.7median 51median 17.9median 69.710.211.11.510.2hearing rangehide median Pink NoiseHuawei Y6 II CompactSamsung Galaxy S7
Huawei Y6 II Compact audio analysis

(+) | speakers can play relatively loud (86.4 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 31% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (7.3% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(±) | reduced mids - on average 7.7% lower than median
(±) | linearity of mids is average (11.7% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(±) | higher highs - on average 13.4% higher than median
(+) | highs are linear (5.9% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(-) | overall sound is not linear (35.6% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 82% of all tested devices in this class were better, 1% similar, 17% worse
» The best had a delta of 12%, average was 38%, worst was 134%
Compared to all devices tested
» 92% of all tested devices were better, 1% similar, 7% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 25%, worst was 134%

Samsung Galaxy S7 audio analysis

(+) | speakers can play relatively loud (87.4 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 25.2% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (9.2% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(+) | balanced mids - only 4.1% away from median
(+) | mids are linear (5% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(±) | higher highs - on average 6.6% higher than median
(+) | highs are linear (6.3% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (20.9% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 31% of all tested devices in this class were better, 8% similar, 60% worse
» The best had a delta of 12%, average was 38%, worst was 134%
Compared to all devices tested
» 51% of all tested devices were better, 8% similar, 41% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 25%, worst was 134%

Frequency diagram in comparison (check boxes above can be turned on/off!)

Energy Management

Power Consumption

Pleasingly, the consumption rates of Huawei's Y6 II Compact are very low in a shutdown and standby state. The review sample is also frugal in idle mode and it consumes 0.57 to 1.6 watts. The consumption first climbs strongly during full load, but it is still roughly on par with the comparison devices.

Power Consumption
Off / Standbydarklight 0.04 / 0.32 Watt
Idledarkmidlight 0.57 / 1.53 / 1.6 Watt
Load midlight 2.82 / 5.69 Watt
 color bar
Key: min: dark, med: mid, max: light        Gossen Metrahit Energy
Currently we use the Metrahit Energy, a professional single phase power quality and energy measurement digital multimeter, for our measurements. Find out more about it here. All of our test methods can be found here.
Huawei Y6 II Compact
2200 mAh
Samsung Galaxy J3 2016
2600 mAh
Honor 5C
3000 mAh
HTC Desire 530
2200 mAh
Power Consumption
8%
-28%
-79%
Idle Minimum *
0.57
0.96
-68%
0.89
-56%
1.58
-177%
Idle Average *
1.53
1.14
25%
2.07
-35%
2.59
-69%
Idle Maximum *
1.6
1.23
23%
2.15
-34%
2.66
-66%
Load Average *
2.82
2.45
13%
3.46
-23%
5.22
-85%
Load Maximum *
5.69
2.92
49%
5.18
9%
5.67
-0%

* ... smaller is better

Battery Runtime

The low consumption rates have a very positive impact on battery life. Although the Y6 II Compact only has a relatively small 2200 mAh battery (8.4 Wh), it lasts very long. Solely the Samsung's Galaxy J3 can surpass the runtimes. Huawei's compact smartphone is even the unchallenged winner in the practical Wi-Fi test with 10:23 hours.

Recharging takes quite some time with the included one-ampere charger: we needed up to 3 hours to fully recharge the relatively low-capacity battery in our test. The handset hardly consumes any power in standby, and two days without recharging are quite possible.

Battery Runtime
Idle (without WLAN, min brightness)
19h 35min
WiFi Websurfing
10h 23min
Big Buck Bunny H.264 1080p
11h 22min
Load (maximum brightness)
3h 42min
Huawei Y6 II Compact
2200 mAh
LG K10
2300 mAh
HTC Desire 530
2200 mAh
Honor 5C
3000 mAh
Samsung Galaxy J3 2016
2600 mAh
Battery Runtime
-10%
-14%
-16%
17%
Reader / Idle
1175
1123
-4%
1117
-5%
997
-15%
1212
3%
H.264
682
603
-12%
457
-33%
602
-12%
590
-13%
WiFi v1.3
623
453
-27%
425
-32%
584
-6%
502
-19%
Load
222
231
4%
250
13%
156
-30%
433
95%

Pros

+ decent build
+ low price
+ dual-SIM
+ good touchscreen
+ very bright screen
+ good viewing angle stability
+ relatively high performance
+ low power consumption
+ good battery life
+ fast internal storage

Cons

- screen's too low contrast...
- ...and inaccurate color reproduction
- older Android version
- camera's blurred photos
- poor speakers
- slow access on micro-SD
- long recharging times

Verdict

In review: Huawei Y6 II Compact. Review sample courtesy of Notebooksbilliger.de
In review: Huawei Y6 II Compact. Review sample courtesy of Notebooksbilliger.de

Huawei's Y6 II Compact has three very clear core competencies: performance, battery life, and price. The review sample is very well positioned in these three sectors, but other areas like the weak camera and low-contrast screen clearly look inferior.

Although the casing is made of plastic, the patterned back and impeccable build give it a quality impression. In addition, many extras like dual-SIM, micro-SD slot, USB OTG, radio, and LTE are present. The very poor speaker, outdated operating system, and high temperatures are on the other side.

Huawei's points of focus for this smartphone are obvious - a decent price-performance ratio and a good battery life. However, the smartphone's other aspects have been neglected, some of which are hard to ignore.

Users who like the design and simply want an affordable and fairly powerful smartphone can consider Huawei's Y6 II Compact. However, the camera should not be a key aspect, nor a colorful screen or good speaker.

Huawei Y6 II Compact - 09/13/2016 v5.1(old)
Florian Wimmer

Chassis
71%
Keyboard
67 / 75 → 90%
Pointing Device
87%
Connectivity
41 / 60 → 68%
Weight
93%
Battery
93%
Display
82%
Games Performance
9 / 63 → 15%
Application Performance
31 / 70 → 45%
Temperature
84%
Noise
100%
Audio
44 / 91 → 48%
Camera
56%
Average
66%
79%
Smartphone - Weighted Average

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Florian Wimmer, 2016-09-18 (Update: 2018-05-15)