Notebookcheck Logo

Huawei Y6 Pro 2017 Smartphone Review

Small. Fancy. Cheap. Huawei's Y6 Pro (2017) is the manufacturer's latest Y-series model. We liked the entry-level smartphone's fancy metal case, its very decent hardware, and its compact size. Unfortunately, we also found one particular issue with lots and lots of room for improvement.

For the original German article, see here.

With the Y6 Pro, Chinese manufacturer Huawei is expanding its affordable Y-series. Unlike its non-Pro namesake, the Huawei Y6 Pro (2017) is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 and an Adreno GPU. In addition, its case is made mostly of metal instead of plastic, and it includes a fingerprint-reader to boot. Similarities between the two phones include the 5-inch display and the remaining technical specifications.

Equipped with 2 GB of RAM and 16 GB of expandable storage (Micro SD cards up to 128 GB are supported), the Huawei Y6 Pro (2017) also includes a 13 MP main rear-facing camera with PDAF autofocus and a 5 MP selfie-camera at the front.

Selling for around $200, Huawei has positioned this entry-level device in a highly competitive market segment. Accordingly, plenty of competitors are up in arms to defend their turf, among others the Lenovo Moto E4 PlusNokia 3Samsung Galaxy J3 2017, and in-house rivals Huawei Y7Y6 2017, and Honor 6A.

Huawei Y6 Pro 2017 (Y6 Series)
Processor
Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 (MSM8917) 4 x 1.4 GHz, Cortex-A53
Graphics adapter
Memory
2048 MB 
Display
5.00 inch 16:9, 1280 x 720 pixel 294 PPI, capacitive, 10-finger multitouch, LCD, IPS, glossy: yes
Storage
16 GB eMMC Flash, 16 GB 
, 10.17 GB free
Connections
1 USB 2.0, Audio Connections: 3.5 mm, Card Reader: microSD card up to 128 GB, 1 Fingerprint Reader, Brightness Sensor, Sensors: accelerometer, proximity sensor, Miracast
Networking
802.11 b/g/n (b/g/n = Wi-Fi 4/), Bluetooth 4.1, 4G LTE FDD: B1/B3/B5/B7/B8/B20 4G TD-LTE: B40 3G: B1/B2/B5/B8 2G: 850/900/1800/1900, Dual SIM, LTE, GPS
Size
height x width x depth (in mm): 8 x 143.9 x 71 ( = 0.31 x 5.67 x 2.8 in)
Battery
3020 mAh Lithium-Polymer, Battery runtime (according to manufacturer): 200 h, Talk time 3G (according to manufacturer): 12 h
Operating System
Android 7.0 Nougat
Camera
Primary Camera: 13 MPix
Secondary Camera: 5 MPix
Additional features
Speakers: mono, Keyboard: on-screen, Keyboard Light: yes, charger, USB cable, quick start guide, headset, warranty booklet, EMUI 5.1, 24 Months Warranty, fanless
Weight
145 g ( = 5.11 oz / 0.32 pounds), Power Supply: 34 g ( = 1.2 oz / 0.07 pounds)
Price
199 Euro
Note: The manufacturer may use components from different suppliers including display panels, drives or memory sticks with similar specifications.

 

Case

Made mostly of metal, the Huawei Y6 Pro’s case is available in black, silver, or gold, and at only 144 x 71 mm the phone is surprisingly compact. Nevertheless, the phone’s bezels seem comparatively large, and its display-to-body ratio is only 67.5%. At only 145 g it is very pleasant to hold in the hand.

For an entry-level device, build quality and choice of material were better than expected. The two buttons on the right-hand side of the device - the power button and volume rocker - are a tight fit and easy to reach, and they offer comfortably firm feedback and actuation.

Size Comparison

155 mm / 6.1 inch 77.5 mm / 3.05 inch 9.6 mm / 0.378 inch 198 g0.4365 lbs153.6 mm / 6.05 inch 76.4 mm / 3.01 inch 8.4 mm / 0.3307 inch 165 g0.3638 lbs143.8 mm / 5.66 inch 72.2 mm / 2.84 inch 8.85 mm / 0.3484 inch 150 g0.3307 lbs143.9 mm / 5.67 inch 71 mm / 2.8 inch 8 mm / 0.315 inch 145 g0.3197 lbs143.7 mm / 5.66 inch 70.95 mm / 2.79 inch 8.2 mm / 0.3228 inch 142 g0.3131 lbs143 mm / 5.63 inch 71.4 mm / 2.81 inch 8.68 mm / 0.3417 inch 141 g0.3109 lbs143.2 mm / 5.64 inch 70.3 mm / 2.77 inch 8.2 mm / 0.3228 inch 148 g0.3263 lbs148 mm / 5.83 inch 105 mm / 4.13 inch 1 mm / 0.03937 inch 1.5 g0.00331 lbs

Connectivity

For its price-point, 16 GB of eMMC storage is decently sized. Out of the box only 10.2 GB is available to the user, though. Storage can be expanded via Micro SD card (up to 128 GB); however, it cannot be formatted as internal storage.

The Huawei Y6 Pro (2017) is charged via the Micro USB 2.0 port at the bottom that does not support external peripherals such as keyboards or thumb drives via USB-OTG. Wireless display-streaming via Miracast worked flawlessly.

Software

The preloaded Android 7.0 operating system comes with Huawei’s in-house user interface EMUI 5.1 on top, and the device’s security patch level was up to date (September 2017). Whether or not Huawei is planning to update the phone to Android 8.0 Oreo has not yet been determined. Considering the smartphone’s price-point it is highly unlikely though.

Compared to stock Android, Huawei’s user interface has been heavily modified. In addition, several applications are preloaded on this device out of the box. Fortunately, they can be uninstalled.

Communication and GPS

With support for 802.11 b/g/n, the Huawei Y6 Pro’s Wi-Fi module only supports the highly congested 2.4 GHz frequency bands. Range and reception were decent, and when standing right next to the Wi-Fi router (Telekom Speedport W921V) power ratio was measured at around -41 dBm.

Overall Wi-Fi performance was at a level expected of a device at this price-point. Connected to our Linksys EA8500 reference router we were able to transfer a meager 52 Mbps (RX) and 47 Mbps (TX). Other devices in this price range offered comparable performance.

In addition to the aforementioned Wi-Fi standards, the device also supports Bluetooth 4.1 but lacks an NFC chip.

  • The phone utilizes the most commonly used 2G, 3G, and 4G bands including LTE Cat. 4 with up to 150 Mbps (downstream). It also has dual SIM capabilities support for up to two Nano-SIM cards simultaneously. However, only the main SIM slot supports all frequencies and bands; the secondary slot is limited to 2G networks.
Networking
iperf3 transmit AX12
Samsung Galaxy Note 8
Mali-G71 MP20, Exynos 8895, 64 GB UFS 2.1 Flash
653 MBit/s +1278%
Nokia 3
Mali-T720, MT6737, 16 GB eMMC Flash
76.6 MBit/s +62%
Samsung Galaxy J3 2017
Mali-T720 MP2, Exynos 7570, 16 GB eMMC Flash
53.5 MBit/s +13%
Honor 6A
Adreno 505, 430, 16 GB eMMC Flash
51.2 MBit/s +8%
Huawei Y7
Adreno 505, 435, 16 GB eMMC Flash
50.6 MBit/s +7%
Huawei Y6 2017
Mali-T720 MP2, MT6737T, 16 GB eMMC Flash
48.7 MBit/s +3%
Huawei Y6 Pro 2017
Adreno 405, 425, 16 GB eMMC Flash
47.4 MBit/s
Lenovo Moto E4 Plus
Mali-T720 MP2, MT6737, 16 GB eMMC Flash
46.8 MBit/s -1%
iperf3 receive AX12
Samsung Galaxy Note 8
Mali-G71 MP20, Exynos 8895, 64 GB UFS 2.1 Flash
503 MBit/s +873%
Nokia 3
Mali-T720, MT6737, 16 GB eMMC Flash
81.1 MBit/s +57%
Honor 6A
Adreno 505, 430, 16 GB eMMC Flash
52.9 MBit/s +2%
Huawei Y7
Adreno 505, 435, 16 GB eMMC Flash
52.4 MBit/s +1%
Huawei Y6 Pro 2017
Adreno 405, 425, 16 GB eMMC Flash
51.7 MBit/s
Samsung Galaxy J3 2017
Mali-T720 MP2, Exynos 7570, 16 GB eMMC Flash
46.9 MBit/s -9%
Huawei Y6 2017
Mali-T720 MP2, MT6737T, 16 GB eMMC Flash
43.6 MBit/s -16%
Lenovo Moto E4 Plus
Mali-T720 MP2, MT6737, 16 GB eMMC Flash
42.1 MBit/s -19%
GPS outdoors
GPS indoors

Positioning is performed via GPS, BeiDou, or GLONASS. Outdoors, position lock is obtained fairly quickly and accurately (6 m). However, we were unable to connect to any satellites indoors.

GPS accuracy is measured by taking the smartphone on an 8 km-long bike trip and comparing the results to a professional Garmin Edge 500 GPS. With only 20 m difference between the two (based mainly on alleged shortcuts) the entry-level device performed very well overall.

Garmin Edge 500
Garmin Edge 500
Garmin Edge 500
Huawei Y6 Pro 2017
Huawei Y6 Pro 2017
Huawei Y6 Pro 2017

Telephony and Call Quality

Connected to Germany’s Vodafone network, call quality was decent by and large. The integrated microphone’s quality was very high, and we were easily understandable. Ambient noise was filtered fairly well.

Cameras

front-facing camera
main camera

The rear camera’s 13 MP (4160x3120 pixels) CMOS sensor supported by a PDAF autofocus did its job very well, and the resulting photos were rich in detail. Dynamic range was somewhat limited though, and photos with a high dynamic range were often overexposed. While color accuracy was nowhere near the likes of Samsung's Galaxy Note 8, it was very decent considering the smartphone’s price. As is not uncommon for entry-level devices, photos taken in low-light situations were quite blurry with a significant amount of noise.

The front-facing 5 MP (2592x1944) camera is decent enough for occasional snapshots. Its photos are visibly worse than the rear camera’s and often both blurry and overexposed.

Both cameras are capable of recording FHD video at 30 FPS.

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

Accessories and Warranty

In addition to the smartphone itself, the box contains a modular 5 W charger, a USB cable, a quick-start guide, and a warranty booklet.

Devices sold in the US are limited to seller warranty. Please see our Guarantees, Return Policies & Warranties FAQ for country-specific information.

Input Devices and Handling

The controls are implemented via three capacitive on-screen buttons at the bottom of the screen. The 5-inch display reacted very accurately to touch input up to its very edges and corners. While input was accurate overall, it wasn’t particularly quick or reactive: occasionally, the reaction to touch input lagged behind significantly.

The integrated fingerprint-reader on the smartphone's rear side was fairly fast, however it was nowhere near the more expensive Huawei smartphones. In addition, it takes quite a while for the display to awaken from standby. Once unlocked, the sensor can be used for ending phone calls or taking photos and videos.

Display

subpixel geometry

The Y6 Pro’s IPS panel features a resolution of 1280x720. Given its 5-inch diagonal, the resulting pixel density is 294 ppi, and thus fairly average for its price-point. Subjectively, the panel was decently sharp and crisp.

According to our measurements with the X-Rite i1Pro2, the display’s maximum brightness was 407 nits and around 15 nits less with activated ambient light sensor. In the real-world APL50 test (Average Picture Level) the maximum brightness returned was 389 nits.

396
cd/m²
386
cd/m²
366
cd/m²
407
cd/m²
393
cd/m²
373
cd/m²
407
cd/m²
390
cd/m²
370
cd/m²
Distribution of brightness
LCD tested with X-Rite i1Pro 2
Maximum: 407 cd/m² (Nits) Average: 387.6 cd/m² Minimum: 5.08 cd/m²
Brightness Distribution: 90 %
Center on Battery: 393 cd/m²
Contrast: 936:1 (Black: 0.42 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 5.8 | 0.5-29.43 Ø5
ΔE Greyscale 3 | 0.57-98 Ø5.3
Gamma: 2.31
Huawei Y6 Pro 2017
IPS, 1280x720, 5.00
Huawei Y6 2017
IPS, 1280x720, 5.00
Huawei Y7
IPS, 1280x720, 5.50
Lenovo Moto E4 Plus
IPS, 1280x720, 5.50
Honor 6A
IPS, 1280x720, 5.00
Nokia 3
IPS, 1280x720, 5.00
Samsung Galaxy J3 2017
PLS, 1280x720, 5.00
Samsung Galaxy Note 8
Super AMOLED, 2960x1440, 6.30
Screen
41%
13%
3%
10%
-10%
21%
30%
Brightness middle
393
438
11%
467
19%
425
8%
480
22%
481
22%
502
28%
530
35%
Brightness
388
432
11%
456
18%
425
10%
462
19%
469
21%
494
27%
536
38%
Brightness Distribution
90
90
0%
92
2%
93
3%
94
4%
84
-7%
89
-1%
93
3%
Black Level *
0.42
0.13
69%
0.39
7%
0.37
12%
0.43
-2%
0.22
48%
0.35
17%
Contrast
936
3369
260%
1197
28%
1149
23%
1116
19%
2186
134%
1434
53%
Colorchecker dE 2000 *
5.8
4.8
17%
4.3
26%
4.7
19%
5.2
10%
8.1
-40%
4.6
21%
2.6
55%
Colorchecker dE 2000 max. *
8.7
11.4
-31%
6.8
22%
8.3
5%
8
8%
15.4
-77%
8
8%
5.1
41%
Greyscale dE 2000 *
3
3.2
-7%
3.5
-17%
4.6
-53%
3.1
-3%
8.5
-183%
2.5
17%
2.7
10%
Gamma
2.31 95%
2.23 99%
2.35 94%
2.17 101%
2.4 92%
2.16 102%
2.29 96%
2.04 108%
CCT
7060 92%
7090 92%
7273 89%
7445 87%
6688 97%
9014 72%
6351 102%
6206 105%

* ... smaller is better

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 18100 (minimum: 5 - maximum: 3846000) Hz was measured.

Contrast ratio (936:1) and black level (0.42 nits) are comparable to its competitors. That said, the Y6 Pro’s namesake without the “Pro” suffix scored much better. The real-world APL50 test yielded very similar results (0.42 nits, 926:1).

The panel’s DeltaE deviations of 5.8 (colors) and 3 (gray scale) were satisfactory overall and were comparatively low for an entry-level device. A blue filter can be enabled by selecting the eye comfort mode, and it should help to reduce eye strain.

CalMAN color accuracy (sRGB)
CalMAN colorspace (sRGB)
CalMAN grayscale (sRGB)
CalMAN saturation (sRGB)

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
26.4 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined↗ 14 ms rise
↘ 12.4 ms fall
The screen shows relatively slow response rates in our tests and may be too slow for gamers.
In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.1 (minimum) to 240 (maximum) ms. » 61 % 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
40.4 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined↗ 20.8 ms rise
↘ 19.6 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. » 58 % of all devices are better.
This means that the measured response time is worse than the average of all tested devices (33.9 ms).

Brightness was high enough to overpower the sun even on sunny days. However, given its glossy and highly reflective nature, the display was completely unreadable when faced directly and had to be used at an angle. This worked perfectly fine thanks to its wide IPS viewing angles with only minor brightness decrease at extreme angles.

Performance

The Huawei Y6 (2017)’s Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 is an entry-level ARM SoC first introduced in 2016. Manufactured in a 28 nm process, the 64-bit SoC incorporates four Cortex A53 cores with clock rates up to 1.4 GHz and an Adreno 405 graphics chip.

In most benchmarks, the Y6 Pro performed fairly well and even better than its competitors. Our real-world experience differed immensely, though. In everyday use, the Snapdragon 425 combined with 2 GB of RAM stuttered and stalled quite frequently when multitasking. Thus, minor lags and longer loading times became an innate part of the Y6 Pro’s user experience.

AnTuTu v6 - Total Score (sort by value)
Huawei Y6 Pro 2017
36414 Points
Huawei Y6 2017
40981 Points +13%
Huawei Y7
43303 Points +19%
Lenovo Moto E4 Plus
30619 Points -16%
Honor 6A
43936 Points +21%
Nokia 3
27703 Points -24%
Samsung Galaxy J3 2017
35669 Points -2%
Samsung Galaxy Note 8
173997 Points +378%
PCMark for Android
Work performance score (sort by value)
Huawei Y6 Pro 2017
4491 Points
Huawei Y6 2017
4607 Points +3%
Huawei Y7
5365 Points +19%
Lenovo Moto E4 Plus
3624 Points -19%
Honor 6A
4820 Points +7%
Nokia 3
3439 Points -23%
Samsung Galaxy Note 8
6084 Points +35%
Work 2.0 performance score (sort by value)
Huawei Y6 Pro 2017
3363 Points
Huawei Y6 2017
3487 Points +4%
Huawei Y7
3928 Points +17%
Lenovo Moto E4 Plus
2768 Points -18%
Honor 6A
3710 Points +10%
Nokia 3
2568 Points -24%
Samsung Galaxy J3 2017
3436 Points +2%
Samsung Galaxy Note 8
5096 Points +52%
BaseMark OS II
Overall (sort by value)
Huawei Y6 Pro 2017
733 Points
Huawei Y6 2017
839 Points +14%
Huawei Y7
869 Points +19%
Lenovo Moto E4 Plus
536 Points -27%
Honor 6A
870 Points +19%
Nokia 3
551 Points -25%
Samsung Galaxy J3 2017
704 Points -4%
Samsung Galaxy Note 8
3338 Points +355%
System (sort by value)
Huawei Y6 Pro 2017
1195 Points
Huawei Y6 2017
1354 Points +13%
Huawei Y7
1790 Points +50%
Lenovo Moto E4 Plus
1086 Points -9%
Honor 6A
1678 Points +40%
Nokia 3
1081 Points -10%
Samsung Galaxy J3 2017
1395 Points +17%
Samsung Galaxy Note 8
5308 Points +344%
Memory (sort by value)
Huawei Y6 Pro 2017
689 Points
Huawei Y6 2017
1288 Points +87%
Huawei Y7
686 Points 0%
Lenovo Moto E4 Plus
591 Points -14%
Honor 6A
765 Points +11%
Nokia 3
703 Points +2%
Samsung Galaxy J3 2017
1055 Points +53%
Samsung Galaxy Note 8
3095 Points +349%
Graphics (sort by value)
Huawei Y6 Pro 2017
436 Points
Huawei Y6 2017
386 Points -11%
Huawei Y7
768 Points +76%
Lenovo Moto E4 Plus
208 Points -52%
Honor 6A
734 Points +68%
Nokia 3
211 Points -52%
Samsung Galaxy J3 2017
252 Points -42%
Samsung Galaxy Note 8
6121 Points +1304%
Web (sort by value)
Huawei Y6 Pro 2017
802 Points
Huawei Y6 2017
734 Points -8%
Huawei Y7
606 Points -24%
Lenovo Moto E4 Plus
620 Points -23%
Honor 6A
606 Points -24%
Nokia 3
575 Points -28%
Samsung Galaxy J3 2017
662 Points -17%
Samsung Galaxy Note 8
1235 Points +54%
Geekbench 4.4
64 Bit Single-Core Score (sort by value)
Huawei Y6 Pro 2017
664 Points
Huawei Y6 2017
680 Points +2%
Huawei Y7
645 Points -3%
Lenovo Moto E4 Plus
556 Points -16%
Honor 6A
638 Points -4%
Nokia 3
556 Points -16%
Samsung Galaxy J3 2017
634 Points -5%
Samsung Galaxy Note 8
2028 Points +205%
64 Bit Multi-Core Score (sort by value)
Huawei Y6 Pro 2017
1858 Points
Huawei Y6 2017
1903 Points +2%
Huawei Y7
2866 Points +54%
Lenovo Moto E4 Plus
1562 Points -16%
Honor 6A
2612 Points +41%
Nokia 3
1520 Points -18%
Samsung Galaxy J3 2017
1858 Points 0%
Samsung Galaxy Note 8
6744 Points +263%
3DMark
1280x720 offscreen Ice Storm Unlimited Score (sort by value)
Huawei Y6 Pro 2017
6175 Points
Huawei Y6 2017
6858 Points +11%
Huawei Y7
9961 Points +61%
Lenovo Moto E4 Plus
3692 Points -40%
Lenovo Moto E4 Plus
3692 Points -40%
Honor 6A
9579 Points +55%
Nokia 3
3665 Points -41%
Samsung Galaxy J3 2017
4381 Points -29%
Samsung Galaxy Note 8
32399 Points +425%
1280x720 offscreen Ice Storm Unlimited Graphics Score (sort by value)
Huawei Y6 Pro 2017
5528 Points
Huawei Y6 2017
6184 Points +12%
Huawei Y7
10152 Points +84%
Lenovo Moto E4 Plus
3183 Points -42%
Lenovo Moto E4 Plus
3183 Points -42%
Honor 6A
9663 Points +75%
Nokia 3
3177 Points -43%
Samsung Galaxy J3 2017
3725 Points -33%
Samsung Galaxy Note 8
36807 Points +566%
1280x720 offscreen Ice Storm Unlimited Physics (sort by value)
Huawei Y6 Pro 2017
10466 Points
Huawei Y6 2017
11088 Points +6%
Huawei Y7
9345 Points -11%
Lenovo Moto E4 Plus
8390 Points -20%
Lenovo Moto E4 Plus
8390 Points -20%
Honor 6A
9297 Points -11%
Nokia 3
7925 Points -24%
Samsung Galaxy J3 2017
11426 Points +9%
Samsung Galaxy Note 8
22829 Points +118%
2560x1440 Sling Shot OpenGL ES 3.0 (sort by value)
Huawei Y6 Pro 2017
55 Points
Huawei Y6 2017
267 Points +385%
Huawei Y7
616 Points +1020%
Lenovo Moto E4 Plus
163 Points +196%
Honor 6A
588 Points +969%
Nokia 3
152 Points +176%
Samsung Galaxy J3 2017
115 Points +109%
Samsung Galaxy Note 8
3414 Points +6107%
2560x1440 Sling Shot OpenGL ES 3.0 Graphics (sort by value)
Huawei Y6 Pro 2017
43 Points
Huawei Y6 2017
221 Points +414%
Huawei Y7
533 Points +1140%
Lenovo Moto E4 Plus
133 Points +209%
Honor 6A
507 Points +1079%
Nokia 3
124 Points +188%
Samsung Galaxy J3 2017
92 Points +114%
Samsung Galaxy Note 8
3928 Points +9035%
2560x1440 Sling Shot OpenGL ES 3.0 Physics (sort by value)
Huawei Y6 Pro 2017
897 Points
Huawei Y6 2017
967 Points +8%
Huawei Y7
1360 Points +52%
Lenovo Moto E4 Plus
753 Points -16%
Honor 6A
1339 Points +49%
Nokia 3
745 Points -17%
Samsung Galaxy J3 2017
925 Points +3%
Samsung Galaxy Note 8
2342 Points +161%
GFXBench (DX / GLBenchmark) 2.7
T-Rex Onscreen (sort by value)
Huawei Y6 Pro 2017
14 fps
Huawei Y6 2017
17 fps +21%
Huawei Y7
24 fps +71%
Lenovo Moto E4 Plus
11 fps -21%
Honor 6A
26 fps +86%
Nokia 3
10 fps -29%
Samsung Galaxy J3 2017
11 fps -21%
Samsung Galaxy Note 8
59 fps +321%
1920x1080 T-Rex Offscreen (sort by value)
Huawei Y6 Pro 2017
7.7 fps
Huawei Y6 2017
11 fps +43%
Huawei Y7
17 fps +121%
Lenovo Moto E4 Plus
6 fps -22%
Honor 6A
16 fps +108%
Nokia 3
6 fps -22%
Samsung Galaxy J3 2017
6.8 fps -12%
Samsung Galaxy Note 8
105 fps +1264%
GFXBench 3.0
on screen Manhattan Onscreen OGL (sort by value)
Huawei Y6 Pro 2017
6.4 fps
Huawei Y6 2017
8.1 fps +27%
Huawei Y7
16 fps +150%
Lenovo Moto E4 Plus
4.8 fps -25%
Honor 6A
15 fps +134%
Nokia 3
4.5 fps -30%
Samsung Galaxy J3 2017
5.4 fps -16%
Samsung Galaxy Note 8
38 fps +494%
1920x1080 1080p Manhattan Offscreen (sort by value)
Huawei Y6 Pro 2017
2.8 fps
Huawei Y6 2017
3.9 fps +39%
Huawei Y7
7.5 fps +168%
Lenovo Moto E4 Plus
2.2 fps -21%
Honor 6A
7.1 fps +154%
Nokia 3
2.2 fps -21%
Samsung Galaxy J3 2017
2.6 fps -7%
Samsung Galaxy Note 8
51 fps +1721%

Legend

 
Huawei Y6 Pro 2017 Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 (MSM8917), Qualcomm Adreno 405, 16 GB eMMC Flash
 
Huawei Y6 2017 Mediatek MT6737T, ARM Mali-T720 MP2, 16 GB eMMC Flash
 
Huawei Y7 Qualcomm Snapdragon 435, Qualcomm Adreno 505, 16 GB eMMC Flash
 
Lenovo Moto E4 Plus Mediatek MT6737, ARM Mali-T720 MP2, 16 GB eMMC Flash
 
Honor 6A Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 (MSM8937), Qualcomm Adreno 505, 16 GB eMMC Flash
 
Nokia 3 Mediatek MT6737, ARM Mali-T720, 16 GB eMMC Flash
 
Samsung Galaxy J3 2017 Samsung Exynos 7570 Quad, ARM Mali-T720 MP2, 16 GB eMMC Flash
 
Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Samsung Exynos 8895 Octa, ARM Mali-G71 MP20, 64 GB UFS 2.1 Flash

Subjectively speaking, web-browsing performance was substandard even for an entry-level device. Page contents took quite some time to load and render, and scrolling was not always as smooth as we would have expected.

JetStream 1.1 - Total Score
Samsung Galaxy Note 8 (Samsung Browser 6.0)
69.6 Points +282%
Honor 6A (Chrome 55.0.2883.91)
21.32 Points +17%
Huawei Y7 (Chrome 60)
20.6 Points +13%
Huawei Y6 Pro 2017 (Chrome Version 61)
18.24 Points
Huawei Y6 2017 (Chrome 60)
17.64 Points -3%
Samsung Galaxy J3 2017 (Chrome 59)
17.17 Points -6%
Lenovo Moto E4 Plus (Chrome 60)
14.55 Points -20%
Nokia 3 (Chrome 59)
13.97 Points -23%
Octane V2 - Total Score
Samsung Galaxy Note 8 (Samsung Browser 6.0)
13265 Points +345%
Honor 6A (Chrome 55.0.2883.91)
3326 Points +11%
Huawei Y7 (Chrome 60)
3209 Points +8%
Huawei Y6 2017 (Chrome 60)
3092 Points +4%
Huawei Y6 Pro 2017 (Chrome Version 61)
2984 Points
Samsung Galaxy J3 2017 (Chrome 59)
2921 Points -2%
Lenovo Moto E4 Plus (Chrome 60)
2273 Points -24%
Nokia 3 (Chrome 59)
2269 Points -24%
Mozilla Kraken 1.1 - Total
Lenovo Moto E4 Plus (Chrome 60)
17405 ms * -44%
Nokia 3 (Chrome 59)
16759 ms * -39%
Samsung Galaxy J3 2017 (Chrome 59)
12791 ms * -6%
Huawei Y6 2017 (Chrome 60)
12255 ms * -2%
Huawei Y6 Pro 2017 (Chrome Version 61)
12068 ms *
Huawei Y7 (Chrome 60)
11007 ms * +9%
Honor 6A (Chrome 55.0.2883.91)
10921 ms * +10%
Samsung Galaxy Note 8 (Samsung Browser 6.0)
1877 ms * +84%

* ... smaller is better

At least storage performance was not half bad for its price-point. While it was unable to keep up with its non-Pro namesake in the AndroBench 5 test in regard to internal storage, the integrated Micro SD card-reader was reasonably fast. Benchmarked with our usual Toshiba Exceria Pro M501 reference card (maximum read: 270 MB/s; maximum write: 150 MB/s), it yielded a read and write performance of 84 and 64 MB/s, respectively.

Huawei Y6 Pro 2017Huawei Y6 2017Huawei Y7Lenovo Moto E4 PlusHonor 6ANokia 3Samsung Galaxy J3 2017Samsung Galaxy Note 8
AndroBench 3-5
22%
-6%
41%
4%
-19%
-1%
170%
Sequential Read 256KB
143.4
202.6
41%
119.4
-17%
194.4
36%
123.6
-14%
181
26%
177.7
24%
797
456%
Sequential Write 256KB
50.7
66.9
32%
33.2
-35%
42
-17%
64.1
26%
34
-33%
51
1%
205.9
306%
Random Read 4KB
45.65
25.93
-43%
53.2
17%
19.15
-58%
50.2
10%
17.7
-61%
24
-47%
122.5
168%
Random Write 4KB
6.78
20.54
203%
6.9
2%
29.4
334%
6.94
2%
5.5
-19%
9.5
40%
14.55
115%
Sequential Read 256KB SDCard
83.4 ?(Toshiba Exceria Pro M501)
48.4
-42%
82.5 ?(Toshiba Exceria Pro M501)
-1%
66.3
-21%
83.9 ?(Toshiba Exceria Pro M501)
1%
64.3
-23%
70.3
-16%
67.9 ?(Toshiba Exceria Pro M501)
-19%
Sequential Write 256KB SDCard
64.1 ?(Toshiba Exceria Pro M501)
26.4
-59%
62.6 ?(Toshiba Exceria Pro M501)
-2%
46.6
-27%
63.1 ?(Toshiba Exceria Pro M501)
-2%
62.9
-2%
59.6
-7%
59.3 ?(Toshiba Exceria Pro M501)
-7%

Gaming

The Adreno 405 GPU is based on a unified shader architecture (48 ALUs) and supports OpenGL ES 3.1 and DirectX 11.2. Current Play Store Android games, such as Asphalt Xtreme, were far from smooth.

In our benchmarks, the Y6 Pro’s GPU scored a decent average frame rate between 30 and 35 FPS in Dead Trigger 2; however, occasional hiccups and sudden drops were very noticeable.

The touchscreen and sensors worked flawlessly while gaming.

Dead Trigger 2
Asphalt Xtreme

Emissions

Temperature

Like with its non-Pro namesake, the Y6 Pro (2017)’s surface temperatures were fairly low in both idle and load scenarios. On the rear, we measured a low 27 °C when idle and 32 °C after a long-lasting period of sustained load.

Max. Load
 36.7 °C
98 F
35.7 °C
96 F
34.5 °C
94 F
 
 36.1 °C
97 F
35.6 °C
96 F
35.1 °C
95 F
 
 34.8 °C
95 F
34.1 °C
93 F
33.3 °C
92 F
 
Maximum: 36.7 °C = 98 F
Average: 35.1 °C = 95 F
31.1 °C
88 F
31.4 °C
89 F
32 °C
90 F
31 °C
88 F
31.5 °C
89 F
32 °C
90 F
31 °C
88 F
31.1 °C
88 F
31.7 °C
89 F
Maximum: 32 °C = 90 F
Average: 31.4 °C = 89 F
Power Supply (max.)  26.3 °C = 79 F | Room Temperature 20.8 °C = 69 F | Voltcraft IR-260
(±) The average temperature for the upper side under maximal load is 35.1 °C / 95 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 36.7 °C / 98 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 32 °C / 90 F, compared to the average of 33.8 °C / 93 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 28 °C / 82 F, compared to the device average of 32.7 °C / 91 F.

Speakers

pink noise

The device’s mono speaker is located behind the machined holes at the bottom of the device. Given its price-point, sound quality was adequate. As expected, mids and highs dominated the soundscape, and their characteristics were not particularly linear to boot. As can be seen on the pink noise diagram, lows (bass) were completely inaudible. At 85 dB(A), the speaker’s maximum volume was decent and sufficient.

The 3.5 mm headphone jack worked flawlessly and put out a very clear audio signal.

dB(A) 0102030405060708090Deep BassMiddle BassHigh BassLower RangeMidsHigher MidsLower HighsMid HighsUpper HighsSuper Highs2035.243.92532.944.53137.237.94031.738.35039.642.16328.3348027.333.510026.931.512526.732.61602430.620020.934.725020.936.631519.540.840018.54650017.555.463017.56080015.768.3100015.868.3125016.670160015.866200015.468.5250015.570.531501672.5400015.876.750001680.5630016.374.8800016.370.91000016.272.91250016.469.21600016.454.9SPL28.685.3N1.156.4median 16.4median 68.3Delta2.212.529.629.929.627.928.927.928.83028.836.647.836.630.534.230.525.726.325.724.528.524.528.131.728.138.536.238.530.423.430.436.121.736.14020.74043.919.643.947.52147.553.820.253.859.818.759.864.718.864.765.717.665.767.117.667.169.516.869.570.116.370.172.816.472.873.916.173.975.916.275.973.81673.870.315.970.370.216.170.273.61673.668.815.868.853.815.953.883.429.983.452.11.452.1median 65.7median 17.6median 65.711.52.811.531.637.125.436.725.336.932.929.733.632.331.633.728.427.5272720.825.62226.321.331.520.839.821.24619.45319.559.217.762.217.964.417.86917.370.717.469.316.771.517.27418.274.417.976.717.676.817.77217.870.417.968.718.16818.263.83083.81.355.6median 17.9median 681.411.5hearing rangehide median Pink NoiseHuawei Y6 Pro 2017Huawei Y6 2017Honor 6A
Huawei Y6 Pro 2017 audio analysis

(+) | speakers can play relatively loud (85.3 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 33.8% lower than median
(+) | bass is linear (4.9% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(±) | reduced mids - on average 6% lower than median
(±) | linearity of mids is average (8.6% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(±) | higher highs - on average 5.8% higher than median
(+) | highs are linear (6.5% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (25.8% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 59% of all tested devices in this class were better, 7% similar, 34% worse
» The best had a delta of 12%, average was 38%, worst was 134%
Compared to all devices tested
» 75% of all tested devices were better, 5% similar, 20% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 25%, worst was 134%

Huawei Y6 2017 audio analysis

(+) | speakers can play relatively loud (83.4 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 29.6% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (12.3% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(±) | reduced mids - on average 5.8% lower than median
(+) | mids are linear (6.8% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(±) | higher highs - on average 7.2% higher than median
(+) | highs are linear (4.4% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (26.6% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 63% of all tested devices in this class were better, 6% similar, 31% worse
» The best had a delta of 12%, average was 38%, worst was 134%
Compared to all devices tested
» 79% of all tested devices were better, 4% similar, 17% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 25%, worst was 134%

Honor 6A audio analysis

(+) | speakers can play relatively loud (83.8 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 35.3% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (7.4% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(±) | reduced mids - on average 5.2% lower than median
(±) | linearity of mids is average (7.1% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(±) | higher highs - on average 5.2% higher than median
(+) | highs are linear (3.9% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (25.8% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 59% of all tested devices in this class were better, 7% similar, 34% worse
» The best had a delta of 12%, average was 38%, worst was 134%
Compared to all devices tested
» 75% of all tested devices were better, 5% similar, 20% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 25%, worst was 134%

Frequency diagram (checkboxes selectable/deselectable!)

Battery Life

Power Consumption

Overall power consumption was okay. When idle, power consumption was comparable with the rest of the competition. Under load, the Huawei Y6 Pro’s average power draw of more than 5 W was comparatively high.

Power Consumption
Off / Standbydarklight 0.02 / 0.3 Watt
Idledarkmidlight 0.6 / 2.02 / 2.08 Watt
Load midlight 5.31 / 6.41 Watt
 color bar
Key: min: dark, med: mid, max: light        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 Pro 2017
3020 mAh
Huawei Y7
4000 mAh
Lenovo Moto E4 Plus
5000 mAh
Honor 6A
3020 mAh
Nokia 3
2630 mAh
Samsung Galaxy J3 2017
2400 mAh
Power Consumption
25%
9%
-27%
27%
9%
Idle Minimum *
0.6
0.57
5%
0.89
-48%
1.33
-122%
0.67
-12%
0.82
-37%
Idle Average *
2.02
1.61
20%
1.87
7%
2.53
-25%
1.35
33%
1.94
4%
Idle Maximum *
2.08
1.62
22%
1.98
5%
2.54
-22%
1.39
33%
2.06
1%
Load Average *
5.31
3.09
42%
3.04
43%
3.84
28%
3.1
42%
3.31
38%
Load Maximum *
6.41
4.26
34%
4.01
37%
6.12
5%
4.02
37%
3.89
39%

* ... smaller is better

Battery Life

The 3,020 mAh lithium-polymer battery takes around 3.5 hours to charge from near empty to full.

Performed at a normalized display brightness of 150 nits, the Wi-Fi test yielded a good 11 hours of battery life. Nonetheless, most of its competitors managed to outlast the Huawei Y6 Pro (2017).

Battery Runtime
WiFi Websurfing
11h 08min
Huawei Y6 Pro 2017
3020 mAh
Huawei Y6 2017
3000 mAh
Huawei Y7
4000 mAh
Lenovo Moto E4 Plus
5000 mAh
Honor 6A
3020 mAh
Nokia 3
2630 mAh
Samsung Galaxy J3 2017
2400 mAh
Battery Runtime
WiFi v1.3
668
654
-2%
716
7%
788
18%
790
18%
552
-17%
722
8%

Pros

+ Dual SIM or SD card
+ compact and high-quality
+ well-made
+ long battery life
+ accurate GPS module
+ low surface temperature (rear)

Cons

- performance
- poorly performing SoC
- display worse than on the Huawei Y6 2017
- slow memory
- speaker

Verdict

In review: Huawei Y6 Pro 2017. Review unit courtesy of Huawei Germany.

The Huawei Y6 Pro (2017) is a compact and good-looking upper entry-level smartphone that won't cost you an arm and a leg. For around $200 you get a nicely equipped device with 16 GB of storage space, 2 GB of RAM, and a well-made metal case. In addition, battery life is decent thanks to its large 3,020 mAh battery.

Unfortunately, Huawei has failed to address some of its non-Pro namesake’s flaws and has carried them over to the Pro model as well. For example, Wi-Fi performance is still subpar and the selection of supported LTE bands is relatively low. The display is just as dark as it was, yet for some reason its contrast level and black point are even lower than on the Y6 (2017)! It’s a mystery to us what exactly qualified the new display to be used in a “Pro” device.

The biggest issue we have had was the device’s poor and erratic system performance. Huawei’s user interface EMUI 5.1 simply does not run smoothly on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 425, resulting in fairly regular stutter and lag.

Despite deficits regarding display and performance, the Huawei Y6 Pro (2017) is an overall decent package for around $200. Whether or not it is worth the price premium when compared to its non-Pro namesake is up to your individual liking.

Huawei Y6 Pro 2017 - 11/06/2017 v6(old)
Marcus Herbrich

Chassis
86%
Keyboard
67 / 75 → 89%
Pointing Device
88%
Connectivity
39 / 60 → 65%
Weight
93%
Battery
94%
Display
84%
Games Performance
6 / 63 → 10%
Application Performance
38 / 70 → 54%
Temperature
93%
Noise
100%
Audio
61 / 91 → 67%
Camera
61%
Average
70%
81%
Smartphone - Weighted Average

Pricecompare

Read all 1 comments / answer
static version load dynamic
Loading Comments
Comment on this article
Please share our article, every link counts!
Marcus Herbrich, 2017-11-14 (Update: 2020-05-19)