Huawei unveils mainstream Y5 II and Y3 II smartphones

The high-end P9 series will be joined by a couple of smaller and much more affordable options.

Alexander Fagot/ Allen Ngo, 04/17/2016

While neither of these smartphones will likely win any awards, the low entry-level prices should still appeal to a wide range of buyers. The new Huawei devices will sport MediaTek SoCs and will diversify the company's portfolio.

Similarities

Both models are equipped with 1 GB RAM and 8 GB of internal storage space each with MicroSD support. 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0 come standard while LTE compatibility will depend on the SoC of choice. Unfortunately, the smartphones will ship with the outdated Android 5.1.1 and EMUI 3.1 software compared to the current crop of Android 6.0 smartphones.

Y5 II

The Y5 II will use either a 64-bit quad-core MediaTek MT6735P SoC with 1.3 GHz Cortex A-53 cores or a 32-bit MediaTek MT6582 SoC with four Cortex A7 cores. The latter is not LTE compatible, so buyers will want to choose carefully. Otherwise, both SKUs will carry an 8 MP rear camera, 2 MP front-facing camera, 5-inch 720p IPS display, and a 2200 mAh battery. The plastic chassis will be just 8.9 mm thick and 135 grams.

Y3 II

The even more affordable Y3 II will come equipped with either the 1.0 GHz MediaTek MT6735 or the 32-bit MT6582 SoC. As with the Y5 II, the MT6582 SKU will not be LTE compatible. Both SKUs will be equipped with a 5 MP rear camera and a 2 MP front-facing camera, 4.5-inch display with a resolution of just 854 x 480 pixels, and a 2100 mAh battery. The plastic chassis will come in various colors with an overall thickness of 9.9 mm.