The Huawei Y5 Lite was recently launched by Huawei and is the company’s second entry device shipping with Android 8.1 Oreo Go edition. The TECNO Spark 2 was launched early this year and also comes with Android 8.1 Oreo Go edition. These two phones are similar and yet so different in many ways and in this comparison review, we put them head to head to find out which one packs more punch.
Performance and software
The Huawei Y5 Lite and the TECNO Spark 2 come with Android 8.1 Oreo Go Edition. The Huawei Y5 Lite comes packed with a Quad-core 1.5 GHz Cortex A53 processor while the TECNO Spark 2 carries a Quad-core MediaTek 1.3Ghz processor.
During my usage, the phones held their own. I experienced lag with both phones while using RAM-intense apps during multitasking although the Huawei Y5 Lite had less lag than the TECNO Spark 2.
In terms of network connections, both devices are DUAL SIM capable with dedicated MicroSD card slots. The Huawei Y5 Lite comes with the added advantage that it’s has 4G already enabled hence calls were much clearer and faster internet speeds during browsing definitely came in handy. It’s not much of a difference but the general experience is much smoother on the Huawei Y5 Lite.
Display
The TECNO Spark 2 comes with a 6” display while the Huawei Y5 Lite comes with a 5.45” display and both phones have a resolution of 1440 by 720. The smaller screen of the Y5 Lite is brighter and colours pop up more compared to the Spark 2. You’ll have a decent experience enjoying multimedia content with both screens. With the larger display of the TECNO Spark 2, you get more screen real estate for browsing the internet or watching the videos. The smaller screen size of the Y5 Lite will offer a much better one-handed usage.
Usability
Both phones pack 1GB of RAM and 16GB internal storage. You can still expand the storage with a MicroSD and the Y5 Lite offers up to 256GB while the Spark 2 limits it to 32GB. Setting aside the specs, both phones work perfectly fine in terms of opening apps or launching the camera. Both phones come with minimal bloatware that’s less intrusive unlike their other non-Android Go counterparts – this should pretty much be the standard in my opinion.
In general, opening non-Android Go optimized apps lag a bit but if this is going to be your first Android Go Smartphone, then the Huawei Y5 Lite offers a much better experience.
Camera
The TECNO Spark 2 comes with a 13MP rear camera and an 8MP selfie camera while the Huawei Y5 Lite packs an 8MP rear camera and a 5MP front-facing camera. Photos taken by the TECNO Spark come out overexposed while those taken by the Y5 Lite look more natural. Here are some samples.
In terms of selfies, both cameras take decent pictures but the Spark takes the crown here with the beauty mode which will come in handy for most people.
Battery life
The TECNO Spark 2 has a 3400mAh battery while the Huawei Y5B Lite has a 3020 mAh battery. As expected the Spark 2 has a better battery life than the Y5 Lite. The compact size of the Y5 Lite comes to its advantage as the battery stays for longer and if you’re a light to moderate user, it will still power you through the day.
Price
The TECNO Spark 2 goes for Ksh 10,999 and the Y5 Lite goes for Ksh 9,990 on Jumia and all Huawei Retail shops.
Conclusion
The race was a close one with both phones offering similar specs and what you pick will depend on what the phone offers. If you’re looking for a camera phone, the Spark 2 is the way to go, although the Huawei Y5 Lite isn’t that far behind. If you’re picking a phone on its all-around usability – from performance to reliability, then the Huawei Y5 Lite is the one for you especially if it’s your first Android Go Smartphone.
