News & Reviews:   Honor 7

Hello everyone, as 11.11 is just a day away. We have collected all the best gadget deals that will take place tomorrow in various online locations just for you! Without further ado, here we go with the Top 11 Gadget Deals on 11 November in no particular ranking.

We recently revealed that honor will be holding their honor Gala 2015 sale on 11 November 2015. All set to happen at 11:08am and 3:08pm on VMALL.my, the annual sale will include deals such as:

• 13000 mAh powerbanks at only RM11
• free RM30 vouchers that can be used to buy the honor 4c, honor 4X, honor 6 Plus and honor 7 for those who checked-in between 1 November 2015 and 9 November 2015
• every 100th buyer of an honor 4c, honor 4X, honor 6 Plus and honor 7 will get the phone for free, with their money reimbursed afterwards
• deals on accessories as low as RM11

While we recently reported that the Huawei honor 7 and a number of Huawei and Honor smartphones are going to receive the Android 6.0 Marshmallow update, new reports indicate that the honor 7, 6 Plus, 6, 4X and 4C could get said update as soon as February 2016. This rumour comes courtesy of an Honor India tweet, so it is likely going to be official. No word yet on the Huawei smartphones but we could see said updates around that time as well.

Huawei recently announced that they got an improved listing on Interbrand's 2015 Best Global Brands report. Previously, Huawei was listed on the 2014 Best Global Brands report at #94 but this year's listing of #88 is mainly due to robust growth in all business segments. For 2014, they recorded US$46.5 billion in annual revenue, a year-over-year increase of 20.6%. Net profits reached US$4.5 billion which is a year-over-year increase of 32.7%.

The number of smartphones with 4GB RAM has increased again with the official announcment of the OPPO R7s. Apart from the 4GB RAM, a 13MP rear camera with phase detection autofocus, 8MP front camera and 5.5-inch display with 2.5D glass, other tech specs and features look to be rather midrange. The design looks to be another full metal frame smartphone and while there isn't any Malaysia release date or pricing details, it is expected to arrive next month in November 2015.

According to some leaked roadmaps, certain Huawei and Honor smartphones should be getting their Android 6.0 Marshmallow updates. Of course, they'll all be using EMUI so we expect the current EMUI 3.1 to get an upgrade as well. No Malaysia release dates just yet but rumours indicate that the builds will start being made in November, so you can probably expect updates to appear either the end of the year or in 2016. For now, you can check out the lists below to find out if your Huawei or Honor device will be getting an Android 6.0 Marshmallow update.

• Huawei P8
• Huawei Mate 7
• Huawei Mate S
• Huawei P8 Youth Edition
• Huawei P8 Max
• Maimang 4 (Huawei G8 in China)
• Huawei G7 Plus
• Huawei G7
• Honor 7
• Honor 7i
• Honor 6 Plus
• Honor 6
• Honor X2
• Honor 4X
• Honor Play 4C

The honor 7 was launched just a bit more than a week ago and it looks like we'll be getting the review unit soon. Priced at a competitive RM1399 the honor 7 looks to bring a number of upgraded tech specs and existing features from previous Huawei and honor smartphones like the honor 6 and even the recently launched Huawei P8 flagship. We're certainly looking forward to it but while we wait for it to arrive, here are some of the various features we are looking forward to in the Honor 7.

Huawei have officially announced their Honor 7 smartphone today for Malaysia and like the Honor 6 Plus before it, it comes with many flagship features for a very affordable price tag. This time around, the Honor 7 offers a full metal unibody frame and backplate with ceramic coating complete with a fingerprint scanner like the Huawei Mate 7. It is also the first Honor smartphone to come with a 20MP rear camera which also comes with phase detection auto-focus, dual tone LED flash and a sapphire protective glass layer. Tech specs include a 64-bit 2.2GHz octa-core Kirin 935 processor, 3GB RAM, 5.2-inch FHD display, 8MP front camera, 3100 mAh battery, fast charging and Android 5.0 Lollipop. Pricing is set at RM1399 for the dual SIM 4G LTE version with 16GB storage. The phone will be available for pre-order starting from 22 September 2015 to 27 September 2015 with an extra RM50 VMALL.my discount voucher, 6 months one-to-one exchange warranty and a 32GB microSD card for the first 1000 participants.

The Huawei Honor 7 smartphone was officially announced for Europe recently with a full metal body airbrushed with a ceramic coating, fingerprint sensor and 20MP rear camera with phase detection auto focus. Other tech specs include a 64-bit 2.2GHz octa-core HiSilicon Kirin 935 processor, 3GB RAM, 16GB storage + microSD support, 5.2-inch FHD display, 20MP rear camera, 8MP front camera, 3100 mAh battery and fingerprint sensor. The Honor 7 measures in at 143.2 x 71.9 x 8.5mm and weighs in at 157g which is quite light still for a full metal smartphone. While Europe is getting just the gray and silver colour versions, we expect that the gold coloured version will also be available when it comes to Malaysia, estimated to be sometime in September 2015. Apart from that, there don't seem to be any other differences from the previous announcement. No specific Malaysia release dates or pricing details yet but the 16GB version is currently going for about $322 (RM1356) in Europe. You can also check out our comparisons with the Honor 7 vs Meizu MX5 or the OPPO R7 Plus vs Honor 7 vs Meizu MX5 as well.

Most flagship smartphones these days feature a premium full metal unibody chassis or frame with classy looks and a price tag around at least RM2K or more. They usually come with excellent design, one-of-a-kind features and top-notch tech specs. In terms of features alone, the P8 is no exception with a unique 13MP RGBW rear camera and more. The Huawei P8 aims to deliver all of the above except for the pricing as it is currently available here in Malaysia for just RM1799. Does it actually deliver flagship features, design and performance for a midrange price tag? We find out for sure in our full review of the Huawei P8 below.