Walton Primo HM7 Review: Midrange processor in ultra-budget device

Walton, the largest tech brand in Bangladesh started their journey in the mobile handset market in the late 2000s. Back then, the company didn’t have any production capability and used to import Chinese feature phones and rebrand them under their banner.

Over the years, the company set up plants, and R&D units and ventured into the smartphone market. Needless to say, Walton is one of the key brands operating in the budget segment of smartphones in Bangladesh., reports UNB.

Their latest offering, the Primo HM7 brings a lot of the budget and performance under its hood. Here’s our detailed take on the device.

Key Specifications of Walton Primo HM7

Design and Build Quality
The design of the Primo HM7 can be called generic at best. Walton didn’t try to reinvent the wheel or adopt a new design theme altogether. Rather the design is a mix of existing standards that are commonly seen in the budget segment.

The device is made of plastic all around with a glass front. There is no rating on the glass panel so durability isn’t guaranteed.

The back of the device features a textured design that feels great in the hand. But that doesn’t take away the device's cheap plastic feel. Ports and button selections are as usual. Users will get a Type-C port along with the headphone jack which is a refreshing change in the ultra-budget segment. There is a physical fingerprint scanner on the back which is another useful addition.

However, the loudspeaker has been removed from the bottom to the back. While this design choice is something new, it muffles the sound output when the phone is put on its back. The problem is even more apparent on the HM 7 as it features only a single loudspeaker.

Overall, the design and the build quality don’t move away from the budget segment. But considering the price of the device, the room for complaints is also very slim.

The Display
The Prime HM 7 features a 6.52-inch 720P IPS LCD panel. The display is relatively large considering some of the other competitors in the market but the 720P resolution choice almost seems to be universal.

Speaking of the quality of the display, it is nothing eye-catching. This is another generic 720P panel that gets relatively bright outdoors for easy visibility. The viewing angles are okay as there are no weird color shifts.

The tone of the display is on the warmer side. It tends to make the color pop which gives it a much-needed sharpness.

But there is a problem as well. while scrolling, the display sometimes fails to recognize the touch. Now whether this is a hardware or software issue is something only Walton can tell. But more often than not users will have to press a bit harder to get a touch registered. And this might be a deal breaker for many.

The Camera
There is a triple camera setup on the Primo HM 7. The main sensor is a 13 MP one with an additional 2 MP depth sensor and a 2 MP macro shooter.

The additional sensors won’t be of much use as they are mostly included to increase the sensor count. Most of the work is done by the main sensor and the performance here is average at best.

The camera can take decent shots in direct sunlight or well-lit conditions. The images are passable as they can capture the details of the subject but softens or underexposes the surrounding.

Moving to artificial lights or dark environments, the photo quality degrades further. So much so that there are color imbalances at places and the overall photo looks much softer with exposure issues.

The story is somewhat the same with portrait mode as the edge detection is sometimes a hit or miss. There is an 8 MP selfie shooter which also performs average at best. The videography is limited to 1080P at 30 fps without any kind of stabilization features.

The HM 7 is a budget-oriented device. So any kind of shortcoming is understandable as the device won't compete against the mid-range of flagship devices. But even then, the cameras underperform compared to similar devices in this price range.

Processor and Performance
The Primo HM 7 comes with a Unisoc Tiger T610 processor. While Unisoc SoCs aren’t all that common, the T610 is a surprisingly powerful choice given the budget constraint of the HM 7.

The processor is powered by an Octa-core 1.8 GHz processor based on a 12 Nm Finfet architecture.

Truth be told, this exact processor has been featured before in many higher-priced devices. So to see it on the HM 7 is a reassuring sign.

Speaking of performance, the processor can easily handle day-to-day tasks. Users shouldn’t have any problem browsing the net or social media with this phone. But the phone starts to falter with demanding tasks.

This device can be used for gaming too, moderate gaming that is. Titles like Asphalt 9 and PUBG will run on moderate settings but even then it heats the device pretty hard with a strong battery drain.

Overall, the processor gets the job done and might be the best selling point of the Primo HM7.

Battery and Charge Time
The Primo HM7 comes with a 4900 mAh battery onboard. While this is not much, it tends to fare pretty well against an entry-level processor. Users can expect to get around 8 to 10 hours of continued usage with this device.

Unfortunately, there is no fast charging on this device.

Price of Walton Primo HM7 in Bangladesh

Walton officially launched the Primo HM 7 in Bangladesh with a price tag of 10,500 BDT.

Final Words
The Walton Primo HM7 is the latest addition to a line of budget devices from Walton. Considering the demographic of Bangladesh, the consumer of the budget segment is much higher compared to mid-range or even flagship devices. As a result, the HM 7 might attract a lot of new phone buyers.

However, the phone could’ve done better in the display and the camera department. While the phone shines in the processor and performance, it is ultimately something that remains under the hood and isn’t the contact point for the users.

Other than that, the Walton Primo HM7 can be a great budget phone for around 10000 BDT.