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I didn’t think I needed a new phone. Then came the Huawei PSmart, and I fell a little bit in love.

I’m a technology gal; my entire life rests on my MacBook, keeping my hard drive spick and my freeware on fleek. I had always been let down by phones, they were just such a drag in comparison to my laptop or tablet. Slow and ineffective, every phone I ever had was always so restricted with no ability to multitask and a battery that ran out after one game of The Sims. What was the point of a phone? It was just an overrated 2018 MP3 player that all the family could still reach me on.

When I got the Huawei PSmart however, I finally understood the hype. The slim design, 7.55mm to be exact, felt light in my hand and my finger fell perfectly on the indented fingerprint scanner at the back. The metallic finish made the PSmart feel extraordinarily expensive, more like an accessory than just another dull piece of technology. The kind you wouldn’t feel embarrassed whipping out for a selfie in a bathroom full of iPhones. The wide aperture effects available for the 13MP/2MP dual camera are just a dream for photographers and Instagrammers who don’t have the dime or time for those *professional* photo shoots; while the 8MP front camera has Smart Beauty and Portrait Selfie modes that, for real, make me look amazing. With the option of creating object focused and centred shots (with frame guidelines that include the golden ration), the artistic potential of the PSmart is an affordable one waiting to be realised.

My protip for your new Huawei is make the most of that 3000mA battery. That’s what truly makes the PSmart first rate. The go-to screen resolution for the PSmart is 2160×1080 – outrageously high for the price. If you want to optimise your battery – like I always do – there is the option to reduce the screen resolution. Moving to this setting doesn’t detract from the quality in the slightest; giving you that extra battery to make full use of the split screen feature. Yes, split screen. You can check on the updates from your friend’s date while texting your mam at the same time – the split screen is a godsend. Huawei have given us the multitasking service that mobile technology so badly needed.

This lesser known brand has surprised me with its durability, style and caliber. Even though the Huawei style and the new Android update (Oreo) took me a few days to get used to; once I settled in, I was here to stay.

Available from Carphone Warehouse on Eir and Vodafone, with a discounted price of €219 on Pay as You Go Vodafone handsets.