HTC U11 Plus Review and Specs

The HTC U11 Plus emerges about a year after the U11 and offers very similar specs. It comes with more storage space, and the new Super LCD display now has a trendy 2:1 aspect ratio. Moreover, the battery also gets a significant bump. You can buy it through Lazada via Cash On Delivery and Nationwide Shipping.

Design and Display

The HTC U11 Plus has the most popular, most common design style among current ultra-high-end phones. There’s curved glass on the back, and a band of metal around its sides to join the front and rear glass panels. Its look is less dynamic than the Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus, though, which has a curved front and even more aggressive cutting of the screen surround.

HTC U11 Plus has a 6-inch 1440 x 2880 LCD screen. If you’re not used to the resolutions of this new breed of 18:9 aspect phone, that’s the equivalent of a 1440 x 2560 screen like the HTC U11’s, with more vertical pixels to fill in the added space.

HTC calls the screen “Super LCD6”, a proprietary take on the IPS tech we see in most good non-OLED phones, tablets and laptops. Turn up the brightness and take the U11 Plus into a dark room and you’ll see its black level isn’t quite OLED standard.

Software

The HTC U11 Plus runs Android 8.0 with HTC’s Sense interface. This time around, HTC has preserved the core feel of simple Android almost completely, even while packing-in plenty of extras. You flick up from the home screen to bring up the apps menu, like a Pixel 2 XL. There’s a degree of inertia to the way the system moves, like a Pixel. And in the notifications drop-down icons slide fluidly from the bottom of the screen, opening up to full notifications, as you scroll.

HTC Sense also allows for customization of the apps menu. Icons can be arranged alphabetically, by date or by most recently used. And you can tweak the grid to make the icons more spaced out.

Then there’s Edge Sense. This is one of the more advanced applications for the HTC U11 Plus’ squeezable sides. Instead of launching an app it brings up a carousel of app shortcuts, and shows a monthly calendar view. Then there’s Edge Sense. This is one of the more advanced applications for the HTC U11 Plus’ squeezable sides. Instead of launching an app it brings up a carousel of app shortcuts, and shows a monthly calendar view.

Performance

The HTC U11 Plus has a Snapdragon 835 like several of 2017’s flagships with an
octa-core chipset with Kryo cores clocked at 2.45GHz. All around performance on the U11 Plus is fast, fluid, and reliable. If you’re persistent enough, you can certainly add your own launcher, Google’s Gboard, and a number of other tweaks to make using this phone feel tolerable. But that’s an Android advantage rather than an HTC one.

Camera

The HTC U11 Plus has a 12MP rear camera with a dual-LED flash and optical image stabilization (OIS). It’s a reminder the best phone cameras use this resolution, even if there are sensors with 20 megapixels or more.

Images are sharp right down to pixel level, and daylight photos look superb. They’re detailed, colorful, dynamic range is great and there’s no evidence of HTC’s historic problem with overexposure.

The front camera has an 8MP sensor, down from a 16MP one in the HTC U11. That sounds like a huge downgrade, but the HTC U11 Plus’ selfies are actually great.

They resolve fine details like facial hairs better than some 13MP selfie cameras, and as the camera isn’t overburdened with megapixels (which with lower sensor surface area tends to cause poorer low light performance) you don’t lose this when shooting indoors either.

Battery

HTC U11 Plus has a 3,930mAh battery, which seems about right for the display size and resolution. The HTC U11 Plus isn’t the longest-lasting phone in its class. But it’ll last through a solid day’s use with a bit of change in the tank if you forget to plug it in overnight. There are no particularly clever battery optimizations, though, just the usual ones. Some recent phones let you change the screen resolution to save some juice. The HTC U11 Plus doesn’t.

Full Specifications:

Brand – HTC
Model – U11 Plus
Alternative Names – U 11 Plus, U 11+
Device Type – Android 4G Smartphone
CPU – Octa-core 2.45GHz (Quad Core 2.45 GHz Kryo & Quad Core 1.9 GHz Kryo) CPU Clock
Chipset – Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 MSM8998, 64-Bit Processor
GPU – Qualcomm Adreno 540 GPU
Camera – 12 Megapixels f/1.7 Aperture with Dual-tone LED flash and AF Rear Camera | 8 Megapixel Front camera
Memory – RAM- 4GB/6GB | ROM 64GB/128GB External Memory Supports Up to 256GB (Uses SIM 2 Slot) using microSD
Display – Screen size 6.0 inches super LCD5, QHD+ Display (2880 x 1440 Pixels), Corning Gorilla Glass 5
Battery – Non-Removable 3,930 mAh Lithium-ion
SIM – Single SIM (Nano-SIM Card) or Hybrid Dual SIM (Nano-SIM + Nano-SIM/microSD)
Sensors – Ambient Light Sensor, Proximity, Motion, Accelerometer sensor, Compass, Gyroscope, Magnetic sensor Fingerprint Sensor (Rear Mounted)
Color – Blue, Black, White
Operating System – Android 8.0 Oreo with HTC Sense UI
I/O Interface – Single or 2 x Nano SIM Slot or TF Micro SD Card Slot, Type-C USB 3.1 Gen 1, Type-C, Power Button, Volume Button, Capacitive keys, Microphone, Speaker, DisplayPort
Dimensions – 153.9 mm x 75.9 mm x 7.9 mm
Weight – 169 Grams (With Battery)
Version – Two 4GB/64GB, 6GB/128GB
More Feature – Gorilla Glass 5 Protection, Magnesium Alloy Metal Body Design, Bluetooth, A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS, Edge Sensor, Speaker, Oreo OS, LTE Cat-16, VoLTE Support, Features Voice Assistant, Motion Launch, UltraSpeed Autofocus, Rounded Edges, IP68 certified, Wide Viewing Angle Display, NFC, Extreme power saving mode, Quick Charge 3.0, Pocket mode, 4K Video Support, Wireless Charging Support, 3D Sound, Usonic Sound, Headphone Adapter, Hi-Res Audio, 5V/2A, 9V/1.7A, 12V/1.25A Charger Output Power.

Samsung Galaxy A7 2018 Review and Specs

The newest Galaxy A7 wasn’t something people had expected. Samsung decided to rebrand the Galaxy A5 and Galaxy A7 to Galaxy A8 and Galaxy A8+, and the Galaxy A7 (2018) falls in the Galaxy A6 segment in both features and price. The focus, however, is on cameras with the new Galaxy A7. It’s the first Samsung Galaxy phone with three cameras at the back, with a price tag not that higher than devices like the Galaxy A6 and Galaxy A6+. You can buy it through Lazada via Cash On Delivery and Nationwide Shipping.

Display and Design

Samsung Galaxy A7 features a 6-inch Super AMOLED Infinity display with an aspect ratio of 18:9 and a resolution of 2220 x 1080. Samsung still hasn’t budged with regards to the infamous notch, so we do get top and bottom bezels. They aren’t super thick by any means, though. The screen is fairly bright, as it’s good enough for outdoor use at maximum brightness. Being a Samsung-made OLED based display, colors are good, blacks are deep, and it’s very sharp. The curved corners and 2.5D glass protection also add to the aesthetic factor of the phone’s overall design.

Software

The Galaxy A7 runs Android 8.0 Oreo with most of the bells and whistles that you expect. Features like Always On Display, themes support, Secure Folder, Smart Stay, Multi Window, facial recognition, and Dual Messenger are on-board. Some Indian-specific features, like Chat Over Video, are included as well. Sadly, Samsung Pay works only via NFC. I also wonder why this phone runs Android 8.0 and not 8.1 out of the box.

Performance

The Galaxy A7 (2018) is powered by Exynos 7885 processor which is a 14nm process based chip with two 2.2GHz Cortex-A73 CPU cores and six 1.6GHz Cortex-A53 CPU cores. We have earlier experienced the same chipset on Galaxy A8+ and the performance as well.

The chipset powering Samsung Galaxy A7 (2018) also supports Dual SIM Dual VoLTE. The handset comes in two variants – 4GB RAM + 64GB storage and 6GB RAM + 128GB storage. Both variants accept up to 512GB storage. Interestingly, you can transfer Apps and social media data to SD card as well. Micro SD storage is inherently slower than the SD card storage but this should still make external storage a lot more useful, especially in the long run. Performance on Galaxy A7 (2018) is smooth. We could run heavy games without any trouble.

Camera

The Samsung Galaxy A7 (2018) includes three cameras on the rear and one on the front (are we finally moving away from the selfie marketing pitch?). The primary 24MP sensor (f/1.7, PDAF) relies on pixel binning (Interpolating data gathered by 4 pixels as 1 for better details), the 5MP sensor is used as a depth sensor to fuel portrait mode or Live Focus as Samsung puts it, and the 8MP sensor (f/2.4, 13mm) for shooting in wide angle mode.

The primary 24MP rear camera is a very good performer for its price. The shots that we clicked outdoors show a wide dynamic range and sharp details. Indoor camera performance (for the primary camera) is great too. The portrait mode (Live FOCUS), that uses the 5MP depth sensor, can be a hit or a miss. The background blur is adjustable and looks awesome when things click. Edge detection needs to get better, though.

You can switch to the third 8MP sensor from the camera app to capture wide-angle shots. Since this is a wide-angle lens, the barrel distortion at the edges is expected and if, like me, you are not familiar with how to use the wide-angle lens properly, you won’t be using it very often. Besides, the low resolution (8MP) for wide-angle shots could be a problem, and the wide-angle lens is also fixed focus.

For selfies, there is a 24MP sensor up front. The portrait mode is available for both rear and front cameras. The ‘scene optimizer’ in the camera app can also recognize scenes and adjust camera settings accordingly. We don’t remember Samsung using the word ‘AI’ which is actually refreshing. The optimization is, thankfully, not as aggressive.

Battery

The Galaxy A7’s 3,300 mAh battery isn’t as big as the Galaxy A6+ or Galaxy A8+’ despite similar screen size, resolution, and underlying chipset. But, at least on a Wi-Fi connection, it can still get to the end of a day with charge to spare even with Always On Display enabled. Well, it’s a device that needs to be charged every morning for any serious use, but it’s not as bad as flagships are in this regard. However, the lack of fast charging is a notable downside, especially for long bouts of usage over mobile data.

Full Specifications:

Android 8.0 Oreo, Samsung Experience UI
Dual SIM
6-inch FHD+ Super AMOLED display, 2220 x 1080 pixel resolution, ~411ppi
2.2GHz octa-core processor (unspecified chipset)
4GB/6GB
64GB/128GB internal storage, expandable via microSD up to 512GB
24-megapixel front camera, f/2.0
24-megapixel (f/1.7) + 8-megapixel (f/2.4, 120° wide-angle) + 5-megapixel (Depth sensor) triple rear cameras, LED flash
Side fingerprint scanner
4G LTE Cat.6
WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band
Bluetooth 5.0
GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, NeiDou
NFC (select markets)
microUSB 2.0
Dimensions: 159.8 x 76.8 x 7.5mm
Weight: 168g
Colors: Black, Blue, Gold, Pink
3,300mAh battery

Samsung Galaxy J4+ Review and Specs

Samsung, a South Korean electronics major, is one of the few premium smartphone brands that has an established line-up of smartphones across different segments. The most interesting of them are the flagship S-series and budget J-series smartphones. The company launched a refreshed line-up of the Galaxy J-series, with premium features like 18.5:9 aspect ratio screen, durable polycarbonate body and bright camera. You can buy the Samsung Galaxy J4+ through Lazada via Cash On Delivery and Nationwide Shipping.

Design and Display

The phone’s back could well be mistaken to have a metal finish. However, the phone has glass-finish that looks sleek and adds a premium touch to its overall aesthetics. The metallic chassis of the phone has a dedicated dual-SIM slot, memory card slot and two volume buttons on the left side. The efficacy of having two separate buttons for volume is questionable, especially when brands like Xiaomi can make do with one pretty fine. Also, cramping everything on one side and leaving the other with just power button and mono speaker makes it look cluttered.

The Galaxy J4+ has a compact form factor for a 6-inch screen smartphone, thanks to 18.5:9 aspect ratio. However, the phone could have even a better form factor had the borders around the screen were compressed. This would also have saved the phone from screen bezels, which the J4+ has across sides.

The Galaxy J4+ has a TFT screen instead of an AMOLED unit that has been there in most of the recent Samsung’s budget offerings. The screen has HD+ (720 x 1480 pixels) resolution, which renders good colours and has satisfactory sunlight legibility. The brightness level, on the other hand, could have been better.

Software

Samsung Galaxy J4+ runs on Android 8.1 with Samsung Experience 9.5. There are a lot of customization including Samsung’s promotional apps and widgets. There’s a lot to find within each phone’s Settings app. You can choose to reorder the navigation buttons or hide them and swipe upwards in each one’s place to trigger their actions. There are assorted gestures, Dual Messenger mode which only works with certain apps, a blue light filter, game mode, easy mode, and ultra data saving mode. Samsung pre-loads a bunch of Microsoft apps, the usual Google apps, loads of its own that duplicate Google’s functionality, and then on top of that there’s also some third-party bloatware.

Performance

The Samsung J4+ is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 system-on-chip (SoC), paired with either 2GB of RAM and 16GB or 32GB of internal storage. The phone handles day-to-day tasks with ease and faces no trouble managing multitasking. The processor’s weakness props up when the phone is used for processor intensive applications. Considering the fact that the phone is a budget device with an entry-level processor, it is best suited for day-to-day operations than playing games or performing any other processor intensive tasks.

When it comes to gaming, do not expect much from this device. Playing heavy games like PUBG Mobile was a bit of a headache on the device, even on lowest possible settings. So if you are looking for a device to game well, at this price we would recommend looking elsewhere.

Camera

The J4+ has a 13-megapixel camera on the back and a 5MP camera on the front. Both the camera modules have a dedicated LED flash. Though the rear camera seems to be a capable unit, it fails to perform in low light. The camera requires steady hands to capture proper frame as the autofocus speed slows down during low light conditions. As for the front camera, the 5MP unit lacks auto-focus, therefore, is best suited for portrait shots.

Battery

Powered by a 3,300 mAh battery, the phone goes on for a day of normal use on a full charge. The phone does not support fast charging, therefore, the charging is slow and takes around two hours to replenish the battery from zero to 100 per cent.

Full Specifications:

Android 8.1 Oreo, Samsung Experience
Dual SIM
6-inch HD+ IPS display, 1480 x 720 pixel resolution, ~274ppi
1.4GHz Snapdragon 425 quad-core processor
Adreno 308 GPU
2GB/3GB RAM
16GB/32GB internal storage
5-megapixel front camera, f/2.2
13-megapixel rear camera, f/1.9, LED flash
HSPA+, 4G LTE Cat. 4
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth 4.2
GPS, Glonass, BeiDou
NFC (select markets)
microUSB
Dimensions: 161.4 x 76.9 x 7.9mm
Weight: 178g
Colors: Black, Gold, Pink
3,300mAh battery

Samsung Galaxy J6+ Full Review and Specs

For a company like Samsung, innovation can take different forms. The South Korean brand has introduced some cutting-edge features through its premium Galaxy lineup, but of late, the company’s flagship features are transcending to the mid-range. In fact, lately, the company has taken a more adventurous route with mid-range offerings as compared to its flagship models. The company has launched the Galaxy J6+ which you can also buy through Lazada via Cash On Delivery and Nationwide Shipping.

Display and Design

Samsung Galaxy J6+ sports a 6-inch HD+ IPS Display (720×1480 pixels) Infinity display with an aspect ratio of 18.5:9. There is no display notch and we’re quite pleased that Samsung has omitted the feature on its mid-range device. The display on the Galaxy J6+ is quite colour accurate despite having a lower resolution when compared to other smartphones in its price category. Honestly, while watching YouTube videos, we were unable to discern videos playing at 720p on the Galaxy J6+ when compared to 1080p videos playing on the OnePlus 6. However, this is no excuse to offer a lower resolution display in 2018 at this price. The display offers sufficient brightness under harsh lighting conditions and we did not have trouble reading the contents on the screen.

Software

The Galaxy J6+ runs the Android 8.1 Oreo-based Experience UI 9.5 out of the box. This means you also get some of the company’s proprietary features preloaded into the handset. The phone comes preinstalled with Samsung Mall, Samsung Pay mini, and Samsung Max. For those who are unaware, Samsung Mall is an app that helps users discover items across e-commerce platforms, while Pay mini is the stripped-down version of the company’s payments app. There is the Bixby digital assistant on the phone as well, minus the dedicated button. You can access the assistant by swiping right on the home screen. However, I never felt the need to summon the digital assistant in my daily usage.

Performance

Samsung Galaxy J6+ is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 SoC with Adreno 308 GPU. It includes 3 or 4GB of RAM and 32 or 64GB storage (supports expandable storage up to 512GB via microSD card). It is in the performance department that the Galaxy J6+ falters and this is primarily due to the device being powered by an entry-level chipset manufactured in 2016 along with the resource-intensive Samsung Experience UI. The performance of the Galaxy J6+ is below average. Throughout our use, we experienced lag even when swiping between the home screens.

With respect to social media use such as Facebook, Messenger, or Instagram, we did experience lag while scrolling or switching between tabs. Media such as images and videos did take a bit longer to load and the overall experience was not pleasant. The smartphone struggles to multi-task between apps even though it has 4GB of RAM and we blame it on poor memory management. As a workaround to the lag, readers who decide to purchase the smartphone are advised to install a third-party launcher such as Nova to make the overall experience bearable.

Camera

Samsung Galaxy J6+ sports a dual rear setup- 13-megapixel primary sensor with f/1.9 aperture coupled with a 5-megapixel secondary sensor. There’s an 8-megapixel selfie camera on board as well. The image capturing capabilities on the Galaxy J6+ seem average at best. We tested the cameras in different lighting conditions and the cameras did not impress us even in daytime, natural lighting conditions.

During daytime, the Galaxy J6+ camera reproduces images with natural colours although they seem a bit overexposed. However, there is a manual exposure slider with which users can set the desired exposure levels. Despite having 13-megapixel primary camera, the images seem a bit washed out and lack detail.
There is a Live Focus feature which is a kind of Portrait mode and allows users to manually adjust the pre-background blur effect and post image capture. With Live Focus mode, users might notice the edges slightly blurred out, merging with the surroundings. Selfies once again turned out to be average at best and did seem a bit overexposed. With respect to the clarity, the photos appeared washed out lacking in detail and we were not impressed in the slightest.

Battery

The Samsung Galaxy J6+ sips juice from a 3,300mAh battery. Even though this capacity doesn’t appear massive on paper, the phone’s real-life performance in this department is quite impressive. The handset owes this performance partly to the HD+ panel and a power-efficient chipset.

In our daily use, the phone managed to easily last a full day with ease. For light users, the handset might manage to last more than a day as well. For reference, the smartphone was able to playback an HD video on loop for a little more than 13 hours and 30 minutes, which is quite impressive.

Full Specifications:

Android 8.1 Oreo, Samsung Experience
Dual SIM
6-inch HD+ IPS display, 1480 x 720 pixel resolution, ~274ppi
1.4GHz Snapdragon 425 quad-core processor
Adreno 308 GPU
3GB/4GB RAM
32GB/64GB internal storage
8-megapixel front camera, f/1.9
13-megapixel (f/1.9) + 5-megapixel (f/2.2) dual rear cameras, LED flash
Side fingerprint scanner (select markets)
HSPA+, 4G LTE Cat. 4
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth 4.2
GPS, Glonass, BeiDou
NFC (select markets)
microUSB
Dimensions: 161.4 x 76.9 x 7.9mm
Weight: 178g
Colors: Red, Black, Silver
3,300mAh battery

Samsung Galaxy J8 Review and Specs

In a market saturated by Chinese mobile phone companies like OPPO, VIVO and Huawei, Samsung has been trying to make itself relevant by competing in the midrange scene. They have gone all out to cover the whole spectrum of midrange – low and high – to further try to mark a new territory. Enter, Samsung Galaxy J8 – a smartphone deemed to be part of the company’s midrange smartphone collection.You can buy it through Lazada via Cash On Delivery and Nationwide Shipping.

Design and Display

Galaxy J8 sports a 6-inch HD+ Super AMOLED display at 1480 x 720 pixels. The AMOLED panel adds a lot more saturation and contrast to icons and colors do pop out, however, we did notice the pixelation of some texts and the icons don’t look as crisp. The change in resolution was also very noticeable since we’re already accustomed to higher quality displays. Still, the 18.5:9 screen provided enough screen-to-body ratio for an enjoyable viewing experience. Brightness is also high enough for outdoor use and low enough for night time operations.

Looks like Samsung is following a very strict design structure for their 2018 mid-range smartphones lately. The Galaxy J8 sports the same design philosophy as its A-series and J-series cousins. A simple unibody frame with no noticeable linings or flair. This makes the device look pretty basic and bland but it does feel solid and premium in the hands. It’s by no means ugly but it also doesn’t stand out either.

Software

Galaxy J8 runs on Android Oreo 8.0 with Samsung Experience UI 9.0 on top, which brings a lot of customisation. This phone also comes loaded with a host of Google and Microsoft apps, which can only be disabled, not uninstalled. Samsung also has its own apps including Samsung Max, a data management app; Samsung Mall, which lets you search for products on e-commerce websites using image recognition; and Samsung Pay Mini, which helps with mobile payments. This smartphone also supports themes, letting you tweak its look as per your taste.

The Settings app has been rearranged and has multiple sub-menus. Thankfully there’s a search function to help you find the right settings. Some of the additions include finger sensor gestures that let you pull down the notification shade by swiping down on the fingerprint scanner. Smart Alert makes the phone vibrate when you pick it up if you have pending messages or missed calls. We tried this feature and found it to be useful since the display does not light up when you pick the smartphone up. Dual Messenger lets you run two instances of supported apps such as WhatsApp and Facebook.

Performance

Running the show for the phone is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 450 chipset, it’s already a year old but is still a pretty capable performer. Mundane tasks like texting, social media consumption, and navigation are a breeze. Multitasking isn’t a problem either thanks to the ample 3GB RAM.

Low to medium games like Candy Crush, Zombie Tsunami, Helix Jump, and Mobile Legends are easily playable with little to no frame drops. Heavier games though like Tekken Mobile, PUBG Mobile, and Asphalt 9 are still playable but with noticeable frame drops at heavier scenes. There’s a bit of heating on the back on prolonged sessions but it doesn’t reach dangerous levels.

Camera

This is where Samsung boasts the capabilities of the J8. It comes with a 16MP f/1.7 aperture primary rear camera paired with a 5MP f/1.9 aperture secondary. The front, on the other hand, is a 16MP f/1.9 aperture shooter. For features, we have Night, Panorama, Pro, Beauty, Live Focus, Auto, Stickers, and Continuous Shot on the rear while the front has Selfie Focus, Selfie, Stickers, and Wide Selfie. The modes are easily accessible and changed at the top (portrait orientation) or side (landscape orientation) of the screen during operation.

Let’s talk about the dual rear lenses first. Samsung may not have an empty boast here as the Galaxy J8 can take great photos but at the right conditions. In good lighting with proper angle and focus and during macro shots, images have sharp details, on point color reproduction and accuracy, and great quality. This is actually quite impressive for a mid-range device.

Now for the front shooter. Selfies taken by the front in the right conditions have good detail, color reproduction, and accuracy, however, it tends to overexpose the image when in direct light sources, even if it isn’t directed at the camera. The stickers add a bit more fun and funk to selfies. Either way, the front shooter is good enough for casual social media uploads.

Battery

The device comes with a respectable 3,500mAh battery. It lasted as about a day or two on light to moderate usage with or without WiFi on. During heavier usage, it lasts about a day or a day and a half with WiFi on.

The battery life of the device actually surprised us as it lasted a good 22 Hours and 21 Minutes in our standard video loop test (Playing a 1080p mp4 video at 50% brightness and audio in airplane mode with earphones plugged in). PC Mark rated it at 17 Hours and 25 minutes, which is also a remarkable feat.

Full Specifications:

Android 8.0 Oreo
Dual SIM, Dual Standby (nano)
6-inch HD+ Super AMOLED 18.5:9 display, 1480 x 720 pixel resolution, ~274ppi
1.8GHz Snapdragon 450 octa-core processor
Adreno 506 GPU
4GB RAM
64GB internal storage, expandable up to 256GB via microSD
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, WiFi hotspot
3G, HSPA+, 4G VoLTE
16-megapixel f/1.7 + 5-megapixel f/1.9 rear cameras, LED flash
16-megapixel front camera, f/1.9 aperture, LED flash
Bluetooth v4.2
GPS, A-GPS, Beidou, GLONASS
Dimensions: 160 x 75.8 x 7.95mm
Weight: 177g
3,500mAh battery

Realme C1 Review: Budget King?

Realme has once again disrupted the budget segment, which was once dominated with Xiaomi products. The company is marketing it as the first smartphone with a notched display, Snapdragon processor and dual rear cameras in the entry-level segment. Realme has introduced its budget-centric smartphone – the Realme C1. You can buy it through Lazada via Cash On Delivery and Nationwide Shipping.

Design and Display

Realme C1 features a 6.2-inch HD+ fullscreen display with a screen resolution of 1440 x 720 pixels. In our testing, we found out that the display of the phone is above average. On one side, the colours look bright and the viewing angles are decent. On another side, the outdoor visibility is not that great. The screen is reflective in nature, which makes it difficult to read the text in direct sunlight. Apart from this, the screen is decent for watching videos and playing games as you get some wide colour gamut. This makes the experience somewhat decent.

Realme C1 comes loaded with a premium look and it is possible due to the glass design at the back. It is true that most of the smartphones at this price range are not good looking, however, Realme has been able to break this monotony by introducing a premium-looking smartphone.

Software

Realme C1 runs Color OS 5.1, which is based on Android 8.1 Oreo. The phone supports features like clone apps as well as “full-screen multitasking”, which lets people use apps like WhatsApp while watching videos, playing games, etc in landscape mode.

The transition animation is not smooth and you will have a bit jitter when switching from one app to another application. There is no option to customize the smartphone as our review unit does not come with the Theme application. Further, you cannot tap and hold home screen to open quick settings like Wallpaper, widgets and more options. This makes it a tad difficult thing to change even a simple thing like wallpaper directly from the home screen. The company really need to improve the user interface to make it more user-friendly.

Perfromance

Realme C1 is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 450 processor along with Adreno 506 GPU. The phone is backed by a 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage, which can be further expanded up to 256GB via microSD card slot. The Snapdragon 450 is definitely a plus point of this device as most of its competitor comes with a lesser powerful processor. We faced no issue when it comes to handling daily tasks like WhatsApp, Facebook, streaming music or watching a video. However, due to low 2GB of RAM, we faced slight lag when started multitasking.

Coming to the gaming front, the phone handles most of the casual games like Candy Crush Friends, Subway Surfers and Temple Run 2 without breaking any sweet. And it does a good job when we played games like Need for Speed No Limits, though there was a slight lag, but is not a big deal at this price point. Further, it is not able to handle heavy games like PUBG Mobile or more, but it is not targeted to be a gaming smartphone as well.

Camera

Realme C1 features a dual-camera setup with a combination of 13-megapixel primary sensor and a 2-megapixel secondary sensor for depth sensing. For the front, there is a 5-megapixel shooter for selfies. Coming to the rear camera first, the results were decent. The colours were close to the source and the detailing was pretty good. However, we noticed that the phone struggles to take some macro shots and it was not able to properly focus on the subject, which was kind of disappointing. The portrait shot from the rear camera was average as well and the blurring of the background was a hit and miss. Lastly, the low light performance is quite average, to be honest. The photo came out to be grainy and noises were quite prominent when the light was low.

Moving to the selfie camera, it comes with AI beauty mode that automatically makes your face when you click a selfie. However, sometimes the mode made eyes look bigger than normal. That said, the performance of the selfie camera is good when the lights are ideal, you don’t expect too much in the low light conditions.

Battery

The Realme C1 is powered by a 4,230 mAh battery that lasts for a day and a little more on normal usage, which includes streaming videos, internet browsing and playing games. The phone does not support fast charging, therefore it takes almost three hours to charge from zero to 100 per cent.

Android 8.1 Oreo, ColorOS 5.1
Dual SIM, Dual Standby (nano, dedicated)
6.2-inch HD+ IPS Display, 1520 x 720 pixel resolution, ~271ppi
1.8GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 450 octa-core processor
Adreno 506 GPU
2GB RAM
16GB internal storage, microSD support up to 256GB
3G, HSPA+, LTE
13-megapixel f/2.2 + 2-megapixel f/2.4 rear cameras with LED flash
5-megapixel front-facing camera, f/2.2
Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Wi-Fi hotspot
FM Radio
Bluetooth 4.2
GPS, A-GPS
Dimensions: 156.2 x 75.6 x 8.2 mm
Weight: 168 g
Colors: Ocean Blue, Deep Black
4,230mAh non-removable battery

Asus Zenfone 4 Max Lite Review and Specs

The ASUS Zenfone 4 Max Lite is the more affordable variant of the popular Zenfone 4 Max. Toned down in many aspects, it still does have a few tricks up its sleeve that make it worthy of a look. It has dual rear cameras, something that’s not really common for budget devices, and a huge 4,100mAh battery, which makes it a very enticing device for those who want longevity without spending a lot of cash. You can buy it through Lazada via Cash On Delivery and Nationwide Shipping.

Design and Display

The Zenfone 4 Max Lite features a 5.2 inch display with 720×1280 HD resolution and a pixel density of 282ppi. It’s decent about what you’d expect from an entry level smartphone, although contrast and vividness could have been better. The screen can go very bright, and exhibits slightly less vibrancy that what you’d find in the more expensive models. Colors seem a bit washed out, and text isn’t really that sharp. But again, for what you’re paying, you really can’t expect too much. The Zenfone 4 Max Lite’s design does speak its price. You get a similar form factor to the Zenfone 3 Zoom, but with an insanely bigger bezel up top

Software

Zenfone 4 Max Lite runs Nougat 7.1.1 out of the box with the Taiwanese company’s own ZenUI 4.0 on top. ZenUI comes with a lot of helpful customizations that both casual and power users will appreciate. For example, the Smart Group feature that categorizes different apps into folders has always been a favorite of mine.

You could also forgo the installation of a 3rd party launcher since ZenUI 4.0 already lets you change homescreen transition animations, icons, and even themes. However, all of this comes at a cost. ZenUI 4.0 is one of the more bloated custom UIs out there. Thankfully, none of them come off as ads, but no doubt a lot of these features will go unused.

Performance

The Zenfone 4 Max Lite sports a 1.4GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 quad-core processor with Adreno 308 GPU and 2GB RAM. Though it would’ve been better if ASUS used the Snapdragon 430, to level with competitors at this price point who are using the same or even better processors. Regardless, performance is snappy and responsive although we did notice some lags whenever we try to multi-task.

The device can run games such as Sky Dancer and Rules of Survival decently, but with occasional frame drops. It can handle games with moderate-graphics well but do not expect much from it. It also warms up upon playing for prolonged sessions but not to alarming levels.

Camera

The device, just like the Zenfone 4 Max, has the same 13MP (main) + 5MP (wide-angle) rear cameras and an 8MP front camera. We appreciate that ASUS did not compromise the phone’s cameras. Let’s move on to quality.

First off, the rear cameras. For features, they have Beauty, Super-Resolution, Panorama, Pro, GIF, and Time-Lapse modes. Under the Pro mode, users can adjust the shutter speed from 1/40000 to 1/3 and the ISO from 50 to 3200. For our sample shots, we only used auto to show users the raw quality of the images. The auto-focus of the cameras are fast and quickly adjusts to the lighting of the environment. Images produced are color accurate and decent enough for social media posts. Under low-light conditions, it does not perform well since it shows visible noises and blurs. We also had to manually press the screen for the camera to focus properly.

As for the 8MP front camera, it has 4 modes: Auto, Selfie Panorama, Beauty, and GIF. There’s also the Beauty Live mode under the Selfie Master application that users can use for further selfie customization. The images that were produced are slightly grainy but decent and well. Sadly, there’s nothing exceptional about its quality.

Battery

This is the bread and butter of every Zenfone Max device as it runs on a 4,100mAh battery. Testing it out on PC Mark’s battery life test, the device lasted for 14 hours and 14 minutes which is above average for an entry-level smartphone. Upon testing it in our video loop test (1080p video with 50% brightness and sound), it lasted for 18 hours and 30 minutes. The battery of the Zenfone 4 Max Lite outlasted the Zenfone 4 Max by 2 hours which means that the device is a great pick for users who prioritize battery life more over any other key aspects. The long battery life of the device can be attributed to its screen resolution and size, OS, and its PowerMaster feature which optimizes battery usage. Lastly, the device does not support fast charging so it took us around 2 hours and 30 minutes to fully charge it.

Full Specifications:

5.2-inch HD IPS display
1.4MHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 quad-core processor
Adreno 308
2GB RAM
16GB storage
13MP + 5MP rear cameras w/ LED flash
8MP front camera w/ LED flash
Dual-SIM
4G LTE
Bluetooth 4.1
GPS w/ A-GPS, GLONASS
USB-OTG
Fingerprint sensor (front-mounted)
Accelerometer
4,100mAh battery w/ reverse charging
Android 7.1.1 Nougat w/ ZenUI 4.0
150.5 x 73.3 x 8.8mm
156g

Asus Zenfone Live L1 Review and Specs: Budget Phone

It’s the latest model in the ZenFone Live lineup. Phones belonging in this particular product family is the latest budget phone from ASUS. To distinguish itself from other budget ZenFone models, the ZenFone Live L1’s main selling feature is its real-time beatification for video selfies. Aside from the improved specs from its predecessor, ASUS made the ZenFone Live L1 more affordable compared to the original SRP of the ZenFone Live. You can buy it through Lazada via Cash On Delivery and Nationwide Shipping.

Display and Design

ZenFone Live L1 sports a 5.5-inch screen with 18:9 aspect ratio and a pixel density of 293ppi. It has slimmer top and bottom bezels compared to the previous generation ZenFone Live, although the side bezels remain relatively thick. It’s not going to impress when it comes to screen quality as it is prone to glare, does not have much vibrancy, and have limited viewing angles. But if you’re not after a really good viewing experience, I think this will suffice for casual use.

When it comes to quality, the ZenFone Live L1 is far from premium since it’s made of plastic. It has a unibody construction that feels solid, light, and has a matte finish that minimizes fingerprints and smudges.

Software

Zenfone live L1 runs on Android 8.0.0 Oreo with ZenUI. Asus made very few modifications to stock Android/Android Go on the and that was the correct decision. In general what you get here is the same experience you’ll see on other Android Go-powered phones, with lightweight “Go” versions of Google apps pre-installed on a trimmed down Oreo-based image. Some of them are more limited than their fully-featured cousins, but they consume much less memory.

It may have been mostly stock, but there were a few peculiarities in the software. Keyboard height out of the box is strangely low. The navigation bar is also shrunken, and notification text spacing and padding seems broken. In Settings, Asus also bundled in its “ZenMotion” options to launch apps via gestures while the screen is off, plus a “glove mode” for increasing touch sensitivity.

Performance

Powering it is a Snapdragon 425 quad-core chipset with Adreno 308 GPU and 2GB RAM. It’s an entry-level setup so we’re not expecting too much from it. Performance won’t hold a candle to a flagship, or even an older mid-range device, but compared to every other Android Go phone I’ve used, it was like night and day. According to benchmarks, the Snapdragon 425 should be on about the same level as the MT6739 used in phones like the Alcatel 1X. Even so, the Zenfone Go felt palpably faster. Don’t expect a very smooth experience, though. The Zenfone Live L1 has its hiccups, but I rarely felt like I was waiting around for my phone to finish doing something, as in the case of the Alcatel 1X. Performance was mostly fine.

Camera

Don’t underestimate the ZenFone Live L1’s cameras: while they seem modest on paper, they capture decent images. In daylight, shots came out with good color rendition and above average detail retention. Low light photos are expected to dip in quality, though the ZenFone Live L1 manages to deliver good color reproduction in such challenging situations.

As for its real-time beautification feature, the ZenFone Live L1 certainly gets the job done. However, you’ll have to fiddle around the settings to get the best and most natural-looking beatification filter possible, since auto beautification is not accurate all of the time. In general, the ZenFone Live L1 has decent cameras for its price. As for its real-time beautification, it gets the job done, making the ZenFone Live L1 an ideal buddy for streaming

Battery

ZenFone Live L1’s battery life is pretty decent: The combination of a Snapdragon 425 processor with a 3000mAh battery and an HD+ display will help you coast through the day without heading to the power outlet. Based on PCMark’s battery test, we got a score of a little over 9 hours, and this mirrors real-time use as well. It will take quite some time to charge up the ZenFone Live L1 via its MicroUSB port. Based on our tests, it takes around over two hours to juice it up to 100%.

Full Specifications:5.5-inch 18:9 HD+ (1440 x 720) display, 293ppi
Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 1.4GHz quad-core processor
Adreno 308 GPU
2GB RAM
16GB storage
up to 2TB via microSD (dedicated slot)
13MP PDAF rear camera, LED flash
5MP FF front camera, LED flash
Dual-SIM
4G LTE
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth 4.0
GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS
micro USB
Face unlock
Android 8.0 Oreo (ZenUI 5.0)
3,000mAh battery
147.3 x 71.8 x 8.2 mm
140 g

Asus Zenfone 5Q Review and Specs

At MWC, Asus showed off its 2018 Zenfone lineup. Most of the attentin fell on the 5Z and 5, with their display notches and fresh designs. Perhaps left to the wayside was the lower-end device of this family, the Zenfone 5Q (or Lite, depending on where you are). It doesn’t resemble its brethren whatsoever, right down to even lacking a notch. You can buy it through Lazada via Cash On Delivery and Nationwide Shipping.

Display and Design

Asus Zenfone 5Q offers 6-inch FHD+ IPS LCD 18:9 display which is actually quite good, with excellent brightness and viewing angles. Out of the box, colors are saturated thanks to Asus’ “Super Vivid” mode. If you go to “normal,” you’ll get the muted look we’re used to seeing on LCDs.

The ASUS Zenfone 5Q is made with 2.5D contoured glass, which looks really good in person. But not until it gets bombarded with fingerprint marks. The ASUS Zenfone 5Q’s glass sandwich setup is being held together by a metal frame. This handset screams premium every time you hold it. However, since it is made with such materials, the Zenfone 5Q is a bit heavy. It has a weight of 168.3g, which is relatively heavier than other competing devices that weighs no more than 160g. Also, its sharp edges don’t make it the most ergonomic thing to hold despite the four corners being rounded.

Software

Zenfone 5Q runs on Android 7.1.1 Nougat right out of the box instead of the more current Android 8.0 Oreo. It uses the company’s ZenUI 5.0, which is cleaner and simpler than previous versions. Apps can be accessed by simply swiping up from the bottom of the home screen.

Pre-installed applications include Facebook, Messenger, and Instagram along with the usual Google apps and ASUS native applications such as Mobile Manager, Selfie Master, ASUS customized settings, and ZenUI safeguard.

Performance

Zenfone 5Q runs on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 630 processor paired with an Adreno 508 GPU and 4GB of RAM. So far, performance is good as UI navigation is smooth, applications launch fast, and we never encountered any crashes or random reboots.

Gaming is not an issue as well as Rules of Survival, Sky Dancer, and Asphalt 8 are highly playable. Some frame drops are noticeable in action-packed scenes, but lowering the graphics settings a bit should solve that. Like with most devices, warming can be felt at the back while gaming but not serious enough for it to be uncomfortable.

Camera

ZenFone 5Q boasts a quad-camera setup consisting of a 16MP primary and an 8MP 120-degree wide-angle secondary at the rear, and a 20MP main and an 8MP 120-degree wide-angle secondary on the front. One thing to note is that when we tested the smartphone’s camera right out of its box, the live view hangs upon switching lenses and even after taking shots. This issue was, however, fixed right after we updated its firmware. The front camera also brings with it Face Unlock, although it only really works well in bright conditions. As a security feature, it’s simply just not as reliable as the fingerprint scanner.

The 8-megapixel wide-angle cameras only has mediocre performance. But I must admit, having a wide-angle lens has tons of benefits. You can easily cram in subjects within the frame — either you’re taking a group selfie or a picture of a large but really close subject.

Battery

The ASUS Zenfone 5Q clearly has an interesting set of specs. It comes with a large and sharp screen, capable processor, and tons of cameras. This smartphone might have hit good marks on those parts, but not so much in the battery department. It is equipped with a 3,300mAh battery which is not the most exciting battery capacity of all, but not necessarily bad.

Anyhow, the battery provided customary performance. If you’re a casual user who only uses your smartphone for browsing the web and streaming music on your daily commute, the ASUS Zenfone 5Q can surely last you for a day. However, you still have to plug it in every night.

Full Specifications:

Android 8.0 Oreo, ASUS ZenUI 5.0
Dual SIM, Dual Standby
6-inch FHD+ IPS display, 2160 x 1080 resolution, ~402ppi
2.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 630 octa-core processor
Adreno 508 GPU
4GB RAM
64GB internal storage, expandable via microSD up to 400GB
20-megapixel + 8-megapixel (120-degree wide-angle) dual front cameras
16-megapixel + 8-megapixel (120-degree wide-angle) dual rear cameras
Fingerprint scanner, Face Unlock
HSPA+, 4G LTE
WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, WiFi hotspot
Bluetooth
GPS, A-GPS
NFC, FM Raio
microUSB 2.0
Dimensions: 160.6 x 76.2 x 7.8mm
Weight: 168g
3,300mAh battery

Asus Zenfone 5 2018 Review and Specs

Four years ago, ASUS launched the original ZenFone 5, a phone that helped the company position itself in the smartphone market by providing capable specs at a low price. In succeeding generations, however, ASUS has not been consistent in that regard, and have lost their momentum. Wanting to get back on track, the company recently launched the new ZenFone 5 series which represent the mid-range segment. You can buy it through Lazada via Cash On Delivery and Nationwide Shipping.

Display and Design

The ZenFone 5 has a 6.2 inch Super IPS+ touchscreen with 16 million colours. It has a 2246×1080 resolution at 404ppi with a 19:9 aspect ratio, and the colours are amazing. After comparing it to a first-generation Google Pixel, the LCD screen on the ZenFone is as bright as the Pixel’s AMOLED screen and the colours are almost as good. Obviously, the contrast isn’t anything to shout about, but it certainly doesn’t detract from the experience.

The Zenfone 5 is a thin, light, and sleek looking device. It’s easy to hold thanks to its curved edges and nicely sized frame. Speaking of the frame, we have to give props to ASUS for cramming in a 6.2-inch screen in a much smaller body. Apart from that, the phone feels solid, well-made, and exudes an elegant and premium aura. The only complaint that we have is that it’s a smudge magnet, which is common in glass-clad devices. But you can easily remedy that by putting on a case, which there is one included in the package

Software

The Asus Zenfone 5 runs Android 8.0.0 and the ZenUI software. This is Asus’s Android skin, renowned for being jam-packed with extra fluff no one ordered. There’s still more than some manufacturer interfaces here, but we don’t get the sense of being immediately submerged in additional apps. The look of the software is clearly different from standard Android too, but after a couple of days we were used to it. ZenUI is fine.

As usual ZenUI also offers loads of customizations. Dig deep enough and you can change fonts, use (slightly questionable) animated Asus wallpapers, alter the scale of the UI, turn off the apps menu completely and change the transition animations.

Performance

The Asus Zenfone 5 has the Snapdragon 636, the latest mid-range Qualcomm chipset at the time of the phone’s launch. It has eight Kryo 260 cores clocked at 1.8GHz and the Adreno 509 GPU. It can breeze through mundane tasks such as browsing, watching videos, and messaging. Both biometric security features in the fingerprint scanner and face unlock, are fast and responsive. Multitasking is also not a problem thanks to the hefty 4GB of RAM. Gaming is not an issue either, as the phone can run Tekken and PUBG Mobile with high graphics settings while still maintaining a high frame rate. Warming can be felt at the upper rear part of the phone during gaming sessions, but it doesn’t get hot enough to cause discomfort.

Camera

The rear camera array is made up of a pair of 12MP sensors, with the main shooter utilizing Sony’s IMX363 and an aperture of ƒ/1.7. The secondary camera offers a 120-degree wide-angle shot, with a simple tap in the camera app to switch between the two. Shots taken with it have great detail, color reproduction, accuracy, and sharpness. Automatic exposure also adjusts itself very well. Low-light performance is also commendable, as it was able to brighten up the scene and keep shakes to a minimum thanks to 4-axis image stabilization. The same cannot be said for the 8MP wide-angle shooter, as shots, while still good in detail, are quite noisy, even in well-lit conditions. Colors are also not as punchy.

The front shooter is 8MP, selfies have good detail and beautification provides just the right amount of adjustment. Manually maxing out the beauty options makes changes look eerily artificial, though still at acceptable levels. Users may want to take advantage of the SelfieMaster app to get access to BeautyLive and ZeniMoji.

The main app is pretty simple to get your head around. There’s a one-touch option to use Google Lens, which is nice, and a heap of creative filters, different shooting modes including super-resolution and panorama, and a pretty robust pro mode with all the manual settings you could want.

Battery

The ZenFone 5 is equipped with a 3,300mAh battery which is a decent capacity for a mid-ranger. So far we’re getting a solid 10 hours of use when mostly connected to WiFi with heavy social media use, moderate photography, and light gaming. The PC Mark battery test rates it at 12 hours and 9 minutes, while our video loop test yielded 12 hours of playback, which is good.

Users can further extend their battery life by using PowerMaster, which can manage auto-starting apps, provides you with battery-saving options, as well as four battery modes. When it comes to charging, it takes around 2 hours and utilizes a feature called Smart Charging which activates fast charging during the day or while in use, but at night time, it slows it down for overnight charging.

Full Specifications:

Android 8.0 Oreo, ZenUI 5.0
Dual SIM, Dual Standby
6.2-inch FHD+ IPS display, 2246 x 1080 resolution, ~401ppi
90% screen-to-body ratio, 19:9 aspect ratio
1.8GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 octa-core processor
4GB/6GB RAM
Adreno 509 GPU
64GB internal storage, expandable via microSD
8-megapixel front camera, f/2.0
12-megapixel (f/1.8) + 8-megapixel (120-degree wide-angle) dual rear cameras, 4-axis OIS, LED flash
AI Scene detection, AI Photo Learning Real-time Portrait, and Beautification
Fingerprint scanner, Facial recognition
Dual 4G LTE
WiFi 803.11 a/b/g/n/ac
Bluetooth 5.0
Stereo speakers, Smart Amp
USB Type-C
Weight: 155g
Colors: Meteor Silver, Midnight Blue
3300mAh non-removable battery