UMI X3 – The FULL Review
The Umi CROSS’s success has converted many people to the brand. Early this year Umi followed this with the release of the Umi X3, with excellent design and specifications. Does the form and function of the new model match the success of the old? This full review should clear a few things up.
What’s in the box?
The Umi X3 comes with the usual accessories; the battery is inbuilt, it has a USB cable and a user manual.
How does it look?
The Umi X3 has a simple design. There is a large 5.5inch screen with minimal embellishments, the three buttons below the screen are only visible when the phone is lit, making for an uncluttered appearance. It really is nice to look at. The edges are similarly simplistic, aside from the necessary USB slot, headphone jack and Micro SIM slot, the only extras are a volume control and the Power button. Essentials only then, but that’s everything you need.
How’s the display?
The 5.5 inch 1080p FHD IPS screen is good quality, the Umi X3 also boasts OGS Technology and compares rather well with other smartphones in this respect. One pretty important let-down however, is the lack of Gorilla Glass. Without this the screen is prone to scratches which ruin the look and excellent display quality of the product.
How does the UMI X3 perform?
The specifications are impressive. The UMI X3 benefits from a 1.7GHz MT6592 Octa-core processor, and has 2GB RAM/16GB ROM. The benchmarks are excellent, reaching 25,527 points on the Antatu test, proving that high performance apps and large games would be easily supported. In fact it outperforms the Galaxy Note2 and the Sony Experia Z in this regard. This is all good, but the UMI X3 does not support Micro XD Extended Memory so 16GB is the maximum internal storage. This is a disappointment, the power to support the large games would be best complimented by the capacity to store a lot of them.
The camera is high performance too, the UMI X3 front camera is 8MP and the rear is 13MP, taking excellent quality photos and featuring a dual flash which is pretty rare for a smartphone. All this makes the X3 an excellent choice for those who make good use of a smartphone camera. These are some examples of the photo quality:
As regards the battery life, the UMI X3 has an inbuilt 3150mAh battery providing 2-3 days standby time. This is not really enough for heavy use of the high performance apps and games that the phone ruins so well.
UMI X3: impressive benchmark results.
What features does the UMI X3 possess?
There are three notable features of the UMI X3, NFC, USB On-The-Go and GPS Testing Plus. The NFC function is useful for making contactless payments with the smartphone and works well on this device. The OTG also works well and is very handy for example for printing pictures straight from your smartphone. The GPS works really well too, being straightforward and utilising many satellites to get the most accurate information.
Bottom line then?
The UMI X3 is a good smartphone, with some excellent specs and features such as a great camera and good performance benchmark results. The X3 is however let down by the lack of basics such as Gorilla Glass and Micro SD Extended Memory capability.
