We would not say anything new that a lot of manufacturers get some inspiration from the Western counterparts in the mobile industry. One of them is probably the most popular – the iPhone. Some companies take just an inspiration, which include a bit of design elements, some make similar software implementations etc. Others, however, think that taking the whole package of the design is okay. It seems to be the case this time as the company Blackview has decided to make a device, which is extremely similar to the iPhone 6 at least as far as design goes. Did it make it good? Let’s find out in our review of the Blackview Ultra A6.
Specs
| Display | 4.7″ 1280×720 TFT LCD |
| Processor | MTK6582 Quad Core, 1.3GHz |
| RAM | 1GB |
| Camera | 2MP Front/8MP Back (Interpolation 5MP Front / 13MP Back) |
| Connectivity | Bluetooth, 3G, GPS, WIFI, GSM,EDGE, GPRS, UMTS, HSPA, HSPA+, |
| Battery | 2200mAh |
| Dimensions | 139x67x9 mm / 145g |
| OS | Android 4.4.2 |
| Storage | 8GB (can be expanded up to 32GB via Micro SD) |
As you may see from the specs sheet, the device cannot keep up toe to toe with todays flagship devices. Still, for a much lower price point than its counterparts (only $110), it has a great package to offer.
Besides these sheer specs, the device is made out of plastic (not like iPhone 6 is made out of aluminium), has a rear-touch panel, and pure Android experience without any heavy skins sometimes seen on other manufacturers’ devices.
Design
Since the Blackview Ultra A6 is an iPhone 6 clone, just a smaller version of it, we took some pictures to show clear similarities (Blackview Ultra A6 is on the left (smaller device) and the iPhone 6 is on the right (bigger device). As you can see, they look almost identical since the design with rounded edges is the same, as well as the speaker and the home button.
The back of the device is again very similar to the one of the iPhone 6. However, the Blackview Ultra A6 is made out of plastic, not aluminium. Still, the Blackview device feels very solid and well made.
On the right side of the device you can find a comfortably placed power on/off switch.
On the left side there are volume up and down rockers. Same as the power button, they have a great response and feedback.
The back cover is removable. The device spots dual SIM card slots as well as the Micro SD slot for storage expansion (up to 32GB).
The battery, which has the capacity of 2200 mAh, is removable, which is always a good thing.
On the bottom, there is a charging port, mono speaker and 3.5mm headphone jack.
Display
The device has a 4.7″ 1280×720 TFT LCD display. Let’s see how it looks like in reality.
The colours are vivid. Also, the sharpness and contrast are very good. We were quite impressed by this panel since it was hard to distinguish, which one is better – the Blackview Ultra A6 or the iPhone 6. All in all, this device has a really good display and it is pleasant to look at it.
User Interface
The Android experience is pretty basic since it is almost a stock OS.
The device comes with a Google Play Store preinstalled, so you do not need to worry about flashing it manually.
What is more, the device supports the gesture controls. For example, if you draw a letter C, it will bring the dialler app. All these gesture controls work pretty good and we did not have any issues.
What is even more interesting is the fact that you can choose a iOS like skin in theme options, which definitely looks like the original iOS version. It is pretty good idea especially considering the fact that the Blackview Ultra A6 is a clone device.
Performance
As have been already introduced, the device does not have a top-notch specs as the leading smartphones in the industry. Still, the package here can handle many tasks including gaming.
We have tried playing the Asphalt 8, which is a graphic intensive game. We did not have any issues. The experience was without any lags or hiccups, which is really impressive. Also, the game looked great on the display of the device.
Besides gaming, we did not have any issues with the daily use, which included scrolling through menu, playing games, surfing the web, watching videos and youtube and taking pictures or recording videos.
Camera
The device has a 8mp shooter. However, due to some software tricks, it can produce images up to 13mp (interpolation method). We took some samples to show you how it performs.
Overall, we think that the picture quality is pretty good. Daylight shots have plenty of detail, exposure and white balance is okay. What is more, indoors shots are pretty good too. They have a bit more noise, but still, it is acceptable.
Battery Life
We did not run any particular tests to measure the battery life, but what we can say is that the device should last you a full day for an average user. It is not not the battery around, but still, pretty reasonable for the price you are paying.
Final Words
With the bunch of iPhone clones out there it may become difficult to choose the one you want. The Blackview Ultra A6 may be the one you are looking for since it has a very low price tag (under $110), has a solid built quality (even though the device is made out of plastic material, it still feels great in the hand). What is more, we liked a great display, which had nice colours and great sharpness. Moreover, the performance did not let us down since the device did not have any issues even with the graphic intensive gaming tasks. Finally, the battery life is quite good too as it will take you through the whole day of usage.
