Zopo is one of those Chinese manufacturers, which is known both in its homeland and internationally (more or less). Actually, it seems that the manufacturer really wants to step into the EU market as they already have physical retail stores in the Netherlands. Also, the company is said to open the European Operations Centre soon and they even had some conversations with the Dutch Prime Minister.
Well, in general it is a good thing for Europeans, but let’s put these things aside for now. This time we have brand new Zopo ZP530, which comes out from the new devices portfolio by the manufacturer. As usual, let’s unbox it and see what we have here.
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SPECS
| Display | 5″ 1280×720 resolution (HD) |
| Processor | MTK6732 Quad-Core 1.5GHz (64-bit) |
| RAM | 1GB |
| Camera | 5MP Front/8MP Back, f/2.2 aperture |
| Connectivity | Bluetooth, 3G, 4G, GPS, WIFI, GSM,EDGE, GPRS, UMTS, HSPA, HSPA+, |
| Battery | 2.100 mAh Li-polimer |
| Dimensions | 145×71.2×8.8mm |
| OS | Android 4.4.4 Kitkat |
| Storage | 8GB (can be expanded up to 64GB via Micro SD) |
UNBOXING
The box is made out of cardboard, so nothing out of ordinary here. One of the cool things is that you need to pull the sleeve to open it up. The box has a list of specs in case you want to check it out.
In the box you find a quick start guide, micro USB charging cable, screen protector, a charging brick and a pair of headphones.
DESIGN
Look what we have here… Another iPhone 6 wannabe. Anyway, it looks quite good.
On top of the device you can find a 5mp snapper, earpiece and proximity sensor.
On the bottom, there is a Nubia-like home button, which has a pulsing effect once you touch it or receive a notification. Also, there is a menu on the left and back button one the right. What I have found already is that sometimes you can miss those little capacitive buttons. Maybe it is just me or you need some time to get used to it.
The device is surrounded by a high quality metal frame, which is painted on gold colour. On the left there is a power key (I never like the placement of this button on the left). On the right, there is a volume rocker. On the top, you can find a Micro USB port along with headphone jack.
On the back, you can find an 8mp shooter (yeah, you may think “only” 8mp, but you would probably this device, because it looks like iPhone 6 anyway…). On the bottom of the back there is a Zopo logo along with the loudspeaker.
Under the hood you can find a 2100mah removable battery, two SIM card slots (one regular, another micro) and the Micro SD card slot (up to 64GB). One thing worth mentioning is that taking the back cover off is not recommended using your nails as it sits really tight.
INITIAL IMPRESSIONS
You may already have your own impressions as far as design and you are right. Zopo ZP530 is another iPhone 6 wannabe device as far as design goes. We don’t call it a clone per se, but if you look only at the front, a lot of people would ask you if it is the newest flagship by Apple. We don’t call it necessarily a bad thing, but this shows the strategy company follows with this device.
On the other hand, the device really looks beautiful and very well made. It spots a 2.5D glass, which gives the seamless feeling in the hand. Also, the metal frame along with the metal buttons make it feel premium. What is more, the device is very sturdy overall. Finally, some add ons like a glowing home button makes it quite attractive.
DISPLAY
The display is just a joy to look at. It is sharp, bright, vivid, has great color reproduction and superb viewing angles. Yes, it is 720p panel, but you cannot notice a visible difference if you compare it to 1080p panels. It gives me a feeling that Zopo either opted in for a higher quality panel or made a perfect job calibrating it.
User Interface
The UI is fairly simple, but it has a minimal Zopo skin on top of Android 4.4.4 Kitkat. However, the skin is very light and simple without any unnecessary animations. The major advantage is that everything is running very fast and there are no lags, so it makes a pleasure to operate the device.
As it has become usual, the device has some gesture controls like tap to wake and some other ones. The most important tap to wake (at least for me) feature works just fine.
There are some apps included. They are pretty basic, but run very smooth.
BENCHMARKS
I may sound that I’m repeating myself, but I never care about any synthetic benchmarks. Still, I know that some of you guys are interested in it, so I ran through the Antutu benchmark test. I have to say that the Zopo ZP530 managed to score a very respectable score over 30k, which is close to the LG G3. For the device that doesn’t cost $200 it is very good.
GAMING
As far as gaming, I tried to play quite graphically intensive Asphalt 8 game. You can judge it by yourself, but it seems that the device can handle it without any issues. Indeed, the graphics look good and I didn’t get any lags or skipped frames. It looks like 64-bit Mediatek chip gets the job done here. Moreover, the loudspeaker is quite good for a budget device.
MULTIMEDIA
As far as media consumption goes, I have to say that it is a pleasure. Everything runs smoothly, no lags, no hiccups or anything. The 1080p video playback runs just fine. You can scroll back and worth without an issue. Also, browsing the web is a blast.
CAMERA
The UI is very simple and it is mostly stock Android experience. Taking a picture is quite fast, although not on par with flagship devices. Still, it delivers for its price category. Naturally, the shutter speed is slower when taking pics in darker areas.
Picture Quality
The quality of pictures seems to be quite good while taking pictures outside with enough light. The auto-mode seems to go for the right settings and tends to choose a natural looking approach. Sometimes, however, some pictures came out a bit on the darker side. The colour reproduction is not bad, but processing tends to provide a bit punchier colours to give a better impression. In addition, the exposure doesn’t seem to be jumping inadequately.
On the other hand, the quality goes down as we take the device in the lower light. We can see some noise and the reduced amount of details. Also, the shutter speed declines. Still, we don’t say anything new as it is the illness of most of the smartphones’ cameras.
Overall, the pics turn out to be quite good for an 8mp shooter in a device that costs just over $150 and we couldn’t expect anything better for this price. You may think that there are only 8mp, but people would be probably interested in this device because of the similar looks to the iPhone 6, which also has “only” 8mp.
BATTERY LIFE
I tested out the device with 2 SIM cards with dual standby all the time. I have to say that it does take more energy than usual during the standby time, but this is a trade-off if you want to use 2 SIM cards. Still, on an average day, the device can get you through the day quite easily, which is good for the battery, which has the capacity of just 2100mah. Worth mentioning is that I didn’t try any power saving modes.
CONCLUSIONS
You may already have your own impressions as far as design and you are right. Zopo ZP530 is another iPhone 6 wannabe device as far as aesthetics go. We don’t call it a clone per se, but if you look only at the front, a lot of people would ask you if it is the newest flagship by Apple. We don’t call it necessarily a bad thing, but this shows the strategy company follows with this device – a free riding rather than innovating. I know that a lot of people are looking for cheap iPhone 6 alternatives (lookalikes) and this device could be a great offer for just above $150.
Leaving similarities to the iPhone 6 behind, the device really looks beautiful and very well made. It spots a 2.5D glass, which gives the seamless feeling in the hand. Also, the metal frame along with the metal buttons makes it feel premium. What is more, the device is very sturdy overall and cannot be easily bent. Finally, some add ons like a glowing home button and backlit capacitive keys makes it even more attractive.
I have to say that this is one of the better looking Chinese devices that has a great feeling in the hand. I may even keep using it for some time!
Display is the thing worth another mentioning. It pops out as soon as you turn on the device and it seems that it uses very high quality panel. The overall look of it (color reproduction, sharpness etc.) is a typical LCD panel. It is sharp, bright, vivid, has great color reproduction and superb viewing angles. Yes, it is 720p panel, but you cannot notice a visible difference if you compare it to 1080p panels. It gives me a feeling that Zopo either opted in for a higher quality panel or made a perfect job calibrating it.
As far as performance and software, the device is very fast and fluid. No lags, no hiccups whatsoever. We may want to thank for the 64-bit MTK chip and Zopo’s software implementations. Also, the UI spots some nice looking icons, which are a pleasure to look at.
We don’t say that Zopo nailed the camera department, but it is not bad for the price category. You can capture some good looking pictures in the daylight, but you would need to more effort to do that in the low light situations. Overall, the camera is better than some of the 13mp sensors offered by unknown Chinese manufacturers.
The battery life can get you through the day on an average use, which is good for a budget device.
We can’t really mention any significant drawbacks (considering the price). Well, we would replace the glossy plastic back (which is also quite hard to open with your nails). Also, we would prefer a bit bigger back and menu buttons as sometimes you miss hitting them.
Finally, if you are looking for an iPhone 6 lookalike device, it may be one of the options coming from quite established Chinese manufacturers as we don’t see any major deal breakers after using the Zopo ZP530 for two weeks already.
We are constantly looking for the best deals out there at RELIABLE online stores. This time, Gizmochina readers can get $2 off Zopo ZP530 using a DISCOUNT CODE QWFCXKHM at Geekbuying.com, which is the cheapest you can find on the market.
