Xiaomi released the Mi Power 2 portable battery last year for ¥79 ($12). The power bank has a 10,000mAh Li-po battery, an upgrade from the original’s 18650 type cells. It also brings two-way fast charge allowing users quickly recharge their supported devices and also rapidly recharge the power bank.
Although Xiaomi sells it for ¥79, third party resellers have it for more but not exceeding $20, unless you live in New Zealand where you may have to shell out NZ$299.95 (∼$219/¥1470) for it!
Xiaomi’s CEO, Lei Jun, yesterday shared an image sent to him by a friend who lives in New Zealand who saw a store list the power bank for that price. There is no possible explanation has to why the power bank has such a high price tag.
Although Xiaomi doesn’t have an official presence in the country, import duties and taxes incurred by a reseller should not translate to that high a price. Mr. Lei Jun’s reply to the photo roughly translates into “need to accelerate penetration into international markets”.
More manufacturers are jumping on the 18:9 aspect ratio display and bezel-less screen trains and UMIDIGI isn’t left out. They already have a contender in the bezel-less category, the UMIDIGI Crystal, and an insider has revealed to us that they are working on an 18:9 full-screen device called the UMIDIGI S2.
In a situation where everyone seems to be doing the same thing, you have to find a way to stand out of the crowd. For the UMIDIGI S2, its advantage over the others will be its massive 6000mAh battery, making it the first 18:9 full-screen smartphone to have such a large capacity battery.
Since the best way to enjoy phones with such displays is via media consumption, a big battery is a sure bet to uninterrupted entertainment. We learnt that even with the big battery, the UMIDIGI S2 will have a thickness of about 7.8mm. That makes it thinner than the Samsung Galaxy S8 which is 8mm thin and packs a 3000mAh battery.
UMIDIGI isn’t new to making smartphones with large batteries while still maintaining a thin body. Its Z1 Pro flagship has a 4000mAh battery and is just 6.95mm thick.
Other details of the UMIDIGI S2 provided include a 5.99-inch display-size, NFC, wireless charging support, and dual Sony cameras on the back. Images provided show a red unit with the rear cameras, LED flash and fingerprint scanner stacked on top of one another.
Release date is set for October but expect more details to be revealed before then.
The phone ships with all the usual stuff, no extras included.
DESIGN and DISPLAY
The design is one of the key selling points of the Maze Blade. We have glass on the front and rear, metal chassis, metal buttons and the phone looks more expensive than it is.
Obviously, the glass back attracts smudges quickly but that is a case with all glass-made phones.
However, I found that the volume rocker rattles just a bit. Also, there is a programmable key, which can be mapped to almost any app you want and it will open it from the standby mode. Also, this button works as a shutter key in the camera app.
I found the 5.5” 1080p display to be pretty sharp and vibrant for everyday use.
Also, we have a notification LED light, which sits next to the 8MP selfie shooter and nicely backlit capacitive keys. The fingerprint scanner is accurate and it unlocks the phone straight from the standby mode.
As for optics, we have a 13MP shooter with a dual LED flash.
The loudspeaker quality does not really impress like on most of the budget phones.
HARDWARE and PERFORMANCE
The Maze Blade has pretty good specs for the price that includes an octa-core MTK6753 chip, 3GB of RAM and 32GB of expandable storage.
These specs assure a smooth user interface performance but when it comes to gaming, you should expect some skipped frames and stutter in some games. However, Asphalt 8 runs quite ok on medium graphics but the phone gets warm very quickly.
BENCHMARKS
USER INTERFACE
The Maze Blade ships with a pretty much stock-looking Android 6.0 out of the box but there are some added features and customization options.
There are quite a few gesture and motion controls that work quite well but some of them are quite slow to respond.You can also change the colors of the LED notification light, use a one-hand operation mode that works quite well or use the fingerprint app lock feature to lock certain apps. Most importantly, the user interface performance has been smooth and fluid, no complaints here.
IMAGE QUALITY
Maze Blade can take decent daylight images considering this is a cheap phone. Sure, the level of detail could be higher, the dynamic range adjustment could be more accurate but in general, you can take some decent-looking daylight images.
The low-light camera performance does not impress like on most of the cheap phones.
Selfie pictures will definitely do the trick for social media needs but there could slightly more detail.
The 1080p video quality is above average. Surprisingly, the sound recording quality is decent for a cheap phone. Selfie video quality is again, kind of mediocre but it is possible to use the camera for video chats or other stuff.
What surprised me most was a really good call quality. Other features like Wifi, Bluetooth work fine and even GPS is quite accurate for a cheap phone.
BATTERY LIFE
The 3000mAh battery performs quite well. I was able to get almost 5 hours of screen-on time, which is a good result considering the fact that the phone has a 5.5” display.
CONCLUSIONS
The Maze Blade is one of the better-looking budget phones out there. It has decent specs, it is fast on the daily basis and cameras can take decent-looking daylight pictures.
Obviously, you should consider some caveats like rattling volume rocker, mediocre gaming, and low-light camera performance but in general, the Maze Blade is a decent offering for the price.
Looks like the Honor 9 will be getting a whole new set of colour options soon and they are going to be attractive. That is if the leaked photos of the Honor flagship in different colour options which have appeared severally on Weibo are real. The Honor 9 was launched about a month ago and was officially available in four colour variants – Sea Blue, Amber Gold, Black and Seagull Gray colour, with the Black variant only becoming available a couple of weeks back.
The Honor 9 proved to be a popular smartphone and reportedly sold more than one million units in just 28 days globally. which is a record for the Honor brand. Huawei is perhaps trying to consolidate on the strong outing the device is enjoying in the market with the addition of three more variants. The colours are likely shades of green, orange and pink and obviously, they are targeted at the female folks who are more attracted to bright colours.
As far as the specs go, the Honor 9 features a 5.15-inch 1080p display and is powered by a Krin 960 chip. The processor is backed by either a 4GB RAM or 6 GB RAM. It also comes with a 64GB or 128GB storage variant. On the camera end, the Huawei Honor 9 comes with a 20MP + 12MP dual camera setup at the rear while there is an 8MP shooter up front. The device gets its power from a 3200mAh battery and runs EMUI 5.1 based on Android Nougat
OPPO has officially unveiled the R11 FC Barcelona Edition in line with the several teasers which had been making the rounds before now. The OPPO R11 FC Barcelona Edition was launched in Shanghai China today with a number of premium features which made the company peg the price of this version at 3,499 Yuan (~$522). The new edition will go on sale as from August 18 at 10 AM.
OPPO’s romance with FC Barcelona dates back to the days of the OPPO R7 Plus which featured a special FC Barcelona edition. Thereafter, the OPPO R9 also featured a premium FC Barca edition and now the OPPO R11 is getting a similar treatment. One common feature of all three models is the FC Barcelona logo and official colour which they feature but the depth of customization is said to have evolved to a more intense level.However, the OPPO R9 FC Barcelona edition came with a higher price tag of 3999 Yuan ($607) and was available in Red, Blue, and Gray colours.
The OPPO R11 FC Barcelona Edition features an 18K gold-plated Barca logo at the back which is usually handcrafted in previous models. The device is coloured in a dominant Blue colour at the upper part and Red at the bottom aspect at the rear while the front part is just plain black. The two colours of Blue and Red are the official home colour of FC Barcelona and also the device uses an all-metal body. There is also a few texts at the red coloured part at the rear which indicates that OPPO is an official partner of the Catalan giant. The border between the red and blue coloured part adorns a strip of Gold coloured line which is 0.4mm wide and 0.1mm thick.
The OPPO R11 Barca edition still retains the Snapdragon 660 chipset which OPPO used on the earlier version. The new version ships with 4GB RAM onboard and as a reminder, the rest of the specs include a 20MP + 16MP dual rear camera setup, a 20 MP selfie shooter, a 5.5-inch display, a 3,000mAh battery with VOOC fast charging technology and the Color OS 3.1 UI. More pictures coming your way below.
ASUS will announce two or more Zenfone 4 devices come August 17, which is a little over a week from today. It already released the Zenfone 4 Max last month and the guess is that the flagship Zenfone 4 Pro and the mid-range Zenfone 4 will be two of the devices revealed next week.
Roland Quandt has revealed some of the specification details of both devices as well as their possible pricing. According to him, the Zenfone 4 Pro (ZE551KL) will have 6GB of RAM, 64GB of storage and feature the Snapdragon 835 mobile platform.
The mid-range Zenfone 4 (ZE554KL) will be powered by the Snapdragon 630 which appeared first in Sharp’s Aquos S2. It will have 4GB of RAM and 64GB fof storage.
The Zenfone 4 Pro is expected to sell for about ∼$650/€550 while the Zenfone 4 will be priced around ∼$400/€339. Do note that the final price may veer slightly off the above stated ones.
Just like the Zenfone 4 Max (ZC554KL), the Zenfone 4 and Zenfone Pro will also have dual rear cameras with the latter having 2X optical zoom. ASUS has also switched to a front-mounted fingerprint scanner for the Zenfone 4 series, so you may want to take note of that.
Xiaomi announced a short-throw laser projector a few weeks ago. This week it is back with another one, called the iNovel Me2 Smart Split Projector. Though it isn’t a short-throw one this time, it packs some pretty interesting features.
The iNovel Me2 is a smart projector with a split design. The split design means you can separate the projector into two: the main projecting unit and the HiFi speaker. The speaker has Bluetooth allowing you pair it with other devices. It has a 20W driver and a playtime of 6 hours.
The iNovel Me2 can project images between 40 to 300-inches at a resolution of 1080p. When you turn it on, it automatically adjusts focus, so you don’t have to worry about manually tuning it.
There is an OSRAM Ostar RGB semi-conductor light source with a brightness of 1000 lumens and a life span of 30,000 hrs. If you use it for 4 hour a day, that is a life span of 20 years. It also has support for HDR10.
The iNovel Me 2 smart features is as a result of Xiaomi’s Mi TV feature built into it. It is powered by an Amlogic T986 processor paired with a Mali T830 GPU, 2GB RAM and 16GB of built-in storage.
So apart from serving as a regular projector, you can also use it like you would use a smart TV. Fire it up and you can stream your favorite TV shows or pair it with a compatible Bluetooth controller and play your favorite games. It also has support for 4K video playback at 60fps.
For connectivity, there is a USB 3.0 port, a USB 2.0 port and a HDMI port. It also has an auxiliary port in case you want to hook it up to a sound system. Power is supplied via a DC jack. In addition to that, there is a wireless charger built into it for charging the speaker which can also be used for charging supported devices.
If you are interested in joining the MIUI 9 Closed Beta programme, there’s good news for you. Xiaomi has disclosed that registration for beta testers who would help test run the new Custom ROM version on their models has opened on MIUI Forum. The next set of models that would get the Developer ROM update include the Mi MIX, Mi Note 2, Mi 5, Mi 5s, Mi 5s Plus, Mi 5c, Mi Max 2, Mi Max, Mi 4S, Mi 4c, Mi Note Pro, and Redmi 4X.
Xiaomi later hinted that the Mi 5 would get its own taste of MIUI 9 this week and indeed, registered beta testers using the Mi 5 models have got OTA update on their models. MIUI 9 Developer ROM for the twelve Xiaomi models is scheduled to start rolling in mid-August which is very close by. Owners of the listed Xiaomi models can head over to MIUI Forum to register but they’ll need to download the MIUI Forum app on their phones first.
Do note that you’ll need to have some knowledge about rooting your device in order to attempt becoming a beta test if you are using the MIUI 8 Global ROM. The Developer ROM is the China version so, models running the Global ROM needs to be rooted so as to be able to run the China ROM. MIUI 9 comes with upgrades such as a split-screen feature which would allow users run two separate apps on the same screen. There is also a picture-in-picture mode, a redesigned dock bar, a Smart advert filter, Smart Assistant, Smart App launcher, System optimization and other features.
The full-screen Sharp Aquos S2 was unveiled today at an event in China. The event also marked the manufacturer’s official return to the world’s most populous nation.
The Aquos line is known for its bezel-less design and the S2 doesn’t deviate from it. However, it takes it up a notch with a familiar design. The bezel-less display of the Aquos S2 is 5.5-inch in size but it has a cut-out at the top, just like the Essential PH-1, for a front facing camera and sensors. The top corners are also diagonals instead of rounded or squared-corners.
The S2 does not only look attractive from the front, the rear is a stunner too. The back features a 5-surface single-piece 3D glass that wraps around the cameras, entire back and edges. This means there are no gaps and seams on the back of the device.
Aquos S2 Specs
The Aquos S2 sports a 5.5-inch display but the bezel-less design gives it a 4.9-inch look and a screen-to-body ratio of 87.5%. The S2 comes in two versions:
Snapdragon 660 model with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage
Snapdragon 630 model with 4GB RAM + 64GB storage.
The S2 is the first smartphone to feature the Snapdragon 630 processor. The 14nm processor features 8 cortex-A53 cores and is clocked at 2.2GHz. It has support for Bluetooth 5.0, dual cameras and Cat. 12 LTE. The Snapdragon 630 is expected to be the successor to the Snapdragon 625.
Sharp has put two cameras on the rear of the S2 and have settled for a vertical design similar to the one seen in the iPhone 8 leaks. The cameras are a combination of an 8MP sensor and a 12MP sensor with dual-pixel technology and ability to shoot photos with the bokeh effect. The front camera is an 8MP sensor.
The S2 has a fingerprint scanner embedded underneath a home button up front. It also has NFC, so it should support Android Pay. There is a dual SIM slot that fits 2 nano SIM cards or one SIM and a microSD card (128GB max). A USB type-C port sits in the middle of two speaker grilles at the bottom. Battery capacity is 3020mAh.
Sadly the Aquos S2 doesn’t have an audio jack but it there is a Type-C audio cable adapter in the box along with a case.
The Aquos S2 will ship with a new UI called Smile UX which has a smart assistant built into it.
Aquos S2 Price
The Aquos S2 will be available in crystal black, glazed white, blue, and mint green. The Snapdragon 660 model will sell for ¥3499 ($522) and the Snapdragon 630 version will be priced at ¥2799 ($418). However, buying the SD630 model on Jingdong will see you save ¥300 ($45). Sales will begin on August 14 at exactly 10:00 AM.
The Sharp Aquos S2 has just been launched and it came out as the first smartphone to feature Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 630 processor. If you think the SD 630 isn’t a chip to reckon with, you better think again. AnTuTu has released the benchmark score of the Snapdragon 630 SoC and it shows the processor has the potential of being a powerful mid-range chip.
AnTuTu didn’t share the details of the phone on which the chip ran but in its Weibo post, it revealed that the Qualcomm chip scored an average of 69,000 points. Strikingly, this figure dwarfs the score of MediaTek’s latest mid-range Helio P25 chip which averages around 66,500 points on AnTuTu as seen on the Ulefone T1’s benchmark score.
Specs wise, the Snapdragon 630 is a 14nm chipset has four cores of Cortex A53 working at 2.2 GHz whereas the remaining four cores of Cortex A53 function at 1.8 GHz. Its Adreno 508 graphics support Vulkan API. The Snapdragon 630 carries support for a maximum screen resolution of 1,920 x 1,200 pixels. It offers features like Hexagon 680 DSP All-Ways Aware Hub, dual 14-bit Spectra 160 ISP with support for up 24-megapixel camera, 4K UHD video recording at 30 fps and full HD video shooting at 120 fps, 8 GB LPDDR4 RAM, memory speeds of 1333 MHz, Bluetooth 5.0, USB Type-C 3.1, Snapdragon X12 LTE modem with 600 Mbps downlink speeds and 150 Mbps and enhanced chips for machine learning, and Quick Charge 4.0.
Sharp is all set to release the Sharp Aquos S2 flagship in China today, but before its official launch, the phone has passed through TENAA certification confirming its specs. TENAA certified a brand new Sharp smartphone yesterday evening with the code name: FS8010. Judging from the specifications, design, as well as the timing of the listing, it’s safe to assume that this phone is the Sharp Aquos S2 that’s going to be announced today.
TENAA reveals that the Aquos S2 will come with a 2.2GHz octa-core processor, which should be the Snapdragon 660 chipset along with 4GB + 64GB and 6GB + 128GB storage options. At the back, the phone will feature a 12MP primary sensor along with an 8MP secondary sensor in a vertical arrangement. This should enable special features such as bokeh photos on the device. There will be a 2930mAh battery on board. The screen size is still the standard 5.5-inches, but owing to the larger screen to body ratio, the resolution is a bit weird — 2040 × 1080p instead of the traditional 1920 x 1080p. The phone is thin at 7.9mm and will be light weight at just 140 grams.
The back of the Sharp Aquos S2 has a peculiar finish and we can expect different color options to highlight this back texture at launch. However, in the TENAA listing, there’s just one color listed — white.
Given that TENAA revealed most of the details about the phone, we just have to wait for a few more hours to get its price.
Xiaomi has launched a new wireless sports Bluetooth headset which is its second generation model in the series. Xiaomi announced its first wireless Bluetooth headset in November last year and it turned out to be a good device with a waterproof and sweat proof body having IPX4 ratings. It’s also featured with a fairly lightweight design at 17.8g. The first-gen Mi Sports Bluetooth Headset also had a capable 110mAh battery which could last up to 7 hours of use. It also had features such as Bluetooth 4.1 and a multipoint feature, which allows a user to connect the headset to two devices and switch between both and it cost just 149 Yuan (~$22).
The new Mi Sports Bluetooth Headset Mini will be available on Mi Mall as from August 10 and is priced a little higher than the previous version with a price tag of 169 Yuan (~$25). Despite the slightly higher price, the Mi Sports Bluetooth Headset Mini comes with a lighter build, weighing just 14.5g as against 17.8g which the previous version weighs. The headset uses the same design which hangs over the ear and makes it difficult for the headset to fall off during sporting activities. It also comes with an IP4X waterproof body and a crystal trim appearance. In addition, the headset is housed in a waterproof storage box.
No mention was made of the sound quality but expect the Mi Bluetooth headset Mini to deliver a top notch sound quality just like Xiaomi’s previous headsets. At 169 Yuan, the gadget looks like what will be a good bargain for our bucks.
We have a couple of renders of the Google Pixel 2 on our hands showing what the design of the Google next-gen flagship will look like. The renders were created by someone who’s apparently a fan of the Google phones and are said to be based on the leaked details that are out about the device.
Even though the renders are not the real deal, they may give you an idea of what the final design of the flagship might look like. more often than not, renders created from leaks are to some extent accurate.Google Pixel 2 is reportedly being manufactured by HTC and would come with the code name Walleye. The renders depict the size of the device which is expected to feature a 16: 9 aspect ratio. Other features that can be noticed include the presence of bezels by the display as well as a single rear camera. A rear fingerprint sensor is also located on the renders, which align with earlier leaks detailing such feature.
Recent rumours point to the lack of a physical home button up front and that is captured on the renders. The Pixel 2 and Pixel XL 2 will instead utilise virtual on-screen keys. In addition, the Pixel 2 and Pixel XL 2 will not feature the 3.5mm audio jack and will instead feature pressure-sensitive frames designed by HTC which are expected to be similar to the Edge Sense technology introduced in the HTC U11. But rumour has it that the Pixel XL 2 will not have the same design as the Pixel 2, the reason being that it would purportedly be manufactured by LG The Pixel XL2 is expected to come with a bezel-less design with an 18:9 aspect ratio just like the Galaxy S8. Both models are expected to become official in October this year, most likely running Android O.
LG is running an advertising campaign for its next flagship, the LG V30. The campaign called “Find Your Frame” is organised in conjunction with hitRECord.org, a production company owned by Hollywood actor, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who worked on a similar campaign for the LG V10 and LG V20 too.
The campaign brings members together and let’s them collaborate on developing media. For Find Your Frame, the aim is to make video recordings of how you achieve that memorable footage. Submit your footage and it may be used for one of the LG V30’s ads.
Turns out some of the footage on the website contains the upcoming LG V30. Popular leaker and blogger, Roland Quandt has provided images from some of the clips and they match the schematic we saw last week.
The LG V30 is shown in only one color in all the images, and that is Ice Platinum. The images show the phone from various angles. In one shot we can see the phone’s camera app with the controls extending to where you’d usually find the lower bezel. You can also make out the curved corners of the POLED display.
Just when we thought we wouldn’t be seeing Lenovo-branded smartphones anymore, a Lenovo K series phone was seen on Geekbench. A teaser released on their Facebook showed a partially-revealed figure “8” revealing the phone will launch as the Lenovo K8 Note.
Today, two devices have been spotted on Geekbench with the K8 name. One is the Lenovo K8 Note and the other is the Lenovo K8 Plus. The Geekbench listing shows that both devices are powered by Mediatek processors.
Lenovo K8 Note
The Lenovo K8 Note is powered by the MT6797 a.k.a Helio X20. The deca-core chip is clocked at 1.85GHz and is paired with 4GB of RAM. The benchmark results are not very far off from the first one we saw. The K8 Note scored 1551 points in the single-core test and 4664 points in the multi-core test. The device is shown as running Android 7.1.1.
Lenovo K8 Plus
The Lenovo K8 Plus on the other hand is powered by a MT6757CD octa-core SoC a.k.a Helio P25. There is 3GB of RAM and it also runs Android 7.1.1. It recorded 861 points in the single-core test and 3761 points in the multi-core test.
OnePlus has taken the wraps off its new smartphone set to launch today. Like the teaser suggested, it is actually a new color variant of the OnePlus 5. Along with the Slate Gray and Midnight Black color variants, the OnePlus 5 is now available in Soft Gold too.
The new OnePlus 5 Soft Gold is the same hue as that of the gold OnePlus 3T from last year, so there is nothing spectacular about it. The back has a matte finish, antenna lines are of a different shade and the front panel is white. It does look good and should feel good when you hold it too.
Specification wise, it is the same as that of the Slate Gray, which means it has 6GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. So if you have been hoping it will arrive with both configurations, sorry to burst your bubble.
The OnePlus 5 Soft Gold will sell for $479, same price as the gray model and it ships immediately. The official video says it is a limited edition, so you may want to hurry if you plan to pick it up as there is no info about the units available.
Samsung Galaxy Note 8 is pretty much expected to be launched on August 23 at the Galaxy Unpacked event scheduled to hold on that day. Before now, there have been series of leaks surrounding the specs and design of the device, giving us an idea of what to expect. We have now gotten what is likely the first set of real-life photos of the Galaxy Note 8 showing the design of the device from all angles. The images look like shots of a Note 8 prototype and they contain a number of blurred parts which masks a number of relevant texts and features but we still get to see the device in its full glory.
The newly leaked photos hit us courtesy of myeverydaytech.com who has since pulled down the original post from its website but not before the images got spotted. The images do not show so many differences in details from the leaked features that we have regularly been inundated with. Among the features which conform with previous leaks is the presence of a bezel-less infinity display just like the Galaxy S8. The device is also shown to feature the same 18: 9 aspect ratio as used on the S8 but here, you have a far bigger device tipped to be around 6.2 inches in size. The photos also show the Always On display which the Galaxy Note 8 will feature just like on the Galaxy S8.
The picture showing the rear view of the Galaxy Note 8 confirms the presence of dual cameras at the rear which is said to be two 12MP sensors with Optical Image Stabilization. There is also a rear fingerprint sensor sitting at the side of the rear camera flash just like on the S8. We also can see the presence of the usual Stylus pen which the Galaxy Note series is known for. The source of the leak claims Note 8’s S Pen will be the same in terms of hardware as the botched Note 7, which means it will offer 4096 levels of pressure sensitivity, and will also be usable even when the Note 8 is submerged in water. The Note 8 will also be coming with a 3.5mm audio jack.
As far as the specs go, the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 is expected to pack a Snapdragon 835 chip on some models and an Exynos 8895 chip on some others. The device will also feature 6GB RAM version as the standard model and a higher 8GB RAM version which would likely be China exclusive. The price is expected to go as high as 7,000 Yuan (~$1030).
Zoji is a new smartphone line from HomTom which itself is a sub-brand of DOOGEE. The Zoji line is aimed at providing users with rugged smartphones that are light and affordable. At the moment there are two phones under their belt: the Zoji Z6 and the Zoji Z7. I’ve had the former for a couple of weeks now and this is my review of the device.
Before I dive into the review, let’s take a look at the specs.
ZOJi Z6 Specs
4.7-inch HD Display with Gorilla Glass 4
1GB RAM
8GB ROM
MTK6580 Quad-Core SoC clocked at 1.3GHz
8MP rear cameras with LED flash
5MP front facing camera
3000mAh Battery
Fingerprint Scanner
IP68 Rating
Android 6.0 Marshmallow
Hybrid Dual SIM (Nano Only)
Micro SD Card Slot
3.5mm Audio Jack
Zoji Z6 Design
The Zoji Z6 is a mixture of metal and plastic, hard polycarbonate plastic that can take a beating. Once you hold it, you can tell it is a rugged phone from the way it is built. It is not ugly neither is it beautiful so it will probably go unnoticed when you bring it out of your pocket.
The Z6 is IP68 certified meaning you can dunk it in water and not have to worry about it getting spoilt. However, you have to make sure all the flaps are tightly shut which brings us to the first issue I have with the phone.
Zoji’s way of making this phone waterproof is covering all the ports with thick flaps. Opening these flaps the first time isn’t easy and if you have long nails, you need to be careful not to break them. You have three flaps in total: one for the charging port, another for the audio jack at the top, and a third that covers the SIM tray on the left.
The issue I have is with the earphone and charging ports. Because of the rugged design of the phone, the ports are buried deep which means your charging cable or earphone cable has to have a really long connector to reach it. To get the picture, imagine a soldier wearing an armor who needs to reach into the pockets of the clothing underneath.
The result is that earphones or auxiliary cables with a right-angle design won’t work since the connector won’t fully plug into the port. For charging cord, make sure you don’t leave the one that comes with it at home or lose it or else you will have to shave off the plastic from a spare cable.
This con also made it impossible to try my USB OTG flash drive.
Software
The Zoji Z6 comes with Android AOSP. There are very few bloatware apps which you can disable or uninstall. The phone uses capacitive buttons which sadly are not back-lit but at this price-point, it is not a deal breaker. You can choose between using an app drawer or having all the icons on the homescreen. There is Google Play Store and Gmail pre-installed, any other Google app you need can be downloaded from the store.
If you are familiar with Android AOSP, then you should know phones like this come with some additional features like gesture support and smart motions.
The storage is small, so if you plan to use this as a daily driver, you should invest in a microSD card. Since it is Android 6.0, you should be able to use the microSD card as an adoptable storage. I don’t have a microSD card slot as I haven’t used a phone that supports one in years, so I couldn’t test it.
The fingerprint scanner isn’t fast but it gets the job done. Sometimes you may have to try it twice before it responds.
Camera
The camera isn’t spectacular and takes fairly ok shots outdoors. Indoors, you have to make sure there is enough light to make sure the objects are visible as the LED flash does next to nothing. The camera app is slow too, so this shouldn’t be your choice if you are trying to take fast moving objects.
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Battery Life
There is a 3000mAh non-removable battery in it. It won’t last a whole day and will provide about 3.5 hours of screen on time.
Additional Features
There are some nice features that I like such as the fact that it has a FM radio which you also lets you record live broadcasts. This is feature that is missing from most phones these days
Waterproof Test
The Zoji Z6 has an IP68 Rating. It is even boldly written on the back of the phone. I decided to try it out and I was disappointed. It does a good job keeping the water out but is practically unusable under running water or even submerged. The screen didn’t respond to my several attempts at unlocking it neither did the scanner. Though the latter was expected.
The Zoji is waterproof literally but if you take it swimming and think you can use it under water, I’m sorry to burst your bubble but it won’t work.
All smartphone manufacturers appear to cut the corners of their displays and make them look bezel-less. There is not much practical use of that but those infinity displays just look great. The Chinese phone maker Doogee aims to deliver bezel less smartphone experience on a budget. You can now get the Doogee Mix for as low as $159.97 from lightinthebox.com
The design is the key selling point of Doogee Mix but the main question is if the device is truly bezel-less. Well, there are tiny bezels along with the black bars but they are cut to the minimum. Even though I would not call the Doogee Mix a truly bezel-less phone, it is still one of the best-looking budget devices you can buy. Anyway, the Xiaomi Mi Mix is not fully bezel-less neither.
A Samsung-made 5.5” 1080p AMOLED display is just gorgeous to look at as it is punchy and vibrant. However, I found the colors to be slightly oversaturated for my taste. The sunlight legibility is not the best but it is quite decent.
The Doogee Mix is not all about the looks as it is plenty powerful for the price. The device ships with an octa-core Helio P25 chip, 4GB of RAM and 64GB of expandable storage. You can also opt in for a slightly more expensive model that has 6GB of RAM.
In the last few years, we have witnessed a huge upgrade in a number of components that make up a phone. However, some have largely remained the same, one of which is the battery. Smartphone batteries are still poor in terms of how long they last. The only solution manufacturers have come up with is making them bigger and or adding fast charge.
Samsung’s plan for the 2019 Galaxy S9 is to fit a bigger battery inside it. A bigger battery usually means a thicker or larger phone unless you are able to shrink the size of the other components. Samsung’s approach to the matter is to use a Substrate-like PCB which will let it reduce the size of the main board, making way for a bigger battery.
Just like batteries, the main board of phones haven’t seen much change. They still take up a lot of space unlike silicon chips and cameras which are now smaller. Substrate-like PCB or SLP for short, isn’t a new technology, it just isn’t widely used by smartphone manufacturers. Report has it that this year’s iPhone 8 will have SLPs.
The other advantage SLP has over the technology currently in use, which is High Density Interconnect (HDI), is that it allows for thinner connections (<15nm) between components. So since the distance between components are smaller and the board itself occupies less space, manufacturers can fit in bigger batteries.
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