We served you a report earlier on which originated from Weibo, alleging that the Xiaomi Redmi 4 will be launched on August 25 . Although a rumor, there seem to be some credibility in it as more details about the specs and price of the Redmi 4 has been outed.
redmi 3s
More rumors have emerged that the Xiaomi Redmi 4 will sport a metal body design, and would feature a fingerprint sensor and as earlier reported, a 5-inch 1080p display. Also, the device is said to feature a 2GHz octa-core Snapdragon 625 processor with Adreno 605 GPU. The Redmi 4 is also touted to come with 3GB RAM and 32GB built-in storage in the base variant (an indication that there will likely be higher memory versions). The smartphone is also packing along a huge 4100mAh battery which is said to support Quick Charge.
In addition, the device was spotted on benchmarking website Geekbench and the listing revealed the Xiaomi Redmi 4 will boot Android 6.0 Marshmallow out-of-the-box as well as a few other details.
As for the price, the Xiaomi Redmi 4 is rumored to start at 699 Yuan ($106) for the base version with 3GB RAM and 32GB of built-in storage. An impressive price tag it should be if it turns out to be true, considering the high-level specifications it crams under its hood, like the faster processor, ramped up memory and battery capacity when compared to the Redmi 3 and Redmi 3S.
After the launch of the Xiaomi Redmi Pro with dual cameras at the back, news about Xiaomi’s upcoming smartphones have died down lately. But now, latest rumor from the Chinese social networking website, Weibo states that the company is all set to announce a low-end device later this month and the phone is going to be none other than the Redmi 4.
This is not the first time we are hearing about the Redmi 4 budget device, but it’s the first time someone is claiming that the launch is going to be as soon as August. The person who leaked this info has also given a date, August 25. So, the Redmi 4 is said to be launching on Thursday, August 25.
Along with the launch date, the source also gave out probable specs of the Redmi 4. It is said that the phone may come with Snapdragon 625 chipset with a 5-inch 1080p display. Now, if you remember, a few days back, we had seen alleged pictures of the Redmi 4 and it was running an octa-core chip clocked at 2GHz. We assumed it as the Helio P10 but this source says that we may find Snapdragon 625 inside.
One possibility is that, if the Mi Note 2 is announced in August, then a special version, like the dual curved display model, probably called as the Mi Note Edge (as mentioned by earlier rumors) could be announced in September.
Of course, these are just rumors for now and we don’t know anything for sure. But considering the aggressive release strategy by Xiaomi in the past few months, we can expect to see a few more interesting devices in the next few months.
The MIUI is Xiaomi’s custom interface developed based on Google’s Android OS but the MIUI Forum isn’t all about the user interface but everything pertaining to Xiaomi. The Xiaomi MIUI Forum has become a popular meeting point for fans of the Xiaomi brand and whenever the Chinese innovative start up releases a gadgets, chances are that you’ll find a new thread on the MIUI forum dedicated to shedding light on the new product.
For fans of Xiaomi who frequent the forum , there is good news as the MIUI Forum app is now available for download on Google Play store. Use of the MIUI Forum app cuts across geographical location and is available globally. This is the first and only app for the MIUI Global forum and user will have the benefit of getting latest news and updates of the MIUI ROM, Mi products, apps, themes, reviews, root tools, kernels, tutorials and more, delivered on your smartphone, even when you’re on the move.
Xiaomi has a lot of fan base all over the world and the number is growing by the day, so with the MIUI Forum app, you get to meet millions of MIUI fans all over the world, and share ideas about ROMs, phones, technology and anything that catches your interest. There’s also a social side to it, you can also make friends with peeps all over the world and the app is free to download.
The MIUI Forum app is just 7.3MB in size and any smartphone that runs Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and higher can have it installed. So what are you waiting for, head to Google Play Storeand download the app straight away. You can also get it by following the Google Play button under this post.
Screen panels of the upcoming iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus (seems we are back to calling it Plus) have been leaked online by a Weibo user. One of the panels has a size of 4.7” and the other is 5.5 inches. The source however says the 4.7” screen will be Full HD and the 5.5” LCD panel will have a 2K resolution.
The iPhone 6 Plus and 6s Plus are the only iPhones with 1080p screens. Now that screen size is getting bumped up to 2K and the smaller 4.7” is getting the Full HD treatment. That’s a significant upgrade in pixel density, but unless Apple is also bumping up the battery a lot which doesn’t seem to be so (as a mock-up of the iPhone 7 Plus reveals it is thinner than the 6s Plus), battery life might drop.
Another day, another security vulnerability to be worried about. A group of researchers working for Red Balloon Security have discovered that it is possible for hackers to see and manipulate what is currently displayed on your monitor.
What this means is that hackers can now copy details of what is displayed on your screen or fake entire websites leading you to enter private information and payment details. For more dangerous acts, the hackers can mess up a monitor that displays vital controls for railway lines, airport routes, or power plants; faking an emergency and causing a shutdown or evacuation.
How this is done wasn’t specifically explained but the researchers say it is not limited to a particular brand of monitors. There is however an upside to the hack. It is slow and takes time for images to load, so if you are always looking at the monitor, you should probably notice something suspicious happening.
The OnePlus 3 is the latest flagship and fourth device from Chinese phone manufacturer, OnePlus. Made from a single slab of space grade aluminium, to achieve the unibody design, OnePlus also says apart from being lightweight, the OnePlus 3 has outstanding strength. And how else do you prove that last part other than by carrying out a drop test?
The OnePlus team headed to Mimizan, France, to carry out this drop test. The phone is thrown out of an airplane flying at an altitude of 750 ft. The phone survives the drop, though it lands on a grassy plain which is still sufficient to damage a phone, but can’t be compared to landing on tarmac, asphalt, or concrete. You can watch the video to see for yourself.
The OnePlus 3 has a 5.5” optic AMOLED display with Corning gorilla glass 4, a snapdragon 820 processor clocked at 2.15GHz, 6GB RAM, 16MP rear camera, 8MP front camera, runs Android 6.0 Marshmallow, and is powered by a 3000mAh battery with support for OnePlus’s fast charge technology dubbed Dash Charge.
The China Edition of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 was recently certified by TENAA, along the line revealing some cheering details about it having 6GB of RAM. Presently discussions have shifted towards the price tag the flagship would likely carry in China.
Insider information gathered from a sales staff at Samsung by Chinese media indicates that the Chinese version of the Galaxy Note 7 is expected to be officially unveiled on August 26 while sales of the device will likely start on September 2. As for the price tag, the base version of the Galaxy Note 7 China edition with 4GB RAM + 64GB onboard storage will likely sell for 5688 yuan ($854) while the top-end version with 6GB RAM + 128GB built-in storage is expected to have a price tag of 6088 yuan ($914).
The 6GB RAM version of the Galaxy Note 7 will only be available in China and also the China version will be powered by the Snapdragon 820 chipset . The China edition also features a curved screen, IP68 waterproof and dustproof certification, USB Type-C interface, iris recognition technology, pressure sensitive S Pen, Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection and 12MP camera. The flagship smartphone also crams a 3500mAh battery under its hood which supports fast charging.
OnePlus released the OnePlus 3 flagship smartphone with a new feature which they called DASH charge which provides up to a day’s charge of the device in just 30 minutes. Basically, smartphone batteries have seen little or no improvement in the type of battery in use, perhaps due to advancement in RAM, processor, display technology which is believed now makes the smartphones use less battery capacity.
The only noticeable advancement that has come to the battery should be that of Fast Charging technologies which usually give the impression that instead of hours of charging, you can now achieve a reasonable amount of charge capacity in just minutes. Now OnePlus, with its DASH charge technology isn’t intent on keeping quiet about the capabilities of its charging technology.
Recently, the guys at OnePlus pitched the OnePlus 3 DASH charge against the Samsung Galaxy S7’s Adaptive fast charge and the results showed the OnePlus 3 DASH charge performed better than the Galaxy S7’s. It’s all up in a video clip if you’re interested in having a peek.
It is quite surprising that the pocket-friendly flagship OnePlus 3 can compete with the top-end, expensive Galaxy S7 (some thinks Samsung’s just got the name, not the juice) but then charge time varies depending on phone configuration, settings, usage while charging and power source and OnePlus stated that fact in the video.
Both smartphones were subjected to their own charging technologies for 30 minutes, with both starting off from 1% of battery power left. In the end, when the results rolled in, the OnePlus 3 was able to achieve up to 64% charge while the Samsung Galaxy S7 reached just 50%.
That’s not all, another test was done with both displays turned on and this time the results were incredible, if not embarrasing. Starting off from 5% apiece, while OnePlus 3 was able to achieve 67% charge capacity in 30 minutes, the Galaxy S7 only got to 23% in the same time duration! Here though, the display resolution of both smartphones would play a vital role, with the Galaxy S7 sporting a higher QHD dsplay than OnePlus 3’s FHD. Also, even though both flagships boast of 3000mAh batteries, Samsung’s TouchWiz user interface could have made the difference, with a notorious reputation of exerting too much strain on the battery.
In all, the OnePlus 3 DASH charging technology deserves some accolades for this feat and it only shows OnePlus means business when they say their smartphones are flagship grade with affordable price tags.
As mentioned, there can be quite a few factors that affect charging times and rates, even if both smartphones have equal 3,000 mAh batteries. Samsung’s TouchWiz interface has been notorious for being a resource hog, though it has certainly improved over the years. Still, the Galaxy S7 is loaded with features that could affect how fast it can gulp power, especially when the display is left on.
Still, it’s an impressive feat for OnePlus, especially considering the DASH Charge technology hasn’t been out the market for even three months. The company is definitely not shy about singing its praises, going as far as showing how fast it works even while playing a game, one of those “don’t try this at home” scenarios. The one drawback to DASH Charge, aside from lacking long-term real-world tests, is that it will work only with OnePlus’ USB-C cable in addition to the official charger. Considering how OnePlus 3 is not exactly using the standard USB Type-C, that might mean having to carry around another compliant USB Type-C cable for everything else other than the OnePlus 3.
If you are in the market of a 5.5” HD smartphone, which also has a fingerprint scanner but you don’t want to spend a pretty penny, the $66 Chinese phone Homtom HT17 brings a lot of value for money. Learn more in our full review.
The phone is made of plastic but the build quality is surprisingly good. The phone does not look fancy or anything but it does not look very cheap either. The 5,5” 720p display is pretty good but the main shortcomings are that it has a poor brightness output that leads to a subpar sunlight legibility.
We have a 5MP interpolated selfie camera along with LED notification light. The capacitive buttons, however, are not backlit.
Rounded corners of the soft plastic back help with the grip and thus it is quite comfortable to hold the phone in the hand.
You can easily remove the backplate and underneath it, you will find 2 SIM card slots and the microSD card slot. Also, you can remove the 3000mAh battery.
As for camera, we have an 8MP sensor that can take 13MP pictures and the LED flash. The fingerprint scanner is a nice addition considering a low price of the phone. It is not the fastest on the market but it is pretty accurate and it unlocks your phone straight from the standby mode.
The loudspeaker is mediocre in general but it is very good for the phone this cheap.
The buttons are tactile and easy to press.
Homtom HT17 Review: HARDWARE and PERFORMANCE
For the price of just $66, you can’t expect any great specs. The Homtom HT17 ships with the quad-core MTK6737 chip, which has maximum clock speeds of 1.1GHz, 1GB of RAM and just 8GB of expandable storage.
The phone is definitely not designed for the hardcore gamers but you can still enjoy some games if you reduce the graphics settings. There are quite a few skipped frames while playing Asphalt 8 but it is still possible to enjoy playing it.
Homtom HT17 Review: BENCHMARKS
Homtom HT17 Review: USER INTERFACE
As for user interface, the device ships with Android 6.0 out of box. It clearly reminds stock Android but we have some redesigned icons and added features.
For example, there are plenty of gesture and motion controls that work pretty well.
The day-to-day performance of the UI is pretty fast. There were a few minor hiccups and it may take a bit longer to open certain apps but I was happy with the overall speed of the user interface.
Homtom HT17 Review: IMAGE QUALITY
The image quality is definitely far from the best but it is one of the best if we talk about sub-$60 phones.
The phone can take some pretty good looking photos in daylight but it will struggle in lower-lit situations.
The 720p video quality is mediocre as on most of the phones in this price range. See a video review for a video sample.
A front-facing camera is a bit disappointing as the images lack detail.
As for connectivity, I didn’t have any issues with Wifi, call quality or signal reception. Even the GPS lock speeds are fast and it is usable for navigation.
Homtom HT17 Review: BATTERY LIFE
The 3000mAh battery will last you at least a full day, depending on the usage. I could get around 4 hours of screen-on time on a mixed use of the phone.
Homtom HT17 Review: CONCLUSIONS
Homtom HT17 is a budget phone that brings quite a lot of value for money.
It has a decent display and good build quality, some added features in the user interface, decent overall performance and a fingerprint scanner that works pretty well.
Also, the phone has an okay camera, which is a rare feature to have in this price range.
However, don’t expect to play the high-end games or take a lot of low-light photos with this phone – the performance will be pretty disappointing. Also, the display could be slightly brighter.
Other than that, Homtom HT17 is a surprisingly good and usable $66 phone, despite a few shortcomings.
Huawei launched its first smartwatches designed for Children earlier today. The smart watches were designed in collaboration with Disney and Marvel, bringing in unique and cool designs.
The Huawei children smartwatches adopt designs themed around four popular cartoon characters, Minnie, Mickey, Frozen Four, and Captain America and is said to clutch a cheap price tag of 688 yuan ($104).
The Huawei children smartwatch isn’t just an ordinary time piece or toy for the amusement of the kids as it also packs some features which makes it a smart gadget. The watch uses GPS, Compass, WLAN, and acceleration sensor. Also the device uses Huawei’s own cloud services and all communication records and data are stored in the cloud server.
The Huawei smartwatch also features a unique feature “Shake” feature. The “Shake” feature enables connection between two watches within a 10-meter radius, thus two friends can share information and data just by merely shaking their hands. The smartwatch also enables users to make calls and chat. It is not known yet when the device will become commercially available.
Love the dual edge curved display on the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge? Well, you are not the only one! In fact, we have seen that the S7 Edge model easily outsold the flat screen Galaxy S7 flagship this year. And with the beautiful Note 7 now out in the market, there is no doubt that our love for curved screen smartphones will intensify further.
And now, there’s a new report that Samsung may actually stop making flat screen Galaxy S series smartphones. The report states that the company will put more focus on manufacturing curved screen smartphones in the Galaxy range, thereby hinting that it could eventually eliminate flat screen models in the flagship lineup. The report quotes the comment made by the head of Samsung’s Mobile division last week.
“Samsung has considered that it would make the edge display as the identity of the Galaxy S smartphone lineup if the company can provide consumers differentiated user experience through software and user-friendly functions (for the curved screen),” said Koh Dong-jin, the head of the tech giant’s mobile business, in a media interview in New York last week.
For the past couple of years, Samsung has traditionally unveiled the curved edge variant alongside the flat screen model. However, with the Note 7, things are a bit different, with the company just launching one variant with the dual curved screen. This is yet another indication about the company’s intentions of focusing on curved screen models, instead of a flat screen one. And it looks like the Note 7 is going to be the model which will help the South Korean giant to make the decision of scrapping flat screen models out of the lineup.
What do you think? Would you be happy to see just one curved screen Galaxy S8 model next year?
About 2 months ago, we reported that Swedish camera manufacturer, Hasselblad was going to launch a camera mod for the Moto Z series. However, the launch was for the company’s X1D camera which has a 50MP CMOS sensor.
A leaked image posted last week by an individual with the name @ucapup shows the camera mod will still be made by the company and also revealed some nice features. The camera mod will attach to the Moto Z like the other mods and completely cover the built-in camera. It will have a 10x optical zoom, xenon flash, physical shutter and zoom buttons, and ability to shoot in RAW format. The image also says it will go by the name ”Hasselblad True Zoom Camera”.
Apple’s engineers are always working on new inventions and improvements for existing devices. We usually get to see some of these great ideas when the US Patent and Trademark Office decides to publish patent applications of the Cupertino-based company. Last week, they published a new one.
The new patent is a modification of the iPad’s smart keyboard which gives it a secondary flexible display. The patent has multiple claims which include the display presenting a set of virtual keys that defines an application’s toolbar; and the display being capable of receiving a multi-touch gesture configured to move an application from the application toolbar to the first display(the iPad’s screen) amongst others.
The GoPro Hero5 action camera already showed up at FCC and details reveal it will come with an in-built GPS which will keep track of the location where an image or video was taken just like you have on phones. There will probably be an option to turn it off for those who don’t fancy it.
The Hero5 will be thinner and lighter than the Hero4, have dual WiFi bands (2.4GHz and 5GHz) and bluetooth low energy. While the news about it having a thinner and lighter body might be good news, it leaves people asking if the new action camera will work with the accessories of previous models.
A leaked video posted by Reddit user, Konrad Iturbe, shows that the GoPro Hero 5 will be getting an improved user interface. To access basic settings like WiFi, microphone, preferences, and connected devices, users of the Hero5 will simply slide down from the top of the screen and navigate to whichever setting they want to modify. The video also shows a new device called the GoPro Sniper whose function is currently unknown.
There’s no news on the date of release for the GoPro Hero5 but some say it might come as early as September or as late as December (most probably in time for holiday shopping). GoPro will also be launching a drone called the GoPro Karma.
The GoPro online shop also shows all the items are out of stock. This might mean the new camera is launching earlier than expected.
A new set of Security vulnerabilities affecting Android smartphones and tablets that are powered by a Qualcomm chipset have been uncovered. These set of four newly discovered flaws affects over 900 million devices and could let attackers take control of an affected smartphone or tablet.
Dubbed “Quadrooter” the vulnerabilities which are four in numbers was discovered by researchers at US-based Check Point Software Technologies. The Tech company first notified Qualcomm of its chipset vulnerability in April and industry standards allow for a 90-day period for Qualcomm to produce and distribute security patches to fix the vulnerabilities before the vulnerabilities were made public.
The Quadrooter security flaws allows attackers to trick a user into installing a malicious app which ordinarily would require permissions but in this case, no special permissions is required. When this happens, an attacker can gain root access to the Android device’s hardware, including its camera and microphone and the phone’s data.
The list of smartphones affected cuts across brand names and price range, as long as the device is powered by a Qualcomm processor. Even Google’s own branded smartphones, Nexus 5X, Nexus 6 and Nexs 6P are not spared. And even Samsung’s latest Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge flagships are not spared from the security flaws. Quite hilariously, Blackberry’s much hyped “most secure Android smartphone”, the Blackberry DTEK50 is also vulnerable to one of the four flaws.
A Google spokesman has confirmed the existence of the flaws and hinted that a security patch to fix the flaws will be made available in September. But before that happens, Android users can protect themselves from the QuadRooter Qalcomm chipset vulnerability and all potential threats by only downloading apps from the Google Play Store, avoid using unsecured WiFi connections, and avoid the practice of Rooting Android phones, at least for now.
Also, whenever Android updates become available users should ensure they install the updates as soon as possible and running security apps like ZoneAlarm or Mobile Threat Prevention could help as well. Aside that, Android users should ensure they carefully read and consider the permissions apps request when being installed. Unusual requests for battery or data access should be deemed suspicious and investigated or denied.
Xiaomi Smartwatch has been rumored to be in the works since last year and is said to launch this September. The Smartwatch has also being the subject of numerous leaks and rumors, and it is a highly anticipated gadget.
While we are yet to see what the Xiaomi smartwatch looks like, except in sketched images, we have got an idea of what price the gadget will likely carry when ever Xiaomi finally launches the smartwatch. According to the well-known industry analyst Pan Jiutang, the Xiaomi smartwatch will be priced less than 1000 yuan ($150). Mr Juitang disclosed this via a post on Weibo and went further to add that the smartwatch would clutch a price tag much cheaper than Garmin smartwatches.
The Xiaomi smartwatch is likely to feature a larger display than the Band 2, and focus on a particular function. Smartwatch manufacturers are particularly keen on health-related functions, so we may see the smartwatch boast of such features and more. But, apart from the existence of the device as well as the release timing, and likely price tag, nothing else is known about its specifications. As we draw nearer to the expected release date, more hypes are likely to come out about the smart gadget.
Umi has had it going well this year following the release of the Umi Super but they are cooking up something to challenge OPPO’s R9 in foreign markets. The OPPO R9 was instrumental in cementing OPPO’s spot in the top 5, selling over 700 million units in 88 days.
But while it has done very well in China, it has not really gotten positive reviews outside. Some people have complained about the fact that it runs the older Android Lollipop 5.1 which is based on Color OS. Others have complained about the design similarities to the iPhone 6S most especially the rose gold version and also the high price.
Umi believes it can take on the OPPO R9 with the Umi Max. A few details of the Umi Max says it will run Android 6.0 Marshmallow, have a USB Type-C port, Helio P10 SoC, a beautiful design, and a battery and price worth looking forward to.
We can clearly see that Umi is set to iron out the issues wrong with the R9, but a quick tip here. Android 6.0 is nice, but if the company promises Android Nougat and delivers, it will go a long way in increasing sales.
In the past few years, cheap smartphones have come a long way. We no longer are left with phones that lag unless we pay a premium price for it. Thanks to the rapid growth of smartphone chipsets as well as RAM modules, we now have amazing options even for a price under $100. And it’s not just the popular manufacturers like Xiaomi or Meizu who are revolutionizing the low-end smartphone segment, as small time Chinese players in the market like Ulefone, Elephone and Cubot among other are doing a great job as well.
If you have been following gizmochina, you would have seen that my initial impressions of the Ulefone U007 have been fairly positive. But we are not here to just judge a phone based on initial impressions. We are here to see whether a phone is good enough for long term use and whether it lives up to our expectations.
So, let’s move on to the Ulefone U007 Review.
Before that, I would like to thank Gearbest for sending it the unit for review. You can purchase this device from the seller at just $54.
DESIGN
As I mentioned in my previous article, the design of the Ulefone U007 is actually quite impressive. So, it’s no metal or glass, and for its $50, we can’t really expect these materials, but the plastic body that it comes with is quite good. It’s sturdy, looks good and never for a second that you would feel that this is such a cheap smartphone. For $50, I personally feel that you get amazing value for your money.
The built quality is excellent, and there are no loose or sub-standard parts that you’ll find. The buttons are not bad and the feedback is okay. The back is textured, and given its compact size and design, it’s quite easy to hold as well. Plus, it’s super light, much lighter than most of the phones that I have used, weighing just 138 grams. So, if weight is something that makes a difference, the U007 should make it to your list.
The camera is protruding, but only a bit and the provided silicone case solves the problem. It’s not super thin like some flagships, but it’s thin enough (8.7mm) not to interfere in your everyday use. Note that the device does not have an LED indication light on the front.
Overall, I don’t have any major complaints with the design of the Ulefone U007. But if I had to point out a few things that I would have liked the company to improve, then first, it would be the MicroUSB slot, which is located a bit inside. So, you might encounter some issues using chargers from other smartphones. Second, I personally, didn’t like the capacitive buttons at the bottom of the display. Don’t get me wrong, all three buttons work very well, it’s just that the symbols used for the buttons don’t look too good, at least not according to me. I guess, Ulefone could have done a better job with those three symbols, making the front of the phone as good as the back.
DISPLAY
The display on the Ulefone U007 is pretty good for its price. You get a 5-inch HD 720p panel.
You can use the display on 50% brightness for most of the day. If you are getting out, then you most probably have to bump it up to 75% or more, especially when you are under direct sunlight. The sunlight visibility is not very good, but you can still manage using the device.
As for the quality of display, the colors are very bright, but the panel is not as rich as other premium phones. But you shouldn’t expect that kind of screen quality at this price, and to be honest, it’s pretty good for most uses, even for watching occasional videos.
Now, if you have checked out the specs of the Ulefone U007, you would have noticed that the phone comes with Gorilla Glass 3 protection. I personally wanted to check whether the glass will be scratchless during my regular use, which it should, if it comes with Gorilla Glass 3. However, in my personal use, my U007 got many scratches, that too in just a couple of days. If it was indeed gorilla glass, I don’t think my unit wouldn’t have had this problem. So, I’m doubtful about the protection on top. Even wiping down the screen clean didn’t help in getting rid of these scratches.
U007 after two days of rough use without scratch guard!
So, I would suggest that you immediately get a scratch guard for your device, if you want your screen to be scratch free.
HARDWARE & PERFORMANCE
The Ulefone U007 comes with one of the modest processors in the market today. It comes with MediaTek MT6580 quad-core chipset clocked at 1.3GHz. It’s nothing fancy but does the job of powering the device for most needs. You get 1GB of RAM on board, which might feel too less, but if you are a basic user, who works with not more than a couple of apps at a time, this chip and RAM combination would work just fine.
Note that full specs of the U007 are listed at the end of the article.
Inside, you get 8GB of ROM on board, of which you have only about 5GB of usable space. But the phone does feature a MicroSD card expansion slot which supports up to 32GB cards.
In the limited time I got with my review unit, the Ulefone U007 managed to handle most tasks without major hiccups. Apps opened up quickly and games loaded up fairly fast as well. I am actually surprised to see MT6580+ 1GB RAM combination handle tasks this well, but I guess, the actual credit should be given to the Android 6 Marshmallow OS running inside which is much more refined than previous iterations of the OS.
Gaming performance is not very good, but that’s expected. If you are a gamer who plays a lot of FPS and racing games, then you probably should look at some other device, higher in the price segment. I managed to play basic games like Ultimate Monster and some puzzle games without much hiccup, but racing games does lag a bit and you may not be pleased with the experience.
But for most tasks, like checking mails, basic browsing and watching a few videos, the chip inside performed well. Remember that these comments are after taking into considering its $50 price tag. So, if you expect it to work like a $300 smartphone, DONT! But, if you want a basic device that can run most applications and perform everyday tasks, then it’s good.
AnTuTu benchmark numbers are low, as it scores just about 20,652. On Geekbench, the score was 346 in the single core and 1120 in the multi-core test.
Since this is MT6580 powered model, expect the GPS performance to be slow. I had to wait for a few minutes until I could get a lock on.
CAMERA
The Ulefone U007 comes with a 13MP camera (on paper) and a 5MP front facing camera. On paper, its 13MP but in action, it feels like 5MP. Simply put, the cameras are not good. I have taken a lot of pictures in different lighting conditions and places and the images have come out more or less grainy. But if you try hard, you might be lucky enough to get a couple of good shots, but please don’t try to zoom into the picture. While at first glance the picture may appear fine, the simple zoom shows the high level of noise in it. But like I said above, if you resist zooming into the picture, you should be fine with the image captured using the device. The colors are washed out in most occasions, especially outdoors with direct sunlight.
Check out the samples down below to see the performance of the Ulefone U007’s camera.
The front camera is unimpressive, but for basic selfies, it might just do the trick. But don’t expect too much.
BATTERY
Inside, the Ulefone U007 comes with a 2200mAh battery. As you can see, this isn’t large, but due to the compact screen and modest processor, it most likely will last you a day with moderate usage. The standby time is pretty good I feel, as I kept the phone aside for a couple of days and the phone lost like 20-30% charge with the SIM inside.
If you want some figures, then expect the small battery inside to lose around 20% of charge for an hour of YouTube Playback.
What you get with the phone is a basic charger and it takes over an hour to completely fill up the 2200mAh battery. It took me 1 hour 25 minutes to charge the phone from 32% to 100% with the charger provided in the box.
SOFTWARE
The interface is stock Android Marshmallow and I have no real complaints with it. It’s responsive, smooth and looks good. I am happy that Ulefone didn’t tamper with the interface as personally, I like the stock UI.
The connectivity is also pretty good. Remember that you just get 3G and NO 4G on this device. But 3G speeds were good and Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connected without any issues. I have watched videos and even browsed websites on the device while connected on Wi-Fi and everything was working fine.
You have some smart gestures as well but they come disabled as default.
PRICING
Ulefone U007 is a cheap phone and you probably won’t get a better device at this price. It costs just $55, which is amazing considering the features that you get. It’s an ideal basic smartphone, and an even better secondary handset. You would be surprisied to see how much you can get for this price.
For $54.23, I doubt you’ll get anything better than the Ulefone U007. The design is good, the built quality good as well and the hardware is decent enough to run most tasks. Camera is bad, but if you can ignore that, rest of the device is pretty decent.
If you are in the search of a super cheap phone, I would definitely suggest you check out the Ulefone U007!
As I end this review, I would like to announce a giveaway of the device to one of our readers. I have got an extra unit of the U007, thanks to Gearbest and I would be happy to give it out to one of our readers. The giveaway should be up in the next few hours. So, stay tuned to gizmochina!
Dual sim dual standby, Micro SIM and Micro SIM
Both SIM slots are compatible with 3G, respectively. When they work at the same time, only one of them can receive 3G service and the other GSM. You can choose in settings which one for 3G.
Meizu has announced that the August 10 launch is for a phone called the Meizu Blue Charm E which is aimed at the younger generation and supposed to take on Xiaomi’s new Redmi Pro.
A leak from a user on Weibo says the phone has a special feature, the ability to control your car; that is if you own the ”internet SUV”, the Roewe RX5. The car which is a product of the collaboration between SAIC (Shangai Automotive Industry Corporation) and Alibaba debuted at the Beijing Auto show earlier this year. The car’s infotainment system is a special version of Alibaba’s YunOS called YunOS for Car.
Owners of the Meizu Charm Blue E will be able to unlock the car, heat up the seats, and control the air-conditioning using their phone. You might be wondering why the RX5 and not other cars. The reason is because Alibaba has a stake in Meizu. The internet giant invested $590 million in the Chinese phone maker last year. This makes things a lot easier for them saving them the trouble of entering into an agreement with another phone maker.
32GB (expandable via microSD card slot up to 256GB)
Vernee Apollo Lite Review: DESIGN and DISPLAY
Once I first took the phone out of the box, my initial impressions were that the phone had a tremendous build quality that I did not expect from Vernee, to be honest.
The device feels really solid and that is thanks to the all-metal design (except for the top and bottom parts for antennas).
The buttons feel nice too. Also, we have two SIM card trays, which take either 2 SIMs or 1 SIM and the microSD card.
The Apollo Lite has a 5.5” 1080p LCD display, which is sharp and crisp and it is bright enough for outdoor visibility. Also, it is covered with the Gorilla Glass 3.
Just above the display, we have a 5MP shooter and a notification LED. You have to know that the phone only has the on-screen navigation buttons but you can slightly customize them.
The metal back is nice and smooth the touch and here we have a 16MP camera with a dual LED flash. The fingerprint scanner may not be the fastest the market but it is accurate and it recognizes your fingerprint from the standby mode.
The bottom-placed loudspeaker has above average sound quality. Not bad but nothing impressive either.
Vernee Apollo Lite Review: HARDWARE and PERFORMANCE
When it comes to hardware, Vernee Apollo Lite has some really good specs. It comes with a deca-core Mediatek Helio X20 chip, 4GB of RAM and 32GB of storage.
The 3D performance is pretty good. Games like Asphalt 8 run fine but you should expect a few skipped frames there and there if you play the game on the highest graphics. On medium graphics, the game just flies.
Also, the phone does not overheat.
Vernee Apollo Lite Review: BENCHMARKS
Vernee Apollo Lite Review: UI
Speaking of the UI performance, the phone is very fast and that is thanks to the almost stock looking Android 6.0.
Vernee did not add many extra features or anything but they follow the rule: you keep it simple, you keep it fast. That’s why you can be rest assured that the device will just fly on a daily basis.
Vernee Apollo Lite Review: CAMERA
The 16MP camera sounds impressive on paper and it can take pictures very fast.
The daylight images usually look good for the class but I would love to see more sharpness, less noise in some of the pictures. Also, the dynamic range adjustment is not always perfect.
The camera really disappoints in low-light. First of all, the focusing time is extremely slow. Even if you are patient enough to get that low-light shot, the quality will be quite horrible.
A 5MP front-firing camera can take some decent looking selfies.
The 1080p video quality is above average but it decreases quite significantly in dim environments. See a video review for a video sample.
As for connectivity, I didn’t have any issues with Wifi, GPS, call quality or signal reception.
Vernee Apollo Lite Review: BATTERY LIFE
The phone ships with a sealed-in 3180mAh battery, which performs great in real life. I can get 1.5 days of a mixed of the phone, which translates to around 5 hours of screen-on time.
The phone supports fast charge feature too but it is not the fastest I’ve seen. I could fully charge the phone in around 1 hour and 40 mins.
Vernee Apollo Lite Review: CONCLUSIONS
Vernee Apollo Lite is a nice phone that brings a lot of great features for a decent price of just over $200.
It all starts with an all-metal design and great build quality, nice display, fast and smooth user interface and great battery.
However, the camera is not always reliable and it struggles quite a bit in low-light. Also, you have to know that Helio X20 is good enough for most games but you may have a few skipped frames if you play them on the highest graphics.
Other than that, Vernee Apollo Lite is a solid sub-$200. Sure, it is not perfect but it delivers in quite a few ways.
If you don’t care about the low-light photography much, the Apollo Lite may be even called a solid affordable midrange smartphone.
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