After reviewing quite a few Leagoo phones, I have an opinion that the company usually makes decent phones for a bargain price. The Leagoo S8 aims to continue that tradition by offering premium full-screen design and a lot more for just about $130. Learn more in our full Leagoo S8 review.

UNBOXING

The phone ships with all the usual stuff and some extras include a pair of earphones and a soft TPU case.

DESIGN and DISPLAY

The Leagoo S8 is yet another budget phone that has a full-screen design but I have to tell you that this is one of my favorites since the device just feels nice in the hand. That brilliant 5.7” HD+ display with 18:9 aspect ratio and tiny side bezels make the phone narrow and comfortable to hold even though the device is taller than phones with 16:9 aspect ratio displays. The panel itself is great but I wish it was a little bit brighter.

The build quality is solid and the phone looks premium thanks to the metal frame with nice buttons and glass backplate.

The Leagoo S8 is one of those rare budget phones that has a dual camera setup both on the back and on the front.

Now a few features as quickly as possible: the fingerprint scanner is accurate but the display could light up faster, there is a front-facing LED flash for selfies and another LED for notifications.

Finally, the loudspeaker quality does not really impress like on most of the budget phones.

HARDWARE and PERFORMANCE

As most of these budget phones, the Leagoo S8 ships with good specs for the price.

I like that gaming performance is pretty good even in the highest graphics settings, which is always impressive on any budget phone. However, the Leagoo S8 gets hot on the upper portion of the phone very quickly.

BENCHMARKS

USER INTERFACE

When it comes to the user interface, the phone runs Android 7 with the Leagoo’s skin on top of it. I don’t like the fact that they took away the app launcher and for some reason, Leagoo added their own Play Store that I didn’t really use. As for added features, there aren’t too many to talk about. You can customize the navigation bar, switch on/off LED notification light and that’s about it. You can also choose from quite a few different themes, wallpapers or change the transition effects. As for the day to day performance, the Leagoo S8 is a fast phone as I’m yet to see it lag or stutter.

IMAGE QUALITY

The overall image quality is pretty good given the fact that I could only test the camera on a dark and cloudy day, meaning that the lighting was poor. The dual-camera setup may be fun to play with for some time but the camera’s software simply draws a circle around the center of the image, meaning this is not the best-looking bokeh effect.

Selfies look pretty good in daylight and the front facing LED flash is pretty powerful in lower lit environment.

The 1080p video quality is just mediocre. What is a bit frustrating is that the audio is being recorded to the right channel only.

Selfie camera is able to shoot videos only in 480p, meaning that the quality of the footage is kind of poor.

CONNECTIVITY

In terms of connectivity, I can’t really complain. I found the call quality and signal reception to be quite good and other connectivity options work fine.

The phone ships with 12 sensors including the gyroscope, so you are all set if you want to use the device with VR headsets.

BATTERY LIFE

A 2900mAh power bank assures a pretty much standard battery life. I could get over 5.5h of screen-on time but this measurement is always subjective, so your results may vary.

It takes about 1.5h to fully charge the phone with the supplied fast charger, which is a great result for a budget phone. However, the phone still uses the micro USB port, not the USB type C.

CONCLUSIONS

Overall, the Leagoo S8 shapes up to be one of the better all-around budget full-screen phones out there. Sure, it has a few minor caveats to consider like poor audio in video recording mode, micro USB port instead of the USB Type C but in general, this is a solid and nice-looking phone that is not going to break your bank.

The post Leagoo S8 Review – One of the Better Budget All-Screen Phones! appeared first on Gizmochina.

Chinese phone maker Ivvi, has officially announced a new model, the Ivvi F2, that goes for a very cheap price of 399 Yuan (about $58) for its base model. The Ivvi F2 is definitely for persons who don’t bother about the specifications of the smartphone because it is purely a budget device with low-end specs. That doesn’t mean the specs are horrible, they are quite decent and the design doesn’t disappoint either.

The Ivvi F2 comes with a simple but attractive design. There is no physical home button and the device comes with a metal body made from aluminum-titanium alloy. This gives the body some toughness and makes it durable, even when it takes a fall. The device has a rear camera ad it is tilted to the left side. It also uses a fused antenna band design.

Read Also: Ivvi K5 Launched: 3D Display, Curved Glass Body, 4GB RAM But No Snapdragon 835 Chip!

Specs wise, the F2 sports a 5.5-inch HD display with 2.5D curved glass on top. It is powered by a 1.3GHz Quad-core processor backed by 1GB of RAM on one model and 2GB of RAM on another model. Both models come with 16GB of storage. The device also comes with support for a wide range of network systems including TD-LTE / FDD-LTE / TD-SCDMA / WCDMA / GSM and surprisingly VoLTE is also available. The Ivvi F2 also has dual SIM / dual Standby functions.

The Ivvi F2 1GB + 16GB version costs 399 Yuan (~$58) while the 2GB + 16GB version is priced at 599 Yuan(~$87).

The post Ivvi F2, A 399 Yuan ($58) Smartphone with VoLTE Support Launched appeared first on Gizmochina.

Chinese smartphones were once regarded as cheap alternatives to Samsung and iPhone models. While we still have a variety of cheap Chinese handsets in the market, that offers much more value than competitors, the quality and prices of these Chinese smartphone models have gone up in the past few years. While Xiaomi and Meizu still focus on the low-end and mid-range markets, manufacturers like OPPO, Vivo, and Huawei are really improving the average selling price of Chinese smartphone companies.

Chinese smartphones are no longer replicas of Samsung or Apple, rather many of them have managed to bring innovation to the stagnant smartphone market. Lenovo managed to release its first Tango-enabled phone, the Lenovo Phab2Pro and Xiaomi managed to bring dual curved display design to the affordable price segment with the Xiaomi Mi Note 2. Not to forget, the Xiaomi Mi Mix is one of the most revolutionary smartphones that we have seen in recent times.

As you may have noticed, these Chinese smartphone manufacturers have slowly transformed themselves from low-cost phone makers to innovators, releasing interesting products and thereby justifying the release of pricier smartphones that also improve profitability.

According to Strategy Analytics, the average selling price of Chinese smartphones in Q3 2016 was $184, which was closer to the avg. selling price of Samsung phones in the period. The bar in gray (in the image above) represents the avg. selling price of the company in 2015, while the ones in shades of blue are of the three-quarters of 2016. The data for the fourth quarter of 2016 was still not available.

RELATED: Xiaomi aims to exceed 100 billion Yuan in sales in 2017

As you can see, Apple’s ASP is way higher than its Android counterparts, $617 for Q3 2016. In the same period, Samsung’s ASP was $222, with Vivo very close behind at $218. The company managed to increase its ASP in the third quarter, thanks to the sale of its expensive models like the Vivo XPlay 6. OPPO has an ASP of $186 while Huawei had an ASP of $148 in the same period.

While in general, you see that the ASP for OPPO and Huawei has fallen down a bit in this period, what’s important to note here is that both the companies have managed to expand their market share aggressively in 2016. OPPO R9 managed to sell very well in 2016 and Huawei’s low-end models and high-end models like Huawei P9 have together helped the company increase its shipments significantly and reduce the gap in terms of sales when compared to Samsung.

READ MORE: Apple Beats Samsung to Occupy Top Spot in Global Smartphone Market Share in Q4 2016

What’s even more interesting is that Samsung isn’t likely to increase its average selling price this year, to ensure that it retains its majority market share, which is slowly being snatched by Chinese phone makers like Huawei and OPPO.

“The Chinese manufacturers are going to the low-end phone business and going to second-hand phones,” said Chung Hae-sik, an analyst at the Information Technology Promotion Center (IITP). “As technology has improved and domestic market trends have changed, “He said.

Chung added, “Samsung Electronics is not easy to raise prices because it is trying to check Chinese makers while using market share.”

(source)

The post Average Selling Price Of Chinese Smartphones Now Closer To Samsung appeared first on Gizmochina.

Meizu M5 is reportedly releasing on October 31 when the company has a big promo event scheduled. Li Nan already confirmed the launch of the device a few hours back and now, new images of the M5 have cropped up online, along with a possible Geekbench listing. This means we have a lot more information about the upcoming device, including its new polycarbonate design and specifications.

The Meizu M5 seems to feature a very similar design as the M3S model which was announced in June, however, the phone could come with a polycarbonate body instead of a metal one. Further, along with a black colored model, we have also spotted a green colored one. Given that Meizu’s Blue Charm series have always been a colorful lineup, it’s possible that the company launches a green color option for the device.

More pictures are given below.

As for the specs, a recent Geekbench listing of the device revealed that the Meizu M5 will come with the MT6750 octa-core processor with 2GB RAM and Android 6.0 on board. The above pictures further reveal that the phone was running on YunOS platform and featured a 5-inch 720p display, 13MP rear camera, 2GB RAM and 16GB of internal storage. It is said that there could be a 3GB RAM version of the device as well.

RELATED: Meizu TV Box in The Works, Priced at 299 Yuan ($44)

As for the pricing of the Meizu M5, given the specs, expect it to be super cheap. Also, considering that Meizu is releasing this device in anticipation of its 11/11 sales, the company should price it aggressively. The M3S was announced for just $106, so the upcoming M5 model should also be priced around the same figure.

The post Upcoming Meizu M5 Spotted In Real Images, Listed On Geekbench as well appeared first on Gizmochina.

Buying a daily cheap phone is not that easy anymore as it was a couple years ago. We just had a couple of alternatives, but today, as more Chinese makers come to market and because of the high competition in the smartphone market, there are many more phones to choose from. Today, we will try to help you with the purchase of a super cheap phone. Remember, these are phones under $100 class, and hence you should not expect a lot from them, but again, some might also surprise you in this price range.

There are more than 50 alternatives under 100$ range so I decided to narrow down this list as choosing minimum 2GB of RAM and Quad-core CPU’s. We have 1 exception with 1GB RAM phone, because of its price. All the phones in this list are based on Quad-core MediaTek CPU’s, divided to MTK6580 and MTK6735. Both are capable of serving you as a daily smartphone processor. We have two exceptions in the list when it comes to CPU type, two 64-bit octa-core phones with MTK6592 and MTK6753, Pepsi P1s (yes it’s a smartphone) and Vernee Thor.

So, here are the models which we think are best under $100 price range.

Vernee Thor 4G

$99.99

Display: 5″ HD On-cell Corning Gorilla Glass 3 screen
CPU: MTK6753 64-bit Octa-Core 1.3GHz
GPU: ARM Mali-T720 MP3 450MHz
System: Android 6.0
RAM + ROM: 3GB RAM + 16GB ROM
Camera: 13.0MP Rear Camera , Front camera 5.0MP
Sensor: Gravity Sensor, Proximity Sensor, Ambient Light Sensor, Fingerprint
Bluetooth: 4.0
OTG: Yes
SIM Card: Dual SIM dual standby, dual micro SIM cards
Network:
2G: GSM 900/1900/2100MHz
3G: WCDMA 900/2100MHz
4G: FDD-LTE 800/1800/2100/2600MHz

Starting with highest price in the list our first phone is Thor from Vernee. High price brings some unique features in this price range with it. First is, this model has the 64 bit octa-core MTK6753 CPU and again the only model with 3GB Ram onboard. Just these two features make Vernee Thor the most powerfull phone on our list. If you are a light gamer and are used to handling multiple apps at the same time, i.e. if you multitasking a lot, with 3GB Ram this model is for you. It has Android 6.0 as operating system, is a 4G LTE capable phone of course. Plus a very attractive design with 80% screen-to-body ratio, very good screen quality with 2.5D Gorilla Glass 3 on top, titanium alloy 7.9mm thick body, 140g weight, decent cameras both rear and front. There is also a very quick responsive finger print scanner on the back side. What else could you want from a 99$ phone ? So if 5″ is enough for your daily use, and you have $99 to spend, Vernee Thor should be on top of your list. This phone costs 119$ normaly, but you can get it for 99.99$ with a coupon, for a full detailed review and about the coupon please follow this link : Vernee Thor Review – Simple But Fast. With this specs and price Thor deserves to be Editor’s Choice in 5″ screen class under 100$ list.

+ MTK6753 Octa Core Cpu
+ 3GB Ram
+ Fingerprint 
+ Metal frame
+ Android 6.0
+ 4G LTE

Pepsi P1S

$93.99

Display: 5.5″ 1080P Full HD
CPU: MTK6592 64-bit Octa-Core 1.7GHz
GPU: ARM Mali-Mali-450 MP4 450MHz
System: Android 5.1
RAM + ROM: 2GB RAM + 16GB ROM
Camera: 13.0MP Rear Camera , Front camera 5.0MP
Sensor: Gravity Sensor, Proximity Sensor, Ambient Light Sensor, Fingerprint
Bluetooth: 4.0
OTG: Yes
SIM Card: Dual SIM dual standby, dual micro SIM cards

Network:
2G: GSM 900/1900/2100MHz
3G: WCDMA 900/2100MHz
4G: FDD-LTE 800/1800/2100/2600MHz

Pepsi P1S is a 5.5″ size smartphone and the only one that has Full HD 1080p screen resolution in our list. Body is all metal with a fingerprint scanner located at the back. Our second phone with a octa-core CPU and its MTK6592 with 1.7GHz, this makes Pepsi the most powerfull model under $100 too. That chip is last years flagship grade model from MediaTek, better then Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 800 we can say. Phone supports 4G LTE as connectivity and definitely has a good look/design for this class. For this price and what you get for it, the Pepsi P1S is the Editor’s Choice for 5.5″ size. For a full review please visit : Pepsi Smartphone Review.

+ MTK6592 Octa Core CPU
+ All Metal Body
+ Fingerprint Scanner
+ 4G LTE

OUKITEL K4000 Pro 4G

$84.99

Display: 5″ 1280×720 HD 2.5D Arc Screen
CPU: MTK6735 64bit Quad Core 1.0GHz
GPU: Mali-T720
System: Android 5.1
RAM + ROM: 2GB RAM + 16GB ROM
Camera: Front 2.0MP (SW5.0MP) + Rear 8.0MP (SW13.0MP) AF with LED flashlight
Bluetooth: V4.1
Features: GPS / OTA / OTG
Card Slot: Dual SIM dual standby. Dual Micro SIM cards
2G: GSM 850/900/1800/1900MHz
3G: WCDMA 900/2100MHz
4G: FDD-LTE 800/900/1800/2100/2600MHz

You need a tough phone that lasts 6 days on a single charge with regular use ? That’s what Oukitel says, on paper, but with the 4600mAh battery and 5″ HD screen you surely can expect long use. Plus 9H hardness 2.5D tough screen surrounded with a CNC worked metal body. Rest is 2GB RAM powered by Quad-core CPU, decent GPU, so capable of every daily needs including being a 4G LTE world phone. If you are a hard worker outdoors or like to camp without an energy source around, OUKITEL K4000 Pro is definitely for you. Not bad looking either.

+ 4600mAh Battery (6 days)
+ Metal frame
+ 9H hardness 2.5D tough screen
+ 4G LTE

Doogee X6 Pro 4G

$84.67 

Display: 5.5″ 1280 x 720 HD Screen
CPU: MTK6735 64bit Quad Core 1.0GHz
GPU: Mali-T720
System: Android 5.1
RAM + ROM: 2GB RAM + 16GB ROM，TF card up to 32GB
Camera: Back camera 5.0MP (SW 8.0MP) with flashlight and auto focus + front camera 2.0MP (SW 5.0MP)
Sensor: Accelerometer, Proximity sensor, Light sensor
Features: GPS, A-GPS, WiFi, OTA, FM
Bluetooth: 4.0
SIM Card: Dual SIM dual standby, one is standard SIM, the other is Micro SIM
Network:
2G: GSM 850/900/1800/1900MHz
3G: WCDMA 900/2100MHz
4G: FDD-LTE 800/1800/2100/2600MHz

5″ is not enough for you and you want a 5.5″ screen size phone with minimum 2GB of Ram and Quad-core ? Then Doogee X6 Pro is one of few alternatives for you, under 100$ of course. Not expect much from back and front cameras, but being a 4G LTE world phone you can be sure of to be connected anywhere around the world. Screen resolution is 720P remember, not full HD. Having hardware keys rather than on screen touch keys you get full 5.5″ to use, light gamers, e-readers, online-media lovers, this phone might be for you.

+ 5.5″ Screen
+ 4G LTE

HOMTOM HT3 Pro 4G

$79.79

Display: 5″ 1280 x 720 HD Screen
CPU: MTK6735 64bit Quad Core
GPU: Mali-T720
System: Android 5.1
RAM + ROM: 2GB RAM + 16GB ROM. TF card up to 64GB
Camera: Back camera 8.0MP ( SW 13.0MP ) with flashlight and auto focus + front camera 2.0MP ( SW 5.0MP )
Features: OTA, GPS
Bluetooth: 4.0
SIM Card: Dual SIM dual standby, dual Micro SIM cards

Network:
2G: GSM 850/900/1800/1900MHz
3G: WCDMA 900/2100MHz
4G: FDD-LTE: 800/1800/2100/2600MHz

2.5D Screen, this curved glass type looks good on any phone its for sure, makes handling on the edges more ergonomic and  pleasant. 4G LTE phone with compact body and nice screen. Has 3000mAh battery which is good value in this class, HOMTOM says 3 days on a single charge, for $79.79, that’s good.

+ 3000mAh Battery (3 Days)
+ 4G LTE

Bluboo Picasso 3G

$74.46 

Display: 5″ 1280 x 720 HD
CPU: MTK6580 Quad Core 1.3GHz
GPU: Mali-400MP
System: Android 5.1
RAM + ROM: 2GB RAM + 16GB ROM
Camera: Front and rear 8.0MP camera
Sensor: Gravity sensor, Proximity sensor, Light sensor
Bluetooth: 4.0
Features: GPS, AGPS
SIM Card: Dual SIM dual standby, dual micro SIM
Network:
2G: GSM 850/900/1800/1900MHz
3G: WCDMA 850/2100MHz

So, this was our Smartphone Buyers Guide: Under $100 For the month of August. Which one’s your favorite?

Maybe we missed some models to include here. If you think there is phone model with unique features in this price range, please let us know in the comments section.

The post Smartphone Buyers Guide: Best Value For Money Phones Under 100$ (August Edition) appeared first on Gizmochina.

Blackview has just launched the new Blackview A5 super-budget smartphone for an amazing price of $44.99. This is an even cheaper alternative to the Blackview A8 that was launched a few weeks back. So, anyone who’s on a budget and wants a phone under $50, read on for more details.

The Blackview A5 comes with a special textured mosaic back cover. This sets the phone apart from the other budget offerings in the market, but whether you like the design or not will be a matter of personal preferance. Despite its low cost pricing, from the pictures that we have seen, the phone looks quite well built. It will be available in three colors, namely white, black and blue.

The phone comes with a compact 4.5-inch 480p display, much smaller than the 5-inch 720p display on the A8. There will be MT6580 quad-core chip inside with 1GB RAM, 8GB of expandable ROM and 2000mAh battery. The entire list of specs are given at the end of the article.

Meanwhile, you can get hold of the Blackview A5 via Snap Up sales for $29.99 (1 unit a week) and $39.99 (5 units a week). Or else, you can buy it for $44.99 from resellers. You can check out the listing from down below.

Blackview A5 Specs:

• Android 6.0 Marshmallow
•   MT6580 Quad-core Cortex – A7, 32-bit, 1.3GHz
•   1GB RAM, 8GB ROM, extension to 32GB
•   4.5” 480*854 IPS display
•   Stylish Mosaic back cover
•   2000mAh battery
•   2.0MP front camera, 5.0MP rear camera
•   3G, Dual SIM card slot, dual standby, one talk
•   Color options
•   Pearl white, Violet black, Skyblue

The post Blackview A5 Launched For $44.99, Features MT6580 & 1GB RAM appeared first on Gizmochina.

Chinese companies are known to release smartphone with unique names. In fact, many of them have very unusual brand names. Now, the smartphone manufacturer Cubot will release a new smartphone and it’s called the Dinosaur. Yes, the phone will be called as the Dinosaur, most likely because it features a massive battery. The phone will come with a 4150mAh battery on board to make sure that it will last long.

Despite its unique name, the phone looks like any other regular smartphone in the market. This includes a plastic body with a textured back. Judging from the specs and the pricing, the company seems to be targeting the entry level segment. So, large battery smartphone lovers who are on a budget can definitely take a look at this device.

Coming to the specs of the phone, the Cubot Dinosaur will feature the MT6735A quad-core chip clocked at 1.3GHz. What’s really interesting is that the company has decided to include 3GB of RAM inside along with 16GB of internal storage. As for the display, the Dinosaur will feature a 5.5-inch 720p IPS capacitive screen. Also, in case you are wondering, the phone does support MicroSD card expansion, up to 32GB.

Like mentioned above, the battery underneath is large, measuring 4150mAh in capacity. It’s removable, which is an added plus. With this battery inside, you can use the phone as a powerbank as well. Also, the phone measures just 8.8mm in thickness. At the back, there will be a 13MP interpolated camera, while up front, there will be a 5MP shooter. Other features of the phone include 4G LTE support, dual SIM dual standby, HotKnot, USB OTG and Android 6.0 Marshmallow OS out of the box.

So, this looks like an entry level handset with a large battery. It should be cheap, but the official price tag has not yet been revealed. The phone will meet us in April. Check out the official Cubot website for details.

So, what do you think about the Cubot Dinosaur?

The post Cubot Dinosaur Is The New Smartphone In Town With A Large 4150mAh Battery appeared first on Gizmochina.

Landvo is known to release cheap smartphones. We have seen many value for money handsets from the manufacturer, but the company has been quite for the past few months. Now, they have just released a super cheap smartphone called as the Landvo XM100 which costs just $59.99.

The phone comes with a quad-core MT6580 chipset along with 1GB of RAM and 8GB of expandable internal storage. At the back, there’s an 8MP (interpolated) camera with LED flash while a 5MP front facing shooter lies on top of the display, up front. The display is of 5-inches with a decent resolution of 960 x 540 pixels. Finally, for battery you have a 2000mAh capacity one, which with these specs should be enough for a day’s usage.

One of the highlights of the phone is the Android 5.1 Lollipop OS that comes right out of the box. These specs are not extraordinary, but then you can get the phone for just $59.99 which makes it a pretty good deal.

You can check out more details about the Landvo XM100 from the link given below.

The post Landvo XM100 Is A Good Looking Budget Phone That Costs Just $59.99 appeared first on Gizmochina.