This is the Umidigi Z2  – a phone with the large notch display, nice design and great specs for the price. As always, stay tuned to the full Umidigi Z2 review to learn all the pros and cons of this device.

VIDEO

UNBOXING

The phone ships with a charger, USB cable, SIM ejector pin, a headset jack adapter and a pretty standard soft TPU case.

DESIGN

Design-wise, the Umidigi Z2 packs all the trends of 2018 in one package. You get a display with the notch that I found to be pretty nice and sharp, glass backplate that makes the phone a bit slippery, a metal trim and a dual camera system.

The phone is well-made and I found it to be really comfortable to hold in the hand due to rounded edges on the back. However, I found that the buttons rattle a little bit.

Other key features include a dual-camera system on the front and a hybrid dual-SIM card tray. Face unlock feature works surprisingly well, much better than on most of the budget phones.  The fingerprint scanner works fine but there is a significant delay between unlocking and the time the display lights up.

It’s disappointing that the phone has neither LED notification light nor headset jack. On the other hand, sound quality using the supplied adapter is decent.

The loudspeaker sound quality is not the best but it’s quite good. Here is an audio sample.

HARDWARE

In terms of hardware, the Umidigi Z2 ships with the spec sheet we’ve already seen on other budget phones and it looks quite good.

In reality, gaming performance is mediocre. You can play most of the 3D games on reduced graphics but you should still expect to see some lag and stutter. For example, there is quite a bit of lag while playing Pubg even on low graphics. Finally, the phone gets hot quite quickly.

USER INTERFACE

If you’ve seen other Umidigi phone reviews I’ve made before, you know that I praise their phones for using stock Android user interface. Obviously, there are a few neat extra features but in general, you get a nice and clean-looking UI that makes the phone run fast.

The phone does not lag or stutter and it just feels fast all the time. I’m quite impressed with the performance of this budget phone.

IMAGE QUALITY

The overall image quality is okay and you may be able to take pretty good pictures considering the price of the phone.

Low-light camera performance may not be the best but it’s okay for a budget phone. 

Portrait picture quality is kind of average but better than quite a few other budget phones.

Selfies look okay but not really impressive. There is also a portrait mode but I can’t recommend using it since the pictures are way overexposed.

1080p video shot using the main camera is kind of average and selfie video quality is quite good. Here is a short sample.

If you want to see more camera samples or full resolution video tests, check out all the links in the video description.

CONNECTIVITY

In terms of connectivity, the phone supports global LTE bands and I found the call quality and signal reception to be pretty good.  Finally, GPS is accurate and it gets the position fast. In terms of sensors, there are quite a few of them including a gyroscope so you are all set if you want to use the phone with 360 content.

BATTERY LIFE

Battery life on this phone is quite good but I expected better results considering a huge capacity power bank. On average, you should expect to get up to 7 hours of screen-on time.

In terms of charging, it takes under 2 hours to fully charge the phone with the supplied power brick.

CONCLUSIONS

The Umidigi Z2 is a phone that looks nice, it has a sharp display and the device is fast on the daily basis thanks to the stock Android user interface. In addition, the phone supports global LTE bands and finally, cameras can take pretty decent shots in daylight. 

However, there are quite a few cons to consider. The phone does not have LED notification light, there is no headset jack, and gaming performance is mediocre

Hope you guys found this review useful and please consider all the pros and cons of this device before making the purchase.

The post Umidigi Z2 Review – A Beautiful Budget Phone with the Notch! appeared first on Gizmochina.

It seems that everyone’s talking about the Huawei P20 Pro but the regular P20 is also a flagship phone that was recently announced. It has a similar design with a notch display, all new dual Leica camera setup, and great specs. As always, if you want to learn all the pros and cons of this device, read out full Huawei P20 review.

VIDEO REVIEW

UNBOXING

The P20 ships just with a cable, a charger, a pair of earphones, a headset jack adapter and SIM ejector pin.

Finally, retail units will have a case but I’m not sure if it will look the same as the one I have, which is really nice.

DESIGN and DISPLAY

Once you pick the P20 up, you are definitely going to feel that it is a smaller phone than the P20 Pro and that’s a good thing – it’s easier to manage the device in one hand.

I have a pink gold color option that has a gradient finish. That means that the phone changes the looks in different lighting. In practice, I love the way the P20 looks and feels. The build quality is nothing short of a true flagship thanks to the metal frame and slightly curved glass backplate.

Even though the display on the P20 is slightly smaller than the one found on the P20 Pro, it sports the same resolution. The phone uses LCD panel instead of OLED but I found the quality of screen to be very good.

Inside the notch, you can find a beefy 24MP selfie shooter. Just a bit more info about the notch: you can hide it if you don’t like it.

There is a loudspeaker on the bottom of the device. It may not sound as great as the dual stereo system on the P20 Pro but it is also pretty good. 

One major difference between the Huawei P20 Pro and the P20 – camera setup. The P20 does not have 3 cameras but it ships with a brand new dual Leica system that is capable of taking very good images too. The device ships with a 12MP RGB sensor and 20MP monochrome lens.  I will talk about cameras in detail a bit later in this review.

Another difference – the P20 has a lower IP53 water and dust resistance rating. Honestly, I forgot about it when I was reviewing this phone and I kept the phone underwater for quite some time. Good news is that the phone survived and works as new. However, I don’t recommend you submerging your P20 underwater like I did.

Other features are pretty much identical to the P20 Pro: you get a super fast and reliable fingerprint scanner and Face ID that usually works very well and it allows you to unlock the phone very fast. You also get a nice LED notification light but the phone does not have a headset jack, so you would need to listen to music using the supplied adapter. Sound quality is really good, just like on the P20 Pro.

HARDWARE and PERFORMANCE

The Huawei P20 ships with almost the same specs as the P20 Pro but it has just 4GB of RAM instead of six (Kirin 970 chipset and 128GB of non-expandable storage).

In practice, I didn’t really notice that the P20 has less RAM than the P20 Pro. I usually start testing phones with playing 3D games to make the processor and GPU work. The overall gaming experience is great as games usually load fast, there is no stutter or lag even if you play the most demanding titles. The performance is great, identical to the P20 Pro.

USER INTERFACE

Just like the Huawei P20 Pro, the P20 runs on Android 8.1 but it looks a lot different than stock Google’s user interface.

As I said in the P20 Pro review that I suggest you check out, I got used to using Huawei phones that run on the EMUI. Yes, it’s different but it has grown on me and I mostly like it for its speed and flexibility. I’ve used the P20 for more than 2 weeks and I’m yet to see the phone lag or stutter. Huawei assures that the phone will remain fast even after 2 years since the AI-powered Kirin 970 chipset has integrated neural processing unit that helps allocate resources to the specific task every time you use the phone. Well, so far so good.

I also like the extra features and customization options Huawei implemented. I can’t say that I need all of them but I found some features to be very useful. It may feel weird at first but I love running two apps side by side by drawing a line in the middle of the screen using a knuckle. That’s just one of many features Huawei gives you with this phone.

CAMERAS

I found the camera app to be really fast and easy to use. My favorite shooting modes include a pro, portrait, aperture and a night mode. One thing that bothers me is that you need to switch the resolution to 10MP if you want to use optical zoom. It’s really annoying and I wish resolution could switch automatically.

Speaking of that zoom, pictures look really nice and sharp.

Daylight image quality is very good thanks to no small part of an AI-powered camera app that detects the scene and applied the best camera settings automatically. As I said in the full P20 Pro review, some images may look oversaturated and punchier than usual but I don’t think it’s a bad thing since most of the images you take are probably going to end up on social media anyway, and they will look nice out of the box. To be honest, it’s hard to see a difference between the quality of daylight pictures of the P20 and the P20 Pro. Both phones can take wonderful photos.

Portrait and aperture modes are used to take pictures with bokeh effect and I think that the overall image quality is pretty good. The objects are sharp and nicely separated from the background with just minimal artifacts.

Low-light is where the P20 shines. Well, if you use the auto-mode, the pictures could have less noise and grain but a dedicated night mode does all the magic. You can take long exposure shots without using a tripod thanks to AI-powered OIS system. While the quality of pictures is slightly worse than on the P20 Pro, it’s still very good and among the best in the game.

Selfies look really nice even though the beauty mode is pretty aggressive.

4k video is very sharp, detailed, continuous auto-focus is reliable and super fast but… video stabilization does not work in 4K mode and you end up with shaky footage. That’s really frustrating but hopefully, this can be improved with the future software updates since the hardware is there. 

If you don’t need 4K, 1080p video looks much better in terms of smoothness. The footage is very stable and it looks nice but obviously, you are losing the sharpness of 4K. It’s worth mentioning that quality of the video is very similar or even identical to the Huawei P20 Pro’s quality.

1080p selfie video looks pretty nice as there is plenty of detail and sharpness, and the sound recording quality is good.

You can also record short clips at 960fps in 720p and the quality is quite decent.

Download full resolution camera samples

CONNECTIVITY

The P20 is equipped with great mics and earpiece that assure good call quality. I also found signal reception to be very good and other connectivity options like Bluetooth, Wifi and GPS work fine. Finally, there are plenty of sensors to choose from, just like on the Huawei P20 Pro.

BATTERY LIFE

Battery life is definitely one of the strong sides of the P20. Even though it has a smaller power bank than the P20 Pro, it has a less power hungry display to power up. On average, I was able to achieve about 7 hours of screen-on time, which is a very impressive result. Finally, you can charge the device in just about 1,5h using the supplied Huawei’s fast charger.

CONCLUSIONS

The Huawei P20 shapes up to be a solid all-around smartphone that costs less than the P20 Pro and other flagships out there. It’s smaller and lighter than the P20 Pro, yet it sports the same good build and very similar design. I also like the P20 for it’s nice and sharp display, great overall performance, very good cameras and solid battery life.

However, the P20 shares similar issues to the P20 Pro: 4K video lacks image stabilization, there is no headset jack, no microSD card slot, and no wireless charging.

At the end of the day, the P20 is still a very good smartphone, despite a few flaws. In fact, it is a legit flagship phone that costs less than the P20 Pro but it has most its essential features that are packed into a premium metal and glass body. With a notch.

The post Huawei P20 Review – A Solid Flagship Smartphone appeared first on Gizmochina.

It seems that every year the Chinese tech giant Huawei releases a new phone, there is a lot of hype. It’s the same thing this year with the P20 Pro and to be honest, this is one of the most exciting phones of 2018 yet mainly because of that triple Leica camera setup, really nice design and flagship-grade specs. At the first glance, this is a superb smartphone but as most of the devices, it also has a few caveats to consider. This phone has a premium price tag of about $900 or 850EUR. Learn more about the device at our detailed Huawei P20 Pro review.

VIDEO REVIEW

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6WuUGzllW8[/embedyt]

UNBOXING

The P20 Pro ships just with a cable, a charger, a pair of earphones, a headset jack adapter and SIM ejector pin. Huawei didn’t include the case this time around, which is a bit disappointing.

DESIGN and DISPLAY

I don’t want to sound subjective at the very beginning of this review but the Huawei P20 Pro is one of the best looking phones out there. The Twilight gradient color is just beautiful and the phone changes the looks in different lighting. That’s why the phone may look a bit different in some parts of this review.

The overall build quality is excellent too thanks to a nice metal frame and premium-feeling buttons. I found the phone to sit comfortably in the hand thanks to nicely curved glass backplate. I was also impressed by the fact that Huawei managed to cram in a huge battery (4000mAh) into such a thin profile of the P20 Pro.

A triple camera setup looks really impressive on paper. It consists of one 40MP RGB sensor, 8MP telephoto shooter, and 20MP monochrome lens.

Here is more information about the cameras: the P20 Pro uses a 223% larger sensor than the competition, it has 5x hybrid zoom, 4 in 1 hybrid focus system, 4D predictive focus, it can achieve ISO levels up to 102400, and it can record 960fps slow-motion at 720p. Also, AI-powered Kirin processor makes the best out of this powerful hardware configuration. In other words, AI helps apply the best camera settings to take a nice-looking picture automatically.

Huawei also added a laser receiver to achieve fast auto-focusing speeds and a flash with the color temperature sensor that is used for white balance adjustment.

Huawei didn’t skimp on selfie shooter either as the P20 Pro uses a beefy 24MP camera. All the specs and numbers sound really impressive but we’ll see if the camera is truly great a bit later in this review.

Now, let’s talk about the display. Yes, it has the infamous notch but Huawei gives you an option to hide it. Honestly, I like the notch. At first, I was really skeptical about it and you may know that already if you follow me on Twitter but in practice, it looks quite nice to me. As for the display quality, it’s among the best on the market. Well, it may lack punchiness and vibrant colors of Samsung’s screens, but this is still one of the best displays on the market. It’s sharp, clear and easily visible even under direct sunlight.

After using the P20 Pro for a while, I have to say that the fingerprint scanner on the front is more convenient to me. I just love the fact that I don’t need to pick up the phone from the table to unlock it. Speaking of that scanner, it’s just blazing fast, super accurate and it unlocks the phone straight from the standby mode.

I was also really impressed by the face unlock feature. It’s ridiculously fast and accurate and it works well in any light and even if you wear glasses. All you have to do is press the power button before using this feature.

Other features you need to know: the phone has a nice LED notification light, IR blaster, dual SIM card slot but no microSD card support.

You should also know that there is no headset jack but the sound quality using a supplied adapter is excellent.  Also, the P20 Pro has hi-fi wireless audio system that assures great sound quality via the Bluetooth.

There is a dual stereo speaker setup that is really good too. I like that the sound is deep, punchy and loudspeakers can get pretty loud. Finally, the Huawei P20 Pro is IP67-certified for water and dust resistance.

HARDWARE and PERFORMANCE

In terms of hardware, the P20 Pro is a beast. It ships with the latest home-brewed Kirin 970 processor and other powerful components (6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage) that in conjunction with the AI, assure excellent all-around performance.

That can be seen when playing the latest 3D games. All the titles I played run absolutely fine, no skipped frames, no stutter, and the P20 Pro does not get hot while gaming either. Flagship-grade performance.

USER INTERFACE

In terms of user interface, I can just repeat myself – performance is excellent thanks to no small part of Kirin AI chipset with integrated NPU unit that helps allocate resources to the specific task. As usual, I’ve installed a lot of apps, use many different social media apps, Google accounts etc but I’m yet to see the phone lag or stutter. This phone is almost stock Android fast, which is really impressive.

EMUI 8.1 is based on Android 8.1 and I know that many people still can’t get used to cartoonish and a bit different than stock Android look. Honestly, if you had asked me a year ago, I would have said the same thing. However, I got used to the Huawei’s user interface and even though it’s still not my favorite, I kind of like it.

The very first thing you want to do is bring back the app tray. Other stuff you can do: customize the phone in many different ways. As usual, you can choose from plenty of themes, change transition effects, adjust quite a few display settings, use one-hand mode and so on. There are quite a few ways to navigate through the UI. You can simply use navigation bar and swap the buttons of it. You can also use a navigation dock that I didn’t really it like because I found on-screen and off-screen navigation systems more comfortable to use. You can control your phone using just the home button which is pretty convenient and that’s probably my most favorite way of navigating through the UI. Finally, we have classic Huawei smart assistance features which are useful and work fine but it’s still a bit weird since Huawei thinks that using your knuckle is the most natural way of interacting with your phone.

CAMERAS

Just before we start talking about optics, we suggest you download full resolution camera samples since pictures on the website are resized to reduce page loading times.

Download full resolution camera samples

I found the stock camera app to be responsive and it can take pictures very fast. Also, you understand why Huawei keeps talking about the AI-assisted camera. Every time you take a picture using the auto-mode, AI recognizes the scene and adjusts the settings automatically. There are plenty of shooting modes to choose from but my favorites include a pro mode that allows you to adjust a lot of different settings.

The portrait mode now allows you to choose from different lighting effects and it works both with the main and selfie cameras. Photos usually look quite nice as the subject is separated accurately from the background. However, you can’t completely turn the beauty mode off but that’s not an issue for me, I think I need this mode. Also, I got a few soft-looking shots with both main and selfie camera but keep in mind that all portrait pictures were taken by myself.

Daylight image quality is usually very good thanks to 40MP sensor. There is plenty of detail and sharpness, and you have a lot of megapixels to play with. However, AI tends to adjust image settings in the way that pictures look nice on social media out of the box. Therefore, you may get oversaturated pictures with high contrast, especially if you tend to shoot a lot of landscapes.

If you want to use 5x hybrid zoom, you need to switch to 10MP resolution manually, which is quite frustrating. On a positive note, you can zoom in a lot and images remain nice and sharp, and you can clearly see details even at the maximum zoom level. However, I don’t understand why the first zoom option is 3 times. If I want to use just 2x zoom I need to pinch to zoom manually, which again, takes more time than just tapping on the zoom button. If we compare the quality of 40MP and 10MP pictures, we can definitely see that there is more detail, which is useful if you like zooming in or cropping the images.

Wide aperture mode allows you to photograph objects with a shallow depth of field effect and I found the overall image quality using this mode to be pretty good.

You can also take very nice black and white pictures but in general, I prefer color photography.

Finally, night image quality. If you use auto-mode, you can take nice pictures but I found the Samsung Galaxy S9 to be slightly better in some of the shots. However, if you use night mode, you can take long-exposure shots without the need of a tripod. Then, night image quality is one of the best on any smartphone. Really impressive results thanks to that AI image stabilization and large sensor.

Selfie camera usually takes pretty nice and detailed pictures that will definitely do the trick for social media.

4k video is very sharp, detailed, continuous auto-focus is reliable and super fast but… video stabilization does not work in 4K mode and you end up with shaky footage. That’s really frustrating but hopefully, this can be improved with the future software updates since the hardware is there. I even enabled stabilization feature on the third party camera app called Open camera but the footage still came out shaky.

If you don’t need 4K, 1080p video looks much better in terms of smoothness. The footage is very stable but obviously, you are losing the sharpness of 4K.

1080p selfie video looks pretty nice as there is plenty of detail and sharpness, and the sound recording quality is good.

You can also record short clips at 960fps in 720p and the quality is quite decent.

Download full resolution camera samples

CONNECTIVITY

In terms of connectivity, I found the P20 Pro to be good and reliable in all aspects. Call quality is excellent and signal reception is actually better than most of the phones I’ve tested in the recent memory. Also, I found GPS to be very accurate, Wifi is fast and Bluetooth works fine. Finally, there are quite a few sensors on board, like on most of the flagships.

BATTERY LIFE

Battery life has been great. Firstly, I’m very impressed with excellent standby time as the phone drains almost no battery despite the fact that I used the P20 Pro with 2 SIM cards and reception in my apartment is kind of poor.

Also, I could use the phone for an entire day or even a few days, depending on the usage. That results in an average screen-on time of about 6 or even 7 hours while using the phone quite intensively. That is a very good result.

The supplied Huawei’s fast charger can fully charge the phone in just about 1,5 h. Unfortunately, there is no wireless charging, which is kind of disappointing.

CONCLUSIONS

The Huawei P20 Pro shapes up to be a solid flagship smartphone and there are many reasons to love it. In fact, this is easily the best phone Huawei has ever made. I like its design, excellent build quality, nice and sharp display, very good and innovative camera setup, great overall performance and solid battery life. I also like that the fingerprint scanner is on the front, Face ID works very well, there is a dual SIM card slot, IP67 certification and some other extras like the IR blaster and great stereo speaker system.

Now the cons. My biggest frustration is that there is no stabilization in 4K video mode. That’s important to me as I’m a huge video guy. You should also know that there is no microSD card slot, no headset jack, and no wireless charging. Finally, camera app needs a little bit of polishing and I think it will be improved over the time since the phone is still running on an early software build.

At the end of the day, can I recommend the Huawei P20 Pro? Absolutely yes. Obviously, there are some shortcomings to consider like on each and every phone but given the overall package the P20 Pro offers, this device can be easily called one of the best flagships of 2018 yet and definitely the best phone Huawei has ever made.

The post Huawei P20 Pro Review – The Best Huawei Smartphone Yet appeared first on Gizmochina.

Huawei unveiled the Mate 10 and Mate 10 Pro in Munich back in October and I’ve been using those phones ever since. These are one of the best-looking phones on the market and they offer bleeding edge specs and much more. Learn more in our Huawei Mate 10 and Mate 10 Pro review after using those phones for more than 1.5 months.

VIDEO REVIEW

DESIGN, DISPLAY, BATTERY LIFE

Both Mates look just gorgeous as they use a quality metal frame and glass on the front and rear. The phones look really nice in the hand despite their huge footprint. I didn’t drop either of the phones, so they both still look as new.

They Mate 10 has a smaller 5.9” 2k resolution LCD display that has a traditional 16:9 aspect ratio, meaning that it is wider but it is a bit shorter than the Mate 10 Pro.

The latter phone has a larger 6” AMOLED display with 18:9 aspect ratio but it has only 1080p resolution. In practice, I found both displays to be plenty sharp for everyday use but I prefer the AMOLED panel on the Mate 10 Pro.

I found both fingerprint scanners to be very fast and accurate. The Mate 10 has one on the front while the Mate 10 Pro has it on the back.

Both phones have 4000mAh batteries that have been performing really well. With my usage, I could get over 6 hours of screen-on time but keep in mind that I usually install a ton of apps and use the phone quite intensively.

The supplied charger fully charges the phone in just about 1h and 10 mins, which is one of the best results out there.

The Mate 10 has a microSD card slot whereas the Mate 10 Pro lacks this feature. Also, it does not have the headset jack like a regular Mate 10 but it has more storage and RAM memory (6GB/ 128GB vs 4GB/64GB). Both phones have the same powerful Kirin 970 chipset.

Another area where the Mate 10 Pro excels over the Mate 10 is the IP67 certification for water and dust resistance.

The stereo speaker setup is very good and it might be one of the best in the business.

HARDWARE and PERFORMANCE

When it comes to hardware, the Mate 10 has a brand new Hisilicon Kirin 970 chipset that is coupled with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. The Mate 10 Pro ships with the same chipset, 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, which is, however, not expandable.

The new Mate 10 phones sport the first Huawei chipset with a neural processing unit or AI component of the processor, which learns how you use the phone and helps the device adapt to assure the best user experience. For example, the AI chip detects what kind of picture you take to apply the best image settings and it did a pretty good job during my unscientific test. Also, it helps apply the right amount of blurring effect in the portrait mode.

Obviously, the AI component does a lot more than helping you take better pictures. Most importantly, it learns every single day to assure the best user experience.  For example, it learns how you use the phone to make it faster by allocating the resources to the specific task. So far, Microsoft has updated its Translator app to make use of the AI chipset to speed up the translation process. When reading a book, the NPU will remind users to enable Eye Comfort mode (Huawei’s blue light filter). Or, when taking a picture of a business card, the NPU will offer to scan the details into your phone book. These are just a few examples of how AI processor works in practice.

If you don’t really care about artificial intelligence, you can be rest assured that the Mate 10 will handle absolutely everything you throw at it. I played a lot of different games on the very highest settings and the phone just flies. A flagship-grade performance.

Finally, what impressed me the most was that the phone stayed cold to the touch even after 40 mins of gaming.

USER INTERFACE

The Mate 10 ships with Android 8 out of the box but it has the EMUI skin built on top of it. Some people may love it, some may hate it mainly because of it’s a bit cartoonish look. The first thing you may want to do is bring back the app drawer feature, which is built into the UI.

I personally like it since there are plenty of features and customization options to make the phone look your own. You can choose from a variety of themes, wallpapers and so on. There are also pretty cool transition effects and other customization options.

You can choose from quite a few smart assistance features that I don’t really like using, to be honest. If you plan to use those gestures, they work fine. What is the most important thing about this phone is that it is blazing fast, fluid and responsive. Huawei claims that the phone will not show any signs of slowing down even after 18 months of using it. I can’t confirm that but the Mate 10 is indeed a very fast phone on the daily basis.

EMUI Desktop Experience

Please see our video review for a better idea of how the EMUI desktop feature works.

Just like the Mate 10 Pro, the Mate 10 has the EMUI desktop feature that is just awesome. You simply connect your phone using the HDMI port to any display, without the need to buy a dock station.

There is the desktop mode that converts your phone into a basic laptop. You can edit your documents, browse the web, access all the files from the phone and so on. Obviously, you can connect a Bluetooth keyboard and the mouse for an even better experience but if you don’t have one, you can use a built it trackpad directly from the phone that I found to be pretty intuitive to use. You can also switch to the phone mode, which basically mirrors phone’s display. You can even play 3D games without any input lag, which is pretty awesome. Overall, I really like the EMUI Desktop feature. It works straight out of the box, no need for a docking station, no additional software.

CAMERAS

Both phones have identical cameras.  A 12-megapixel RGB camera is paired with a 20-megapixel monochrome sensor here, and both lenses feature apertures of up to f/1.6.

The camera takes pictures really fast. There are quite a few shooting modes. My favorites include 2x optical zoom to make the best out of that secondary sensor. This mode is really useful and I enjoyed using it while I was exploring Munich. The pictures look pretty good as you don’t lose detail like using digital zoom.

The daylight images look really good considering the fact that the phone still runs on an early software build. There is a good amount of detail, sharpness and the dynamic range adjustment is quite impressive. The only downside is that some of the pictures are underexposed but that can be easily fixed in post.

The low-light camera performance is quite impressive too. Sure, there is a bit more noise and less detail but in general, the results are great. Pictures taken using a portrait mode usually look quite good but I noticed some artifacts going on in a few shots. There is also a monochrome mode that I’m not a huge fan of but the pictures look really nice and detailed.

Selfies taken using the 8MP camera are detailed and will definitely do the trick for social media needs.

4k video looks pretty good too as the footage is sharp and detailed. However, the OIS does not work in the 4k mode, meaning that the video may look a bit shaky. 720p slow-motion video is not the best I’ve seen but it’s definitely usable. 1080p selfie video looks great too as there is plenty of detail. Finally, I really like the sound recording quality.

CONNECTIVITY

Connectivity-wise, the Mate 10 and the Mate 10 Pro are just excellent. The call quality and signal reception are great, Wifi and mobile network speeds are really fast, Bluetooth and NFC work fine. Also, the GPS is very accurate. Finally, the phones have a bunch of sensors, just like any other flagship in the market.

CONCLUSIONS

After using both Mate 10 and the Mate 10 Pro for more than 1.5 months, I still believe they are one of the best phones on the market right now.

The devices simply look beautiful, the phones are well-made, the displays are sharp, a powerful processor assures excellent overall performance and a dedicated AI chipset will learn on the daily basis to assure the best user experience. Also, the cameras take one of the best pictures and the battery life is great.

A few things that bother me about the Huawei Mate 10 are that there is no wireless charging, the water, and dust resistance rating could be higher and there should also be a 128GB model available for all the regions, just like on the Mate 10 Pro.

Obviously, there are some caveats to consider about the Mate 10 Pro like the lack of the 3.5mm headset jack that less and less phone have. Also, there is no wireless charging, no microSD card slot, and no 2k resolution display.Other than that, the Mate 10 and the Mate 10 Pro are legit flagship phones that have a ton of premium features and so far, they are one of my favorite phones of 2017, despite a few shortcomings.

The post Huawei Mate 10 and the Mate 10 Pro Review After 1.5 Months! Still Amazing! appeared first on Gizmochina.

We all know that there is a trend of the full-screen smartphones today. The Xiaomi Mi Mix was one of the first mainstream phones to offer near bezel-less design and the Mi Mix 2 is a successor to it. It indeed looks beautiful, it has top-shelf specs and more. Learn more in the full Xiaomi Mi Mix 2 review.

Just before we start, the phone costs about $550 at Gearbest.com but you will find a generous discount code at the end of this review. 

VIDEO REVIEW

UNBOXING

The phone ships with a standard set of accessories.

Some extras include a 3.5mm headset jack adapter and a high-quality case that looks nice and fits the phone nice and snug.

DESIGN and DISPLAY

There is no doubt that the Xiaomi Mi Mix 2 is one of the most beautiful phones out there. The star of the show is a sharp, bright and vibrant 5.99” LCD display. It has 1080p+ resolution, 18:9 aspect ratio and it is covered with the Gorilla Glass 4.

The ceramic back looks really nice in practice and it is curved on each side for aesthetics and a better grip. If you add a premium aluminum frame and responsive buttons, you definitely feel that you hold a true flagship phone.

It’s obvious that the Mi Mix 2 can be complete smudge fest if you don’t clean it, just like most of the glass-made phones. But the thing that annoys me the most is that the device is very slippery. Yes, it sounds like a cliche but it is much more slippery than other glass-made phones I’ve tested in recent memory.

When it comes to optics, we are looking a tradition camera setup that has one 12MP sensor with f/2.0 aperture lens and 4-axis OIS.

Here is a minute of a few little but important features: the fingerprint scanner is one of the best out there, selfies can be taken using a 5MP snapper and there is a nice LED notification light. Keep in mind that selfie camera is implemented on the bottom right corner, so you would need to hold the phone upside down to take portrait selfies.

However, there is no microSD card slot and no headset jack but the supplied adapter assures a very good sound quality.

There is a pretty good sound system too that is provided by a stereo speakers setup.

HARDWARE and PERFORMANCE

The Xiaomi Mix 2 is no slouch when it comes to hardware as it ships with top-shelf components that include a Snapdragon 835 chip, 6GB of RAM and 64GB of storage.

You can also opt in for a more expensive model that has 8GB of RAM and whopping 256GB of internal storage.

As expected, the phone can handle 3D games without any issues. However, there is one serious software bug that prevents you from installing games that take a lot of storage space. You simply get an error message every time you try to download and install a game from the Play Store. I know this can be fixed somehow but this is what you will get out of the box. That’s really frustrating and hopefully, it will be fixed with a software update soon.

BENCHMARKS

USER INTERFACE

If you are familiar with Xiaomi phones, you will feel right at home since the device ships with the MIUI 8.5 that is built on top of Android 7.1.

My phone shipped with the original Chinese ROM, meaning that you would need to install Google Services yourself which takes about a minute to do that. However, you still need to deal with some bloatware apps. Also, an error message pops up every time I open up the Gmail app, which is annoying. We have all the same features and customization options Xiaomi phones have been famous for. You can tweak the phone in a variety of different ways, adjust a ton of settings and change the looks.

Most importantly, I can assure that the phone is fast and responsive even after installing a lot of apps.

CAMERAS

The camera app can take pictures quite fast. There a few shooting modes including a pro mode that allows you to adjust some image settings. There is also a slow-motion video mode.

The overall image quality is quite good but I expected better results from the phone this expensive. Obviously, you can take some good-looking daylight pictures but some of them could have more detail. Also, I got a few shots that were out of focus.

The low-light camera performance is okay but again, I expected better results from a $500 phone.

The 4k video looks quite good and 4-axis OIS does the job reducing the shakiness. However, I found that there are some video artifacts, continuous auto-focus is not always reliable and sound recording quality could be a lot better.

1080p selfie video looks great. Just bear in mind that awkward selfie camera position.

Download full resolution camera samples

CONNECTIVITY

When it comes to connectivity, I can assure that the call quality has improved a lot over the original Mi Mix. Also, signal reception is great, Wifi works fine and the phone has Bluetooth 5 and NFC connectivity options. The GPS works exceptionally well. Finally, the phone has a bunch of sensors, just like any other flagship in the market.

BATTERY LIFE

The Xiaomi Mi Mix 2 ships with a 3400mAh battery that performs really well considering the size of the display. The max. SOT time I was able to reach was over 8 hours, which is quite impressive. If you use the phone more intensively, you should expect to achieve about 5-6 hours of SOT every day.

Finally, the supplied charger fully charges the phone in just over 1 hour and 20 mins thanks to Quick Charge 3.0 technology.

CONCLUSIONS

The Xiaomi Mi Mix 2 is probably the most beautiful phone the company has ever made and it sure has a lot of flagship-grade qualities for a lower price than the mainstream flagships. Also, I love the Mix 2 for its display, the overall build quality, great performance and good battery life.

However, there are quite a few shortcomings. There is no microSD card slot, no headset jack and the phone is not water-resistant. There are also a few bugs in the UI that perhaps will be fixed with the future software updates. What | also expect from Xiaomi’s software team is to improve the overall image quality.

At the end of the day, the Xiaomi Mi Mix 2 still offers a lot of true flagship features for a lower price tag but please consider a few shortcomings before making a buying decision.

You can now get the Xiaomi Mi Mix 2 with a generous discount code ($50 OFF the retail price). COUPON: MIMX2K

The post Xiaomi Mi Mix 2 Review – The Bezel-less BEAUTY with a few Flaws appeared first on Gizmochina.

If you follow the trend of the budget Chinese phones, you know that manufacturers just love that full-screen design. Honestly, I don’t mind that because phones just look great. The Elephone S8 is one of the most powerful full-screen phones for less than $240. Learn more in the full Elephone S8 review.

VIDEO REVIEW

UNBOXING

The phone ships with all the usual stuff, no extras included.

DESIGN and DISPLAY

The 6” 2k resolution display is just gorgeous and probably the best I’ve seen on a budget all-screen design phone. It’s really sharp and it’s a great panel overall. Obviously, the tradeoff is that the phone is quite huge.

A nice glass back, a sturdy aluminum frame and precise buttons add quite a lot of a premium look and feel, and it’s just nice to hold the phone in the hand despite its huge footprint. One thing that bothers me is a hybrid SIM card tray that rattles just a bit.

There is a beefy 21MP camera and 8MP shooter for selfies that is implemented on the bottom right corner.

Now a few features as quickly as possible: there is no headset jack, which is a shame for a budget phone. The device uses USB C port, there is no LED notification light, the fingerprint scanner is fast and reliable but the display could light up a bit faster.

The loudspeaker quality is not the best but it’s significantly better than on other budget full-screen phones I’ve tested.

HARDWARE and PERFORMANCE

The Elephone S8 stands out from the crowd of budget full-screen phones because it’s a more powerful phone. The device has a deca-core  Helio X25 chipset with the max. clock speeds of 2.5GHz, 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage, which is not expandable for some reason.

Even though all the specs sound impressive, I found that the phone stutters in some 3D games on the highest graphics settings. I can’t say that the phone lags but there are quite a few skipped frames. The phone gets quite warm but it does not overheat.

BENCHMARKS

USER INTERFACE

Where the phone does not stutter or lag, is the user interface that is based on Android 7.1. Well, there are some weird translations like a whitelist. Also, the blue light filter is called a night light and you cannot adjust the intensity of it.

Other features like gesture controls work just fine if you plan to use them. My most favorite part is that Elephone preserved that stock Android look and feel and the phone is really fast, no matter what you do with it.

CAMERAS

The camera department is where the Elephone is also better than other full display budget phones I’ve reviewed. Obviously, the pictures are not perfect as some of them lack sharpness, the colors look washed out and so on but in general, the daylight image quality is decent considering the price of the phone.

The night images are not that good but again, the quality is a bit better than I expected.

Selfies could look sharper but I think that will look pretty good on social media.

What is frustrating with all these full-screen phones is that they can shoot videos only in 480p. Still, the videos come out quite usable for social media or video chats. Obviously, you need to hold the phone upside down both when shooting videos or taking selfies.

Another con is that the phone uses HEVC format for videos, meaning that you need to convert it before you can use it. I know that’s easy to do but it is an extra step for a budget phone owner.

The quality of the video is pretty good but the footage could look sharper and have more detail. The sound recording quality is actually pretty good for a budget phone.

Download full resolution camera samples

CONNECTIVITY

The call quality is not bad but it could be better. I didn’t have issues with other connectivity options like wifi, Bluetooth or GPS. The phone has 13 sensors including a gyroscope, so you are all set if you want to use the device with VR headsets.

BATTERY LIFE

The phone rocks a huge 4000mAh battery that allows you to use the phone for an entire day or more. I could get about 6 or even 7 hours of screen on time even with quite a few apps installed and social media accounts that usually sync in the background.

It takes just over 1.5 hours to fully charge the phone with the supplied charger.

CONCLUSIONS

The Elephone S8 is the best budget full-screen phone I’ve tested so far. I just love its sharp 6” display, the overall build quality, the speed and fluidity, a great battery life and surprisingly decent cameras.

Obviously, you should consider the fact that the phone lacks a headset jack, there is no LED notification light, no NFC, no microSD card slot and the front camera shoots video only at 480p resolution.

If you can live with these shortcomings, the Elephone S8 is definitely one of the best full-screen phones on a budget.

The post The Best Budget Bezel Less Smartphone 2017? Elephone S8 Review! appeared first on Gizmochina.

The reason why I didn’t make my initial hands-on video of the new Huawei Mate series phone is that I wanted to spend just a little bit more time with the device. Obviously, I prefer the Mate 10 Pro that has a larger display and more power. Learn more in our Huawei Mate 10 Pro review after using the phone for 36 hours!

VIDEO REVIEW

DESIGN and DISPLAY

If I was just a mainstream consumer, the key selling point for me would be the design of the Mate 10 Pro. It combines metal and glass and a 6” 1080p display with very thin bezels. The panel itself is just gorgeous despite the fact that it does not have 2k resolution. The phone just looks and feels premium and it sits nicely in the hand despite its huge footprint.

The new accent stripe looks really nice in practice. There is an upgraded camera setup too. A 12-megapixel RGB camera is paired with a 20-megapixel monochrome sensor here, and both lenses feature apertures of up to f/1.6.

CAMERAS

That camera takes really good pictures in daylight but keep in mind that the device runs on the pre-release software. In fact, I have an advanced release review unit meaning that both the device and software may differ when it is made available to consumers. There are manual, 2x optical zoom and portrait modes that take pretty good pictures but more on the image quality in the full review. The 4k video looks quite sharp and detailed.

Full resolution camera samples

FEATURES

The new Mate 10 phones sport the first Huawei chipset with a neural processing unit or AI component of the processor, which learns how you use the phone and helps the DEVICE adapt to assure the best user experie3nce. For example, the AI chip detects what kind of picture you take to apply the best image settings. Also, it helps apply the right amount of blurring effect in the portrait mode.

Obviously, the AI component does a lot more than helping you take better pictures. For example, it learns how you use the phone to make it faster by allocating the resources to the specific task. So far, Microsoft has updated its Translator app to make use of the AI chipset to speed up the translation process. I will cover the AI capabilities of this phone in detail in my full review.

Now a few features in a nutshell: the Mate 10 Pro is water and dust resistant thanks to IP67 certification but it lacks the headset jack, so you would need to use a supplied adapter for traditional headphones.

I found the fingerprint scanner to be blazing fast and accurate. A beefy 4000mAh battery will easily get you through the day or more. There is a fast charging tech on board that charges the battery up to 58% in 30 mins. However, the phone does not have wireless charging.

HARDWARE

As for hardware, the Huawei Mate 10 Pro is one of the most powerful phones you can get. The phone ships with an octa-core Hisilicon Kirin 970 chipset, 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, which is not expandable.

The phone is really fast and responsive but obviously, I haven’t installed many apps like I always do and I have to spend a little more time with the device.

The Mate 10 Pro ships with Android 8 out of the box but it has the EMUI skin built on top of it. As usual to Huawei phones, there are plenty of features and customization options to make the phone look your own.

The Mate 10 Pro will cost €799, which puts the phone in the flagship price category. It will be released in Europe, the US and some other markets.

Overall, the Huawei Mate 10 Pro shapes up to be quite an impressive all-around device. It packs great hardware including a dedicated AI chip, a compelling dual-camera setup and much more that I will cover in our full review.

The post Huawei Mate 10 Pro Review After 36 hours! appeared first on Gizmochina.

I have reviewed a lot of different gimbals over the time and they were great. However, they could be only used either with the phone or with an action camera and I sometimes ended up carrying two gimbals.The Zhiyun Crane M is the most versatile gimbal I’ve ever had. You can use it with a compact mirrorless camera, smartphone or any action camera. Learn more in the full Zhiyun Crane M review.

VIDEO REVIEW

UNBOXING

What is awesome is that the gimbal comes in a high-quality travel case where all the items are packed neatly.

Besides the gimbal, you get the USB cable, a carrying strap, USB charger with 2 batteries and depending on where you buy this gimbal, you may also get a mini tripod or some other accessories.

DESIGN and FEATURES

Since the Crane M is designed for many different cameras, it is a bit larger and heavier than e.g. Zhiyun Smooth 3 or Smooth Q gimbals that I have reviewed before. However, it is still quite compact but your hand may get tired after a while since the gimbal weighs 740g.

As usual to Zhiyun’s products, the build quality is top-notch. The gimbal is made entirely of metal, there are no plastic parts except for the buttons, which are clicky and don’t seem to break anytime soon.

In order to start using the gimbal, you have to mount your camera using the 1/4 screw, which is a standard size for most of the cameras. It is very important to balance the gimbal by adjusting the extendable axis on each side. It takes less than a minute to do that and you are good to go. I used the gimbal with my Panasonic G7 with 25mm prime lens and it works just great since gimbal has the max. load capacity of 650g.

You can also use the Crane M with any smartphone with the supplied cradle or any other camera as long as you are not over the load capacity limit. Even though the minimum load is 125g, I found the stabilizer to be working fine with a super light YI 4K action camera.

The ability to use any camera is the key selling point of the Crane M, in my opinion. As I said, I love filming with my phone or action camera but I don’t want to carry different gimbals. I think that the Crane M is a perfect solution for my needs.

This stabilizer has the same control system like any other gimbal made by the company. The mode button allows you to switch from one mode to another.

The default mode is called the pan following mode and I used it most of the time. If you press the mode button once, the gimbal will enter the locking mode, which is great for smooth pan or tilt shots if you want to film a particular object.

If you press the mode button twice, you will enter the pan and pitch following mode, where the gimbal moves towards the direction you point the camera to.  This mode works pretty well too. Even if you move the gimbal quickly, you will get a smooth shot since all the axes move slowly. The last mode is the selfie mode and it is triggered by pressing the mode button 3 times.

You can also control the gimbal manually using the joystick and I found this feature to work great. However, I suggest you reducing the pan and tilt speeds in the app to get those nice slow cinematic shots. Honestly, I think that this gimbal can replace a tripod and fluid head if you are on the go and don’t want to carry all your heavy camera supports if you need to take just a few shots.

The 1/4 screw mount allows you to attach the gimbal to all sorts of accessories like tripods.

You can also control the gimbal with a remote control, which is sold separately. If you don’t want to spend the extra cash, you can control it using your phone via the Bluetooth, which is awesome if you want to avoid any shakiness in those slow pan ant tilt shots.

I love that both pan and tilt axis can rotate 360 degrees, so you can use the camera in any position you want. That’s a huge advantage over some smaller gimbals I’ve tested.

If you plan to use the Crane M with a phone, make sure to download the ZY Play app that allows you to take a full advantage of the control buttons. Obviously, you can take pictures or shoot videos, switch from the main to the front-facing camera and so on. You can also zoom in and out but I wish zooming was a bit smoother.

You can also adjust the gimbal speed settings, change the resolution, set the timer or use a manual mode. However, it is really frustrating that this app does not allow you to shoot in 4k for some reason but I was told that the application will be updated soon.

IMAGE QUALITY

Like any other Zhiyun gimbal, the Crane M does an excellent job reducing the shakiness as the footage looks stunning if you use the gimbal while walking or even running. The video looks really smooth either if I used the device with a camera or with a smartphone or with my action camera. Well, the footage may look a bit shaky under extremely windy weather conditions but that is the case with every gimbal I’ve tested.

BATTERY LIFE

The Crane M is powered by two 3600mAh replaceable batteries that allow you to use the gimbal for up to 12 hours, which is a very good result.

However, if you use the Crance M with a mirrorless camera, you should expect about 10-11 hours of battery life.

A dedicated USB charger can fully charge the batteries in just a few hours but you can also charge them directly via the gimbal’s micro USB port.

CONCLUSIONS

I was impressed by the performance and overall feature set of the Zhiyun Crane M and I think it will be the only gimbal that I will be using now since it supports my Panasonic G7 camera, any smartphones or action cameras.

Well, the gimbal could be a little lighter but I prefer sturdy all-metal build instead of the plastic one. Also, I hope the ZY Play app will have the 4k video recording feature soon.

All in all, I still find the Zhiyun Crane M to be a great gimbal for my work as I can use it with each camera or smartphone that I have. For the price of under $400, I can easily recommend it as this is my go-to gimbal for more than a month.

The post My Most Favorite Camera Stabilizer – Zhiyun Crane M Review appeared first on Gizmochina.

Vernee is known for its budget phones and the Thor E is one of their latest models. It offers some cool features like a black and white display that saves power, a huge 5200mAh battery and a lot more for less than $120. In fact, you can sometimes get the phone for as low as $99, which makes it a bargain. Learn more in the full Vernee Thor E review.

Thanks to Gearbest for sending the Vernee Thor E for a review.

VIDEO REVIEW

UNBOXING

The phone ships with all the usual stuff that includes a fast charger.

DESIGN and DISPLAY

As far as design goes, the Vernee Thor E does not look exceptional by any means but it is well built, it uses a metal chassis, buttons and metal backplate, which is, however, prone to fingerprints like most of the glossy black surfaces.

What is surprising is that the phone is very light and thin considering its beefy 5200mAh battery. In fact, the Thor E measures at just 8.2mm of thickness.

Also, the phone is compact due to its 5” 720p display, which is definitely not the sharpest out there but it gets the job done for a cheap phone.

We have an interpolated 5MP selfie shooter and LED notification light but the capacitive keys are not backlit. However, you have an option to switch to on-screen keys and customize them.

One of the key selling points is a physical button that turns on the E-Ink power saving mode that switches a display to a monochrome mode and turns off some power hungry features. I think this is a really cool idea we haven’t seen on other cheap phones. More on this feature in the battery life section.

As for optics, we are looking at a 13MP interpolated camera that is coupled with a single LED flash. A fingerprint scanner is easily one of the best you can find on any cheap phone. It also unlocks the phone straight from the standby mode.

The loudspeaker quality is kind of poor and there are definitely some better cheap phones in this department.

HARDWARE and PERFORMANCE

As for hardware, the Vernee Thor E has decent specs for the price that includes an octa-core MTK6753 CPU, 3GB of RAM and 16GB of expandable storage.

The phone handles 3D gaming very well. I was surprised that Asphalt 8 ran with no lag or stutter even on highest graphics, with just a few skipped frames.

BENCHMARKS

UI

I love that the phone ships with the stock Android 7 with just a few added features like gesture and motion controls that work quite well.

Also, I like that the phone is very fast on the daily basis even after installing quite a few apps.

IMAGE QUALITY

The 13MP camera can take some decent looking images in good light but since we are talking about $120 phone, they are not ideal. The main issue that I found is that the colors look a bit washed out in some of the shots and there could definitely be more detail.

When it comes to the low-light shots, they look quite terrible. Also, the selfie pictures simply look bad.

Also, the selfie pictures simply look bad.

As for the video, it is just mediocre. Same can be said about the selfie video.

CONNECTIVITY

As for connectivity, I didn’t have any issues with this phone. Wifi, GPS, and Bluetooth works fine and call quality is decent.

BATTERY LIFE

Battery life is just amazing. I kept switching from a regular to the E-ink mode and honestly, I could get like 5 days of regular use of this phone or over 10 hours of screen on time thanks to a large 5200mAh battery that can be recharged in about 1.5h thanks to the supplied fast charger.

CONCLUSIONS

Vernee Thor E is a surprisingly good cheap smartphone that has a few features that make it stand out from the crowd.

The E-ink display feature is just awesome and it saves a lot of power. If you combine it with a huge battery, you will be able to use the phone for quite a bit of time.

Also, I like the form factor, even though the Vernee Thor E is kind of plain looking. Moreover, the phone is fast and it can even handle some 3D games quite well.

However, the cameras remain the weakest point of this device but if you don’t use the phone for taking lots of images in poor lighting, the Vernee Thor E is a pretty solid phone the price.

The post Vernee Thor E Review – Unique Smartphone for just $99! appeared first on Gizmochina.

Last year Xiaomi released the Mi Max and while it was definitely a niche product, it became very popular since the phone offered a lot of value for the price. This year, Xiaomi released the upgraded Mi Max 2 that has a humongous 6.44” display, metal body and a lot more. Learn more in our full Xiaomi Mi Max 2 review.

Thanks to Gearbest for sending the Xiaomi Mi Max 2 for a review.

VIDEO REVIEW

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTcpPM90WvQ[/embedyt]

UNBOXING

The phone ships with all the usual stuff, no extras included.

DESIGN and DISPLAY

Last year Xiaomi released the Mi Max and while it was definitely a niche product due to its large display, it became very popular since the phone offered a lot of value for the price.

Same as last year, the Mi Max 2 is definitely not for everyone since it is ridiculously huge due to it’s 6.44” 1080p display, which is really sharp and vibrant, and the sunlight legibility is decent. Some sources claim that the display is covered with the Gorilla Glass 4. I’m not 100% sure about that but I’m yet to scratch it.

The build quality is excellent as the phone is made entirely of metal, the antennas’ design looks better than on some older Xiaomi phones, the buttons do not rattle and in general, the Mi Max 2 looks and feels like a flagship phone.

We have a notification LED light, which is, however, not customizable like before.

The capacitive keys sport the same layout as usual and they are nicely backlit.

The fingerprint scanner is one of the best in class. It is fast, accurate and it allows you to unlock the phone straight from the standby mode.

HARDWARE and PERFORMANCE

The Mi Max 2 may look like a downgrade from the original Mi Max in terms of the processing power since it uses a slightly less powerful Snapdragon 625 chip, which is coupled with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of expandable storage. You can also opt in for a 128GB model if you need a lot of local storage.

I have to tell you that you don’t need to worry about phone’s gaming performance. The Mi Max 2 handles each game I played on the highest graphics setting very well, with just a few skipped frames. Also, I didn’t notice any overheating issues even after 30 mins of gaming.

BENCHMARKS

USER INTERFACE

My Xiaomi Mi Max 2 runs on the MIUI Global ROM 8.5 that is based on Android 7.1. As usual, we have quite a few features, tweaks and customization options Xiaomi phones have been famous for.

Just to name a few, I like changing the transition effects, choosing from a variety of themes or wallpapers, quickly launching the camera from the standby mode, adjusting a few display settings manually or using a built-in app lock feature.

Most importantly, the Mi Max 2 is really fast and fluid no matter what I do with it even after installing quite a few apps.

MULTIMEDIA and ENTERTAINMENT

Since the Mi Max 2 has a huge display, a lot of people will most likely use it for multimedia consumption or entertainment. Therefore, you need a good loudspeaker and the Mi Max 2 delivers in this department with its stereo speakers setup. One is on the bottom and another is embedded in the earpiece. The sound quality is one of the best you can find on any sub-$300 phone. The sound is rich, crisp and clear and the volume output is very good.

The sound quality via the headset jack is also great. No distortions and balanced sound.

CAMERAS

When it comes to optics, the Xiaomi Mi Max 2 has a 12MP camera that has f/2.0 aperture lens and dual tone dual-LED flash. The selfie camera uses a 5MP sensor. The stock Xiaomi camera app allows you to take pictures very fast. Also, there are a few shooting modes like a manual mode that lets you adjust a few image settings.

The daylight image quality is pretty good considering this is a $300 phone. The pictures are sharp, there is a good amount of detail and colors look nice. However, some of the shots may come out underexposed.

The low-light camera performance is not so great as images are really noisy and grainy.

The 4k video looks quite good. The footage is detailed and quite sharp. However, you may see some auto-focus issues, some video artifacts, and the auto-exposure can work more gracefully. Also, the video stabilization could be better. The 1080p video looks quite good too but naturally, there is less detail compared to the 4k footage. The slow-motion video is decent but there is quite a bit of noise and the auto-focus seems to be jumping too quickly.

The selfies look quite good and there should definitely be enough quality for social media needs.

The 1080p selfie video quality is decent. The sound recording quality is quite good but the sound volume is quite low for some reason.

Download full resolution camera samples

CONNECTIVITY

When it comes to connectivity, the Mi Max 2 almost excellent. Wifi speed and range are great and the Bluetooth 4.2 works fine. Also, the navigation is very accurate thanks to the built-in GPS, Beidou and Glonass receivers. There is also a built-in FM radio. However, you have to know that the phone lacks the LTE band 20, and there is no NFC.

The Mi Max 2 has a hybrid dual-SIM card tray that can take either 2 SIMs or 1 SIM and the microSD card. The call quality and signal reception are great using either SIM card slot.

As for sensors, the Mi Max 2 has an accelerometer, ambient light, gravity, proximity and gyroscope sensors that work just fine. There is also an IR blaster that allows you to control devices like TVs.

BATTERY LIFE

The 5200mAh battery on the Mi Max 2 is just fantastic.

Snapdragon 625 is one of the most efficient chips out there and thus, you can use the phone for days. That translates to over 11 hours of screen-on time, depending on how you use the phone. In other words, you can use this phone for 4 or even 5 days, which is just an amazing result.

In case you need to recharge the battery, it takes just about 2.5 hours to do it with the supplied fast charger.

CONCLUSIONS

The Xiaomi Mi Max 2 is one of the best oversized budget phablets you can buy.

For the price of less than $300, you will get an all-metal device that just looks premium, a humungous 6.44” display, great all around performance, MIUI 8 with a ton of features, stereo speakers setup, and a killer battery life.

The camera performs quite good in daylight but it struggles in lower-lit situations and in the video mode. Also, the phone lacks NFC, LTE Band 20 and finally, this phone is definitely not for everyone due to its sheer size.

At the end of the day, the Xiaomi Mi Max 2 is still a fantastic option if you are looking for a super-sized phablet but as always, make sure to consider a few shortcomings before making a purchase.

Gizmochina readers can get the Xiaomi Mi Max 2 for just $278.99 using a COUPON CODE: Max2K

The post Xiaomi Mi Max 2 Review – The Best Big Budget Smartphone of 2017? appeared first on Gizmochina.

The market is full of car cameras or dashcams but it’s not that easy to choose the right one if you don’t want to spend hundreds for it. Xiaomi dash-cam is a great camera and you can now get it for just  $46.99, which sounds like a great deal.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QMlOs1SBnQ[/embedyt]

One of the key features is a 2.7” display, which works as a viewfinder. Also, the physical control buttons to help you navigate through the menu.

A camera has a g-sensor (shock sensor). If you hit it (e.g. a car accident), the red indicator shows that the camera saves a separate file of 20 secs. (10 secs before, 10 secs after the g-sensor was activated). You can also record this separate file by clicking a red record button.

The dashcam has 165 degrees wide-angle lens with a f/1.8 aperture to assure a good low-light image quality. You can shoot videos at the maximum resolution of 1296P, which is above full-HD at 30 fps. Of course, you can switch to 60fps but you will lose a little bit of detail.

Xiaomi dash-cam is a great camera and you can now get it for just  $46.99, which sounds like a great deal.

The post Get Xiaomi YI Dashcam for just $46.99! appeared first on Gizmochina.

Meizu is a well-known Chinese manufacturer that loves saying that its phones are better than Xiaomi’s. The Meizu M5 Note is one of the company’s latest budget offerings that has a flagship-grade build quality, decent specs and a lot more. Learn more in our full review.

Thanks to lightinthebox.com for sending the Meizu M5 Note for a review.

VIDEO REVIEW

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ni24dAJsrw[/embedyt]

UNBOXING

In the box, you get all the usual stuff that includes some paperwork, SIM ejector pin, USB cable and a fast charger.

DESIGN and DISPLAY

What I absolutely love about the M5 Note is a flagship-grade build quality.

Just look at it, the phone is made entirely of metal, a silver aluminum finish does not attract fingerprints and smudges quickly and the phone feels nice in the hand. I am so excited because I prefer metal phones over the glass-made ones.

The M5 Note has a 5.5” 1080p display that is just gorgeous to look at. It is sharp and vibrant but the sunlight legibility is just average.

We have a 5MP selfie camera and a notification LED light on the top and on the bottom, there is just a home button that can be either physically pressed or just tapped if you want to use it as a back key. Also, the home button doubles as a fingerprint scanner, which is very accurate but you have to wake the phone up first in order to use it.

As far as optics go, there a 13MP shooter coupled with a dual LED flash.

I love that the buttons are tactile and they do not rattle once pressed.

The sound via the headset jack is great. No distortions and great overall quality for a budget phone. The loudspeaker is also good. In fact, it is one of the better ones in this price range.

HARDWARE and PERFORMANCE

When it comes to hardware, things don’t sound that great. Well, the Meizu M5 Note definitely has enough power for most of the daily tasks since it has 3GB of RAM and optional 16/32 or 64GB of expandable storage but the Mediatek Helio P10 chip can’t handle the most intensive tasks like gaming.

If you play games like Asphalt 8 on the highest graphics, you should expect a lot of stutters and quite a few skipped frames. You can fix this issue only if you switch the graphics setting to medium. Other games like Nova 3 run fine.

BENCHMARKS

USER INTERFACE

I have always loved the Flyme Os because of the way it looks it works. Sure, it would be nice to see the latest version of Google’s OS but the Android 6.0-based user interface is fast, there is no stutter or lag no matter what you do with it.

Also, there are some cool features like gesture and motion controls and they work perfectly. I just love those basic gestures that allow you to use the phone in one hand quite easily. You can also customize the phone by changing themes, wallpapers and so on. Finally, my international review unit comes with most of the languages, google play installed and there is no chinese bloatware.

CAMERAS

I like Meizu’s camera app because it is fast and responsive. However, there are a few things the company didn’t fix for a long time, e.g. the shooting modes and settings menus work only in portrait mode for some reason. You can select from a few shooting modes that include a manual mode or slow motion in 720p video mode.

IMAGE QUALITY

Meizu M5 Note takes one of the best pictures you can get on any sub-$150 phone. You will usually get photos that have plenty of detail and sharpness, and the colours will look nice. The dynamic range and white balance may be off in some of the shots but the HDR mode does a decent job bringing the detail back to the shadows (at the expense of a bit unnatural looking picture).

The low-light shots have qutie a bit of noise and grain but this is usually a case with all budget phones.

The 1080p video looks okay. Not very impressive in general but pretty good for a budget phone.

The selfies look pretty good except for the fact that the colours look a bit washed out.

The 1080p selfie video looks good but again, the colors are washed out. Finally, the sound recording quality is really good for a cheap phone.

Download full resolution camera samples

CONNECTIVITY

When it comes to connectivity, the M5 Note remains solid. Call quality and signal reception are great, wifi and 4g speeds are good and the Bluetooth works fine. However, I found the GPS to be less accurate than flagship phones.

BATTERY LIFE

A 4000 mAh battery is one of my favourite features of the Meizu M5 note. Your results may vary but with my usage, I could constantly get over 5 hours of screen-on time with 2 SIM cards and quite a heavy usage of the phone.

If you need to recharge the battery, you can do it quickly in just over 1:30 h with the supplied fast charger.

CONCLUSIONS

The Meizu M5 Note is a very solid budget smartphone that delivers in a lot of ways. I absolutely love the design and build quality of it, the speed and feature set of the UI, the camera, and outstanding battery life.

My main complaints would be that the phone uses Helio P10 chip which is not designed for gamers. Also, the phone still runs on Android 6.0 and we still have a regular micro USB port for charging.

Other than that, Meizu M5 Note is a great offering for the price if you don’t mind those shortcomings.

The post Meizu M5 Note Review – Better Than Xiaomi? A Solid Budget Phone! appeared first on Gizmochina.

Moto G series has been widely successful over the years and the G5 is the new iteration of the Lenovo’s budget smartphones lineup. The Moto G5 sports pretty good specs, almost stock Android 7 and a lot more other features. Learn more in the full review.

VIDEO REVIEW

UNBOXING

The Moto G5 ships with all the usual stuff, no extras included.

DESIGN and DISPLAY

As far as design goes, I love that the phone is well-built, it sits comfortably in the hand and the buttons are tactile.

Also, I can manage the device in one hand due to its sharp and vibrant 5” 1080p LCD display. However, the direct sunlight legibility could be slightly better.

Even though the Moto G5 is well-built, the choice of materials does not really impress. Well, yes, we have a metal backplate, which is nice but the entire frame and buttons are made of plastic.

Also, that fake chrome plastic trim on the front looks kinds of cheap to me.

We have a 5MP camera for selfies along with the earpiece, which doubles as a front-facing loudspeaker. The sound quality is actually pretty good for a cheap phone. There is no LED notification light because the display lights on every time you pick it up to show you the essentials at a glance.

You can use either on-screen navigation keys or control the phone with just one button, which is one of my favorite features of this phone.

Firstly, you can unlock the device with the help of embedded fingerprint scanner, which is accurate and fast and you can use it straight from the standby mode. Secondly, you can lock the phone by tapping and holding the home key. If you hold the button longer, you will open up Google Assistant. If you swipe left, you will go back. Swiping to the right, opens up your recent apps and finally, tapping the button takes you home.

As for optics, we have a 13MP shooter with f/2.0 aperture lens and a single LED flash.

HARDWARE and PERFORMANCE

When it comes to hardware, the Moto G5 is kind of a low-end phone but Snapdragon 430 chip coupled with 3GB of RAM and 16GB of storage assures a great all-around performance.

There is also a 2GB RAM model but it costs just $20 less, so I recommend you getting a 3GB RAM option. However, you may want to buy a microSD card since the phone has just 10GB of user-accessible storage.

Once you start playing some 3D games, you realize that software is optimized to make the best out of the Snapdragon 430 processor. In fact, games like Asphalt 8 run smoothly even on the highest graphics setting, which is really impressive. Finally, the phone does not overheat.

BENCHMARKS

USER INTERFACE

The software is what makes me love the Moto G5. The phone ships with almost stock-looking Android 7 out of the box, meaning that the device is really snappy and fluid all the time.

I love some added features like gesture and motion controls that work just great. My favorites include chopping the phone twice to turn on the flashlight and twisting the phone to turn on the camera. Even after installing quite a few apps, the Moto G5 has been running fast and this is the most important thing for any phone.

CAMERAS

The camera app allows you to take pictures quite fast and the app is easy to use. I love that there is an auto-HDR mode, which is kind of rare on budget devices.

When it comes to the image quality, the pictures are one of the best in any sub-$200 phone. Most of the images looks sharp, detailed and the dynamic range adjustment is pretty good. The only complaint would be that the colours may look a bit washed out in some of the shots.

Most of the budget phones’ cameras are terrible in low-light but the Moto G5 is one of the best I’ve seen in this price range as the camera does a decent job with noise reduction.

The selfies look pretty good too and there is plenty of image quality for social media needs.

The 1080p video quality is good. There is plenty of detail, the video stabilization is decent and the continuous auto-focus works fine. However, there are quite a few video artifacts and the sound recording quality is quite terrible. The selfie video quality is decent but again, the sound recording quality does not impress.

CONNECTIVITY

You can remove the backplate to access your two SIM slots and the microSD card slot.

When it comes to connectivity, I have no complaints at all. Wifi and Bluetooth work fine, GPS is very accurate and finally, the signal reception and call quality are great as on most of the Moto phones.

BATTERY LIFE

The replaceable 2800 mAh battery performs great. With my usage, I could constantly get over 5 hours of screen on time while using the phone for taking pictures, browsing the web, checking emails and a little bit of gaming.

The supplied Rapid Charger can fully charge the phone in just about 1:15 h, which is awesome.

What is not so awesome, is that the Moto G5 still uses the micro USB charging port. I believe all manufacturers should start using the USB-C port even on budget phones, to make the transition to the new standard faster.

CONCLUSIONS

The Moto G series has been one of the most popular in the budget phones category and the G5 is another solid budget smartphone.

While it is not perfect like most of the affordable phones, it is an easy buying recommendation for those who want to spend just about $200 for a new phone. Just remember to consider if the previously mentioned shortcomings are important to you or not.

The post Lenovo Moto G5 Review – The Budget Smartphone King is Back? appeared first on Gizmochina.

If you are looking for something to pimp your setup, the LED light strip is one of the most simple and awesome-looking solutions. The Xiaomi Yeelight Smart Light Strip is one of the best LED lighting solutions in terms of quality and price.

We have reviewed this product a month ago and I’ve been still using it on the daily basis, it works absolutely fine.

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gm_AnjX34-o[/embedyt]

We suggest checking out our video review above or a written review for more details about this Xiaomi LED strip.

In short, the Xiaomi Yeelight Smart Light Strip can be controlled with the wired controller. You can press it once to power it on or press and hold it to change the color.

However, it is much more fun to control it wirelessly as the LED strip has a built-in Wifi and it can be controlled via the Yeelight app. You can change the colors of the strip, adjust the brightness, select from different flow and scene modes and adjust a variety of settings if you wish so.

Currently Gearbest has this LED light strip on sale and you can get it for an amazingly low price of just $28.99 (regular price: $42.59). Make sure to use the coupon code: XYSTRIP during checkout.

The post DEAL! Get Amazing Xiaomi Yeelight Smart Light Strip for just $28.99 appeared first on Gizmochina.

If you are looking for something to pimp your setup, the LED light strip is one of the most simple and awesome-looking solutions. I just came across the brand new Xiaomi Yeelight Smart Light Strip and after using it for quite some time, I have to say that it is really awesome.

Use the coupon: XMstrip  for a discount price of $36.99

New Coupon!: Coupon: XYSTRIP
Price: $28.99 (regular price: $42.59)

VIDEO REVIEW

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gm_AnjX34-o[/embedyt]

UNBOXING

The item ships in a box, where all the items are packed neatly. Inside the box, you can find a strip itself that is already connected to the remote control and the power plug.

DESIGN and FEATURES

Having reviewed quite a few lighting solutions made by the Xiaomi, I knew that this would be a high-quality product. It is very well-made and it does not seem to break anytime soon.

FUNCTIONALITY

This smart LED strip can be controlled with the wired controller. You can press it once to power it on or press and hold it to change the color.

However, it is much more fun to control it wirelessly as the LED strip has a built-in Wifi and it can be controlled via the Yeelight app.

I had no issues connecting the strip to my phone. The interface of the app is very intuitive. You can change the colors of the strip, adjust the brightness, select from different flow and scene modes and adjust a variety of settings if you wish so.

CONCLUSIONS

All in all, the Xiaomi Yeelight Smart Light Strip is very cool lighting solution and it has been working absolutely fine so far.

The price of around $40 may sound a little steep for some but it is actually a lot cheaper than other smart LED light solutions e.g. Philips Hue light strip. The Xiaomi smart strip does everything you can ask for this kind of product and thus, it can be definitely recommended.

Use the coupon: XMstrip  for a discount price of $36.99

New Coupon!: Coupon: XYSTRIP
Price: $28.99 (regular price: $42.59)

The post Xiaomi Yeelight Smart Light Strip Review! It is Awesome! appeared first on Gizmochina.

This is not a Pepsi commercial, this is a Pepsi smartphone. It doesn’t matter if you like drinking Pepsi or not, this device is really good… and it doesn’t even cost a hundred bucks. Learn more in our full review.

Thanks to Banggood for sending Pepsi P1s for a review.

Pepsi P1s Review: VIDEO REVIEW

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6INCfU88Pns[/embedyt]

Pepsi P1s Review: UNBOXING

It all starts with beautiful presentation and all the items are packed neatly. In the box, you can find all the usual stuff and some extras like a pair of earphones, a screen protector and a soft TPU case.

Pepsi P1s Review: SPECS

Pepsi P1s Review: DESIGN and DISPLAY

No one will ever tell you that this phone does not even cost a $100. The device sports an all-metal shell and it is well-constructed. In fact, I dropped the phone on the rocks from about 2 meters and the only damage there was – a few dings on the metal frame and metal buttons. Speaking of the buttons, they are nice and tactile.

We have a 5.5” LCD 1080p display, which is sharp, bright and vibrant, and it is one of the best panels on such a cheap phone.

Just above the display, there is a 5MP selfie camera. Unfortunately, there is no LED notification light and the capacitive buttons are not backlit.

As far as the main camera goes, we have a 13MP shooter coupled with the LED flash. Just below the camera, there is a fingerprint scanner, which is not the fastest around but it is accurate enough and it works straight from the standby mode.

The loudspeaker sits on the bottom and I have to tell you that it is one of the best I’ve heard in a sub-$100 phone.

Pepsi P1s Review: HARDWARE and PERFORMANCE

The Pepsi phone is no slouch when it comes to the internal hardware. It ships with an octa-core MTK6592 chip, clocked at 1.7Ghz, 2GB of RAM and 16GB of expandable storage.

These are not the flagship-grade specs but the phone handles 3D games pretty well. I enjoyed playing Asphalt 8 on medium graphics without any stutter but the phone gets quite warm quickly.

On the other hand, the device never got too hot that it became uncomfortable.

Pepsi P1s Review: BENCHMARKS

Pepsi P1s Review: USER INTERFACE

Speaking of the UI performance, it is good too. I didn’t have any hiccups or lags. The phone ships with the dido OS, which is a surprisingly good implementation of the already dated Android 5.1.

All the icons that sit on the home screens, have some Pepsi design elements. While it justifies the purpose of this phone, I’m not a huge fan of that cartoonish look. On the other hand, the user interface has quite a few customization options and some added features like a bunch of gesture and motion controls.

Pepsi P1s Review: IMAGE QUALITY

You can’t expect much from a cheap phone when it comes to the image quality but the Pepsi phone is capable of taking some decent looking images when there is enough lighting.

Some of the low-light images may be usable but don’t expect any stellar results.

A front-facing camera can take just mediocre-looking selfies but they may be enough for social media.

The 1080p video, on the other hand, is one of the best in class. See a video review for a video sample.

Pepsi P1s Review: CONNECTIVITY

When it comes to connectivity, the phone supports 4G and it can take either 2 SIM cards or a combo of 1 SIM and the microSD card.

I didn’t have any connectivity issues. Even the GPS lock speeds were fast and the GPS was accurate.

Pepsi P1s Review: BATTERY LIFE

The phone ships with 3000mAh battery that performs quite well. The device will get you through the day and I was able to get around 3.5h of screen-on time, which is not the best result but I can definitely live with that.

Unfortunately, the phone does not support fast charging feature.

Pepsi P1s Review: CONCLUSIONS

The Pepsi phone is a one pleasant surprise, to be honest. I didn’t even know it existed before I decided to review it. The device exceeded my expectations considering its low price tag.

It has a nice looking all-metal design and excellent build quality and brilliant display. Also, the phone performs well and its UI may look a bit cartoonish but it has some nice features.

Also, the camera can take some decent looking daylight images and the phone has a good loudspeaker.

On the other hand, you have to consider that the Pepsi smartphone lacks the notification LED light, its capacitive buttons are not backlit, the phone ships with the already dated Android 5.1 and last but not least, the phone ships with a few pre-installed bloatware apps.

All in all, the $93 Pepsi smartphone may not be the perfect device but it is definitely one of the best phones you can buy at this price point, despite a few shortcomings.

The post Pepsi Smartphone Review! A Fantastic $93 Smartphone! appeared first on Gizmochina.

Meizu has produced quite a few smartphones this year and the M3 is one of the most affordable ones. Learn more in our full review.

Thanks to Gearbest for sending Meizu M3 for a review.

Meizu M3 Review: VIDEO REVIEW

[embedyt]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_IR8Ck6QYY[/embedyt]

Meizu M3 Review: UNBOXING

In the box, you can find a wall charger, USB cable, SIM ejector pin and some paperwork.

Meizu M3 Review: SPECS

Meizu M3 Review: DESIGN and DISPLAY

Meizu M3 is a very compact phone due to its 5” display and it looks like a shrunk down Meizu M2 Note.

Speaking of the display, it sports just a 720p resolution but it still quite sharp and good display for a budget phone like this. The only complaint would be that it could be slightly brighter for outdoor use.

We have a 5MP shooter along with a notification LED light on the top.

On the bottom, there is just a physical home button and you can either physically press to take you home or just tap it and it acts as a back button. Unfortunately, the phone lacks a fingerprint scanner.

Although the device uses glossy plastic in its construction, the phone is well-built and it feels solid. In fact, it is really comfortable to hold it in the hand due to rounded corners on the back. We have a 13MP camera with f/2.2 aperture on the back coupled with a dual-tone dual LED flash.

The loudspeaker sits on the bottom and the sound quality is actually pretty good for the phone this cheap.

The buttons are on the right, they are clicky and tactile.

We have a hybrid SIM card slot, which can take either 2 SIM cards or a combo of 1 SIM and the microSD card.

Overall, the Meizu M3 is a well-constructed phone and it feels great in the hand.

Meizu M3 Review: HARDWARE and PERFORMANCE

Meizu M3 has some pretty decent specs for the price. My review unit sports an octa-core Mediatek 6750 chip with the clock speeds of 1.5GHz, 2 GB of RAM and 16GB of expandable storage.

The day-to-day performance of the UI is fast but the gaming performance is kind of a letdown. The phone lags quite a bit when playing Asphalt 8 even at the lowest graphics.

Meizu M3 Review: BENCHMARKS

Meizu M3 Review: USER INTERFACE

My Meizu M3 unit has FlyMe OS 5.1, which is built on top of Android 5.1. My review unit has a fully de-bloated ROM with multi-languages and Google Play services pre-installed.

If you are familiar with the FlyMe OS, you will feel right at home. There is no app tray but there are some neat features. For example, you can swipe down anywhere on the screen to open up the notification shade. If you swipe from the bottom, you will open up your recent apps and this is one of my favourite features.

We have a bunch of other features, plenty of customization options, various tweaks and settings to play with. Just to name a few, you can use choose from a variety of themes, use gesture controls, which work fine and so on.

Overall, the FlymeOS runs fast and fluid, I didn’t have a single hiccup on a daily basis.

Meizu M3 Review: IMAGE QUALITY

The 13MP camera is far from perfect but it can produce one of the better-looking images in a sub-$120 phone.

Most of the daylight shots will look good but one of the shortcomings is a poor dynamic range adjustment. Luckily, the HDR mode does a pretty good job solving this issue.

The low-light camera performance is okay for the phone this cheap but keep in mind that cheap phones usually don’t take great night shots.

The 1080p video looks pretty good and the footage is one of the best in class. See a video review for a video sample.

A 5MP selfie shooter can take some nice photos that will definitely do the trick for social media.

Meizu M3 Review: CONNECTIVITY

As for connectivity, you should not expect any issues with neither of the options that include wifi, Bluetooth, GPS or call quality.

Meizu M3 Review: BATTERY LIFE

The phone has an embedded 2870mAh battery that performs well. I could constantly get over 5 hours of SOT on a mixed use, which is a good result.

Meizu M3 Review: CONCLUSIONS

Meizu M3 is one of the better phones in this price range.

Sure, some may say that it lacks some common features like a fingerprint scanner and fast charging but the phone has a good display and great build quality.

Also, the device is fast on a daily basis, it has a good battery and one of the better cameras in its price range.

However, you have to keep in mind that the phone will struggle handling the 3D games and it lacks premium materials like metal in its build.

Overall, Meizu M3 is a great phone for the price of just $116 despite a few shortcomings.

The post Meizu M3 Review – A Great Cheap Smartphone! appeared first on Gizmochina.

We teamed up with our friends at Gearbest to let you guys know about some amazing deals gearbest.com.

They have a summer sale, which is held from June 13th to June 17th.

This promo includes some ultimate flash deals that will start on the second day of the Big Sale. You can get some insane discounts on various gadgets if you are quick enough to snap a deal.

Also, there will be some great deals per category, e.g. you can get some serious discounts on smartphones, tablets, outdoors and sports deals, and more.

In addition, you will be able to purchase a lot of Xiaomi products at the discounted prices and participate in Summer Lucky Draw contest to win some free gifts.

GIVEAWAY!!!

Last but not least I wanted to give away a brand new Xiaomi YI Car dashcam. In fact, I have recently reviewed it, it is a great camera that shoots some high-quality videos and it has some other great features. Make sure to check Xiaomi Yi dashcam review out.

All the give away instructions and the official entry link are in the video below:

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COEt-VhE084[/embedyt]

The post Xiaomi YI Dashcam GIVEAWAY + Amazing Gearbest Deals!!! appeared first on Gizmochina.

OnePlus 3 official release date is approaching and I was one of the lucky ones that managed to get the OnePlus Loop VR headset for free. Well, I just needed to pay the shipping fee of 7 EUR, to be precise. I spent some time with it and here is my full review.

OnePlus VR  Headset Review: VIDEO

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8BJY8esTps[/embedyt]

OnePlus VR  Headset Review: UNBOXING

Inside in the box you are getting the headset itself, some paperwork, a cleaning cloth and a head strap.

OnePlus VR  Headset Review: DESIGN and FEATURES

The very first thing that is going to impress you is the build quality. I’m not sure what will be the retails price of it but I presume it will be around $30.

The headset uses high-quality plastic, rubber, foam and other materials and the device does not look cheap at all.

The one and only thing that you can control is the distance between your eyes. I was disappointed that you cannot control the distance between the phone and your eyes. Also, you have to know that this is a passive headset, meaning that there are no control buttons.

I am not going to talk too much what you can do with any basic VR headset but you can check out the video of the Blitzwolf VR headset review for that.

In order to start using the VR headset, you have to slide your phone in and for this review I used the Samsung Galaxy S7 edge. There is some foam and rubber inside the sliding part and it kept my phone secure. Well, this review would have been completely different otherwise.

When it comes to any VR headset, one of the key aspects is comfort. Unfortunately, the OnePlus headset fails in this department.

I may sound a little subjective, or my nose has a weird shape, or my head has a weird shape… I don’t know… but the main issue is that there is no cushion on the nose part and it is really uncomfortable. You can partly solve this issue by sliding the headset up to your forehead but it may slide back.

OnePlus VR  Headset Review: CONCLUSIONS

I can’t complain much about the OnePlus VR headset since I got it for free. In fact, I love a great build quality and a choice of materials. However, you cannot adjust the distance between the phone and your eyes.

Also, I didn’t find the headset to be comfortable to wear. I’m not sure for how much OnePlus is going to sell it but I have reviewed some other cheap options that may not have that great build quality of the OnePlus VR headset, but they are more comfortable to wear.

The post OnePlus VR Headset Review – Good but Not Really Comfortable appeared first on Gizmochina.

Today we are looking a high-quality desk LED lamp made by Philips. The product costs $77 but it has some great features and it sports a great build quality. Learn more in the full review.

Philips Intelligent App Dimming LED Desk Lamp Review: VIDEO

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69DnpEwEIvY[/embedyt]

Philips Intelligent App Dimming LED Desk Lamp Review: UNBOXING

The lamp comes with the power plug and some instruction manuals.

Philips Intelligent App Dimming LED Desk Lamp Review: DESIGN and FEATURES

As for design, we are looking at the device, which has an excellent build quality. The lamp sports matt plastic and aluminum in its construction. The lamp is flexible and it is actually very light if you plan to use it for traveling.

One of the highlights is a control touchpad, which allows you to control the brightness output. I have to tell you that the touchpad is very responsive and intuitive.

A very cool feature is that you can control the lamp using your phone with the Xiaomi YI home app. It uses the wifi connection and it works absolutely fine.

As far as the LED light itself, it uses just 4W of power but it produces 250 lumens of light output, which is plenty enough for reading or doing other stuff. Also, the LEDs use special honeycomb lens to protect your eyesight. Not sure how this tech works but the lamp did not irritate my eyes.

Another cool feature is that you can charge any USB-powered device via the USB port.

Also, the rubber padding prevents the lamp from sliding on the table.

Philips Intelligent App Dimming LED Desk Lamp Review: CONCLUSIONS

I’m not saying that this LED desk lamp is the best ever or anything like that but since I’ve used it for a couple of weeks on a daily basis, I can assure you that it is a great product. Also, it is made by a well-respected Dutch manufacturer.

I love the design and build, the ability to easily control the lamp using a touchpad or your phone. Also, I’m not worried about leaving it on as it uses just 4W of power but it is bright enough for a desk lamp.

Overall, this Philips desk lamp is a great product . It may not be the cheapest product out there but since I didn’t find any shortcomings, I can definitely recommend it.

The post Philips Intelligent App Dimming LED Desk Lamp Review appeared first on Gizmochina.

Today we are looking at Philips LED desk lamp with a 4-level dimmer. It costs just above $50. Learn more if it is worth the price in our full review.

Thanks to Gearbest for sending Philips LED desk lamp for a review.

VIDEO

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSmYh2N0oXA[/embedyt]

UNBOXING

The lamp comes with the power plug as it does not have embedded battery and some paperwork.

DESIGN and FEATURES

As for design, we are looking at a very high-quality piece of hardware.

It is very sturdy and the lamp uses aluminum and quality plastic in its construction.

One of the selling points of this lamp is that it has a 4-level dimmer which is controlled by a simple tap. If you want to turn the lamp off, simply draw a circle.

The LED light consumes just around 5W of power but it provides up to 350LM of natural white light output, which is more than enough for reading or other stuff.

Another cool thing about this lamp is that it foldable in a lot of different ways and it gives you a lot of flexibility. You  can adjust arm as well as rotate the light part up to 180 degrees.

Also, you can use a screw driver to adjust the tightness of the arm to your liking.

Finally, this Philips LED desk lamp weighs just above 1kg and it is travel-friendly since you can easily fold it.

CONCLUSIONS

I’ve been using Philips LED desk lamp for a few weeks already every single day and it has been working absolutely fine. It is well-made, the aluminum construction adds a bit of a premium look to it and the lamp is very stable.

Well, it would have been nice if it had an embedded battery but I use it on my desk, which is close to the power socket.

The price tag of just above $50 may sound steep for some but this lamp is made by a well-respected manufacturer and its high-quality construction and a feature set is definitely worth the price in our opinion.

The post Philips 4-level Touch Dimming LED Desk Lamp Review – A Really Cool Desk Lamp! appeared first on Gizmochina.

We were really happy about the Xiaomi Redmi 3 and we even called it the best cheap phone at the time of our review and we suggest you checking it out. 

The device had a lot to offer for a very low price. It seems that Xiaomi wants to take cheap phones to a new level with the Redmi 3 Pro. We have all the great features of the Redmi 3 but the company added some significant upgrades to the device. Learn more in our Xiaomi Redmi 3 Pro review.

Thanks to Giztop for providing us with the Xiaomi Redmi 3 Pro for a review.

Xiaomi Redmi 3 Pro VIDEO REVIEW:

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4u6xpKmhde0[/embedyt]

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uaIUNQqlpxc[/embedyt]

Xiaomi Redmi 3 Pro Review: UNBOXING

The packaging is the same as the one that came with the Redmi 3. The contents of the box include a power plug, USB cable, instruction manuals and SIM ejector pin.

Xiaomi Redmi 3 Pro Review: SPECS

Xiaomi Redmi 3 Pro Review: DESIGN

As for design, nothing really changed except for the fact that Xiaomi added a fingerprint scanner on the back. It is very accurate and it works straight from the standby mode. 

Once I first picked the phone up I noticed that the build quality is slightly better than the Redmi 3.

There is no major difference but the buttons have a slightly better tactile feedback and there are absolutely no moving parts on the device (the Redmi 3’s back cover moved a little bit if pressed harder).

Other than that, we have the same button placement, the same ports, camera and it is the same phone in terms of the design as the Redmi 3 except for a fingerprint reader.

One thing is that the gold model looks much better to me than the silver model of the Redmi 3 we reviewed previously. 

Xiaomi Redmi 3 Pro Review: HARDWARE and PERFORMANCE

A hardware department is where the Redmi 3 Pro has improved. Well, it uses the same octa-core Snapdragon 616 chip with the maximum clock speeds of 1.5GHz. However, now we are getting 3GB of RAM and 32GB of expandable storage via the microSD card slot. 

As expected, gaming performance is good. Asphalt 8 runs perfectly on medium graphics and there were just a few minor skipped frames on the highest graphics settings, so you may enjoy playing even the most demanding games on the Redmi 3 Pro.

Xiaomi Redmi 3 Pro Review: BENCHMARKS

Xiaomi Redmi 3 Pro Review: UI

Xiaomi Redmi 3 Pro comes with MIUI 7.2, which is built on top of Android 5.1. Hopefully, Xiaomi updates this phone to Marshmallow soon.

The UI looks the same as on any other Xiaomi phone. As usual, there is no app tray and all apps sit on the home-screens.

If you are not yet familiar with the MIUI, it has tons of customization options, which include a wide choice of themes, wallpapers, fonts and so on. 

Also, you can highly customise the LED light, assign different tasks to capacitive buttons, do various tweaks and personalise the phone in a lot of different ways. 

All in all, MIUI 7.2 runs fast and fluid most of the times and I didn’t really have any hiccups or lags. 

Xiaomi Redmi 3 Pro Review: MULTIMEDIA 

Watching full-HD content is a blast as videos in different formats play smoothly. The sound via earphones is pretty good with a loud volume output and clear sound for a budget device.  

As far as the loudspeaker, it is pretty good too. While it is definitely not the best but it has a reasonable amount of depth and it does not sound tinny like a lot of cheap phones. 

Xiaomi Redmi 3 Pro Review: IMAGE QUALITY

The 13MP camera takes pictures very fast thanks to PDAF system.  Also, I see a slight improvement over the Redmi 3 and that is thanks to the updated software.

The camera has become more consistent with the daylight shots and it does not struggle with focusing. If you take pictures in good lighting, you can achieve some great results. The images are sharp and detailed almost every time you take a photo.

The only downsides are that sometimes there is a softer focus on the corners and the dynamic range was off in a few shots.

The indoor and low-light shots have less detail and more noise but they are still not bad for the phone this cheap if we compare the Redmi 3 Pro to other devices in this price range. 

The selfie camera is pretty good for social media needs.

Download a 1080p video sample

The video quality is good but not great. The level of detail is decent but there is some noise in the video, the footage could have more sharpness and the lack of OIS leads to a kind of shaky footage. Well, I believe it is too much to ask for OIS in a budget phone anyway. See a video review for a video sample. 

Download full resolution camera samples

Xiaomi Redmi 3 Pro Review: CONNECTIVITY

All the connectivity options work great. Call quality is okay and signal reception is excellent. Also, Wifi, GPS and Bluetooth are working fine. However, I was disappointed as the phone does not support 5GHz Wifi connection.

Xiaomi Redmi 3 Pro Review: BATTERY LIFE 

The Xiaomi Redmi 3 Pro has a huge 4100mAh non-removable battery and it performs just like the regular Redmi 3. 

In short, battery life is fantastic. I could not squeeze the battery out in one day even on heavy usage that involved gaming, installing lots of apps, watching a lot of videos, taking pictures, browsing the web and so on. 

I was able to achieve over 7 hours of screen-on time with max. auto brightness setting of the screen. That means that you can achieve even more impressive results if you reduce the brightness or don’t use the phone that heavily like I did during my testing period. 

Finally, Xiaomi claims that the Redmi 3 Pro has a fast charging feature. However, it took me just over 3.5h to charge the phone with the original charger. That means that you would need to buy a fast charger separately to charge your phone fast. 

Xiaomi Redmi 3 Pro Review: CONCLUSIONS

So here it is, the Xiaomi Redmi 3 Pro, an upgraded model over the Redmi 3. 

It has preserved great looks of the Redmi 3 and it even sports a better build quality. Right now the phone feels more solid in the hand. Also, the addition of a fingerprint scanner, which is fast and accurate, is a great feature to have in a compact phone. 

You are not going to see a major difference in terms of UI or gaming performance with the additional 1GB of RAM or more storage space but these specs make the Redmi 3 Pro a more solid and future-proof phone.

The daylight image quality seems to have become more consistent  and that is thanks to software optimisation. However, don’t expect any stellar results in low-light scenarios.

Some may agree, some may not but if you asked me, I would have loved to see backlit capacitive buttons on the Pro model. Also, while the 720p display is pretty good, the 1080p panel would have better justified the Pro moniker. 

All in all, the Xiaomi Redmi 3 Pro is a very solid device and it is very hard to beat it in this price range. It brought some welcome features and slight improvements over the Redmi 3 and it is highly recommended to buy if you are in the market of great affordable smartphones. 

The post Xiaomi Redmi 3 Pro Review appeared first on Gizmochina.

When it comes to the high-end smartphones, they usually cost a lot. But what if there is a device that challenges the concept of it. Meet the Xiaomi Mi5, the phone that costs as twice as less as the Samsung Galaxy S7. Can it really make the new Galaxy phone run for its money? Learn more in a full comparison review.

Check out Xiaomi Mi5 Review

Check out Samsung Galaxy S7 Review

Xiaomi Mi5 vs Samsung Galaxy S7: VIDEO REVIEWS

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ki-S5atjFkE[/embedyt]

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKx1VmuOl_c[/embedyt]

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBOG1UVZyaA[/embedyt]

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEfBGXWe5zg[/embedyt]

Xiaomi Mi5 vs Samsung Galaxy S7: DESIGN and DISPLAY

Both phones are very similar in a lot of ways. First, they are fairly compact as they have the 5.1” displays and thus the devices can be managed in one hand.

Both phones use metal and glass in the construction and both have curved edges on the back to help with the grip and add a little bit of aesthetics. The Galaxy S7 has one major advantage though. Its IP68 rating assures that the phone is water and dust resistant.

As for displays, the S7 brings the latest and greatest Amoled technologies. Whether you like Amoled or not, the panel is one of the best we’ve seen on any phone.

However, it doesn’t mean the Xiaomi has a bad screen. Well, its colours may not look as punchy or saturated, and the 1080p resolution means that it is not as pixel dense, the display is still very sharp, vibrant and it is pleasure to look at. It’s worth mentioning that the Galaxy phone uses a Gorilla Glass protection while the type of protection the Mi5 is not yet officially confirmed.

Just above displays we have a 4MP camera on the Xiaomi phone and 5MP snapper on the S7. Right next to it each phone has the LED light but only the one found on the Mi5 can be highly customised.

We have identical button layout on the bottom on each device that includes an embedded fingerprint scanner in the physical home button. Both scanners work equally fast but neither of them work straight from the standby mode. The Mi5 has an edge as its home button can be also tapped not only physically pressed. 

The glass back panels on both phones are enormous fingerprint magnets as any other glass surfaces. As for cameras, the Mi5 sports a 16MP Sony sensor with f/2.0 aperture, and dual LED flash. The Galaxy S7 has a 12MP shooter with a very bright f/1.7 aperture, single LED flash. Both phones sport OIS and PDAF.

The buttons on each device are clicky and tactile but I found the power key to be rattling on the Mi5 while the S7 does not have this issue. 

The Xiaomi phone has the IR blaster while the S7 does not and I don’t really understand why Samsung took this feature away this year. 

Also, Samsung decided to be more conservative as the phone still uses the micro USB port while the Mi5 has a more future-proof USB type C port.

Overall, both phones are worth being called flagships. However, the Galaxy S7 has an edge here. It is more rounded, it does not have sharp edges, its power button does not rattle and its metal frame looks and feels more premium.

Xiaomi Mi5 vs Samsung Galaxy S7: USER INTERFACE

Xiaomi Mi5 UI:

When it comes to the user interface, both phones have different implementations.

People who say that the Touchwiz is a heavily customised version of Android, never saw the MIUI 7.2, which is built on top of Android 6.0 on Xiaomi Mi5.

All the apps sit on the home screens, you have your notification shade and quick settings toggles.

The Xiaomi Mi5 can be highly customised. You can choose from a ton of wallpapers, a huge variety of themes, fonts, assign different tasks to capacitive buttons and do other things to make the phone look your own. 

Most importantly, the UI is running fast and fluid. I didn’t have a single hiccup or lag and I’m really happy with the performance.

Samsung Galaxy S7 UI:

The Samsung Galaxy S7 is still a heavily skinned iteration of Android 6.0 but it offers more conventional look of the UI especially if you care about the app tray. 

In short, the performance of the user interface is fast. The transitions, animations, opening, closing and switching between the apps is fast and fluid. 

We have some features that we’ve seen on other Samsung phones for quite some time now. Just to name a few, you can run two apps simultaneously or open up the app in a pop-up window. Also, you can launch the camera straight from the standby mode.

In addition, we have some customisation options. You can choose from a variety of themes from a dedicated themes store, change the wallpapers, fonts and so on.

At the end of the day, it all comes to a personal preference as both user interfaces are fast and I didn’t have any stutter or lag. 

Just keep in mind that the Xiaomi Mi5 is currently released in the Chinese market only meaning that it comes without Google Services pre-installed. Sure, it is very easy to install them but you have to keep in mind that the phone does not have multi-languages and there are quite a few Chinese aspects like some apps or some missed translation left in the UI.

Xiaomi Mi5 vs Samsung Galaxy S7: BENCHMARKS

Xiaomi Mi5:

Samsung Galaxy S7:

Xiaomi Mi5 vs Samsung Galaxy S7: HARDWARE and PERFORMANCE

Samsung flagships have been known to bring all the best hardware components currently available and the Galaxy S7 is no exception.

I have an international model and it sports an octa-core Exynos 8890 chip with the maximum clock speeds of 2.6GHz, 4GB of RAM and 32GB of storage, which is expandable via the microSD card slot.

But that doesn’t mean the Xiaomi Mi5 brings a knife to a gun fight. 

I have a standard model, which has a Snapdragon 820 chip with the clock speeds of 1.8GHz, 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage, which is, however, non-expandable. If you really need even more power, the Pro model offers a more powerful chip, 4GB of RAM and 128GB of local storage. 

The gaming performance is top-notch on each device. There is no stutter or lag and and graphics look stunning. 

However, I found the Xiaomi Mi5 to get a little warm quickly while the Galaxy S7 remained cool to the touch and that is thanks to the liquid cooling system. 

Anyway, you can be rest assured that neither of the devices have overheating issues.

Xiaomi Mi5 vs Samsung Galaxy S7: MULTIMEDIA

The sound via earphones is great on each phone but the Mi5 has a much louder volume output that I could not even listen to music at the highest volume setting.

Both phones sport good but not great loudspeakers. The quality of sound that is coming out the Xiaomi Mi5 is good but I would love to hear more depth and bass. The Galaxy S7’s speaker has more depth but the sound is a little bit muffled due to its waterproof properties.

Xiaomi Mi5 vs Samsung Galaxy S7: CAMERA

Xiaomi Mi5:

Galaxy S7:

The camera apps on each phone are similar but at the same time different. There are some shooting modes and settings to play with but I have to say that Samsung did a better job. The settings and shooting modes can be accessed quicker but most importantly, picture taking and video shooting modes are not separated like on the Mi5.  

Xiaomi Mi5 vs Samsung Galaxy S7: IMAGE QUALITY

I have made a 17-min long camera comparison of these phones, so make sure to check that out.

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqDaQf8SxaY[/embedyt]

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pGW1svD7bQ[/embedyt]

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQz47PXFxFk[/embedyt]

Xiaomi Mi5 camera samples:

Samsung Galaxy S7 camera samples:

In short, the Galaxy S7 has a better camera.

The daylight shots have more detail, sharpness and the dynamic range adjustment is better. However, its images tend to be overexposed and the colour reproduction is not always accurate as most of the shots have warm colours or even yellowish tint.

The Xiaomi Mi5 tends to do a better job with a colour reproduction but that’s the only department where this phone shines.  

The low-light image quality is a department where the Galaxy S7 shows its strength and a great implementation of powerful hardware. The photos have more detail and less noise than the ones taken with the Mi5. Also, the Galaxy S7 tends to brighten up the scene quite a lot in night shots. Some people may like it, some may not. 

Both selfie cameras can take good looking images but S7’s photos tend to have more detail.

When it comes to video, Galaxy S7 wins again. Its footage is sharper, the OIS works much better and continuos auto-focus is more graceful. In fact, the continuos auto-focus can become annoying on the Xiaomi Mi5.

Xiaomi Mi5 vs Samsung Galaxy S7: CONNECTIVITY

I didn’t have any connectivity issues with neither of the phones. Wifi, Bluetooth and GPS worked fine. However, I found that the earpiece was louder and the sound had more clarity on the GS7.

If you live in the U.S., you have to know that the Xiaomi Mi5 does not support 4G connectivity with neither of the major carriers but the 3G network will work fine. 

Make sure to check out the 4G compatibility in your region and I will leave a link to a website where you can check that out in the description down below the video. 

Xiaomi Mi5 vs Samsung Galaxy S7: BATTERY LIFE

Xiaomi Mi5:

Samsung Galaxy S7:

Both phones sport 3000mAh batteries but the Galaxy S7 tends to perform better. I could get 5 or 6 hours of screen-on time (depending on the usage).

I could reach only around 4 hours of SOT on the Xiaomi Mi5 and hopefully, this can be improved with future software updates.

A great thing that both phones support a fast charging feature and they can be fully charged in just 1:15 h. 

The Galaxy phone has an edge as it has an embedded wireless charging feature. 

Xiaomi Mi5 vs Samsung Galaxy S7: CONCLUSIONS

Overall, the Samsung Galaxy S7 is a better phone in almost each and every department and it’s got the Xiaomi Mi5 beat… but of course it does! But here’s the thing, the latest Galaxy phone costs as twice as much as the Mi5. 

If you are looking for a phone that has a better build quality, water resistance, higher resolution display, better camera or you just simply want one of the best devices the money can buy – the Galaxy S7 is your choice. 

If you are on a budget or simply believe that the S7 is overpriced, go with the Xiaomi Mi5. It is still a great phone. It sports a processing power that easily rivals the S7, its design and display are gorgeous, the UI is running fast and it has tons of features. 

At the end of the day, both phones are great at their respective price categories. It all comes to your personal preference – if you need a top-shelf phone for a premium price or saving money is more important for you. Of course, if you don’t mind a few shortcomings.

The post Xiaomi Mi5 vs Samsung Galaxy S7 FULL Comparison Review appeared first on Gizmochina.

The earphones market is flooded with a variety of different options. I’ve tested quite a few earphones over the time but I was really impressed by Symphonized NRG 2.0. They are handcrafted from natural wood, they sound great and the cost just $25. Learn more in the full review.

Symphonized NRG 2.0 Earphones Review: VIDEO

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bF6GztLDyxg[/embedyt]

Symphonized NRG 2.0 Earphones Review: UNBOXING

It all starts with a great presentation. Everything is packed neatly and the contents of the box include the headset itself, some extra earbuds, a clip, some documentation and a really cool carrying pouch.

Symphonized NRG 2.0 Earphones Review: DESIGN

The main highlight of this headset is that the earbuds are made of natural wood to assure a great sound quality and exceptional looks.

The wood housing is really strong and it doesn’t seem to break anytime soon.

The cable is really nice too and most importantly, it is tangle-free.

The controller has a built-in mic for hands-free calling and the call quality is exceptionally great and people I spoke to via this mic didn’t even notice that I was using a hands-free headset.

The controller has only one button. It can play/pause the music if you press it once and skip tracks back and forth if you press it twice or 3 times, respectively. Unfortunately, you cannot control volume output.

The 3.5mm headset jack is actually gold-plated to prevent any sound leakages. My complaint about the jack is that it is quite huge in comparison to some other headset jacks I’ve seen.

Symphonized NRG 2.0 Earphones Review: SOUND QUALITY

As for sound quality, these are simply one of the best budget earphones I’ve ever heard. The sound is crisp and clear, there is a huge amount of bass and the volume output is loud. Overall, I’m really impressed with the sound quality and having tested a bunch of budget earphones, these are definitely one of the better ones.

Symphonized NRG 2.0 Earphones Review: CONCLUSIONS

The Symphonized earphones are quite a unique product if we consider a low price and overall package.

They are hand-crafted from natural wood, the sound quality is one of the best in class, the mic quality is very good and the headset comes with a tangle-free cable.

However, the headset jack could be slightly smaller and although I like the one button controller design, I would love to have the ability to control the volume output too.

All in all, the Symphonized NRG 2.0 is a great headset despite a few shortcomings. In fact, it is an awesome product considering the overall quality, the fact that is hand-made of wood and the low price tag.

The post Symphonized Earphones Review – Hand-crafted Wood Earphones for just $25? appeared first on Gizmochina.

Last year we finally saw Samsung doing the right thing with its design. The company made the phones that look premium and expensive. This year we have the upgraded Galaxies and the S7 Edge is one of them. Will it once again be one of the best smartphones on the market?

This review is brought to you by TechLineHD.

VIDEO REVIEW:

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEfBGXWe5zg[/embedyt]

Samsung Galaxy S7 Review:

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKx1VmuOl_c[/embedyt]

Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge Review: DESIGN and DISPLAY

When it comes to the design, we are looking at the device that has a gorgeous 5.5” 2K display. We all know that Samsung have had one of the best screens on the market and the S7 Edge is no exception. The panel that is covered by the Gorilla Glass 5, is sharp, vibrant, bright and definitely on of the best on any smartphone. 

You will be able to see this great screen even under water as the Galaxy S7 edge is IP68-certified, meaning that it can be used for 30 mins up to 1.5m under water. Also, it can survive a little bit of dust, too. I would say that is a huge advantage over the majority of the competition.

We have a really cool innovation – always-on display and this feature is really neat. Basically, what it does, it shows the clock, calendar and some useful stuff, and this feature uses a very low amount of energy. To be honest, it took me a few days to get used to it as I wanted to turn the display off manually but I really love this feature. 

As the name implies, the display has edges on both sides and it adds a lot of character to the design. Sometimes it even makes an impression that the display is bezel-less.

Of course, there is a functional part of those edges. For example, you can create shortcuts to some tasks, quickly access contacts, news, apps and so on. 

If you swipe your finger along the edge screen while the display is off, you’ll get some other useful info too.

On the front, we have a 5MP selfie shooter, notification LED and other usual stuff. On the bottom, there is a classic Samsung’s button layout – nicely backlit capacitive keys and the physical home button, which also doubles as a fingerprint scanner.

Speaking of which, it is very fast and accurate but I am disappointed that it does not work straight from the standby mode, meaning that you should press the home or power key first.

The back is made of another sheet of Gorilla Glass 5 and the edges of it are also slightly curved. I gotta tell you that those curves make a huge difference in terms of comfort and ergonomics while holding the phone in the hand. 

The camera has 12MP, which sounds like a downgrade but we have all sorts of tech going on here. It has a dual-pixel tech to assure crazy fast auto-focus and believe me, it is the fastest I’ve seen. Also, the camera has OIS, PDAF and a whopping very bright f/1.7 aperture. 

Next to the camera we have the LED flash and a heart rate monitor to help you track your exercise routines.  

The power button, which is on the right along with volume keys, which are on the left, are very clicky and responsive. 

On the bottom, we have the regular ports, the loudspeaker, and neither of them are covered by flaps despite waterproof properties of the phone. 

On the top, there is a secondary mic and the nano SIM and microSD card tray. Yes, Samsung finally brought a cheap storage expansion option and you can add up to 200GB of local storage.

It is quite an interesting choice that we don’t have the IR blaster anymore. Well, I’ve never used it anyway but it was cool knowing it was there on the Galaxy S6. 

Overall, the phone looks amazing and I love the design ot it. It screams premium and it sits comfortably in the hand despite being a device with 5.5”display. However, keep in mind that the glass back attracts fingerprints and smudges very quickly.

Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge Review: UI

See the video review for the UI performance.

When it comes to the UI, we have Samsung’s Touchwiz, which is built on top of Android 6.0 Marshmallow. 

If you’ve used a Samsung device before, you will feel pretty familiar with the user interface. Most importantly, everything is running smoothly most of the times and I didn’t have any lags.

We have a bit cartoonish looking icons, a lot of quick settings toggles and what has become usual to the South-Korean manufacturer, quite a lot of features and customisation options.

Just to name a few, you can quickly launch the camera by double clicking the home button. Also, you can trigger one handed operation if click the home button three times.

There is pop-up window mode or split-screen feature for those who can’t live without multitasking.

There are some other features too. Some of them may sound gimmicky, while others are even called experimental. 

Finally, you can customise your Galaxy device with a variety of different themes, wallpapers and so on.

All in all, the Touchwiz UI runs fast and fluid and I had a pleasant overall experience. However, it uses around 8GB of internal storage, which is too much I would say. 

Also, the RAM management is not yet perfect. Seriously, this is 4GB RAM phone and there is only 1.2GB of RAM free after killing all the background tasks? Hopefully, this is what Samsung is going to fix with the software update soon.

Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge Review: BENCHMARKS

Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge Review: HARDWARE and PERFORMANCE

The Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge has a few hardware modifications but you can be rest assured that either model will have bleeding edge specifications.

My review unit is the EU model and it sports a home-brewed octa-core Exynos 8890 chip with the clock speeds of up to 2.6GHz, 4GB of RAM and 32GB of expandable storage. 

See the video review for gaming performance.

If you are wondering what this combo of specs is capable of, all 3D games just fly. There is no stutter or any skipped frames, the graphics look awesome and the games load amazingly fast. 

In addition, there is a dedicated Game Tools app that provides some convenient features like the ability to turn off alerts during the game or record the gameplay.

Also, the phone does not heat up at all even after extensive periods of gaming and that is thanks to the Volcano API and liquid-cooling system. 

Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge Review: MULTIMEDIA

When it comes to multimedia consumption, the sound quality via earphones is near excellent and the volume output is loud. However, the external speaker could be slightly louder and it sounds a little bit muffled. I believe that may be due to its waterproof properties. 

Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge Review: CAMERA

CHECK OUT IN-DEPTH CAMERA VIDEO REVIEW:

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQz47PXFxFk[/embedyt]

Once you fire up the camera app, you will be blown away by the blazing fast auto-focus speeds in any light. 

What we have here is typical Samsung, which brings quite a few settings and shooting modes, and you can even download more modes  if you wish. 

One thing I was really disappointed by is that the sensor uses a native 4:3 aspect ratio, meaning that the images will not be full screen if you shoot at the maximum resolution. 

Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge Review: IMAGE QUALITY

When it comes to the actual image quality, it is definitely on of the best in class. The daylight pictures look sharp, have lots of detail, the colour look natural and other aspects like dynamic range and exposure and handled well. 

It is a similar story with indoor and macro shots as the camera manages to capture a great amount of detail despite worse lighting conditions.

The low-light camera performance is fantastic. It not only focuses very fast but also manages to produce great looking photos. Naturally, there is less detail but the level of it is still very good. Also, the noise levels are kept to minimum. The only shortcoming is that the auto post-processing leads to a slight yellow tint in some of the pictures.

The front facing camera takes very good selfies even in low light and that is thanks to the bright aperture.

Both 1080p and 4K videos look stunning. The footage is sharp and very detailed, the OIS does its job very well and the videos are one of the best I’ve seen.

See video review for video samples or see in-depth camera review.

Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge Review: CONNECTIVITY

All the connectivity options that include Wifi, Bluetooth and GPS are working fine. Also, the signal reception is excellent and the call quality is good.

Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge Review: BATTERY

The S7 Edge has a 3600mAh battery and I was curious how it performs with the always-on display.

I gotta tell you that I was quite impressed with the results. I could get over 5 hours of screen-on time while taking lots of pictures, shooting a lot 4k videos, gaming, browsing the web and so on. 

If you need to top up the battery, the phone charges up really fast and that is thanks to the fast charging feature. Also, there is an embedded wireless charging feature that helps cut a few wires.

Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge Review: CONCLUSIONS

So, there you have it, the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge. This is the best Samsung phone ever and definitely on of the best on the market. 

The design is really flashy, the curved screen with the always-on display feature is fantastic, the UI is running fast and the phone has one of the best specs currently available that can handle even the most demanding tasks without a sweat or overheating.

Also, the S7 Edge has awesome camera, a great battery life and yeah, this thing is fully waterproof.

On the other hand, the glass backplate is a huge fingerprint magnet, the UI takes a lot of storage space and uses lots of RAM, and the current state of software does not support Android 6.0’s adaptable storage.  Also, the camera sensor has a native 4:3 aspect ratio and oh boy, this phone is expensive. It costs around $800 and perhaps not everyone is going to buy it.

All in all, the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge is a fantastic phone and it will be one of the best devices out there for months ahead despite having a few shortcomings. Just remember, premium phone comes at a premium price.

This review is brought to you by TechLineHD.

The post Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge Review: The Best Smartphone Ever? appeared first on Gizmochina.

We have plenty of cheap phones and on of them is TCL 302U. Find out more in a full review.

A special thanks to LightInTheBox for sending TCL 302U for a review.

TCL 302U Review: VIDEO

TCL 302U Review: UNBOXING

The device comes with the USB cable, charging plug and some documentation. 

TCL 302U Review: DESIGN and DISPLAY

As for design, we are looking at a rather compact phone, which has a 5” display. However, the panel does not even have HD resolution and it is far from the best. My biggest complaints are that the colours start fading once you tilt the device just a little bit. Also, the display has a somewhat reflective coating, which gives a mirror effect. 

On the front we have just 0.3MP camera and on the bottom there are 3 nicely backlit capacitive buttons. 

The backplate is made of glossy plastic, which attracts fingerprints quite easily. As for optics, the phone ships with just a 5MP shooter. 

The buttons feel nice and they have a good tactile feedback. 

The backplate is removable but it is very hard to do that as it sits very tight. Under the hood you can find a removable 1800mAh battery, 2 SIM card slots and both of them support 4G. Finally, there is a microSD card slot.

Overall, the phone is well made and feels solid in the hand despite using plastic in its design.

TCL 302U Review: UI

The phone was released quite a while ago and it has never been updated to the newest version of Android. The device runs 4.4 Kitkat ROM and we have a pretty much stock looking UI.

Everything is running fast and fluid and probably the only extra feature worth mentioning is the built-in themes store, which allows you to customise your device. 

However, I had some issues with the Google Play store as the apps could not be downloaded, so I had to re-install it manually to make it work.

TCL 302U Review: HARDWARE and PERFORMANCE

The TCL 302U sports a MTK 6735P chip, 1GB of RAM and 8GB of storage. This combo of hardware is definitely not designed for gamers as the was a lot of lag and stutter while playing 3D games.

TCL 302U Review: MULTIMEDIA

The loudspeaker quality is pretty good for the phone this cheap but don’t expect anything spectacular from it.

TCL 302U Review: IMAGE QUALITY

We can’t expect stellar results from the budget phone’s camera. Some images turned out to be pretty good and can be used for social media but in general, pictures lack in detail, the camera struggles with focusing and the colours don’t always look natural. 

As for video recording, it is not really impressive neither. See a video review for a video sample.

TCL 302U Review: CONNECTIVITY

As for connectivity options, I have no major complaints except for the fact that the GPS is kind of slow to get a position lock.

TCL 302U Review: BATTERY LIFE 

The battery life is actually pretty good. I could get over 4 hours of screen-on time with light usage and that is a pretty good result.

TCL 302U Review: CONCLUSIONS

The TCL 302U is designed to do the basic tasks and it does it well. It has a great design and sturdy construction, the UI is simple, easy to use and stutter-free. Also, the battery life is good.

However, the camera is not really impressive and the back cover is extremely hard to open. Also, the phone is still rocking outdated Android 4.4.

Overall, the phone is an option for those who want to get all the basics done right but don’t mind some shortcomings. However, you may also want to check out what the competition has to offer. 

Buy TCL 302U from LightInTheBox

The post TCL 302U Review appeared first on Gizmochina.

This is a segment of great gift ideas. This time around we have a multi-colour light bulb with a Bluetooth speaker that costs below $15. 

BRELONG E27 12W Bluetooth Music Bulb Review: VIDEO

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-leFAgKgQA[/embedyt]

BRELONG E27 12W Bluetooth Music Bulb Review: UNBOXING

The device comes with some instruction manuals and a remote control, which has a pre-installed removable battery.

BRELONG E27 12W Bluetooth Music Bulb Review: DESIGN and BUILD

The lightbulb comes in E27 size, so make sure it fits the lamp you want to use it with. 

It is well made and you simply can’t ask more at this price point. 

BRELONG E27 12W Bluetooth Music Bulb Review: FEATURES and FUNCTIONALITY

The setup of the lightbulb is super easy. You just have to install it and use the remote control to change colours, adjust brightness levels or select different modes like flash, strobe, fade or smooth. 

All the modes are working fine except for the strobe as it looks the same as the flash mode. 

If you select a white colour, you can use the bulb as any other regular bulbs. Unfortunately, the bulb only has 12W of power output, which is not enough to illuminate a large room.

Another feature is the built-in Bluetooth speaker. While it will not knock your socks off, it is pretty good and the bulb is quite loud for the size. Just make sure not to listen to music at the highest volume settings as you will hear some distortions.

BRELONG E27 12W Bluetooth Music Bulb Review: CONCLUSIONS

The Breelong Bluetooth music bulb is a great gadget and it has a lot to offer for the price of under $15. While it is not perfect, it does most of the things right and you simply can’t ask more at this price tag. 

Buy Breelong Bluetooth music bulb from Gearbest

The post A Great Gift Idea for under $15 – Multi-colour Light Bulb with Bluetooth Speaker appeared first on Gizmochina.

I came across this unknown Bluetooth speaker and it actually sounds very good, and it is affordable. Find out more in a full review. 

Archeer A210 Bluetooth Speaker Review: VIDEO

Archeer A210 Bluetooth Speaker Review: UNBOXING

The speaker is made by Archeer and I will leave Amazon link down below the video. 

The device comes with the instruction manuals, USB and AUX cables, and carbine.

Archeer A210 Bluetooth Speaker Review: DESIGN and FEATURES

The Archeer speaker is mainly designed for outdoor use as it has IP44 rating meaning that it can survive water sprays from all directions and some minor drops. 

It is made of rubberised plastic and it has multi-directional speakers meaning that the sound is coming out from all directions. Also, the device is really compact and portable, so you can simply drop it the bag.

On one side you have a flap and underneath it you can find your micro USB charging port, AUX input for non-Bluetooth devices and microSD card slot as this speaker supports playback directly from the memory cards. All you have to do is to insert the card and the music starts playing automatically.

On the other side you can find a really interesting volume rocker. You have to spin it a lot to adjust the volume and while it may be annoying for some, it is pretty fun to me. Also, the volume rocker doubles as play/pause button if you press it. 

On the front there are skip tracks buttons, battery capacity indicator, which is actually a really neat feature, power on/off switch or mode button and a few notification LEDs. 

Archeer A210 Bluetooth Speaker Review: SOUND QUALITY

You can listen to music either via Bluetooth from your phone or directly from the microSD card. The sound quality… it’s really good. To be honest, not all manufacturers succeed when trying to make a good sounding multi-directional speaker but Archeer did a pretty good job. 

The sound is deep and clear, and I could hear a pretty good balance between lows, mids and highs. 

Finally, this thing is loud for its size as it has 10w of total volume output and the bass is really punchy.

Archeer A210 Bluetooth Speaker Review: TEST NOTES

As for battery, the speaker sports a 1500mAh unit and I could get over 10 hours of continuous playback, which is a great result. As far as Bluetooth, I didn’t have any connection or range issues.

Archeer A210 Bluetooth Speaker Review: CONCLUSIONS

The Archeer A210 Bluetooth speaker costs $39 and I believe it is a pretty good offering considering the feature set it has. 

The speaker sports a great build quality, it is splash-proof, shockproof and dust-proof, it has a lot of controls and indication LED lights, it supports the playback from the microSD cards, the battery life is great and the sound quality is really good. 

However, a few shortcomings would be that the call quality is bad and it even has connection issues. Also, the flap that is covering the ports could stay more firmly as I always have to double check it before using it in the rain or shower. 

Although it may not not be the only option available on the market, it can be definitely recommended. 

Buy Archeer Bluetooth speaker from Amazon US

Buy Archeer Bluetooth speaker from Amazon UK

The post Great Outdoors Wireless Bluetooth Speaker Review (splash-proof, dust-proof, shock-proof) appeared first on Gizmochina.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sdBYwEm9pQ[/embedyt]

I came across this multi-colour LED projector light and it actually has a lot of features for the price and it looks really nice.

You can change the colours, turn on/off the night light and even turn on the automatic rotation of the lamp. 

The device can be powered up either using an included DC to USB cable or 4xAAA batteries. 

Everything else is pretty much self-explanatory and it all depends on your creativity where and how you put the lamp, the lighting conditions you are in and so on. 

All in all, this multi-colour projector light is a pretty cool yet cheap gift for almost any occasion.

The post Great Gift Idea for under $10 – Valentine’s Day Gift? appeared first on Gizmochina.

Samsung has changed their design language in the past several years and the company has also brought some premium materials and great build quality to their midrange phones lineup.

Galaxy A5 2016 year edition is a great example of it but is it any good? Learn more in the full Galaxy A5 2016 review. 

The review is brought to you by TechLineHD.

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Samsung Galaxy A5 2016 VIDEO REVIEW:

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfPbxXcge_U[/embedyt]

Samsung Galaxy A5 2016 Review: DESIGN and DISPLAY

Let’s start by the design as the Galaxy A5 looks and feels like a flagship phone. It uses a quality metal frame around the device along with metal buttons, which are located on the left and right sides and they have excellent tactile feedback. Also, there is a single SIM card slot and the microSD card slot for storage expansion. It’s worth mentioning that you can also opt in for a dual-SIM card model.

The Gorilla Glass 4 protects the 5.2” 1080p Amoled display, which is just gorgeous. It is sharp, vibrant, bright and it has great viewing angles. Also, you can adjust colour temperature to your liking in the settings menu. 

On the top we have a 5MP selfie shooter with a bright f/1.9 aperture. Unfortunately, the phones does not have a notification LED light. 

On the bottom there are typical Samsung capacitive buttons with a nice backlight. The physical home button also doubles as a fingerprint scanner. While it is very accurate and recognises your fingerprint quickly, it does not work straight from the standby mode. For me, it is a huge letdown, because even some cheapest budget phones have this feature. 

The backplate is also covered by the sheet of the Gorilla Glass 4 and it is a fingerprint magnet but at least it is not that visible on the gold colour unit I have. 

As far as optics, we have optically-stabilised 13MP shooter with a single LED flash and a bright f/1.9 aperture.

The usual set of ports along with the loudspeaker and the mic are located on the bottom.

Overall, the phone feels really solid and if you asked me, I would say it could easily rival even the Galaxy S6. By the way, the full comparison review is just around the corner, so stay tuned to the TechLineHD for that. 

Samsung Galaxy A5 2016 Review: USER INTERFACE

When it comes to software, we are looking at the Samsung’s Touchwiz UI, which is built on top of Android 5.1. 

Although it is not as heavy as it used to be in the past, it is still Samsung’s UI after all. We have a briefing app, which is basically a news feed similar to the Blinkfeed we’ve seen on HTC phones for years. Also, we have redesigned icons, different colour schemes and so on. 

Some of the notable features would be the ability to quickly access the camera app straight from the standby mode by simply double tapping the home button. I have to say this is really good feature and it works well. 

A dedicated theme store allows you to choose from a variety of themes and lets you make the device look your own.

Finally, the Touchwiz UI is fast and snappy, and it’s a pleasure to use it as I didn’t have any hiccups or lags. 

Samsung Galaxy A5 2016 Review: BENCHMARKS

Samsung Galaxy A5 2016 Review: HARDWARE and PERFORMANCE

Samsung Galaxy A5 has a mid-range level specs. It uses an octa-core Snapdragon 615 chip with the clock speeds of up to 1.6GHz, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of expandable storage and only 11GB of it are available to the user.

While the phone will not be your next benchmarks champion, the hardware is definitely enough to run some graphically intensive games like Asphalt 8 at the highest settings without any lags but with just a few skipped frames.

The Snapdragon 615 chip is infamous for its overheating issues. However, I have to tell you that Samsung optimised it well and the phone does not overheat even after extensive periods of gaming. 

Samsung Galaxy A5 2016 Review: MULTIMEDIA

The sound via earphones is actually very good. However, the volume output could be louder. 

The loudspeaker is pretty good too. While it is not the loudest out there, it has quite a balanced sound with a decent amount of depth.

Samsung Galaxy A5 2016 Review: CAMERA

As far as the camera app, we have a typical Samsung interface. There are some settings and shooting modes to play with but most importantly, the app is fast, responsive, easy to use and the capture speeds are very fast. 

Samsung Galaxy A5 2016 Review: IMAGE QUALITY

The daylight images are near excellent and it is almost on par with most of the flagships. There is a huge amount of details, colours look natural and contrast levels are great. A few flaws that differentiate the Galaxy A5 from the e.g. Galaxy S6 are the dynamic range and exposure adjustment in some shots but these are just minor complaints. Well, the Galaxy A5 is a midrange phone after all. 

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When it comes to indoor and low-light shots, the level of details decreases and more noise kicks in. Still, the phone is capable of producing some good looking images and that is thanks not only to the capable hardware but also to mature post-processing.

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As for selfies, the Galaxy A5 is very good. It produces high-quality images with a good amount of details.

When it comes to the video recording, the phone can shoot up to 1080p videos and they look sharp, have lots of details, and the continuous auto-focus works fine. See a camera video review for various video samples. 

Make sure to check out my dedicated camera review video for more camera samples.

Samsung Galaxy A5 2016 Review: CONNECTIVITY

All the connectivity options that include Wifi, Bluetooth and GPS are working fine. Also, the signal reception is excellent and the call quality is good.

Samsung Galaxy A5 2016 Review: BATTERY LIFE 

The Galaxy A5 has a 2900mAh battery. In short, it performs really well. I could constantly get over 4.5h or even 5 hours of SOT even if used the phone quite intensively with maximum auto brightness setting. Also, the phone features a fast charging feature and I was able to fully charge the phone in less than 1.5 hours. 

Samsung Galaxy A5 2016 Review: CONCLUSIONS

So, there you have it, the Samsung Galaxy A5 2016 edition. For around $400 you are getting a phone that has a premium design and excellent build quality, great display, fast UI, a fingerprint scanner, great battery life and a very good camera. 

The Snapdragon 615 chip does its job for day-to-day tasks very well and even for some gaming. However, if you are a serious gamer and you love playing the all latest 3D games, the processor along with the GPU will not be powerful enough for you.

Another shortcoming would be a fingerprint scanner. Don’t get me wrong, it is fast and accurate. However, it does not work straight from the standby mode as the majority of even a lot cheaper phones. Cmon Samsung, step up you fingerprint scanner game. 

All in all, the Samsung Galaxy A5 is a great phone despite a few shortcomings and I can definitely recommend it. However, I can’t say there aren’t any other alternatives out there at this price point. E.g. the Galaxy S6, which is still a flagship, can be bought at a similar price right now. It has a much better chipset for gamers but has some other disadvantages like poor battery life. 

At the end of the day, the Galaxy A5 is still an awesome phone and the chipset is the only major shortcoming if you care about gaming.

Buy Samsung Galaxy A5 2016 from Amazon UK 

The post Samsung Galaxy A5 2016 Review – Almost A Flagship Smartphone? appeared first on Gizmochina.