[Review] Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 Pro - Device Reviews and Information

Xiaomi have made a name for themselves by making attractive phones at prices that most of the competition could not even consider. Their phones often have unique features such as IR sensors, dual sim, and other toys that set them apart from the competition, even coming out from China. While many of these phones are in the mid-range category, they are attractive in a saturated world mobile market. Sure, there will always be a market for the latest and greatest, and people will still stand in line for the new iPhone on day one, but with so many people now owning smartphones, they no longer want to fork out $1000 on a yearly basis for the latest revision.
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
These mid-range phones from Xiaomi may not have all the latest features, or may be missing some bells and whistles, but they will still fit most people’s needs very well. This is where the new Redmi Note 3 Pro finds itself. It is a powerful device in an attractive package, but Xiaomi have made some compromises to reach a rock bottom price. It may not fit everyone’s needs, but the Redmi Note 3 is a fantastic phone, and one that is a worth looking into for anyone considering a new device.
The Redmi Note 3 is an attractive device, reminiscent of the first iPhone. The all metal matte finish body has a feeling of quality, and while it may not feel quite as nice as many of the Samsung devices or the designs coming out of Cupertino, it feels great in the hands and it’s a pleasure to hold and use. The 5.5 inch Full HD screen is powered by a Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 650 SoC processor, with 3GB ram, and a fingerprint sensor for unlocking. Nothing in the phone stands out as amazing per se, but when you consider this phone can be had for under $300, things start to get a bit more interesting.
Now, before we go any further, it should be noted that this phone comes with Xiaomi’s skinned version of Android known as MIUI. The phone is running version 7.2 of the operating system, and is built on top of Android 5.1.1. If you are coming from iOS, MIUI will feel very familiar. It seems Xiaomi have gone out of their way to ensure the OS looks as close to iOS as legally possible. That is not to say it’s bad—it actually runs very well. Their little visual flairs are pleasant to look at, and performance on the OS is actually very nice. But if you were hoping for a pure Android feel, this may not be the phone for you. It can be rooted, and Cyanogen or ASOP could be loaded onto it, but for the average consumer, this is not always an easy option.
That out of the way, the real question is how does the phone run, and I am happy to report that in my two weeks of testing the device, I really have no complaints. There was a bit of a setup process, since it comes pre-loaded with a Chinese version of the OS, but downloading an international version and loading it on was a trivial matter, and the Xiaomi have made it dead simple to find the version that works on your phone and just load it up.
As mentioned before, the Redmi Note 3 Pro, unlike the cheaper variant, comes with a Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 650 SoC. This inexpensive chip is a rather big deal, as it gives near-flagship level performance at a fraction of the cost. The chip boasts a hexa-core SoC, much like the Snapdragon 808, but instead of the A57 found in that chip, the 650 has two more powerful Cortex-A72 cores running at 1.8GHz. The other four cores are Cortex-A53s that run at 1.4GHz. For graphics, the chip runs the new Adreno 510 that is only a bit less powerful than what you could find in the new flagship Snapdragon 820 found in devices like the Mi5 or the Samsung S7.
It should be noted that the Redmi Note 3 Pro comes in two models. We reviewed the more powerful 3GB Ram, 32GB storage option. There is also the more budget friendly 2Gb Ram, 16GB storage model that will save you a bit of money. There is also the option to expand the storage by sacrificing one of the Sim slots to add a microSD for a maximum of 32GB extra storage.
The fingerprint sensor on the phone is a nice touch. Yes, there are many cheap phones now offering this feature, yet it works very well and allows for quick unlocking and a level of security that is nice to have, even on a low cost device. Setting up the sensor was a breeze, and in testing, we found it took only a minute or two per finger to get it all setup and ready to go.
In terms of benchmarks, the Redmi Note 3 Pro managed to average around 74,979 in AnTuTu with it beating out many of the flagship Snapdragon 810 based phones. GPU performance we recorded an impressive 31fps in the T-Rex test in GFXbench, that again is comparable to many flagship phones from last year. This phone is a powerhouse—far more so than the price would indicate—and it is more than equipped enough to handle even the most intensive games you can throw at it.
Gaming on the device was a pleasure. In the two weeks of testing, we put the Redmi Note 3 Pro though it’s paces with a series of games, including Fallout Shelter, Anomaly 2, Vainglory, and Mortal Kombat X. The 1080P 401ppi screen was bright and colourful and displayed all the games clearly and in full resolution. Even with games such as Anomaly 2 and Mortal Kombat X, I never experienced a time when the game would slow down, or offer anything less than an optimal experience. It’s astounding to imagine this level of gaming on such a budget device, yet after throwing all the games at my disposal at it, nothing seemed to give it trouble.
The multimedia situation on the phone is not as good as I would have hoped. The audio out of the Redmi Note 3 Pro is not bad, but because the speakers are on the back, it often felt muffled unless the phone was lifted up, or you ensured to avoid covering the back speakers with your hands. On headphones, on the other hand, there were no noticeable issues. Audio came through clearly, with a nice balance of sound. If you are looking to play any games, or listen to Spotify or any podcasts, you will want to ensure you have headphones at the ready, or have a Bluetooth speaker to be able to fully enjoy your media.
With all that gaming this phone can do, it needs an equally powerful battery to ensure you can still use it as a phone once your gameplay session is done. Lucky for the Redmi Note 3 Pro, it comes equipped with an astounding 4050mAh non-removable battery that in testing managed to last a full day, even when gaming, watching media, and making calls. The phone also supports Qualcomm’s Quick Charge which means that you can quickly charge up the device to 20 per-cent in around 30 minutes. It may not be what we have grown to expect from some of the competition, but considering in daily use you will rarely find yourself running low on battery, it is a nice addition.
Call quality and reception was also very good. Testing on the Rogers network in Canada, we experienced no noticeable issues while using the phone. Calls were crisp and clear and it quickly finds signal in most urban areas. It should be noted that although the chip supports more bands, because the phone comes from China, there are a few providers in North America it will simply not work with. It would be a good idea to check with your provider before jumping in and purchasing the phone, only to be later disappointed that it simply would not work.
The Redmi Note 3 Pro also has an impressive 16MP f/2.0 aperture rear facing camera and an acceptable 5MP front facing camera for video chat and self-photography. While none of these cameras will win any awards, they get the job done admirably. The 16MP camera manages very serviceable daylight shots, though it’s low light photography and indoor shots are less than ideal. The camera is better than many other phones in the category, but if you are used to the iPhone or many of the latest flagships from Samsung, you will find yourself disappointed.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 Pro (Hardware) Review 10 Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 Pro (Hardware) Review 11
The Redmi Note 3 does make some sacrifices to reach the rock-bottom price point. For starters, the phone is not what I could call thin. It has a bit of weight and heft to it. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but it is worth noting. It also lacks NFC abilities, so any mobile payment methods will sadly not work with this phone. The Screen is only 1080P. This will be enough for most applications, but since many people are demanding high resolutions, they may be disappointed by this panel. Finally, the phone is not yet available from local retailers. There are many places online to buy the phone such as Gearbest or Bangood, but there will be a delay in delivery and possible customs charges that could add to the cost of the phone.
Overall, the Redmi Note 3 Pro was an impressive all-round device. For gaming and everyday use, there are few phones in the price range that can come close to beating it. A great screen, astounding battery life, and a shockingly powerful set of specs make the Redmi Note 3 Pro a great buy for the price. For anyone looking to buy a new phone and does not mind buying from online retailers, the Redmi Note 3 Pro is one to look into. At under $300 the Redmi Note 3 Pro is the new mid-range phone to beat.
Original Source: CGMagazine

Very balanced review. Three things though. Presumably you mean $300 Canadian? Because it's about $230 USD online for the 3GB model. Also, it can take up to a 128GB memory card. Lastly some versions are compatible with T-Mobile USA LTE and H+ Band 4. I think it's the China Unicom version. Otherwise it's compatible with all Worldwide 3G frequencies.

Related

UMI Rome MT6753 5.5 Inch Octa Core 2500 mAh 13MP Back Camera Sony IMX164 Only $99.99

UMI Rome MT6753 5.5 Inch Octa Core 2500 mAh 13MP Back Camera Sony IMX164 Only $99.99
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
UMI IRON PRO, U Health & Speaker First Test
Highlights of UMI Rome:
-5.5 Inch HD AMOLED Screen,1920*1080 Pixel,
-153.8*77*7.9mm
-MT6753 1.3GHz 64bit Octa Core
-3GB RAM + 16GB ROM
-13MP Back Camera Sony IMX164 + 2MP Front Camera
-2500mAh Battery
-Android 5.1 System
The Newest News of UMi Rome :
UMi Rome Is A $99 Smartphone With MT6753 & 3GB of RAM
UMi is known for making value for money smartphones and this is evident from its recent releases like the UMi Iron Pro and the UMi Hammer S. Now, the company is going to take things to a whole new level with its brand new device, called as the UMi Rome. This latest release from the company will bring the best specifications that we have seen on a phone under $100.
The UMi Rome will feature the fast MT6753 octa-core chip clocked at 1.3GHz. This is the same chip that powers most other mid-range flagships in the market under $200. Along with the powerful processor, the company has included 3GB of RAM. Yes, you heard it right! The phone will indeed feature 3GB of RAM with 16GB of internal storage to make sure that you no longer have to settle for slow smartphones at a budget price.
As for the display, the UMi Rome will feature a large 5.5-inch screen with 1280 x 720p resolution. With this display, you are sure to enjoy watching movies and playing games on the device. At the back, there will be a 13MP Sony IMX164 sensor with dual LED flash. What makes the UMi Rome even more interesting is the presence of an LED flash up front aiding its 2MP shooter. It will surely attract a lot of selfie lovers to this device.
The phone is also pretty compact, measuring just 7.9mm in thickness. Inside this body, you get a 2500mah battery that's large enough to last an entire day. Finally, the Rome will run on the Android 5.1 Lollipop OS.
As you can see, these are great specs for a phone that costs just $99.99. In fact, this budget device can take on the so called flagships like Cubot X15 and Ulefone Paris in a number of areas.
3GB RAM + 16GB ROM, $99.99, really?
The IMX164 is an 8mp senso. So the 13mp is an interpolation.
i saw some real pictures here:
but it seems not at $99.
Looks like a cross between an iPhone and an Elephone P8000.
UMi Rome Is A $99 Smartphone With MT6753 & 3GB of RAM
UMi is known for making value for money smartphones and this is evident from its recent releases like the UMi Iron Pro and the UMi Hammer S. Now, the company is going to take things to a whole new level with its brand new device, called as the UMi Rome. This latest release from the company will bring the best specifications that we have seen on a phone under $100.
The UMi Rome will feature the fast MT6753 octa-core chip clocked at 1.3GHz. This is the same chip that powers most other mid-range flagships in the market under $200. Along with the powerful processor, the company has included 3GB of RAM. Yes, you heard it right! The phone will indeed feature 3GB of RAM with 16GB of internal storage to make sure that you no longer have to settle for slow smartphones at a budget price.
As for the display, the UMi Rome will feature a large 5.5-inch screen with 1280 x 720p resolution. With this display, you are sure to enjoy watching movies and playing games on the device. At the back, there will be a 13MP Sony IMX164 sensor with dual LED flash. What makes the UMi Rome even more interesting is the presence of an LED flash up front aiding its 2MP shooter. It will surely attract a lot of selfie lovers to this device.
The phone is also pretty compact, measuring just 7.9mm in thickness. Inside this body, you get a 2500mah battery that's large enough to last an entire day. Finally, the Rome will run on the Android 5.1 Lollipop OS.
As you can see, these are great specs for a phone that costs just $99.99. In fact, this budget device can take on the so called flagships like Cubot X15 and Ulefone Paris in a number of areas.
What can offer a smartphone for $ 89 nowadays?
Over the past few weeks we have seen Chinese phone makers release phones for under $100, some for as little as $70. And for the money they have all looked pretty good, but as prices creep lower so does the amount of RAM available in them.
The answer gives you the UMi Rome , with the design, features and price, this phone could be one of the most affordable smartphone .
UMi Rome has 5.5 AMLED "HD 2,5D display and MediaTek MT6753 octa-core 1.3GHz SoC, well 3 GB of RAM , 16 GB of internal memory , Battery 2,500 mAh and Lollipop Android 5.1 pre-installed. The phone has the intricate CNC’d chassis visible around the edges of the device.
Impossible not to notice how the rear and the lower frame with speaker and micro-USB socket of the device then are guided by Galaxy Note 5 (also the shape of the camera is almost identical), although in the render below the similarity is slightly less marked.
Umi Rome was priced at $ 90. At this price these parameters look great.
As anyone else bought this phone? I'm having some difficulties with it..
Bad touch sensitivity, and LED notification does not work
I have bought it.Should arrive today
Is it true that the phone has no amoled display as promissed?
Shindy1 said:
I have bought it.Should arrive today
Is it true that the phone has no amoled display as promissed?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It do have AMOLED screen.
Made the test with a black screen pic?
tasanhalas said:
As anyone else bought this phone? I'm having some difficulties with it..
Bad touch sensitivity, and LED notification does not work
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hy,,if you want led notification you have to install the flash alert 2 apps, where you can turn on the front or the back flash
jozsi86 said:
Hy,,if you want led notification you have to install the flash alert 2 apps, where you can turn on the front or the back flash
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, thanks for the suggestion! The apps I tried didn't allow front flash, so I quit trying. That one works
How is with baterry life ?
---------- Post added at 05:36 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:29 PM ----------
jozsi86 said:
Hy,,if you want led notification you have to install the flash alert 2 apps, where you can turn on the front or the back flash
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Umi rome have 2 point touch and led notification doesn't work on it.
Unboxing & First Hands-on
Full Review
Camera Samples:
http://www.mediafire.com/folder/ka033r6zc3s64/UMI_Rome_Camera_Samples
Geekbench 3 battery test:
http://browser.primatelabs.com/battery3/182887
Temperature Check:
http://peecee.dk/uploads/122015/IMG_20151231_025419_436.jpg
AMOLED Panel - Model Name: E555HBM2
http://peecee.dk/uploads/122015/s7yler.jpg
http://www.panelook.com/E555HBM2_EDO_5.5_OLED_overview_25401.html
UMI Rome short review
I received an UMI Rome today and made a lot of tests of it and I must say that even for $110 I’m rather disappointed. Here are some of my early findings.
Build quality
The build quality is ok for the price. The phone feels rather solid and weighs 183 grams with screen protector on. But it’s thick and it also feels rather thick and clumsy in the hand. The specs from UMI say 7.9 mm which is a lie even if I measure beside the protruding camera. Beside the camera it’s 9 mm thick and over the camera it’s 10.4 mm. Too thick in my opinion. Also the buttons on the side rattles a bit and feels a bit ”cheap”.
Display
It’s no AMOLED display as far as I can see. On the contrary it seems to be a rather mediocre LCD HD 1280x720 display with not so good viewing angles and a lot of light leakage at the top of the display. If it’s really an AMOLED I wonder how it can have that much light leakage at the top? It’s also no real 2.5D display. The glass has slightly rounded edges but that doesn’t make it 2.5D when there is so much borders on the sides of the display. It just looks 2.5D when the screen is off. The aspect ratio between actual screen and the rest of the front is very good though. The worst downside of the screen is perhaps that it only has a 2-point digitizer. It’s many years since even the cheapest smart phones on the market started to have 5-point touch displays. Really bad. Also the screen has very bad touch sensitivity but probably it gets a bit better if I remove the screen protector.
Radio reception
All radios are suffering from very bad reception. I wonder how they managed to build such a large phone with so bad antennas? The wifi signal is generally 20 dB lower in WiFi Analyzer in the Rome than in my cheap MT6735 reference phone. Also the 4G download speed is low. In Ookla Speedtest I get below 30 Mb/s download speed and below 8 Mb/s upload speed on the same spot as I get 100/40 Mb/s in the MT6735 reference device. The max speed in my 4G network is 100/100 Mb/s on LTE B20. I think the modem in MT6753 is capable of 150 Mb/s download speed and therefor I draw the conclusion that the reception in the Rome is very bad due to bad antennas. Also the GPS reception is very bad. There is no way that I can get a fix inside whereas the MT6735 reference gets a fix in only a few seconds. Even outside it takes a long time to first fix. Seems like antenna problems again. I almost wonder if there’s some production error in my Rome, if all the antennas are wrongly or badly connected somehow? I haven’t tried the BT yet but I suspect that it suffers from the same problem.
Performance
In AnTuTu V6 I get a score of 37,500 which is ok I think. The Mali-T720 GPU in the MT6753 is relatively fast and therefor even most 3D games runs ok. Especially since the GPU only has to drive a HD display. In Geekbench 3 the multi-core score is also ok at 2,900. However, it’s the single-core score that really counts in my opinion and that score is quite low at 620. The low single-core score is reflected in the Sunspider 1.0.2 java test. The Rome needs almost 1200 ms to finish that test with the stock browser. It’s not fair to compare with my $800 iPhone 6S but the 6S finishes the same test almost 6 times faster. One good thing I’ve noticed with all MT6753 devices is that they don’t overheat like the miserable MT6752 SoC does in all devices that I have tested. 5 minutes of HD video in YouTube over WiFi only brings the highest monitored temp in CPU-Z to less than 45°C, whereas the MT6752 easily reaches 70°C.
Cameras
The main camera is quite good but only 8 MP (IMX164 confirmed) interpolated to 13. The photos looks natural in colour and whitebalance, unlike the photos from UMI Hammer 5" for example. Setting the camera resolution to the true resolution, 8 MP in this case, seems to make the photos sharper and better. Maybe because the interpolation mess up the photos. The front camera is a rather bad GC2355 fixed focus 2 MP camera. Maybe good enough for video calls but definitely not good enough for the users who wants to take selfies.
Root
This is the greatest strength of this and other UMI phones. The phone comes pre-rooted with just a flick of a switch. Also SuperSU is already there as soon as you activate developer options and unlock the bootloader. Many thanks to UMI for the initiative to sell the phones pre-rooted (maybe depending on which version of Rome it is for different markets?). Also the Rootjoy PC software deserves a lot of cred even though there’s no other firmware available for the Rome yet (and might never be?).
Software
The phone comes totally free from bloatware. No Chinese crapware and not much gapps crap. Again UMI should have a lot of cred for that I think. All there is is just a standard Android 5.1 + SuperSU.
I add a few screen dumps below from some of the tests I made. If I make any new observations worth sharing I will add them in edits below the original post.
MacArthur67 said:
I received an UMI Rome today and made a lot of tests of it and I must say that even for $110 I’m rather disappointed. Here are some of my early findings.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the short interview, I found it very useful. Your review reflects most of the issues which people have complained in Umi forum. I also ordered mine around 2 weeks ago, hoping it will be okay for my usage.
Through rootjoy update firmware to v3.03
themathers said:
Thanks for the short interview, I found it very useful. Your review reflects most of the issues which people have complained in Umi forum. I also ordered mine around 2 weeks ago, hoping it will be okay for my usage.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The phone is ok but not worth the money really. The battery time turns out to be a lot worse than I thought and there is no way that it's real 2500 mAh. I might test the real capacity over a test load just to prove my point. I did that with the UMI Hammer (the 5", not Hammer S) and it turned out that the specs were greatly exaggerated (not to say faked). I found a lot of other small bugs and problems in the Rome also but hopefully some of them will be fixed with firmware upgrades soon.
I think that the Elephone M2 (same SoC) is a lot better buy at 150 USD (what I paid on pre-order in October 2015), which really means a lot because I don't like the Elephone brand.
MacArthur67 said:
The phone is ok but not worth the money really. The battery time turns out to be a lot worse than I thought and there is no way that it's real 2500 mAh. I might test the real capacity over a test load just to prove my point. I did that with the UMI Hammer (the 5", not Hammer S) and it turned out that the specs were greatly exaggerated (not to say faked). I found a lot of other small bugs and problems in the Rome also but hopefully some of them will be fixed with firmware upgrades soon.
I think that the Elephone M2 (same SoC) is a lot better buy at 150 USD (what I paid on pre-order in October 2015), which really means a lot because I don't like the Elephone brand.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yea, I received the phone. The build is quite good, but the touch screen quality is quite bad, and camera quality does not do better. It's been one day, so I am still trying to see what I can do to improve. I also got Iron Pro for myself, Rome is for my gf, and Iron Pro is quite good though. Umi does produce a nice design and good build phones, but they should do better with their software. And they should stop using false/hype marketing like big companies, they shouldn't do that with their growing reputation *crossed fingers for new update

[Review] Xiaomi Redmi Note 5A Prime: The schoolgirl selfie companion?

Hi there!
Below is adapted from my original review on gadgetvictims.com
Turns out that Redmi 5A Prime is better than expected.
-----------------
Xiaomi has just released the Redmi Note 5A priced below 140€.
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
Identification
With Xiaomi's plethora of variants under a same model, it is important to start by identifying the product in order to set the expectations right.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 5A Prime
Redmi: regroups the low cost phones as opposed to the Mi, which is more middle range to flagship.
Note: indicates a 5.5" size device (although I've seen 5.5" Mi phones without that denomination).
A: indicates the entry level phones.
Prime: The sample I'm reviewing here is actually the 32GB ROM version of the Prime variant (120€/140$). That suffix is not always mentioned by the shops but has its importance.
The Prime specifications are a notch above the bottom-of-the-low-range with a better chipset (Snapdragon 435 vs 425), more memory (3/32GB vs 2/16GB) and a 16MP selfie camera (vs 5MP). The Prime version also adds a fingerprint sensor. A higher spec. version with 4/64GB is expected soon.
The cheapest non-Prime 16GB version is at 100€/120$.
Key Specification
Display: 5.5-inch, 720 x 1280 pixels (400 ppi pixel density)
Size: 153 x 76.2 x 7.7 mm
Weight: 153 g
Rear camera: 13 MP with AF, f2.2, with LED Flash
Front (Selfie) camera: 16 MP, f2.0, with LED Flash
Storage: 3GB of RAM + 32GB ROM
Chipset: 1.4GHz Qualcomm MSM8940 Snapdragon 435
(Octa-core Cortex-A53 + Adreno 505 GPU)
IR blaster (infra Red cell)
Battery: 3080mAh non-removable
Unpacking and Design
The compact box is just the size of the phone, with some extra depth for the accessories: a charger, a USB cable, a SIM tray extractor pin and a leaflet.
The 5A has a classic design and yet, looks nice, slim and well finished.
Its light weight (153gr) and thinness (7.7mm) makes you regret that no hard case in the box. At least, there quite a good choice of accessories to choose from already.
A long 3-in-1 tray takes 2 nano-SIM's and one MicroSD together.
The micro USB is still used and there's no quick charger although the technology is supported. Using a spare one from Doogee, it took about 1 hour to full charge.
Cameras: "Only" one per side...and that's great news!
Xiaomi does not make any fuss about the camera sensors inside, and honestly, I don't mind if they are from Samsung, Sony or even Omnivision!
The result is far better than most manufacturers trumpeting the latest IMX on-board while ruining it with sub-par software.
The front camera features a LED flash, a resolution of 16.0MP, an aperture of f2.0 and a Phase Detection Auto Focus.
If the advertising illustrations of the product were not clear enough, this phone is targeted at the selfie and ussie takers!
All the expected options are present, including advanced "face beauty" settings, some funny filters, and a face detection that tries to evaluate the gender and age (not always accurate with toys...).
The back camera is "only" a 13MP, f2.2, and (shock horror) there is only one!
And still...it makes all those double-camera models look pathetic in comparison!
For those who expected a double camera just to improve their blur background shots, Google Camera can use the embedded gyroscope to achieve a similar effect, as well as the 360 Photo Sphere shots.
The camera is fast in all aspects: launching, focusing, shooting.
With the appropriate option activated (under Lock screen & password), launching the camera app and taking a shot takes no more than a second!
2x optical zoom means no loss of pixels up to that level, with the digital zoom kicking in afterward, effectively zooming on the existing pixels. The shots below show different level of zoom (0x, 2x and 4x) in low light. (see original review for full size view)
There is a decent set of options, even if they are not always grouped in the most convenient way between options and settings menus.
MIUI 8 and bloatware
The phone came with MIUI 8.5.4 and an OTA update to 8.5.8 was available. It is based on Android Nougat (7.1.2). MIUI 9.0 is due soon after the Golden Week (黄金周) holidays with hopefully, a global ROM.
I used the option to select an alternate home screen to install the excellent Yandex launcher, tried previously with the Bluboo S1.
Where is Google Play?
There is no global ROM yet for the Redmi Note 5A, and since the Chinese ROM does not include Google Play, a bit of DIY is needed to install it and configure the permission and battery saving options.
I first tried a certain Google Installer 2.0 which didn't work for me.
The easiest way has been to restore one a backup made available on miui forum.
As always, MIUI is generous in bloatware, although there's a few worthwhile Mi applications in the lot. A good deal of them can be uninstalled but some useless services, considered as system apps, will remain active.
Fingerprint scanner: lightning fast!
I found most fingerprint scanners to work well and fast enough...until now!
This one reacts just... instantly!
I would have prefered it located at the front, but I'll get use to it. There's simply no way I return to the slower ones!
Performance:
Snapdragon 435 Octa Core 1.4GHz: This chipset is aimed at the mid/low-range market. It may not the fastest one around but it's certainly not sluggish.
The "only" HD but nevertheless excellent IPS screen is a perfect fit for the Snapdragon 435 and the phone works smoothly through any task.
The phone feels much faster in general than its Mediatek counterpart with similar benchmark score (MT6750T).
Geekbench: single core:675 / Multi-core: 2581
Antutu: 45740
HD "only" screen:
The screen is not full HD but [email protected], and yet it's bright and sharp, ideal for reading ebooks, which I tried for a few hours.
There's even a schedulable Reading Mode to reduce the background glare at bed time.
This IPS screen is almost as good as an AMOLED with vibrant colors, deep blacks and excellent contrasts.
The Contrast and Colors under Display also allow to adjust the overall color temperature.
Communications
Phone calls / Sound quality
Sound quality is of tradition with Xiaomi products, and that's even true with their cheapest IP cameras, so no bad surprise here, the sound is crystal-clear during phone calls and the speakers are perfect for voice and can go quite loud without damage for music.
The in-call interface is functional with all the necessary options available.
Networks:
On the mobile data side, 4G is supported but I'm only getting HSPA+, and the easiest way to find out why is to visit frequencycheck.com. In my case, there's very little B3 (1800Hz) coverage in my area.
Wi-Fi reception is good but seems limited to 2.4GHz, although the 5GHz band should be supported by the Snapdragon 425 Processor.
Notification LED (I missed you so much!):
It rings loud (and louder if a call is not answered), it vibrates and, if you miss it, there's even a LED!
Kudos to Xiaomi for not ditching this essential option to spare a few cents!
Battery life
The advertised capacity of the 3080mAh battery is rather modest but probably the actual capacity unlike many competitors.
On the other hand, Qualcomm Snapdragon is well known for its power efficiency and the 435 Octa Core is not the most demanding chipset.
I achieved 24 hours of mixed use with some intensive sessions (all the de-MIUIzation, lots of pictures taken, frequent interaction, benchmarks, ...)
There are many clever optimization options under the Battery & performance menu but I didn't even use the battery saver.
IR Blaster:
The 5A can be used as an IR remote controller. The native Mi Remote application mostly supports the smart home devices from Xiaomi but also some popular brands of TV and set top boxes. However I could not get it work with any device, even my LG TV.
As an alternative, I've installed "Universal TV Remote" from Twinone which works great, even with my old X10 IR relay.
GPS: 20 satellites under 4 seconds...that should do the job.
Conclusion: so, who is that phone for?
On paper, the Xiaomi 5A Prime is inferior to its bigger brothers on almost every aspect: smaller battery, lower pixel density, slower processor, slightly heavier, a bit thicker, ...
My opening title "The schoolgirl selfie companion?" (just a tad bit sarcastic) reflects my opinion before testing this phone.
Now, I realize that the Redmi Note 5A Prime is a silent killer for the competitors in that price range!
The Redmi Note 5A Prime (in 3/32GB) turns out to be a high quality smartphone and if the components are not all the latest and fastest, there's been no compromise on the quality and the cameras are possibly the best available under 150€.
Unlike the very widespread trends amongst entry-level smartphones, the Redmi Note 5A Prime does not make false promises, but delivers exactly what's announced.
The current version is a potential source of frustration for those relying on Google ecosystem, and I can't wait to see a Global Version, with MIUI 9, hopefully very soon, so we won't have to put our hands in the grease anymore.
The 3/32GB Prime variant, priced 119€/139.99$ with coupon JSMTA (expiry date: 2017-10-7) is by far the most sensible choice in the 5A family.
The other variants are:
Redmi Note 5A (not Prime): 100€/120$
There are too many concessions (no fingerprint sensor, smaller front camera, smaller chipset, only 16GB of storage) for almost the same price.
Redmi Note 5A (Prime) "4/64" with 4GB RAM and 64GB of storage: 220€/260$. There are not enough advantages to justify the higher price.
For that budget, look at the Mi 5X/A1 instead!)
SilverBarrel said:
...........
Xiaomi does not make any fuss about the camera sensors inside, and honestly, I don't mind if they are from Samsung, Sony or even Omnivision!
The result is far better than most manufacturers trumpeting the latest IMX on-board while ruining it with sub-par software.
............
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There was alot of grumbling that the Redmi Note 4 had different sensors and from what I've seen from the sample pictures, the differences are significant. The OV version was the worst with some weird tint (maybe it was just with the on) but it shows that you cannot ignore the different sensor types. Xiaomi is taking a risk with these sort of low brow bait and switch marketing tactics.
Restore IMEI?
Hi guys, i have an Redmi note 5A which i got with China Rom, and in atempt to flash Global Rom in test point i accidentaly flashed rom from Redmi 5A which lead me to lose the IMEI of the device and i cant sign in into my mi account to unlock bootloader and restore it.. I have flashed the latest China Stable Rom and the China Developer Rom from in EDL mode but that didnt restore my IMEI neither i can log in into my Mi Account..
What can i do?

[Review] Xiaomi Mi A1

Hi there!
Below is adapted from my original review on gadgetvictims.com
Mi A1 is definitely a good phone for the price but the noise-cancellation bug, well know in MIUI devices is also present in this Android One version .
-----------------
Nobody was fooled by Xiaomi's efforts to explain that MI A1 is not a rebranded 5X, and it is obviously the same device (with possibly a better thermal dissipation plate for countries with hot climate, like India).
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
The A1 is all about the Android One experience out of the box.
An Android One device basically complies with Google standards, which include some (unclear) minimum hardware requirements, and the provision of security and system updates by Google. The device should also receive the Oreo update around Christmas, if you've been good!
Possibly also -but I'll believe it when I see it- we can expect to get the next Android P (Pancake?) when it comes out.
Features:
5.5-inch FHD display,
Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 @2.0gHz,
4GB of RAM, and 64GB storage + microSD slot
SIM/SD tray for 2 SIM's or 1 SIM+1 microSD
Dual rear cameras:
Main: Omnivision OV12A10, 12MP, f2.2.
Second OmniVision OV13880 12MP f2.6
Front camera: Samsung S5K5E8, 5MP, f2.2
Wi-Fi ac, Bluetooth 4.2, LTE with VoLTE,
3080 mAh battery.
2G: GSM 850/900/1800/1900MHz
3G: Band B1/B2/B5/B8
4G: FDD-LTE B1/B3/B5/B7/B8/B20 TDD-LTE B38/B40
IR blaster
Back lit soft keys
Notification LED (white)
Unpacking
The Global version comes with a standard 5V2A charger, a USB type C cable, a tray pin and the usual leaflet that nobody bothers reading.
As usual with Xiaomi, no accessories are provided. Since the Mi A1 and 5X are identical, there's already a large choice of covers and tempered glass filters to choose from.
It's curious to see a product targeted at the Indian market without any water proofing, (and that factor is equally important for Irish users). So, while the Corning Gorilla 3 should not need further protection, a phone case it always a good idea to protect at least the back side. It won't make it waterproof, but that should help a bit.
While waiting to try a smart flip case, I found the inexpensive ASLING Protective Back Cover to be a nice fit for the black version.
Setting up
The hybrid SIM tray allows either
2 SIM's together
or
1 SIM + 1 MicroSD
So if the 64GB of storage don't suffice, an additional 128GB extension is possible.
Android One experience: so simple it's boring!
The recently reviewed Xiaomi Redmi Note 5A Prime could have been my everyday phone if it wasn't for the MIUI ecosystem, but I must admit that I did enjoy taking time to fine-tune all the customization options.
The Android One experience is the opposite: You're all set just a few minutes!
The initial setup is straightforward, particularly if you had a previous Android device from which apps and settings can be restored.
After that, you're pretty much ready and there's very little fiddling around the system options, even with the System UI Tuner enabled (activated by holding the gear icon in drop down menu for a few seconds).
Suddenly I regret the absence of the wallpaper carousel, the integrated call recorder, some smart gesture options like turn the phone over when busy, or swipe down 3 fingers for screenshot, ...
I wanted a pure vanilla Android experience... I have it!
There's virtually no bloatware (only 2 Xiaomi Feedback and Mi Remote apps which can be uninstalled, at least in the Global edition). The collection of pre-installed apps is kept to the bare minimum, to the point it feels incomplete: for instance, there no FM radio app despite the presence of the hardware (which can be verified in the Hardware Test Menu *#*#64663#*#*)
That's not an acceptable solution and none of the FM radio apk's I tried worked, so it's down to Xiaomi to resolve this in a future update.
Cameras:
The A1 is really a snapper I could live with! The Omnivision sensors may not be prestigious like Sony and Samsung are, but they deliver some nice pictures, with fast focus for sharp pictures, even with HDR.
I normally avoid using the flash at all cost with a smartphone, but the dual tone LED's have proven to be usable, as seen with the shot of the white orchids below, taken in almost complete darkness.
See here for the full picture sample
The manual mode offer a good range of controls and the manual focus is particularly well thought with the assistance of a focus peaking function.
While low cost brands like Bluboo, Doogee, Oukitel, will probably never be able to use their dual camera unless Google releases a camera API supporting them, Xiaomi (and other big players like Huawei, and HTC, ...) can afford to develop their own camera software!
As a result, the A1 dual camera phones can achieve an authentic Bokeh / depth effect (enabled via the Portrait Mode icon) rather than just layer of blurred circles.
The 5 megapixel camera on the selfie side does a decent job despite the absence of a flash and offers a large collection of creative filters. The results lack the level of details offered by the selfie-centric Redmi Note 5A, but are still quite good.
Video recording: not the A1 strong point!
Videos can be recorded in SD, HD, FHD and 4K.
Slo-mo initially didn't work at all but the bug has been fixed with the September Security update.
There's no "focus hunting" problem as such, just a quick but noticeable back-and-forth move each time the focus adjusts to a different subject.
In any case, the videos fail to impress, due principally to the lack of stabilization. A post-recording stabilization can be applied afterward via the embedded editor but the result is terrible!
Adding to it, the deteriorated sound recording quality contributes further in making the A1 a pathetic camcorder.
Sound quality: very good and very bad!
(I know how it sounds but please read on!)
The very good:
Since USB Type C can also output audio, it is often a good excuse to ditch the old 3.5mm earphone jack but Xiaomi kept both! Great!
The music playback through the internal speakers or via the headphones is clear and loud enough, and Xiaomi products are usually good at this.
The very bad:
The troubles start when recording your own sound with either the camera or an audio recording app.
Although it should only be active during phone calls, the dedicated noise cancelling microphone keeps fulfilling its duty during video and audio recordings, adding a weird flanger effect while trying to cancel the "noise" surrounding the voice!
https://youtu.be/6IPtygXJbjk
I discovered this popular Xiaomi noise cancellation bug first with the Redmi Note 5A, but only after a while because my first videos where made in a quiet environment. Then I came to record a public ceremony with loud rounds of applause, and discovered that the sound track had been almost completely muted!
It's quite a bid deal to me as I like to record some excellent bands performing in local pubs. In such typically loud environment, that bug is disastrous!
I hoped that it was confined to MIUI but the A1 is not spared and the bug is so widespread that it's becoming a Xiaomi trademark!
Until Xiaomi eventually acknowledge and fix the problem, I'll have to use other ways for that kind of task (like an Android watch, they make excellent sound recorders).
Battery life, Encryption and Performance
Embarking a 3050mAh battery would have been probably presumptuous with a Mediatek processor, but with a Snapdragon 625 it's a different story.
I could stretch it up to 48 hours of mixed use on a single charge, taking pictures (a lot), playing video games (a little) and watching videos. Of course this varies with each other lifestyle but most users should comfortably achieve a full day without having to keep an eye on the battery indicator.
In this Global Edition, the accompanying charger is a standard 5V2A and the phone definitely does not support Quick Charging.
In any case, it takes 2 hours to fully charge the battery.
The phone storage is encrypted by default, but this had no visible impact on performance when launching apps.
I can't think of an app that would give hard time to an 8-core 2016MHz processor with 4GB RAM.
Some benchmark scores:
Antutu: ~63000,
Geekbench 857/4167
Generous set of sensors, but no NFC
The list of sensors is quite complete with magnetometer, accelerometer, gyroscope, step detector, and Hall (for smart covers).
The fingerprint sensor is lighting fast just as expected after trying the lower range Redmi 5A. It also conveniently double as a way to scroll down the notification bar.
The picture below should tell enough about the GPS, no surprise.
Screen
The bright and vibrant [email protected] is protected by a Gorilla Glass 3.
It feels very smooth and does not keep the fingerprints too much.
The viewing quality and contrasts are very good but maybe I'm not the best judge as I felt the same with the HD-only screen of the cheaper Redmi Note 5A.
There's still a good 1.5cm at the bottom of the screen just dedicated to the soft keys, which is a bit old-fashionish in this bezel-less era, but at least they're back lit.
IR Blaster: (and yes, this is a copy/paste from my previous review)
The A1 can be used as an IR remote controller. The native Mi Remote application mostly supports the smart home devices from Xiaomi but also some popular brands of TV and set top boxes. However I could not get it work with any device, even my LG TV.
As an alternative, I've installed "Universal TV Remote" from Twinone which works great, even with my old X10 IR relay.
Conclusion
According to a poll on miui forum, the preference between the 2 models is evenly balanced:
Xiaomi and Google may have achieved a mutually beneficial deal with this phone by combining the quality of Xiaomi hardware and the authentic Android experience in the first convincing implementation of the Android One project.
You're it, until you're dead or I find someone better! [J. Rasczak, Starship Troopers]
None of the recently reviewed Android phones could decide me to finally put my good old Xperia Z1 to rest.
With its solid performance, large storage, latest Android and excellent camera, the A1 did this!
It is not faultless however and I'm not done with Xiaomi about the noise-cancellation bug!
The Mi A1 (like the Mi 5X) is priced around 200€.
If, like me, you want an unspoiled Android experience but are not willing to sell a kidney but still get a stable, well built phone with a great camera, this may be the Android you're looking for!
Good:
Fast and straightforward setup
Great dual camera
Notification LED
Back lit soft keys
Not good:
Noise cancelling bug
FM Radio present but app missing
Limited customization options
No stabilization for video recording
No NFC

Alldocube X Review: Media Playback King, But Not Much More

{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
The good:
Sharp, colorful, and bright display.
Impressive sound quality.
Nice design and build.
MicroSD card support.
18W fast charge.
The bad:
Older, less powerful SoC. than competitions in the same price range.
Poor cameras.
UI not optimized for the 10.5-inch screen.
Verdict:
If you want an inexpensive tablet for media consumption and don’t mind a less well-known brand, the Alldocube X is the slate to go for.
Yes, Android tablet is still a thing in 2019, with major brands such as Samsung, Huawei and ASUS still releasing new slates, and several smaller Chinese brands such as Alldocube, Teclast and Onda still putting on sale more affordable alternatives. Although lagging behind in both popularity and functionality compared to the Apple iPads, some Android tablets do offer better design, better display and sound or generally higher performance-price ratio. The market for these devices is indeed shrinking, but still existent.
The Alldocube X is a metal-bodied slate which offers Android users a premium-looking design, a fantastic 10.5-inch AMOLED display and great sound quality. But does it match the best of the best in the game, let’s find out.
Design
Only available in one color at the moment, the Alldocube X looks neat and elegant. The metallic rear and curved sides give the slate an air of luxury.
The front is dominated by a 10.5-inch Super AMOLED display. Bezels on the left and right are relatively small, but bezels on the above and under are quite big. It won’t win any beauty contest against the more premium new iPad Pro and Samsung Galaxy Tab S4, but is at least on the same level of the Huawei MediaPad M5 Pro. A front-facing camera and a light sensor can be found above the display, the rest of the front looks clean, without any button or branding.
There is a fingerprint reader on the right side of the tablet, which is not the fastest we’ve experienced, but still admirably fast. It certainly doesn’t feel as instant as my Xiaomi Mi 8 or Vivo X20, but it does beat the in-display fingerprint reader on my Huawei Mate 20 Pro.
A USB-C port of USB 3.0 standard is also on the right side. Thankfully, you can still find a 3.5mm audio jack on the slate. Many may argue that almost everyone should own a pair of wireless headphones nowadays, but we do appreciate the option that we can still use our brilliant wired headphones with it to enjoy better sound.
A Micro SD card slot is located on the top side, but to insert a Micro SD card in the tablet you need to use an ejection tool, which is not included in the package that I received, but should be included in the retail package. I used the SIM tool from my Xiaomi Mi8 box and it worked fine.
A power/standby key and a volume rocker sit on the left side of the tablet. Both buttons have decent travel and give the users a tactile feedback.
Speaker grilles are located on the top side of the slate, an unconventional placement for this kind of devices.
The X measures 243.68mm * 173.14mm * 6.9mm, and weighs 495g. It does no fit in our hands as well as those 8-inchers, such as the Xiaomi Mi Pad 4 or the Huawei MediaPad M5 8.4, but it shouldn’t burden our hands too much, thanks to the slim and lightweight build. Despite being so thin, the X feels extraordinarily robust, mainly because of its glass front and aluminum back. The build quality is as good as these top-tier products in the market.
Display
The X sports a gorgeous 10.5-inch display, which is the same found on the Samsung Galaxy Tab S4. It is the brightest and most vivid I have ever seen on a tablet. Watching the trailer video, we immediately noticed intense, saturated hues. The 2560 x 1600-pixel display is so sharp that we didn't need to squint to see those very fine details.
According to the colorimeter, the display of the Alldocube X produces an amazing 219 percent of the sRGB gamut. That makes it the most colorful tablet (or laptop) display we've ever seen, obliterating the 118-percent tablet average, as well as the ratings from the Surface Pro 5 (140 percent) and iPad Pro (122 percent).
The display is also super bright, emitting up to 460 nits. That makes for a wide range of viewing angles with colors staying strong at 80 degrees to both the left and right. The X tops the 425-nit category average and the 396-nit Surface Pro. And thanks to the super high-contrast AMOLED panel, the X has even better visibility than the 477-nit iPad Pro, which sports an IPS screen.
Sound
The Alldocube X offers top firing stereo speakers, which produce loud, and full-bodied sound. These built-in speakers can sound a little harsh at the highest volume, and lacks the kind of soundstage produced by the Quad Harman Kardon tuned speakers found on the Samsung Galaxy Tab S4 and new Huawei MediaPads. Still, they are much better than average and are definitely good enough for YouTube and Tik Tok feeds. For audiophiles, headphones or external speakers are still very much needed for music and action movies.
The X also comes with an AKM AK4376A Hi-Fi DAC, which is rarely found in a tablet. This DAC achieves -107dB THD+N and 125dB SNR, the best performance in the field as a compact DAC with headphone amplifier for portable audio products. It also has an impressive maximum sampling frequency/resolution of PCM 384 kHz/32-bit. Coming from the Xiaomi Mi8, my audiophile ears did notice a significant improvement in overall sound quality when plugging in my Creative Trio IEM. The bass has a lot more punch, the vocals are crisp clear, instrument separation and positioning are as good as some of my earlier DAPs. I even asked a few of my non-audiophile, iPad using friends to try listening to music with the X, all of them actually said that the X sounded a lot better than their iPhones and iPads, although they couldn’t really pinpoint where the differences were. Even the very demanding HiFiMan HE300, which lots of my phones and tablets struggled with driving, works decently with the Alldocube X.
System & UI
The X, at least the international edition, ships with stock Android 8.1 Oreo, with no customization on top, none at all. This is both good news and bad news. The good new is that there won’t be any bloatware, which normally comes with Chinese phones and tablets. The bad news is that this interface is not really tablet-optimized.
You won’t find anything similar to the DeX mode on the Samsung Galaxy Tab S or the desktop-style Remix OS on some other earlier tablets. The stock screen-split function works fine with most applications, but it doesn’t really give you that kind of computing experience the DeX mode offers when there are serious productivity tasks at hand.
Unfortunately, the Android ecosystem is going towards a direction which cares less and less about tablet users. Many of the tablet-optimized apps in Play Store were released years ago and haven’t got any updates in a long time. As a result, most of the apps we tried on the X were just phone apps blown up to fill the 10.5-inch screen, so the user experience on the X won’t really rival it is on an iPad.
Performance
The Alldocube X is powered by a MediaTek MT8176 processor, which has a hexa-core CPU (2 Cores of Cortex-A72 clocked at 2.1GHz and 4 cores of Cortex-A53) and a PowerVR GX6250 GPU clocked at 600 MHz. The funny thing is, this chipset, which was built in 28nm, was actually released in 2016 to rival the Huawei HiSilicon Kirin 950 and Snapdragon 652. Yet now it powers a tablet made for 2019. There is 4GB RAM to take care of multi-tasking. These are definitely not top-of-the-line specs for a tablet, and pale in comparison with the internals of latest smartphones in terms of horsepower.
In the Geekbench 4 CPU test, the X scored 1630 in single core and 3994 in multi-core, which is below the average score of mid-range smartphones, which are normally powered by Snapdragon 660 or 710 processors.
In the Antutu benchmark, however, the X clearly outscored the ASUS Zenpad 3S 10, which uses the same SoC., and the Alldocube X1, probably because of its faster RAM and more efficient Android 8.1 operating system.
The storage of the international edition of the X is 64GB, with a slot for a microSD for expansion. I inserted a 128GB microSD card and it works fine. The local storage is eMMc 5.1, which won’t rival the UFS2.1 storage found in the Samsung Galaxy Tab S4 and today’s top smartphones in terms of read/write speed, but it is still quite decent and matches the storage of midrange smartphones and other high-end tablets, as can be seen in the Androbench score.
In the real-world performance, the X is smooth and responsive in general, although it lacks the silky-smoothness found on modern flagship smartphones. There are also some noticeable hiccups in scrolling through homepages and settings, but we believe that’s more due to the animation settings of this tablet. Launching apps is very fast, but could still be slower than my Xiaomi Mi 8 while loading some big applications.
The 4GB of RAM is plenty, though. Even playing a 4K video on YouTube in the chrome browser, loading some image-heavy websites in many other tabs, and playing another local 1080P video simultaneously, the X remains smooth and responsive. The X can also keep apps in memory long enough so that you don’t feel like you’re reloading everything all the time, but when background applications are piling up, there will be noticeable lags and stutters.
When it comes to gaming, the X had no problem with most of the graphic-intense games at highest settings. “World of Warships”, “Shadow Fight 3” and “FIFA Mobile” all ran without a hitch.
But with highly demanding titles such as Asphalt 8, we had to use moderate settings to ensure playability as there were stutters and delays at the highest setting. The sound and visuals the X offers make gaming on it much more fun than it is on an average smartphone.
Video playback works even better. The X scored 872 in Antutu Video Tester benchmark and had no problem decoding all the video clips we played on it. It also has no problem playing all 2K videos in the YouTube app and all 4K YouTube videos in the chrome browser. With a dazzling 2K AMOLED display and impressive sound quality, watching videos on the X is the best experience we have ever had on a tablet.
Simple productivity tasks such as writing an email, editing a photo, splitting a video clip and making small modifications to a document generally work fine. Limited to what the Google Play Store offers, it is impossible to consider serious creative work with the X, or any Android tablet for that matter. The Samsung Galaxy Tab S4 and Huawei MediaPad M5 both come with a pressure-sensitive pen, and should enable users to do some sketching and take handwriting notes, but not much more. Windows-based devices are still more solid choices for productivity.
Cameras
The X comes with an 8MP front-facing camera and an 8MP main camera, both of which are of F/2.8 aperture, but both are simply just usable.
The images produced by the main camera are not satisfying at all – colors are quite poorly produced, and everything feels a shade too dark and fake.
The camera on the front works okay for video chats when there is good lighting, but it is not the kind of camera you want to take selfies with. Both camera support 720P video recording. However, due to the lack of any obvious form of stabilization, footage looks very shaky. These are definitely not the cameras you want to archive your life with, any entry-level smartphone could do a much better job at that.
Battery
The 8,000mAh Li-Po battery under the hood normally gives us 7 hours of screen time on a full charge. I got on a high-speed train from Guiyang to Chengdu on Feb, 4th, playing two episodes of “I am the Night” and a movie called “Overlord”, with the display brightness set at 50%, 4 hours later, I got off the train with 45% battery left on the X.
The X supports fast charge, and the stock wall charger gives an 18W output, which could fully charge the device (from 0% to 100%) in less than 3 hours. It is a big improvement from previous Allodcube tablets, which normally demanded 5-6 hour for a full charge.
Competition
Priced at $269, the X is not a cheap device. In fact, it is the most expensive Android tablet from Alldocube to date. In the same price range, you can find the Xiaomi Mi Pad 4 Plus (10.1-inch), which comes with an inferior 10.1-inch IPS display, but has a more powerful Snapdragon 660 AIE processor, higher battery capacity, and LTE support. There is also the ASUS ZenPad 3S 10, which is equipped with the same MT8176 processor, but pales in comparison in other dimensions. The Samsung Galaxy Tab A 10.5 costs significantly more, but falls behind the X in almost all categories. In addition, the base model of the new Apple iPad released in 2018 costs only $60 more than the Alldocube X, but it offers many more optimized apps which can utilize the tablet screen real estate a lot better, and a much stronger brand presence. And for consumers who focus more on productivity, there are also many Windows-based hybrids under $300 on the market.
Below this price point, there are a bunch of tablets with the similar or even faster SoC. from less well-known Chinese brands such as Chuwi, Teclast and Onda, but none of those slates compares with the X in terms of display, audio, design and build quality.
Verdict
It is very disappointing to see a 2019 tablet powered by a 2016 processor, even the Alldocube X1, which was released last year and costs much less than the X, came with a beefier Mediatek Helio X20 Deca-core processor.
Also, Google Play Store is not really tablet-friendly. As shipments of Android tablet have been on a downward spiral for 15 straight quarters, Google’s very own new Pixel Slate is now running on Chrome OS and foldable phones are still clunky early prototypes, the eco-system for Android slates is only going to get worse for the next couple of years.
Also, given Alldocube’s infamous reputation of stopping upgrading the firmware of their devices after a year since the release, the X will highly likely be stuck with Android Oreo forever. For those who care about firmware upgrade of their devices, the Xiaomi Mi Pad 4 Plus will be a more future-proof choice.
With that said, we do think that the Alldocube X focuses on what’s the most important for an Android slate. When it comes to brilliant displays, the X stands at the top of the mountain with a ton of color and brightness, with very few competitions. If you are looking for a tablet mainly for media consumption, the Alldocube X is an easy recommendation. The only other option which offers the same level of visuals is the Samsung Galaxy Tab S4, but that will cost you $380 more. Of course, it offers more horsepower, more functionalities and productivity with the DeX desktop mode and the S-Pen, but if these are not compelling features for you, the X will almost save you a fortune.
This is my new daily driver tablet now, just becoz of the screen and sound.
Ain't anyone else have this tablet?
jupiter2012 said:
This is my new daily driver tablet now, just becoz of the screen and sound.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mine too, most devices with oled screens cost a fortune. So much nicer watching media with perfect blacks rather than the milky IPS LCD displays which always seem to have some level of light bleed.
Vertron said:
Mine too, most devices with oled screens cost a fortune. So much nicer watching media with perfect blacks rather than the milky IPS LCD displays which always seem to have some level of light bleed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I cannot even look at my Galaxy Tab Pro 8.4 anymore, even though it has a display which used to be considered top notch.
They promised android 9 update
https://www.facebook.com/alldocube/photos/a.245194862711288/349671052263668/?type=3&theater
Battery is Li-Ion.
Does Netflix HD work on this device?
satokun said:
Does Netflix HD work on this device?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, it only has Widevine L3.
Kulid said:
They promised android 9 update
https://www.facebook.com/alldocube/photos/a.245194862711288/349671052263668/?type=3&theater
Battery is Li-Ion.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, really looking forward to the Android 9 update
Vertron said:
No, it only has Widevine L3.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
that's a shame.
jupiter2012 said:
that's a shame.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You'll have to pay a bit more for the Samsung Galaxy Tab S5E if you want Netflix in HD
Vertron said:
You'll have to pay a bit more for the Samsung Galaxy Tab S5E if you want Netflix in HD
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Doesn't the Tab S4 support Widevine L1? The S5E seems to have an even weaker processor compared to the S4.
jupiter2012 said:
Doesn't the Tab S4 support Widevine L1? The S5E seems to have an even weaker processor compared to the S4.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It depends what you want to use it for. The processor on the tab S5E is adequate for browsing and streaming. It is also cheaper, lighter and has a better build than the tab S4. If you need the s pen or want to game then sure get the S4. However the S5 is rumoured to have Snapdragon 855 so it might be worth waiting for as it'll be a couple generations jump from the Snapdragon 835 in the S4.
Vertron said:
It depends what you want to use it for. The processor on the tab S5E is adequate for browsing and streaming. It is also cheaper, lighter and has a better build than the tab S4. If you need the s pen or want to game then sure get the S4. However the S5 is rumoured to have Snapdragon 855 so it might be worth waiting for as it'll be a couple generations jump from the Snapdragon 835 in the S4.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks so much!
通过我的 LYA-AL00 上的 Tapatalk发言
Really hope that there will be Alldocube X 2nd Gen, with a more capable Soc. and refined design.
The send generation Allldocube X will feature a Snapdragon 660 processor.
jupiter2012 said:
The send generation Allldocube X will feature a Snapdragon 660 processor.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is this your guess or do you have evidence / information that the second generation Alldocube X will feature a Snapdragon 660 processor?
And if so, when is the 2nd generation Alldocube X with Snapdragon 660 is going to be released?
Their marketing manager told me they had the plan in April, but no further news afterwards.
通过我的 LYA-AL00 上的 Tapatalk发言
I saw lots of complaints regarding the battery life after a few months, how is it really?
leelavie said:
I saw lots of complaints regarding the battery life after a few months, how is it really?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My unit lasts as long as it did 5 months ago.

[GIVEAWAY] Comment Your Favorite Honor 8X Feature and Win Prizes!

{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
HONOR 8X series have shipped more than 10 Million units worldwide! The Honor 8X is a stand-out phone because it offers amazing technical specifications at an affordable price. Share with us what HONOR 8X features attracts you the most and win amazing prizes! For example:
Great price
Big, bold, clear screen
Eye-catchy glass design
Powerful processor
Good camera
How to enter?
Step 1: Comment
I want to buy HONOR 8X because_______ , or
I bought HONOR 8X because______.
Step 2: Share this post on your social media page with #HONOR8X and share the link in your comment.
Prizes: Honor is planning to give away 5 Bluetooth headsets for posts in this particular thread
Contest Period: Now – March 21
Winner Selection Criteria: The more detailed the response, the higher the chance you have of winning. The number of likes to the responses also factor into the chances of winning.
Update: The giveaway is now complete. Thanks for participating!
Winners: Mewwo, oslo83, Ajeyvm, yog12, UL7RA
better cameras, almost full screen and affordable price is the readon to buy 8x.
Because bootloader is not unlockable
I want to buy HONOR 8X because some reasons:
Big screen:
If you're a regular person watching movies, browsing the web or playing games ... on the mobile screen, the Honor 8X's screen will bring a very outstanding visual experience. It has a large screen with a size of up to 6.5 inches, thanks to a thin rabbit ears design with 19.5: 9 aspect ratio, but the Honor 8X screen has a display ratio of up to 91%
In addition, the Honor 8X has Full HD + resolution, giving high-resolution display images with medium color and brightness but a wide viewing angle. The screen border is also relatively compact and slim thanks to Honor using COF (chip-on-film) technology to optimize the screen border area.
High-end design:
Although shaped in the mid-range segment, the Honor 8X's design is clearly impressive. The machine possesses a metal frame combined with two sides of a 2.5D curved glass, which gives a luxurious, firm feel when held in hand
Notably, the Honor 8X's back glass is coated with a paint that can change color according to the angle of view or direct the light. In addition to the glossy blue and black versions, the device has a rather prominent red version.
Powerful hardware:
The power of the Honor 8X is powered by the eight-core Kirin 710 processor, which includes 4 cores Cortex-A73 high-performance high-speed 2.2GHz and 4-speed Cortex-A53 1.7 GHz. Besides, it has 4GB RAM and 64GB internal memory
Real experience, the Honor 8X delivers fast opening and closing speed of applications, applications run smoothly, have low latency and meet popular titles. In addition to optimizing the demand for battle games, it also incorporates GPU Turbo technology, giving better graphics performance while reducing power consumption
For users who frequently use multitasking feature, 4GB RAM is good enough for common multi-tasking needs, ensuring smooth running of heavy applications and smooth multitasking.
AI Camera:
For imaging capabilities, the Honor 8X has a dual-camera camera on the back, in which the main camera is 20MP resolution, f / 1.8 aperture and 2MP sub-resolution camera, integrating AI for self dynamically identify 22 different types of objects in images and 500 real-time scripts, thereby optimizing the parameters to make photos look better
The Honor 8X camera app also features a Super Night shooting mode optimized for night photography, which can take long exposure shots without a tripod
The Honor 8X selfie camera has 16 MP resolution, f / 2.0 aperture, comes with various shooting modes such as beauty, sticker ... The shooting interface is quite simple, beauty mode has many levels. And the font erase feature can also adjust the background blur, focus point after shooting.
In addition, the other Honor 8x features include dual-band Wi-Fi, BT 5.0, 64GB internal memory, support for up to 400GB, NFC, face unlock, side fingerprint sensor after ... The Honor 8X comes with a 3.750mAh battery that is enough to run the device in one easy day.
Honor 8X is very good, i love it!!!
******************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************https://twitter.com/MuonNatsu/status/1105674277750075393?s=20
I Want To Buy Honor 8x Because These Are The Features Attracts Me:
1) It has Amazing premium Glass design and build Quality which has now become hallmark of Honor devices. Beautiful design, almost no bezels
2) Sturdy performance Kirin 710 I think is much better than Sd 660 in all around performance..Thanks to Kirin 710
3) A 3750mAh battery under the hood, It will give 2 days awesome battery life
4) DUAL Sim+Dedicated Micro SD card Slot for adding more GB and extra storage to this device as per the need and usage.
5) The Honor 8X supports 4G VoLTE on both Sims..
6) It has 20MP AI dual camera that gives you a perfect output in every scenario,with every object
I want to buy honor 8x because of the following features...
1) my favorite feature is Smart Notification on lock screen. Just love it.
2) second things attract me is design of this phone and specially backside of the phone looks stunning.
3) another attraction is fingerprint gestures.
...
Many more....
Reasons I WANT to buy the Honor 8X:
1. GREAT PERFOMANCE.
Despite its low price the 8X does pack a Powerful Punch. The Kirin 710 in normal Day-to-Day use never lagged; at least on my friends phone. Opening of Social Apps is Quick and Most Apps don't lag. Since in Pakistan it costs about 35K its still a solid performer considering that many of the FlagShips cost 50k for the Poco and 112K for the OP6T. And for its current price it offers almost no difference in Day-to-Day normal use. And Games are smooth, no lags in PUBG, etc.
2. BATTERY.
The 3750 mAH Battery is more than sufficient for daily use. And can go for Two-Solid Days with Normal use like browsing Social Media. Or at least it did, On my Friends Phone. He usually Charges it overnight so I dunno. Its a solid performer.
3. CAMERA.
Now this is something that Legit surprised me. On Budget and Mid-Range phones a Solid Camera isn't what you normally expect. They are Average at best. The Honor 8X. It breaks that. Camera is solid. Some of the AI is also. Somethings that require improvement is the Beauty Algorithm. Seriously it makes you look as if you have a TON of Makeup On. Also the Dual-Camera are good both for Photo and Video. Dunno about 4K tho. AFAIK know its there but at [email protected] FPS. Oh well. You can't have it all.
4. Design.
EXCELLENT. Nothing more to say.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Now I'm probably gonna Ruin my chances with this but it belongs here. And, Of course, Im talking about why I WOULDNT buy the 8X.
Ill just make this one long Paragraph/Rant so people who don't care can skip this, and in One Word. BOOTLOADER UNLOCKING. Its the only reason and Deal Breaker because of which I'm not getting this phone. I know most people don't care about this. Heck the don't even know about it including said friend. But then again he didn't even change the stock wallpaper or the home screen layout so..... Anyway as someone who unlocks the Bootloader of his phone and roots them ASAP the 8X isn't for me. And even if I were to make an exception considering my afore mentioned points, the phone still has some quirks. Software being one of them. Updates are rare and months apart. The Overall Software experience is bloated. I like the direction the company is taking with EMUI 9. But since I haven't tested it I can't say. Overall, Software still needs a LOT OF IMPROVEMENT.
Thank you for your time.
https://twitter.com/MannanQamar12/status/1105879942200520704
I don't want to buy HONOR 8X because of MISSING BOOTLOADER UNLOCKING
I want to buy HONOR 8X because -------
It looks very good aesthetically. Not only that, it's also a very capable unit with the balance of hardware and the often-updated OS. One of my friends had one and from the time that I played it once, I just felt that the cooling system of that unit was impeccable. Both of us played 3 hrs of PUBGM in Medium+High Frame Rate settings and the unit barely become warm to touch. It's also lightweight despite the glass build. Battery was super long-lasting too!
To my fellow entrees, let's share all the luck we can get and have a fun game! :highfive:
https://twitter.com/lulu_ramperouge/status/1106180710367297537
I want to buy HONOR 8X because 6.5-inch screen with 91% screen to body ratio, 2MP depth sensor along with a 20MP primary sensor & triple card slot.
Shared-
https://twitter.com/Ajeyvm/status/1106867099106988032
No Fs given
I cancelled my order once I heard that the bootloader is locked permanently. It's a shame because the device appears to be nice.
I want to buy HONOR 8X because i love the looks and features this phone have to offer.
I am looking forward to start YouTube channel and I would love to make videos featuring this Device in Home screens and Top Apps Videos and if this device have active development. I would love to help out other users in any way i possibly can ??
https://twitter.com/Yogesh_gosavi_/status/1107212685429497856
yog12 said:
I want to buy HONOR 8X because i love the looks and features this phone have to offer.
I am looking forward to start YouTube channel and I would love to make videos featuring this Device in Home screens and Top Apps Videos and if this device have active development. I would love to help out other users in any way i possibly can ??
https://twitter.com/Yogesh_gosavi_/status/1107212685429497856
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Active Development? LOL. This device doesn't even have an unlock able bootloader. Shame. This is a great device for custom Development. Not as good as Poco but still for half the price where I live. Anyway the permanently locked boot loader is the reason many will not buy this.
Mannan Qamar said:
Active Development? LOL. This device doesn't even have an unlock able boot loader. Shame. This is a great device for custom Development. Not as good as Poco but still for half the price where I live. Anyway the permanently locked boot loader is the reason many will not buy this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
irony of all that is , it is showing you are Honor Supporter & they are having this initiative for xda and providing phones with permanently locked bootloader.
They really need to let users Unlock Boot loader and provide sources :fingers-crossed:
yog12 said:
irony of all that is , it is showing you are Honor Supporter & they are having this initiative for xda and providing phones with permanently locked bootloader.
They really need to let users Unlock Boot loader and provide sources :fingers-crossed:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately that's true. I wish it were possible to remove that to. And as many have said before Honor has no pace on XDA. But thing is not everything on XDA has to do with Custom ROMs, Root or an unlocked Bootloader. Thats only 99% of the stuff. Anyway Honor is using XDA to advertise their phones to people whose first priority is an unlock able bootloader. And even if they do a complete 180 the Damage has been done. No Dev wants to develop for Huawei. Rooting EMUI 9 is a royal PITA.
I'd want to buy the Honor 8X because I had the occasion to test it with my own hands as one of my friends own it, and it's nothing short of amazing.
I've been searching for a viable replacement for my LG V20 that is getting a bit old, and I might finally settle for the Honor 8X as my V20's successor.
Its price will not break the bank at all, but that doesn't mean it doesn't come packed with good stuff. Even if the price is quite low, it comes in a big form factor that I love (I watch a lot of movies and videos on my phone, and sometimes the subtitles are too small and I have to squint my eyes to see properly, same goes for finer details in some videos, they're just too small to see on a smaller screen) and it has a modern and premium look. I never had a 'glass sandwich' phone before, and this one is one of the better looking glass sandwiches with that color scheme on the back. I also love that it kept the headphone jack, as sometimes I use my hi-fi wired headphones to listen to music. Also the big battery will surely last me quite a bit, even if I watch movies, listen to music, or play some casual game. I didn't get the chance to try the camera, but I've watched a couple of YouTube videos about this phone and it seems pretty good, with the AI features and all.
Long story short, I like this phone because it has a huge screen, it's a good looker in general and it feels premium, and it fits my multimedia-intense criteria for phones.
Cheers.
Link: https://twitter.com/UL7RAro/status/1107399849383739394
I bought a HONOR 8X because my mum wanted a phone with a wide screen !!
So I liked the price for this device which is offering :
a powerfull kirin710 processor, IA face unlock, a wide 6,5" HD screen, a good 3,750mAh battery, great speakers and Emui9 Pie compatibility which is coming soon.
So it's a great deal.
PS: I would love to get some Flypods bluetooth headset
https://twitter.com/Lancelot_iphone/status/1107431496237895680
I DON'T want to buy HONOR 8X because of notch, no bootloader unlock and forced chinese bloatware spying ROM.
XDARoni said:
HONOR 8X series have shipped more than 10 Million units worldwide! The Honor 8X is a stand-out phone because it offers amazing technical specifications at an affordable price. Share with us what HONOR 8X features attracts you the most and win amazing prizes! For example:
Great price
Big, bold, clear screen
Eye-catchy glass design
Powerful processor
Good camera
How to enter?
Step 1: Comment
I want to buy HONOR 8X because_______ , or
I bought HONOR 8X because______.
Step 2: Share this post on your social media page with #HONOR8X and share the link in your comment.
Prizes: Honor is planning to give away 5 Bluetooth headsets for posts in this particular thread
Contest Period: Now – March 18
Winner Selection Criteria: The more detailed the response, the higher the chance you have of winning. The number of likes to the responses also factor into the chances of winning.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I bought a Honor 8X in order to kickstart the development for the phone. Its a georgeous device and it gets even better with AOSP running on it.
Regards
Share link- https://twitter.com/shashank1320/status/1107568854388101120?s=19
I bought Honor 8X because my dad wanted an upgrade over his Honor 5X. He was using a 3 year old device and wanted an upgrade. Honor 8X became the obvious choice as due to eye catching design, nice bigger screen and huge battery and as usual, trust on Honor brand since last 4 years now. He is used to EMUI so not much a problem as well.
Also, I used the device initially and here is my detailed review about the same.
Launched in September’18 and then making its debut in Indian market in October’18 during Honor fan fest in India, Honor 8X has sidelined almost every other player in this budget segment and is coming up with great reviews every now and then. Below is my personal review about Honor 8X. I am using this device for a week now and ready to give my initial impression about the phone.
Powerful Processor with GPU turbo- Initially I was not very sure about the new processor, coming from Kirin 970, but the phone has been doing really well in terms of performance and inhouse 12nm Kirin 710 is doing an amazing job under the hood with AI capabilities and comes with Android Oreo, EMUI 8.2 out of the box and GPU Turbo boost the graphical processing preserving the FPS and stability and at the same time reducing the power consumption. Kirin processors are known for this right?
Look and Build Quality- So when most of the OEMs does not focus much on the build quality and only adds bunch of feature in the phone, Honor has done a commendable job. Instead of cheaper and regular build quality, Honor has provided a flagship level quality and look to the device. I am in love with this design not recently but since the time of Honor 8 launch (2 years back). It looks expensive than it actually is with its grating effect glass body and superb build quality.
Display- With roughly around 91% screen to body ratio and 6.5-inch FHD+ display with 2340 x 1080 pixels resolution, display covers almost the entire front view making the device look stunning still manage to fit in the same phone size of a 5.5-inch phone, making for an easier to hold even with bigger size. Users who plays a lot of games or watch videos on their phone will definitely love the display and enjoy watching the content on nearly borderless display. Display looks vibrant and color reproduction are really good and allowing users to change the mode to vivid or natural colors which is even better.
Battery- With massive 3750 mAh battery and fully optimized EMUI 8.2, Kirin 710 and GPU turbo, battery does really well and last for over a day with moderate to heavy usage. Various inbuilt battery saving technologies are an added advantage here which preserves the juice for those critical hours. Even though, phones come with a massive 6.5 inch screen, I would say battery life is excellent on this phone and I could easily get 8 hours of Screen on time and over 1 day of battery backup.
Camera- Probably the USP of all Honor phones in any segment they gets launched. All performs to the expectation and 8X is not lacking behind. Dual AI Camera performs well and delivers more than you can imagine. Coupled with 20MP+2MP AI dual rear camera and 16MP front facing camera, you can take amazing picture and no need to carry an additional device specifically for clicking pictures as your smartphone is your best companion for the same. Honor has added the night mode directly without any need to navigate across options and settings. AI does make a difference and there is AI switch given which makes it easier to click pictures with or without as per user's need. Super Slow-motion video does really well and produces interesting and fun to watch videos. I have clicked few pictures and they looks awesome considering the price range.
Sound- Volume through earpiece is good and no challenges there and also the volume through the sound grill is loud enough for regular day to day usage. Certainly, better than my couple of other phones. There are various options available for headphone sound known as Histen Sound effect which can change the sound effect based on the mode you select or the type of headphone you are using, also you can enable/disable 3D sound effect and customize your equalizer. Initially there was some issue and when you speaker volume was more than 70% there were intermittent vibration during music, YouTube play but has been fixed by OTA.
Software- EMUI 8.2 on top of Android 8.1 is really optimized and phone doesn’t lag even with heavy usages. Game Assist, Party mode are added advantages for users who use such feature. Mine is global version so not much bloatware and there is VOLTE support for JIO, Vodafone (tested only these 2). Phone was received with JSN-L21C900 B120 version and got 3 updates within a week B125, B130 and B133 and most of the issue that were there in phone were fixed and no more issues with magazine unlock or the vibration on higher volume. EMUI 9.0 can hit the phone anytime and as I have tested with my other Honor phones, EMUI 9.0 really improve the responsiveness and fluidness by some amount compared to EMUI 8.0 or earlier versions.
Storage- Phone comes in 3 variants, 4/64, 6/64 and 6/128 GB versions. Mine is 4/64 variant and you get around 54.9 GB of free storage on first boot. As phone supports dual SIM+additional SD card support, you need not to worry about running of space and can use external card to store your media, music files.
Call quality and network- Call quality is just awesome; network signal reception is good. One of the advantage on Honor 8X is the dual sim and SD card slot unlike hybrid slot in many other phones pushing us to compromise on dual sim or expandable storage. Wi-Fi supports 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac bands and I would say the time to connect to a Wi-Fi and network speed is pretty well.
Apart from above great features, below are few additional stuffs which makes this phone great-
AI shopping and scene recognition
Dual SIM with Dual VOLTE with dedicated slot for SD card.
Face Unlock
Fully optimize Smart EMUI 8.2
Super Slow motion
Super Night shot with AI and multi-frame stabilization
Inbuilt storage up to 128 GB storage and triple card slot
Full View Display with Nearly Border-less Design
Widevine support
With so many eye catching features, Honor 8X definitely ticks all the boxes to be your first choice while you decide to buy a phone in this range. This phone is beautiful, delightful yet powerful and with the competitive price tag of 14,999, has created a buzz in the segment and has sidelined many competition to become a clear choice for many.

Categories

Resources