Related
Chinese manufacturer Xiaomi (one of main players currently) has just presented an update for his Redmi Note model, with a few novelties and the goal of being one of most popular smartphones for the season.
Packaging and design
The box is “iPhone-like” in paperboard color, something I've liked since it looks a little bit more Eco-friendly, and at the same time it's simple and elegant.
In the box we find the terminal properly wrapped, a charger (with US plug, not the European one), a good quality USB cable, the warranty and instructions both in Chinese.
As usual lately, no signs of the earphones, we'll have to get used :-/
{
"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 design of this Redmi Note 2 is very simple and clean, on the front we have the secondary camera on the top, then the 5,5” FullHD screen with just the 3 touch buttons typical from Android.
On the right side we have the volume and lock buttons, both seem made in good quality
Looking at the bottom, the micro-USB plug and the microphone. We have the jack 3.5 plug for the (non included) earphones and the secondary microphone for noise cancellation on the top.
So we have a completely free left side, something very common nowadays, due to the big size of the devices, the buttons are grouped in just one of the sides.
Once we flip it, the main 13Mpx camera (we have no information about who is manufacturing it), the LED (not dual) flash and the speaker on the bottom with the XIAOMI logo.
When we remove the back cover, we found the removable battery, the slots for the 2 micro-SIM and another one for the microSD expansion card.
This model is available in 5 colors: white, blue, yellow, pink and mint green.
Hardware
The technical specifications are quite good. Just to start, it's equipped with the new X10 octa core from Mediatek, so 64-bits and 2.0Ghz speed. The 2GB of RAM memory put it on the middle of the table, since most of new phones already come with 3GB or 4GB if we talk about flagship devices.
To complete the game, we find a GPU Power VR G6200 that will put all the sauce for videos and games to play smoothly.
Model* Xiaomi Redmi Note 2
SO*MIUI 7 (Android 5.0)
Processor*X10 64bits, octa core @ 2,0Ghz
GPU Power VR G6200
RAM*2GB
Screen*5,5” IPS LCD FullHD 1920x1080,*with*403ppi and 16M colors
Storage*16GB + microSD
Cameras*Main 13Mpx with flash LED; front 5Mpx; video 1080p @ 30 fps
Connectivity*Wi-Fi 2.4GHz b/g/n with Wi-Fi Direct support // BT 4.0*// MicroUSB (High Speed USB)
Dual SIM*GSM: 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 Mhz ; 3G WCDMA: 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100 Mhz; 4G FDD-LTE: B1(2100MHz) / B3(1800MHz) / B7(2600MHz)
Other*G-sensor, P-Sensor, L-Sensor, Wifi, GPS, OTG< Multi-touch, Dual SIM, Schedule Power on/off, E-compass, Hall IC, Gravity Sensor, Proximity Sensor, Light Sensor, Magnetic Sensor, Gyroscope Sensor
Battery*3060mAh removable
Dimensions*152 x 76 x 8.25 mm
Weight*160gr with the battery
Colors White, blue, yellow, pink, mint green
Price*From $169.99 with current promos
Software and Multimedia
The Redmi Note 2 comes with the almost last version of Android 5.0 (Lollipop), however we won't appreciate it since the customization layer is very “intrusive”. We are talking about the very well known MIUI, which brings a iOS flavor that either you love or you hate normally.
MIUI is probably one of most known Android ROMs and doubtless one of the strengths that helped Xiaomi growth as much and sell their handhelds outside of China.
In this case, the Redmi Note has the v7 of MIUI and as expected it runs very well, fluid and smooth even when playing 2K videos. However, in my opinion is a little bit silly to play 2K videos in a 5,5” screen, even a very good one like this case. It will be very interesting if we are using a remote screen, and we are broadcasting to a big screen, but (and again is just my opinion) with a smartphone, I guess FullHD is already a great resolution.
On the same way, games (like Asphalt 8) run perfectly thanks to both the powerful chip X10 and the GPU Power VR G6200.
Camera
Nowadays it's very common to find 13 Mpx cameras on almost every smartphone. If we compare this one to other Chinese phones, we can say the results are very good.
It's not the main point in this phone, although as said before it achieves quite good results, specially with daylight (very good pictures!). But when the light is reduced, for example taking night pictures there is a lot of noise on the images.
When we move to video recording, FullHD at 30fps offer very good quality.
Battery
The trend is now to go around 3000mAh, and Xiaomi hits that mark in this case.
Of course the duration will depend on how much we use the smartphone and for what. Taking into consideration that on the first days we will be trying everything and the use will be much more exhaustive that the normal one.
However we will reach the end of the day without any difficulty, using data, camera,...
Conclusions
We have on our hands a very good terminal. We can notice it on the finishing and the overall user experience, thanks also to the good integration and performance of MIUI 7.
I don't like to open the box and don't find the earphones, but it becomes the rule now, so I will finally have to get used to that. I know manufacturers try to cut cost wherever they can, and they guess we all have good earphones already... but if you're presenting a device with an impressive screen and powerful enough to play and enjoy the multimedia part, why don't you complete it with a good earphones?
I'm sure this is a problem that we don't have when buying an iPhone or last Galaxy S or LG or any other first brand smartphone, since they have margin enough to pay quality extras.
This model (Redmi Note 2) is on the medium range so we have to consider it like that. If we are looking for a top class (Chinese) device we will have to choose the Xiaomi Mi5 (when available) or Xiaomi Note Pro and there the price will be already above 500€.
Are you looking a good smartphone for less than 200€? don't think more, you have to look and consider this one. It's not only because of the specifications on the paper, it's also (or mainly) because step by step the Chinese manufacturers are differentiating among them.
Xiaomi and Meizu have proved (or are proving yet) to be above the other Chinese companies... so if you have similar prices, ask for quality!
PS: if you like this review, just click on "Thanks"
Thx for the review
has or has not Gorilla Glass
has or has not Gorilla Glass
Phych said:
has or has not Gorilla Glass
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The glass is so called "Dragontail" which is actually very scratch resistance.
My problem so far with RN2 is the network location service, they return simplified chinese text to apps, also the international ROM is very buggy.
I got one question: Is a screenprotector already applied from the manufacture?
Btw I noticed you saying there are the 5 colours you mentioned but actualy there is also the colour gray (dark) (the one picture in your review has also a gray backcover)
Yes, screen protector is already applied but it covers front camera... So you have to change it
My device did not have a screen protector pre-applied.
Very strage
We find each time more models on the market, since the manufacturers have as goal to cover every single segment on the market, no matter what your budget is...there is a smartphone for you.
{
"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"
}
During these past summer months, two of the big Chinese manufacturers have introduced an update for two of their most popular models. We are talking about the Meizu m2 Note (end of June) and the Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 (August).
The truth is that the only point they probably share is a FullHD 5,5” screen and low-medium segment they are both addressed.
Lets see the specifications:
Prices: Meizu m2 Note -> From $139 with Flash sales
Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 -> From $169.99 with current promos
As you can see, with this update Xiaomi has make much more emphasis on the “power” than his competitor. In addition, the version I’m trying is the Prime (2,2Ghz and 32GB of RAM) so the difference seems even more evident.
Appearance
Looking at the design, first thing to mention is that m2 Note is made on a single piece, meaning mainly a more “solid” terminal, or at least feels more resistant on the hand. It is slightly shorter and narrower than the Redmi Note 2, although thicker. The Redmi Note 2 on its side, has rear cover and removable battery.
Anyway, both are quite similar on size and weight, but they are figures difficult to notice on a daily basis.
Looking at them from the front, both show at first the imposing 5,5” screen, even though they use different technologies for it (I’ll talk about it later). Above the screen, Meizu’s one shows the speaker and the secondary camera. Xiaomi model adds also a LED for notifications (Meizu model also has a LED but it’s not as useful or evident, and not as customizable as the Xiaomi LED). Both cameras have 5Mpx.
Below the screen, Meizu only has a physical central button, with 3 different functions depending if we touch, press or hold it. The Xiaomi has the 3 typical Android haptic buttons, although they work in a different way because they can be customized (that’s pretty cool) so we can decide what they’ll do when we press or hold each button.
For the rest, on the Meizu we have the buttons for volume and lock on the left side and the slot for SIM and microSD on the right side. The secondary microphone (for noise cancelation) is on the top side, together with the Jack 3.5 plug, so the micro USB plug and the main speaker are on the bottom side.
The Xiaomi is quite similar, but having all the buttons on the right side, not having anything on the left side and adding the infrared port on the top...the rest all the same.
When flipping it, the main camera (13Mpx) and the flash, which is dual LED on the Meizu and single LED on the Xiaomi. The camera is completely flat for the Meizu and protrudes slightly on the Xiaomi. This last also includes the main speaker on this rear side. Both have the logo on the bottom.
The perception of the finishing is high quality for the two models, and with both I had the impression of sliding from my hand at the beginning. However, once you get used to their shape, size and weight... they fit very comfortable on the hand.
Screen
The 5,5” screens on these models deliver FullHD resolution and excel 400ppi of density with a incredibly good quality of image. The only one difference is then, that Meizu chose IZGO technology and Xiaomi opted for the commonly used IPS LCD panel.
After using both daily, my impression is that Meizu screen offers better quality and dims more, which is very nice for reading during the night for example. Said that, both screens have a very good quality and have the option to adjust the color temperature.
There are some complaints about IZGO screens showing yellowish when it should be white, but I haven't noticed that effect at all.
Use and multimedia
Both models come with Android Lollipop 5, nonetheless each one has a very different and complete customization layer.MIUI is much more known than FlymeOS, although the people from Meizu is doing a great job with continuous improvements on the ROM. The goal surely is to make it each time more popular and compatible with more models, something that has worked very well in the favour of MIUI in the past years.
An important part of this customizations is the way we use the buttons and interact by using gestures.
Since I'm now comparing those two smartphones, I'm not going deeper on the ROMs (MIUI and FlymeOS) used, since it would make an endless review.
What I must say is that both will require a (small) adaptation time even for those coming from Android. In my case it was easier and faster with FlymeOS than with MIUI. Maybe also because MIUI has even more personalization options.
Something that I dislike from both is the number of things (apps, screens, messages) in Chinese, it's not excessive, but they simply appear sometimes and you don't have any other option. It's easier to avoid them in Meizu, since in Xiaomi their AppStore cannot be entirely disabled, and will continue suggesting you updates, which in some cases will just change the language of your apps... to Chinese.
Something good from MIUI (Xiaomi) on this point is that the account creation can be made in English (or other languages) and then it's later integrated with many other apps like their cloud app (called MiCloud... does it remember you something?) coming with 5GB for free and working pretty well for pictures, contacts, messages and some more things which look very similar to Apple iCloud.
As an extra in this section, Xiaomi Redmi Note 2, features an infrared port, and Xiaomi's MiHome app detects it automatically and helps quite good to control different devices at home (TVs, air conditioned, satellites,…). It could seem some silly thing, but it works pretty well.
This Redmi Note 2 also includes radio (digital and FM options), which is something I missed a lot on the Meizu, it works well, with good sound quality.
Regarding the proprietary apps, each one has some strengths and weaknesses. FOr example Meixu's weather app doesn't work for cities outside China, while you can select any city with Xiaomi one. The music app for both allow to browse their extensive catalogue ready to download, but for Xiaomi it's quite complicated to find international (non asiatic) artists. On its side, Meizu's app works very well, it's completely translated and have lots of international artists.
We will find a voice assistant in both smartphones, and both very similar to Apple's Siri, but in Chinese, so in any case it's really useful or something to highlight. The day any of them translates it to make it available internationally (English at least) it will be a good point I guess.
Camera
Here the competition becomes even more interesting (if possible). The pictures I've taken with both smartphones show very good quality, they focus very fast and you can do burst shoot, which is something I cannot say about most of smartphones (not talking about first brands).
So this part is surprisingly satisfying for both competitors.
With the Redmi Note 2, I was surprised by the face detection on the selfies, which in addition is capable of identifying sex and age very accurately :-O
With the main camera, the results are very good even with low light where the flash works very precisely.
Talking about the Meizu m2 Note... I sincerely have the impression that it can compete hand to hand with my iPhone 5 and recording video (1080 @ 30fps) can probably beat him.
Some samples taken with each one, always first the Meizu then the Xiaomi (If you want to see real size pics, I could just upload them to my spanish blog -> http://dabarsocialmarketing.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/meizu-m2-note-vs-xiaomi-redmi-note-2.html):
Some samples of video
Meizu -> https://youtu.be/Epl1fUwMrjQ
Xiaomi -> https://youtu.be/ZePaimXFL3U
Battery
Not much to say in here. The manufacturers have bet for a size that covers perfectly the expectations, meaning around 3000mAh and 1 day of standard use.
We can find tools for managing the energy in both cases allowing us to choose between power, balance or power saving modes. We can even select if the power saving mode should be automatically enabled when reaching a percentage.
We can say that the Meizu m2 Note, having a less powerful processor and managing better the screen bright, wins by little this battle.
Conclusions
If I had to choose which one to keep, it would really be a hard decission.
A priori, the Redmi Note 2 is more powerful comes with some very interesting and useful extras (radio, infrared,…), however the user experience is more satisfying with the m2 Note and I like more the camera.
A table with pros and cons of each one would be like that:
As you can see, I find some more advantages on the Meizu, despite having less power. Specially strong in the camera, which is one of today's main uses for our smartphones.
In the present case, in addition, I'm using the Xiaomi's Prime version meaning an internal storage of 32GB and 2,2Ghz CPU's speed.
Personally, the FM radio is a very strong point, since I missed it a lot on the Meizu and one of the downside of iPhones for example, since you need data to listen to radio.
FlymeOS use is a little bit more agreeable, although you also get used to MIUI in some days.
For the power and the extras, I choose the Xiaomi as winner on today's competition.
Nevetheless, if you're not planning to play a lot of games, and so you don't require as much power, and you count on using one SIM and a microSD card, I recommend you the Meizu.
PS: if you liked the post... please thank it
If you want to see real size pics, I could just upload them to my spanish blog -> http://dabarsocialmarketing.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/meizu-m2-note-vs-xiaomi-redmi-note-2.html
Agreed my wife has the redmi note and I had the m2 note, I personally preferred the meizu,battery life doubled my wife's redmi issue,she's currently struggling to get over two hours sot, I'm pretty sure this is a os problem
sutty86 said:
Agreed my wife has the redmi note and I had the m2 note, I personally preferred the meizu,battery life doubled my wife's redmi issue,she's currently struggling to get over two hours sot, I'm pretty sure this is a os problem
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Whoa, what? I'll hit 5 hours of SoT with 28 hour up-time now. Currently on 14%. And that's with 2 SIM cards active.
Sent from my Redmi Note 2
what miui are you running? thanks
sunbriel said:
Whoa, what? I'll hit 5 hours of SoT with 28 hour up-time now. Currently on 14%. And that's with 2 SIM cards active.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Which miui version installed? I run the latest (.24) and my SoT is max 3h00'-3h15" with 45% screen brightness and 3G data connection
sutty86 said:
what miui are you running? thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
geco4u said:
Which miui version installed? I run the latest (.24) and my SoT is max 3h00'-3h15" with 45% screen brightness and 3G data connection
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Xiaomi.eu dev 5.9.24. With brightness set to 25-45%, WiFi on and connected during the day and from 2AM-7AM WiFi off with 2G/3G on.
Great post!
So, the perfect phone would be the combination of these two
Maby I'll wait for a month or two.
I do want to correct the OP. M2 Note does have a LED for notifications. I didn't read the rest, but looking on the table, your pros and cons are somewhat subjective and depend on which version of OS you're running. For example, the Chinese bloat on RN2 can be easily dealt with and as far as I know, when Xiaomi releases RN2 globally, the ROM will be clean.
Other corrections: Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 supports 1080 video recording from front facing camera. It also supports touch-to-focus during video recording (back camera) but you must enable it from settings
So tables are not correct
sunbriel said:
I do want to correct the OP. M2 Note does have a LED for notifications. I didn't read the rest, but looking on the table, your pros and cons are somewhat subjective and depend on which version of OS you're running. For example, the Chinese bloat on RN2 can be easily dealt with and as far as I know, when Xiaomi releases RN2 globally, the ROM will be clean.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, Meizu has the LED, but only in white color. So You cant set different colors for few apps.
And Xiaomi with MIUI has a lot of updates and fixes. Meizu not .. Thats why i will buy Xiaomi.
xiaomi redmi note 2 and meizu m2 note are really the best rivals, but i like xiaomi redmi note 2 more, because it has better performance and price. there is one problem about xiaomi redmi note 2, we really don't know the shipping time. many Chinese sellers just presells it, so can anyone give me the idea about when the international version of Xiaomi redmi note 2 released?
galakty said:
Yeah, Meizu has the LED, but only in white color. So You cant set different colors for few apps.
And Xiaomi with MIUI has a lot of updates and fixes. Meizu not .. Thats why i will buy Xiaomi.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you sure? I can check it this weekend when I'll have access to an M2N. But somehow I can't recall the LED flashes white only.
Sent from my Redmi Note 2
sunbriel said:
Are you sure? I can check it this weekend when I'll have access to an M2N. But somehow I can't recall the LED flashes white only.
Sent from my Redmi Note 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I watched two reviews and they said that. But if You can check it, will be great
FumiJ said:
xiaomi redmi note 2 and meizu m2 note are really the best rivals, but i like xiaomi redmi note 2 more, because it has better performance and price. there is one problem about xiaomi redmi note 2, we really don't know the shipping time. many Chinese sellers just presells it, so can anyone give me the idea about when the international version of Xiaomi redmi note 2 released?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There won't be an international version of xiaomi's devices.
Buy from a reseller with a spedition from Europe/USA
SkiFire13 said:
There won't be an international version of xiaomi's devices.
Buy from a reseller with a spedition from Europe/USA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ok, too sad for me!
Meizu has a notification LED, better battery, better design, proper software and camera. Xiaomi has a better chipset but a lame battery life so if you're buying it get yourself a power bank just in case[emoji23]
Redmi Note2 has a notification LED as well, the battery is replaceable and battery times are rather good on 5.9.18 - .24 had some problems with that.
I think I also like Redmi's post processing more than the Meizu, as seen here (look at the clouds for example, they're hideous). Redmi also has the bonus of being able to use dualSIM + µSD, while in Meizu's Note 2 µSD uses SIM2.
Also, I can't seem to find any TWRP/custom ROMs for m2 note, while there are some for Redmi, plus an official dev ROM with root. That's clearly an advantage for me.
Hi all, I've been some weeks out and couldn't check here. Some comments.
1- it's true that Meizu m2 Note had Led for notifications, but it's much less customisable and evident than the one in the Xiaomi. It's more discrete.
2- I was really tired of Chinese intrusion on the Xiaomi (really horrible, it started to install apps without asking me through the Chinese AppStore), so I tried to manually disable that store... Not a good idea, since it went soft bricked :[email protected] some hours later I found a new, European ROM. I lost some of the interesting aspects like the music downloads, but HUGE IMPROVEMENT in terms of battery life, much more hours of use with screen on, watching movies for example. This version is Xiaomi.EU 5.9.24 (still beta) based on Android 5.0.2
100% recommendable. The MiHome app works slightly worse.
3- I've tried but I cannot record 1080p video with the front camera, maybe because of the ROM.
4- I could change the video focus to "Tap" so I guess not I can focus when and where I want.
5- With the video in HD (720p) it's possible to use Slow-Motion and Time-Lapse. However, when selecting FullHD quality, only Time-Lapse is available.
Summary, after changing to this new ROM, this device (Redmi Note 2) has earned a few more points. So very happy and good feelings
Not everything is great, it's still a beta so I guess this is one of the bugs pending: sometimes when I take it and press unlock button... The phone doesn't responds, the screen remains black :-/ only option is to remove the battery and boot it again. This happens randomly.
mdabar said:
Hi all, I've been some weeks out and couldn't check here. Some comments.
1- it's true that Meizu m2 Note had Led for notifications, but it's much less customisable and evident than the one in the Xiaomi. It's more discrete.
2- I was really tired of Chinese intrusion on the Xiaomi (really horrible, it started to install apps without asking me through the Chinese AppStore), so I tried to manually disable that store... Not a good idea, since it went soft bricked :[email protected] some hours later I found a new, European ROM. I lost some of the interesting aspects like the music downloads, but HUGE IMPROVEMENT in terms of battery life, much more hours of use with screen on, watching movies for example. This version is Xiaomi.EU 5.9.24 (still beta) based on Android 5.0.2
100% recommendable. The MiHome app works slightly worse.
3- I've tried but I cannot record 1080p video with the front camera, maybe because of the ROM.
4- I could change the video focus to "Tap" so I guess not I can focus when and where I want.
5- With the video in HD (720p) it's possible to use Slow-Motion and Time-Lapse. However, when selecting FullHD quality, only Time-Lapse is available.
Summary, after changing to this new ROM, this device (Redmi Note 2) has earned a few more points. So very happy and good feelings
Not everything is great, it's still a beta so I guess this is one of the bugs pending: sometimes when I take it and press unlock button... The phone doesn't responds, the screen remains black :-/ only option is to remove the battery and boot it again. This happens randomly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For use 1080p in front camera you must open camera, select video mode, select front camera, open settings and set 1080p.
The ROM you have choosed has many bugs. Please, download other ROM from xiaomi.eu like 5.10.8 and i suggest to do a wipe data. If you don't want to wipe data try if wipe dalvik and cache may be enough.
Download from here miuif.celogeek.com/5.10.8/
(Hermes)
jack_21 said:
For use 1080p in front camera you must open camera, select video mode, select front camera, open settings and set 1080p.
The ROM you have choosed has many bugs. Please, download other ROM from xiaomi.eu like 5.10.8 and i suggest to do a wipe data. If you don't want to wipe data try if wipe dalvik and cache may be enough.
Download from here miuif.celogeek.com/5.10.8/
(Hermes)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the advice, the true is I'm very happy with the general working (specially the battery) although the random blockades and those options you mention... (now I have no way to go to settings when I select the front camera).
I'll try that ROM as soon as I can and share my comments
Have a nice one!
Introduction
This is the LeEco Le 2 X527 (Russia/International).
{
"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"
}
Hardware
This device is powered by a powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 652 MSM8976 (Quad 1.8GHz Cortex A72 +
Quad 1.4GHz Cortex A53 CPU and Adreno 510 GPU), together with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of ROM. Unlike previous LeEco devices, this is the Russian/International variant ready-to-use in Russia and all European Countries thanks to the preinstalled Google Services and the support to many LTE Bands (1/2/3/4/5/7/8/20/38/40/41). Everything else is exactly the same as the X520 (Chinese) and X526 (Indian) variants.
Unboxing
Packaging comes with some accessories: 1x Type-C Full Reversible USB Cable, 1x Quick Charge 3.0 (5V up to 12V) USB Charger, 1x Quick Start Guide, 1x Warranty Certificate, 1x Type-C to 3.5mm Headphone Jack (yeah, no built-in jack is here), 1x SIM Card Tray Tool, 1x TPU Cover and the Smartphone (of course).
The package itself feels, and looks, premium. Considering the price target of this device, it is pretty interesting to find such a good amount of accessories included, especially the QC 3.0 charger.
Just like all LeTV/LeEco devices, also this one features a Metal Chassis with Plastic Antenna Bands on the upper/lower sides of the rear. The device itself feels solid, pretty compact and well-made.
It is 15.12x7.43x0.79cm, probably one of the most compact 5.5" devices you can find, with huge bezels though. As regards its weight, it is super lightweight, only 156g.
On the front side there is the Standard (no 2.5D Curved) Display and the upper front side of the device features a Front-Facing Camera (with an interesting sensor size), an Earpiece, and the Sensors hole that includes Light and Proximity Sensors.
An RGB Notification LED is here, on the left.
On the lower front side there is the Touch Keys area, with Multitasking, Home and Back touch buttons. All buttons are backlit. (pretty bright too)
On the back side there is the unibody metal chassis, as mentioned before.
The upper rear side of the device features the Camera Sensor (OmniVision OV16880) supported by a single rounded Flashlight (Dual-Tone), and the huge Fingerprint Scanner with a mirror-like surface.
On the lower rear side there is just the LeEco logo with other minor things because the Speaker is placed near the USB port.
Device
Screen
LeEco choose to use a BOE screen (with NT35596s display controller) and the quality seems to be pretty good. I have not noticed any kind of issue, it is bright, with customizable color presets and excellent viewing angles.
Light Sensor supports ultra-smooth light changes, this is its maximum brightness.
Viewing Angles are as good as you would expect from an high-quality IPS panel.
Also the Touchscreen Panel is excellent, 10 points supported.
Camera
Something interesting about this device is the Rear Camera Sensor, an OmniVision OV16880 (16MP) with Optical Image Stabilization (OIS), PDAF and F2.0. Personally i found it to be great for photos in high and medium light conditions, but pretty average in low light conditions.
Photos taken using the default Photo mode are just fine, with an high amount of details and almost no image noise. Thanks to the image stabilization it is rare to not get a decent shot.
"HDR off" on the left and "HDR on" on the right.
Here you can see some photos taken without HDR and in different light conditions.
The Flashlight is super powerful, but it isn't real Dual-Tone. It is just a standard LED covered with a Dual-Color Plastic. Basically it looks pretty warm everytime, in any condition. A real Dual-Tone Flashlight has an indipendent LED for each color, with the software that chooses which one to use.
Macro Photos look decent, a bit out of focus if you don't play a lot with the tap-to-focus feature.
As regards Video Recording, the camera is able to record 4K and Full-HD videos at maximum 30FPS (no 1080p60 is here), and the quality is good even though the Optical Image Stabilization doesn't seem to be super-efficient compared to other devices. I might post a Camcorder Sample soon.
The Front Camera is probably not as good as you would expect from an high-quality 8MP camera sensor, seems to have some focus issues. Just like the Rear Camera, also this one suffers a bit in low-light conditions.
Audio
This is where LeEco shows its capabilities. Everything, starting from the Speaker ending with the Microphone, is perfect here. At least on my device, the speaker sounds great, with and without Dolby Atmos.
As you might have already noticed, this is a device that doesn't feature a 3.5mm Headphone Jack. It uses CDLA (Continual Digital Lossless Audio) instead, that provides the best audio quality using the USB Type-C port.
Even using the 3.5mm adapter you will get higher audio quality compared to standard 3.5mm devices. Ok, this is not a feature that everyone would appreciate, because you can't charge the device in the same time while using your Headphones, but for audiophiles this is definitely an appreciated feature.
The Microphone works perfect, the same applies for the Earpiece. I have tested it with Normal 3G Calls (no VoLTE is available here) and VOIP, everyone was able to hear my voice perfectly and i had no issues in hearing the third-party too.
GPS
When it comes to GPS Quality all Qualcomm Devices work great, Mediatek and others still have to learn a lot in this area, and as you might notice here the GPS is working perfect. More than 24 satellites in view outdoors, and indoors it is able to get some signal enough to get a more or less precise location.
Indoors on the left, outdoors on the right.
Telephony, Mobile Network & WiFi
Thanks to the 4G Band 20 support (some other Chinese Smartphones don’t have it, including some other LeEco devices), i was able to get some 4G signal almost everywhere.
4G Network Speed is higher than average, other devices tested in the same room, same position, were not able to get such high speed (photo on the left). I have also tested other bands speed (well, others supported by my Mobile Operator), result on the right.
WiFi 5GHz is supported here, and its speed is great. It supports only 1x1 Stream (Snap 652 WiFi Hardware limit), enough to get almost full-speed from my Broadband Internet Connection. (VDSL 100/20)
Battery Life
I have measured the real battery capacity using my USB Tester, and it seems that the real battery capacity matches the declared one. (declared 3000mAh, real ~3010mAh).
I lost my PCMark Battery Test (software bug), but i managed to find its duration in the Battery Stats. Not a great battery life unfortunately, lower than average, barely reaching 4 hours of screen-on time.
As regards battery charging times, thanks to the Quick Charge 3.0 support, together with the already included QC 3.0 charger, i managed to full-charge the device in almost no time. I will not say how many minutes because it highly depends on the device's temperature and other factors.
Software
Being an Android Developer this LeEco UI (or EUI) is not something i appreciate so much, but, good news, my idol @codeworkx has already developed a great LineageOS (ex CyanogenMod) ROM for this device.
Anyway, talking about the pre-installed software, the device runs on Android 6.0 (customized as mentioned before) with Security Patches updated to August 2016 (because this X527 software release doesn't support OTA Updates, neither new updates are available online). Thankfully all LeEco Chinese Stuff has been removed, and all Google Apps/Services are working great out-of-box.
Somehow they choose to pre-install 4 useless apps: UC Browser, 9Apps, Yahoo Weather and UC News. As you can see here, UC Apps can be disabled, everything else can be uninstalled.
Similar to MiraVision (for Mediatek), there are some customized screen profiles. Also, there are some interesting features such as Pocket Dial Protection, etc...
Almost all sensors are available here, high-quality hardware has been used.
As regards the Fingerprint Scanner management, it is easy to configure, easier than AOSP (in my opinion), with a maximum of 5 fingers that can be saved. It is fast, accurate, but the scanner itself is a bit over-sized.
Even if the Notification LED supports multiple colors, the software doesn't allow you to customize anything.
Benchmarks
I have used 3DMark, AndroBench, Antutu Benchmark, Epic Citadel, GeekBench 3, GFXBench, PCMark (Work 2.0, Computer Vision, Storage & Work 1.0) and Vellamo to stress the device to the limit. I won’t test Games or Video Playback because there are already some related tests included in these Benchmark suites.
3DMark – GPU Performance is high, OpenGL 2 games manages to get smooth 60FPS while OpenGL 3 require some more power.
AndroBench – Average eMMC Performance, unlike Snap 820 this isn't using UFS so you can't expect something better, at least not on EXT4 FS.
Antutu Benchmark – I won’t say a lot about this benchmark, this isn’t as reliable as others (well benchmarks are not reliable at all, imagine how bad this is). I’m providing this just for Antutu lovers.
Epic Citadel – 3D Performance is good enough to get almost 60FPS with heavy games.
GeekBench – CPU Performance matches the Snapdragon 820 in single-core tests, and beats the Snapdragon 810 in multi-core tests.
CPU
Compute
GFXBench – GPU Performance here seems to be a bit capped, i think some thermal throttling got triggered during this benchmark.
PCMark – Nothing to say about these scores.
Work 2.0
Computer Vision
Storage
Work 1.0
Vellamo – Well, top-ranked in all tests, beating Snapdragon 810 devices. Impressive.
This Snapdragon 652 is a real beast, the best compromise between the Snapdragon 810 and 820, providing low battery usage with great daily performance.
Conclusions
Being the first LeEco device i ever try i have to say that i am impressed, and i have also to admit that every previous device i have reviewed in the past is not able to match the quality of this one. (except the Doogee F7 Pro, interesting competitor)
It is nice to see that, somehow, LeEco choose to enter the Russian Market (and indirectly International, thanks to its LTE bands support and built-in Google Services) providing one the best cheapest device you can find. Ok, for the same price there are also some other devices, but this is unique. Slim, lightweight and with great overall quality. Also, LeEco is now Developer-Friendly, providing source code for all devices.
Be careful though, i am not saying that this is a perfect device, its battery life is not great and the pre-installed software doesn't support OTA updates, but everything else is just great for the price.
So, do I recommend it? Definitely Yes!
Pros:
Lightweight
Bright Screen
Backlit Touch-Keys
Great Rear Camera Quality with OIS
Outstanding Performance
QC 3.0 Charger and TPU Cover included
Cons:
Barely Sufficient Battery Life
No OTA Updates supported (16s software release)
Over-Sized Fingerprint Scanner
Average Camera (both) Quality in low light conditions
No Type-C Earphones included
Rating: 9.1
Packaging and Accessories: 9.5
Design and Materials: 9.5
Performance and Heat Dissipation: 10
Screen: 9
Camera: 9
Sound: 9
Battery Life: 7
Software: 8
OEM Support: 10
Price: 10
You can find full-res images (I know, Quality isn't excellent) here: http://imgur.com/a/emuqv
Official Website: http://le.ru/catalog/phones/le2
Check my Social Networks to know more about reliable places where to get the device and much more, i will be posting some updates too.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Alberto.GearLabs
Twitter: https://twitter.com/XDA_Alberto96
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gearlabs_official
Google+: https://plus.google.com/+AlbertoGuanti
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQ95vBRBhAmYU7z1DNMDgXw[/B]
Awesome Review Bro!!!! Very well explained. Each areas clearly covered..:fingers-crossed:
Hope to see some development in future for this little beast from your side
mdfarazb2 said:
Awesome Review Bro!!!! Very well explained. Each areas clearly covered..:fingers-crossed:
Hope to see some development in future for this little beast from your side
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well I'll start to contribute @codeworkx work as soon as I finish my university exams. In the meanwhile, I'm studying this device
Alberto96 said:
Well I'll start to contribute @codeworkx work as soon as I finish my university exams. In the meanwhile, I'm studying this device
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's Great!!!! We would be happy to have you with us!!!
Alberto96 said:
Well I'll start to contribute @codeworkx work as soon as I finish my university exams. In the meanwhile, I'm studying this device
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am currently using lineage os build by @codeworkx . Its a great feeling that we have got another recognized developer. Looking forward to your developments for our little beast. Thank you bro.
For those who need to update their X527 device to the latest eUI 5.8.019s release (X527-only), this is the link: https://cloud.mail.ru/public/MCGu/ym1X18Cfi
I found it today, updated using Local OTA (via recovery, without any wipe), and it is working just great. Smoother, some minor bugs have been fixed and, finally, there is an OTA Update app pre-installed.
Hi Alberto you can also try all the BB72 roms, they work on the x527 also.
you can improve a lot the battery with greenify and amplify... i get 6h of sot easily. on my x520
Best result was with the Cm13, 7-7,5h of sot! amazing.
Look at the cpu frequecies with kernel auditor... a72 minimun freq is 800mhz, not 400mhz. A53 is fixed at 600mhz not 400. Try to set the governor of the a72 cluster to "powersafe", you can't notice a single lag.
By the way i returned to the EUI 19s now, becuse on the cm13 when i turn off the mobile data and switch on again the signal goes zero and it's unable to connect again
(scusa il mio pessimo inglese)
alessiogentile said:
Hi Alberto you can also try all the BB72 roms, they work on the x527 also.
you can improve a lot the battery with greenify and amplify... i get 6h of sot easily. on my x520
Best result was with the Cm13, 7-7,5h of sot! amazing.
Look at the cpu frequecies with kernel auditor... a72 minimun freq is 800mhz, not 400mhz. A53 is fixed at 600mhz not 400. Try to set the governor of the a72 cluster to "powersafe", you can't notice a single lag.
By the way i returned to the EUI 19s now, becuse on the cm13 when i turn off the mobile data and switch on again the signal goes zero and it's unable to connect again
(scusa il mio pessimo inglese)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Stock EUI made by LeEco for the X527 works better than any Custom ROM. BB72 or other cookers ROMs are only good on devices that didn't came with Google Services pre-installed. (e.g. X520 and other Chinese Variants).
Thanks mate. I will get this little beauty by next week. I will retire my HTC M8 then. Hope this device can live up to the M8.
the 16s, the phone was shipped with had german language, i updated to 19s for the x527 and now german is gone? how can that be?
biggerbigboy said:
the 16s, the phone was shipped with had german language, i updated to 19s for the x527 and now german is gone? how can that be?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Normal, latest Official 19s (X527) doesn't support many languages.
@Alberto96 the 19s provided the Italian language?
Inviato dal mio ZP999 utilizzando Tapatalk
command0 said:
@Alberto96 the 19s provided the Italian language?
Inviato dal mio ZP999 utilizzando Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope.
Have you tried it?
Alberto96 said:
For those who need to update their X527 device to the latest eUI 5.8.019s release (X527-only), this is the link: https://cloud.mail.ru/public/MCGu/ym1X18Cfi
I found it today, updated using Local OTA (via recovery, without any wipe), and it is working just great. Smoother, some minor bugs have been fixed and, finally, there is an OTA Update app pre-installed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Has anyone tried this ROM?
I have installed this ROM and i don't have 4G connection on my phone. It finds the 4G network (Vodafone 4G) manually but when i click it says network unavailable.
Automatically the phone runs only with H/H+
san.medius said:
Has anyone tried this ROM?
I have installed this ROM and i don't have 4G connection on my phone. It finds the 4G network (Vodafone 4G) manually but when i click it says network unavailable.
Automatically the phone runs only with H/H+
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm still using the device with this 19s ROM, 4G working perfect with my Mobile Operator. (TIM Italy)
There is something else that is causing this issue at your end, such as a non-4G SIM Card (replacement is the only way to fix it) or the unavailability of the 4G Service in your Mobile Plan. (you need to enable this option, that might be free or not based on your plan)
Alberto96 said:
I'm still using the device with this 19s ROM, 4G working perfect with my Mobile Operator. (TIM Italy)
There is something else that is causing this issue at your end, such as a non-4G SIM Card (replacement is the only way to fix it) or the unavailability of the 4G Service in your Mobile Plan. (you need to enable this option, that might be free or not based on your plan)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your reply!
My SIM Card does have 4G Service. I have used it with my old LETV 1s. Even with the limited 4G bands of the phone it got 4G connection in the available areas.
Can such an issue come from using the same SIM Card on two phones?
I have noticed that the second SIM Card shows me just 2G networks although it should be able to run on H or H+. A friend told me that this could be normal when both cards are used at the same time. So the one gets the "full power" and the other one just the minimum. Is this true or can both slots get 4G connection (if both cards are 4G).
I use the one SIM just for data and the other for calls and messages.
Thanks!
san.medius said:
Thanks for your reply!
My SIM Card does have 4G Service. I have used it with my old LETV 1s. Even with the limited 4G bands of the phone it got 4G connection in the available areas.
Can such an issue come from using the same SIM Card on two phones?
I have noticed that the second SIM Card shows me just 2G networks although it should be able to run on H or H+. A friend told me that this could be normal when both cards are used at the same time. So the one gets the "full power" and the other one just the minimum. Is this true or can both slots get 4G connection (if both cards are 4G).
I use the one SIM just for data and the other for calls and messages.
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is weird. I don't know then.
This device should support 4G on the first SIM and 3G on the second SIM. Both cards can't use 4G in the same time.
Sound levels too high on the X527
Does anyone know how to modify the sound levels?
The lowest level is still too loud for an office environment.
With the Mediatek chip you could enter the Engineering menue and modify a lot.
Can anyone tell me if this is possible on the Sapdragon as well?
DOOGEE MIX - Information & Reviews - 5.5" HD | Helio P25 | 4/6GB | 64/128GB | AMOLED
DOOGEE MIX
{
"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"
}
Specs:
Dimensions: 76.2 x 144 x 7.95 mm
Weight: 193 g
Chassis: Metal with Back Glass
SoC: MediaTek MT6757CD (Helio P25)
CPU: ARM Cortex-A53, 4x2390 MHz, Cores: 8
GPU: ARM Mali-T880 MP2 900MHz, Cores: 2
Network: 4G Cat.6 (300MBps) with VoLTE Support
RAM: 4 GB/6 GB
Storage: 64GB/128 GB
Memory cards: microSD, microSDHC, microSDXC
Display: 5.5 in, 720p, AMOLED
Protection: Gorilla Glass 5
Battery: 3380mAh, Li-Polymer
OS: Android 7.0 Nougat, FreemeOS skinned.
Back Camera: 4920 × 3264 pixels (16MP), Samsung ISOCELL Sensor, with 3264 x 2448 pixels (8MP) 2nd Camera
Front Camera: 3264 x 2448 pixels (8MP)
SIM card: Dual-SIM, Dual-Standby
Wi-Fi: a, b, g, n 2.4GHz/5.0GHz, dual-band, Wi-Fi Hotspot
USB: Micro-USB, 2.0
Bluetooth: 4.1
Positioning: GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS
Other Features: Front Fingerprint Scanner, High screen-to-body ratio
Colors: Dazzle Black, Blue (two variants)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Official Website:
http://www.doogee.cc/detail/mix-series-bezel-less-smartphone/106
Development & Support:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/android/general/doogee-mix-development-support-t3632785
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Reviews:
My own review: Post #6 & #7
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
DISCLAIMER (spammers, be aware): all spam (e.g. adverts, news and similar) posts that might be published here will be immediately reported and removed.
WiredLeaks said:
Will this phone have a led notification light?
Do you know when it will be released?
thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Both info are unknown for now, what i can tell you is that i may receive it in June.
Does anybody know when the 128GB version will be available again?
joda77 said:
Does anybody know when the 128GB version will be available again?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They will start to distribute the 4/64 variant first, then (i guess after a while), also higher capacity ones.
Review (part 1)
Introduction
This is the DOOGEE MIX.
Hardware
Being one of the first Xiaomi Mi Mix clone released in 2017, this MIX tries to be as similar as possible (of course not equal), providing a 5.5" screen in a smaller body. Also as regards the RAM/ROM capacity, it tries to be as similar as possible, with a maximum of 6GB of RAM and 128GB of ROM. Unfortunately though it uses a Mediatek CPU, precisely the Helio P25, that isn't bad at all, but not as powerful as a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820.
Unboxing
Packaging, with a really nice look, comes with some accessories: 1x Micro-USB Cable, 1x 5V/2A USB Charger, 1x Quick Start Guide, 1x Warranty Certificate, 1x Hard Plastic Case, 1x Phone Holder (Ring), 1x SIM Card Tray Remover and the Smartphone (of course). A plastic screen protector is already applied, and an extra protector is included.
As already introduced before, the design has been copied almost entirely from the Mi Mix, but with a Metal Chassis (instead of Ceramic), a smaller overall size (being smaller the screen) and less glossy colors. The device feels solid, and the Gorilla Glass panel placed on the back makes it looking really premium.
When it comes to the size, well...this is able to beat all 5.5" inches devices released in the last few years. It is only 14.44x7.67x0.80cm, unbelieably compact, but with a weight of 198g, unfortunately feels heavy due to the small size and high weight. I guess the amount of glass increased its weight.
On the front side there almost bezel-less AMOLED Display with an overall clean look (2.5D curved) and the upper front side of the device features an Earpiece (a real one), and the Sensors hole that includes Light, Proximity and Gesture Sensors. Somehow they choose to not include a Notifcation LED, in 2017 i think this is a must have feature.
As regards the lower front side, there is the Fingerprint Scanner in the center (doesn't work as a physical button, can't be pressed), and a Front-Facing Camera that due to space issues couldn't have been placed on the upper side. There is some wasted space though.
On the back side there is the Glass Back Cover i mentioned before.
The upper rear side of the device features the Dual Camera Sensor supported by a Single-LED - Single-Tone Flashlight, and nothing else. On the lower rear side, excluding the DOOGEE logo, there isn't anything at all because the Speaker is positioned on the lower side of the device.
Device
Screen
This is the most interesting part of the device, its almost bezel-less AMOLED screen looks gorgeous, even though i don't like AMOLEDs too much (due to unreal colors). Talking about color accuracy on a AMOLED is like talking about speed for a city car. Colors look really saturated and un-real, and the white balance is a bit messed up. Someone can like it, someone might not. This is really personal.
Unfortunately due to its 720p Resolution, pixels are noticeable on camera, and sometimes also while using it. I don't understand why DOOGEE choose to include a 720p screen instead of 1080p, the Helio P25 is fast enough to handle 1080p Apps/Games.
Its light sensor supports smooth light changes with a maximum brightness of ~500lux. Great Brightness for best usage under direct-sunlight.
Viewing Angles are awesome, as we all know, AMOLEDs are the best when it comes to this.
Camera
Luckily DOOGEE choose to include a pretty good camera sensor for this device, a Samsung ISOCELL 16MP sensor with fast focus-time and good overall quality. It also supports Camera API 2 for Manual Controls such as Manual Focus, RAW Recording and so on. This is the first Mediatek Device i review with Camera2 Compatibility.
I guess the software isn't 100% ready though because the amount of noise is slighlty too high even while shooting outdoors, and sometimes the Flashlight is out-of-sync.
Here you can see an HDR-on/off comparision, plus some random extra photos.
The Blur Effect using the "Blur" option seems to work. (aka Bokeh)
Macros are probably the most detailed ones.
Indoors shoots are decent, nothing to complain about.
The flashlight isn't super powerful, being a Single-LED only, but it is still able to support the camera sensor properly, when it isn't out-of-sync of course.
As regards Video Recording, the quality and frame-rate of 1080p30 videos is OK, and it can shoot also in 2160p25 with a decent stable frame-rate.
The Front-Camera is placed on the lower front side of the device, so you need to shoot photos with the device upside-down for selfies and so on. The Quality isn't too bad, but colors look a bit washed-out.
Audio
Surprisingly, considering the small size of the device, its Speaker is powerful, with a little amount of low-frequencies and excessive distortion at maximum volume. The Earpiece though is a whole different story, due to its limited size, there is a complete lack of low-frequencies, and the volume is a bit limited.
As regards the Microphone, it is as good as the speaker, with high sensitivity and clarity. Everyone was able to hear me perfectly while in-call.
GPS
GPS Quality is perfect, with no issues at all with signal stability and accuracy. Finally Mediatek fixed the GPS on the Helio P25 considering the amount of issues present on the Helio P10.
Indoors on the left, outdoors on the right.
Telephony, Mobile Network & WiFi
Providing full european bands support (with 4G Band 20), the device was able to keep a stable connection to my 4G Network, with decent speeds (considering other devices tested in the same place) and mid-high signal.
WiFi 5GHz is supported, and connected at 121Mbps, i was able to reach almost ~60Mbps. Probably not as high as expected from the Link Speed, but still better than using the 2.4GHz connection.
Battery Life
As my usual reviewing routine, i measured the real battery capacity using an USB Tester, and it seems to be way lower than declared, ~300mAh less. (declared 3380mAh, real ~3080mAh)
Luckily, PCMark run just fine on this device even though it is running Android Nougat. Other Mediatek Devices with Nougat (and also some with Marshmallow) caused the Benchmark to stop by itself after some hours. The result is not so good unfortunately for a 3380mAh battery, but for a 3080mAh it is acceptable.
Thanks to the 2.0A charger, and the small battery, it is possible to recharge the device completely in more or less 2 hours. Maybe a Pump Express Charger would have been appreciated for even faster charging, but it is fast enough already.
Software
Unlike previous DOOGEE devices, this is the first one released with DoogeeOS (based on FreemeOS), with an ad-hoc launcher and some extra customizations. It is based on Android 7.0 Nougat (hopefully will be updated to 7.1.1 soon), with June 2017 security patches and, unfortunately, some pre-installed bloatware that can be uninstalled and/or disabled.
The UI feels smooth, i must admit not as smooth as i would have expected, but this is an early release so i can't blame DOOGEE for that. OTA Updates will gradually improve the device, just like other brands do.
Following the Mediatek line-up, also this one features MiraVision, Gestures (such as tap-to-wake) and so on...
Yes, it includes a Magnetometer/Compass and Gyroscope! Finally a device with a complete set of sensors.
No malwares detected with Malware-Bytes Anti-Malware using latest definitions.
As regards the Fingerprint Scanner management, it is as easy to manage as on all Android Nougat devices, and it is fast to unlock the device. I have to report that sometimes, after keeping the screen off for a long time, it sleeps a bit too much, requiring to turn on the screen in order to get the finger recognized.
Review (part 2)
Benchmarks
I have used 3DMark, AndroBench, Antutu Benchmark, Epic Citadel, GeekBench 4, GFXBench, PCMark (Work 2.0, Computer Vision, Storage & Work 1.0) and Vellamo to stress the device to the limit. I won’t test Games or Video Playback because there are already some related tests included in these Benchmark suites.
3DMark – Thankfully the Mali-T880MP2 is able to handle almost everything.
AndroBench – I don't know yet the eMMC brand and model, but its performance is really good.
Antutu Benchmark – I won’t say a lot about this benchmark, this isn’t as reliable as others. I’m providing this just for benchmarks lovers.
Epic Citadel – 720p Gaming on a Mali-T880MP2 = Buttery Smooth experience.
GeekBench – CPU Performance is confusing. The CPU is recognized as MT6757CH instead of MT6757T, and its performance isn't higher than a Helio P20. Software Issue? I hope so.
CPU
Compute
GFXBench – Just like on most GPUs, this benchmark struggles to run smooth. This is normal, only super high-end devices could handle this properly.
PCMark – Interesting results, being the first time i benchmark an Helio P25 i do not have any point of referral that i can use to compare these scores.
Work 2.0
Computer Vision
Storage
Work 1.0
Vellamo – Luckily Vellamo is kind enough to provide a list of devices in order to compare all scores, and the result is as good as i would have expected, excluding for the Single-Core benchmark, a bit low.
Conclusions
DOOGEE MIX, the first innovative device i have reviewed in the 2017. Clone of the Mi Mix? Not really. I would call it the little brother.
The device itself beats all previous DOOGEE devices when it comes to the design and overall price-performance ratio, and excluding the software that isn't ready yet in my opinion, i find it to be unique and balanced.
Of course it isn't perfect, due to missing the Notification LED and 720p screen, but being the first try from DOOGEE to release something 100% new and hard to engineer, i am definitely happy with the result.
Do i recommend it? It is all up to you, this is a device that has some features that some users may like and some users may not. Personally, i like everything except the AMOLED over-saturated colors, but i know lots of friends that love this kind of screens so...think on every single feature and choose if it can satisfy your requirements or not. ^^
Pros:
Outstading Design
Ergonomically Perfect
Android 7.0 Nougat with latest security patches
Camera2 API Supported for Manual Focus and RAW Capture
AMOLED screen for real blacks
Magnetometer/Compass & Gyroscope are here
Cons:
Sleepy Fingerprint Scanner
HD-only screen = Low Pixel Density
Over-Saturated screen colors (PERSONAL)
No Notification LED
Battery Capacity doesn't match the declared value (at least on my review unit)
Rating: 8.6
Packaging and Accessories: 9
Design and Materials: 10
Performance and Heat Dissipation: 9.5
Screen: 8
Camera: 9
Sound: 7.5
Battery Life: 7.5
Software: 7
OEM Support: 9
Price: 9.5
You can find full-res images (I know, Quality isn't excellent) here: http://imgur.com/a/a3OcI
Official Website: http://www.doogee.cc/detail/mix-series-bezel-less-smartphone/106
You can buy it on many online shops. Official, and authorized, Retailers are listed in the DOOGEE website.
Awesome review. Bought one... waiting for it to arrive. I'll hope to have custom roms for it.
looks like at the end there are some benchmarks there that are not suppose to be there, namely for the xiaomi mi mix instead of doogee mix
jeffreydeleeuw said:
looks like at the end there are some benchmarks there that are not suppose to be there, namely for the xiaomi mi mix instead of doogee mix
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Some benchmarks recognize the device incorrectly unfortunately
Alberto96 said:
Some benchmarks recognize the device incorrectly unfortunately
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ok no problem
Thank you for the good review. do you think that cistom roms will be released for this device?
Excellent job on the review Alberto. A lot of work you put into it. We're working on a TWRP now.
Our review will be coming soon.
fagin said:
Thank you for the good review. do you think that cistom roms will be released for this device?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Chinaphonearena said:
Excellent job on the review Alberto. A lot of work you put into it. We're working on a TWRP now.
Our review will be coming soon.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dev. & Support thread: https://forum.xda-developers.com/android/general/doogee-mix-development-support-t3632785
And the speaker sound is real stereo?
There will be a software that ix the recording video sound or is a hardware bug?
Thanks
Botandroid said:
And the speaker sound is real stereo?
There will be a software that ix the recording video sound or is a hardware bug?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1) No, single speaker on the bottom.
2) I don't have the same issue :/
While having the Mix (6GB version) for 3 days now, I wanted to share my thoughts with you:
Pro:
- Display is almost as sharp to my eyes as a 1080p (thought this would be a minus)
- Looks nice and has premium feeling
- Works OK
- Is quite speedy
- Excellent mic (people hear me very well)
- fingerprint sensor works very fine on my sample
Cons:
- Very Heavy!!!
- Camera indoors is total crap, cannot even take any photos which are sharp, it seems this one cannot even properly focus in mid to low light.
- Earpiece speaker max. loudness is less than Oneplus X, Vernee Mars or Asus, or Nexus 4 (which is the best)
- Loudspeaker is waay to silent, compared to other ones, barely usable with speakerphone setup.
- battery drains faster then my OPX (which has low reputation)
- IT's not a bezel-less design, since it's wider than my old ASUS Zenfone 2 Z00AD.
And I'm afraid no SW update will come soon (or even ever) to this one.
But - Value for money is OK.
my 2 cents.
Bluboo S1 or Maze Alpha? I'm considering cancelling my order for Maze Alpha and grab the S1 instead.
Alberto96 said:
1) No, single speaker on the bottom.
2) I don't have the same issue :/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was Cheated. I got a response from Doogee's support that the Doogee mix had stereo speakers and that there would be an update to correct the camera's sound and other errors. Mine is already on the way and should be almost to come ... if I could I cancel the purchase and buy the bluboo s1 or another of the same range. thank you
Great Review my friend
Introduction
This is the Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 Global Version.
{
"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"
}
Hardware
This device is powered by the well-known power-friendly Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 MSM8953 (Octa 2GHz Cortex A53 and Adreno 506 GPU). In this case, with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of ROM (a 4/64 variant is available too). This is basically the Redmi Note 4 sold officially in India, but with the addition of the 4G 800MHz (B20) band, essential for best 4G signal reception in coutries like mine where it is used.
Unboxing
Packaging comes with some accessories: 1x Micro-USB Cable, 1x 5V/2A USB Charger with EU plug, 1x Quick Start Guide, 1x Warranty Certificate (India-only), 1x SIM Card Tray Tool, and the Smartphone (of course). There isn't any case or screen protector included in the box.
Unlike the previous Redmi Note 3 Pro, this successor comes with a more premium chassis. The device feels solid, with the speaker finally positioned on the lower side near the USB port. Unfortunately though, Xiaomi choose to go with the Micro-USB port, something unexpected considering that they choose a Type-C port for the Mi Max 2 instead.
It is 15.10x7.58x0.83cm and weights 169g, impressive considering the 4000mAh built-in battery.
On the front side there is the 2.5D curved glass, something pretty common nowadays, and the upper front side of the device features a Front-Facing Camera, an Earpiece, and the Sensors hole that includes Light and Proximity Sensors. The Hall Sensor can't be noticed, but it is here. Also, an RGB Notification LED is here on the left, even though it isn't perfect since it doesn't support a complete palette of colors.
On the lower front side there is the Touch Keys area, with Multitasking, Home and Back touch buttons. All buttons are backlit, even if not too much.
On the back side there is the unibody metal chassis, with plastic bands for the top and the bottom.
The upper rear side of the device features the Camera Sensor (Sony IMX258) supported by a Dual-LED - Dual-Tone Flashlight, together with the Fingerprint Scanner.
On the lower rear side there is just the classic MI (Xiaomi) logo with nothing else since, as already mentioned before, the speaker has been moved on the bottom.
Device
Screen
There are some discussions online about the screen used on this device, some units are shipped with BOE panels, others with Tianma panels. Mine has a BOE panel and does seem to have the yellow tint someone reported. It is perfectly usable though, it will just look a bit warmer compared to another Redmi Note 4 with a Tianma screen.
Light Sensor supports ultra-smooth light changes, this is its maximum brightness.
Viewing Angles are excellent for an IPS screen, one of the best i have ever tested.
Camera
Thanks to the Sony IMX258 camera sensor, there are huge improvements compared to the predecessor. It is well-known that the number of megapixels doesn't matter too much (13MP vs 16MP), and here it is possible to have a confirm. Photos shot with the Redmi Note 4 are way better, with more realistic colors and less noise.
The Flashlight is pretty powerful, and the Dual-Tone config helps to not mess with colors even in low-light conditions.
As regards Video Recording, the camera is able to record 4K and Full-HD videos at maximum 30FPS (no 1080p60 is here), and the quality is decent, with stable frame-rate and an overall high amount of details.
Unfortunately the front-camera is pretty awful, this time the number of megapixels make the difference, since a 5MP camera sensor won't provide superb quality for selfies or video-chat.
Audio
Speaker is decent, produces a nice balanced sound, and it is loud enough. It lacks low frequencies just like the majority of all mid-range devices, but there isn't any distortion.
In-Call Quality is nearly perfect, and i say nearly because the earpiece seem to lack some low-frequencies, but the Dual Microphone config works great.
GPS
As i always say, Qualcomm devices are the best it comes it GPS Quality, and here i have the confirm. Excellent Indoors and Outdoors.
Indoors on the left, outdoors on the right.
Telephony, Mobile Network & WiFi
Being the Global Version, this Redmi Note 4 have no issues with European 4G Networks. Signal Reception is stable with pretty fast switching between 3G and 4G networks.
4G Network Speed is as good as expected, my mobile operator is not able to reach better speeds at home but, compared to other smartphones i reviewed, this is one of those who used the maximum upload bandwidth available here.
WiFi Reception is excellent, supporting 5.0GHz networks. Connected at 150MBps to my network, it is able to use all the bandwidth from my VDSL connection (70/20).
Battery Life
It is well known that, starting from the Redmi Note 3, this series has excellent battery life, able to reach almost three days for my usage. 4000mAh Battery + Snapdragon 625 = Perfect Combo for infinite battery runtime.
Here you can see some battery stats, reached almost 8h of screen-on time with a pretty heavy usage and unstable signal reception (since it isn't great here).
I won't show whether the battery capacity matches the declared value or not since it has been confirmed by everyone who already reviewed the device, and also there are no reason to not trust Xiaomi since they never lied to consumers about the hardware they use.
Something i don't like is the inability to get any Quick Charge compatibility, since Xiaomi, to reduce the cost, disabled this feature and also used hardware that would not be able to handle Quick Charge voltages. I hope they do not do the same for its successor.
Review (part 2)
Software
Just like all Xiaomi devices, the Redmi Note 4 comes with MIUI, the Xiaomi OS based on Android 7.0 Nougat (soon updated to 7.1), and we all know how the UI is and how well they take care of every single feature of the device.
Here is a good video that shows how to update the device to the latest MIUI 9 ROM and a first look of the new UI. In my opinion, i would have expected something more, there are no many new features compared to MIUI 8.
I am an Android Developer so i am not a fan of Custom UIs such as MIUI, eUI, etc... but MIUI is the only UI that i would use daily. There are many reasons for that: smoothness, feature-rich and updated. Memory Management (or LMK) struggles though to keep all apps running in background with only 3GB of RAM. I would recommend to get the 4GB variant instead, unless you are not an heavy user.
As regards the Fingerprint Scanner management, it is way better than the AOSP/Stock implementation since it gives the possibility to give a name to each finger, and also feels more polished.
Benchmarks
I have used 3DMark, AndroBench, Antutu Benchmark, Epic Citadel, GeekBench 3, GFXBench, PCMark (Work 2.0, Computer Vision, Storage & Work 1.0) and Vellamo to stress the device to the limit. I won’t test Games or Video Playback because there are already some related tests included in these Benchmark suites.
3DMark – The Adreno 506 isn't meant to be used with heavy apps, and as a result, OpenGL 3 tests struggles to get high scores.
AndroBench – Disappointing Write Performance with Great Read Performance, this is weird sincerely.
Antutu Benchmark – I won’t say a lot about this benchmark, this isn’t as reliable as others (well benchmarks are not reliable at all, imagine how bad this is). I’m providing this just for Antutu lovers.
Epic Citadel – Somehow this test seems to be well-optimized to run even at 60fps on this GPU.
GeekBench – The Cortex-A53 bottleneck is noticeable in single-core tests, but multi-core performance is rather acceptable.
CPU
Compute
GFXBench – As expected, 3D Performance varies based on the amount of load requested on the GPU, and the results vary from test to test.
PCMark – Even PCMark says the Storage test provides lower results than usual, i guess Xiaomi messed up something on the Android 7.0 Nougat release.
Work 2.0
Computer Vision
Storage
Work 1.0
Vellamo – Most tests are not able to beat the Snapdragon 800, something i would not have expected at all.
As you can notice, the Snapdragon 625 is not the best-performing CPU at all, but thanks to the optimized software, you won't even notice the lack of performance in daily tasks.
Conclusions
After having reviewed lots of Mediatek devices, i finally managed to get my hands on a proper Qualcomm device. This is definitely the best-buy for all those is search for outstanding battery life and solid performance.
OK, it may not have a great camera, neither the best screen quality, but for the price target, excluding LeEco devices that unfortunately have been abandoned due to company issues, it is impossible to find something better (correct me if i am wrong).
I can recommend it with no doubts, and consider getting the more powerful variant for the best experience.
Pros:
Stable Performance and smooth UI
Outstanding Battery Life
Decent Rear Camera
Blazing-Fast Fingerprint Scanner
Best Price/Quality Ratio
Cons:
Awful Front-Facing Camera
Lack of Performance for some apps
Missing Stereo Speakers
Screen Quality could have been better
Rating: 9.3
Packaging and Accessories: 8.5
Design and Materials: 10
Performance and Heat Dissipation: 9
Screen: 8.5
Camera: 8.5
Sound: 8.5
Battery Life: 10
Software: 10
OEM Support: 10
Price: 10
You can find full-res images (I know, Quality isn't excellent) here: http://imgur.com/a/0o5SA
Official Website: http://www.mi.com/in/note4/
Check my Social Networks to know more about reliable places where to get the device and much more, i will be posting some updates too.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Alberto.GearLabs
Twitter: https://twitter.com/XDA_Alberto96
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gearlabs_official
Google+: https://plus.google.com/+AlbertoGuanti
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/GearLabs[/B]
Nice one.