Ulefone has been producing budget smartphones for several years now, gradually expanding its lineup with new interesting solutions. Following trends in the mobile device market, in the fall of 2017 the company introduced its first “frameless” smartphone – Ulefone Mix. In addition to the attractive design and affordable price, the device has a good camera, a dedicated audio chip and impressive amounts of memory.
Equipment
Along with the smartphone, the box contains a fairly wide range of accessories:
- power supply 5V/1.5A;
- cable for charging and synchronization with PC;
- card holder removal tool;
- glass for additional protection of the front panel;
- transparent case that prevents scratches on the body;
- user guide;
- ring holder (stand for smartphone).
Appearance Features
Design is one of the biggest strengths of the Ulefone Mix. The smartphone went on sale in black and blue colors. Both options look attractive in their own way, however, the device in blue is still of particular interest. Thanks to special processing, the glossy surface of the rear panel, made of plastic, shimmers beautifully when exposed to light or sunlight.
The front part received narrow frames on three sides. The only element on the top frame is a barely noticeable earpiece slot. A capacitive touch fingerprint scanner is located on the bottom frame. The biometric sensor responds quickly and accurately and recognizes fingerprints at an angle of up to 360°. The scanner can also be configured to perform navigation functions. Exit to the desktop is carried out by a long press, and to return to the previous level, a light touch on the fingerprint sensor is enough.
There are no touch buttons; their role is played by virtual control elements, which are located directly in the OS interface. If necessary, the navigation bar can be easily collapsed and expanded. In the settings there is a section that allows you to swap the location of the on-screen buttons, as well as add an additional shortcut to the navigation bar for quick access to the notification shade.
Taking into account the design features, the front camera module, light sensor and LED indicator for missed notifications were also moved to the lower frame. There is no classic proximity sensor in this model, so to prevent accidental clicks during a phone call, you should manually lock the screen.
To lock, use the mechanical power key, which is located on the left side of the metal frame, next to the volume rocker.
On the right side there is a hybrid tray for Nano SIM + Micro SIM/TF.
A multimedia speaker, microphone and MicroUSB connector (with OTG support) can be found on the bottom edge. Accordingly, on the top edge there is a 3.5 mm jack for connecting headphones.
Display
For its price category, Ulefone Mix has a very high-quality 5.5-inch On-Cell screen with HD resolution. The touchscreen recognizes up to 5 simultaneous touches and is characterized by high response speed and accuracy of response. The front panel is protected from abrasions and scratches by highly wear-resistant Corning Gorilla Glass 3. There is an oleophobic coating on the glass.
Even with the pixel density not being the highest, the user can count on clear, detailed, bright and rich images in everyday use. The display has excellent viewing angles. Due to the absence of an air gap between the matrix and the protective glass, the screen demonstrates a brighter and a contrasting picture, so even in clear sunny weather there are no problems with visibility Images.
Hardware platform
Ulefone Mix is built on the 8-core MediaTek MT6750T chipset, clocked at 1.5 GHz. The MT6750T is an entry-level SoC, however, coupled with 4 GB of RAM, the processor provides more than sufficient performance to perform common user tasks. The smartphone copes well with various everyday loads, such as active web surfing or running resource-intensive software.
In the process of simultaneous work with several applications, the device does not unload data from RAM, providing the ability to quickly switch between recently opened programs. Considering the screen resolution is not the highest, the ARM Mali-T860 MP2 graphics adapter can handle the loads created by 3D games with relative ease. Thus, Ulefone Mix is quite suitable for games like World of Tanks Blitz, launched at reduced graphics settings.
The device uses a built-in storage device with a very respectable capacity – 64 GB. Even taking into account the fact that part of the space will be reserved by the system, the user still has a significant reserve at his disposal. free memory for installing all necessary applications, games, for downloading offline maps and storing a collection of multimedia files. If necessary, you can get even more free space by installing an external drive with a capacity of up to 256 GB instead of a second SIM card.
Cameras
Ulefone Mix belongs to the segment of budget smartphones that have good photographic capabilities for their price category. The rear camera is equipped with two sensors: a 13-megapixel Sony IMX258, with an f/2.2 aperture and dual LED flash, and also a 5 MP secondary sensor, which is designed to create pictures with an artistic blur effect background. Full HD video recording is supported at 30 frames per second, with electronic image stabilization.
The camera application differs from the stock one in its modified interface. The top part of the application window contains icons for quickly activating the flash, HDR mode, as well as a gear-shaped icon that gives access to settings. At the bottom of the window there is a virtual shutter button and tabs for switching shooting modes (Panorama, Photo, Video, Beauty and Bokeh).
During daytime shooting, the camera produces fairly contrasting, detailed frames with good color rendition. In low light conditions, the quality of the resulting photos and videos decreases noticeably. However, not every flagship is able to demonstrate ideal night shooting results, not to mention budget models.
The front panel has an 8-megapixel sensor (interpolation up to 13 MP), with fixed focus. Before taking self-portraits, the smartphone must be turned over. When rotated, interface elements automatically adjust to the new location of the case. Judging by the quality of the footage, the front camera is best suited for video conferencing.
Sound
The manufacturer has expanded the audio capabilities of Ulefone Mix with the Awinic AW8737s amplifier, equipped with electromagnetic interference suppression technology. It is worth noting here that the use of this audio chip is not a prerequisite for considering a smartphone “musical”. However, when connecting high-quality headphones, the built-in audio system provides decent sound for the songs being played, with noticeable bass, without distortion or extraneous noise.
During a telephone conversation, the speaker loudly and clearly conveys the voice of the interlocutor. The main speaker, which has not received obvious advantages in terms of sound quality, is characterized by a high volume reserve.
Autonomy
The Ulefone Mix is powered by a 3300 mAh lithium polymer battery. A battery with a 100 percent charge level lasts approximately one day of normal use of the device. Using the included adapter (5V/1.5A), the battery is charged by 55% in an hour. It will take 2 hours to fully restore the charge level.
Software
The software platform used is a relatively recent version of the operating system – Android 7.0 Nougat. For the convenience of users, the manufacturer replaced the built-in camera application and also added it to the settings section several useful options for controlling gestures, the ability to use a scanner instead of navigation buttons, and etc.
Wireless interfaces
The device is designed to operate in mobile networks of the 2G, 3G and 4G FDD-LTE (B1/3/7/8/20) standard. Support for VoLTE technology is provided, which significantly improves voice quality communication, and also allows you to use a smartphone during a telephone conversation to access Internet. The Wi-Fi network based on the IEEE 802.11 standard operates in the 2.4 and 5 GHz bands. The Bluetooth 4.1 module is supported with the A2DP profile, which is responsible for wireless transmission of stereo sound.
Ulefone Mix is compatible with GPS/GLONASS satellite positioning systems and works well as a pedestrian and car navigator. In addition to the electronic compass, the device is equipped with a high-precision 6-axis gyroscope, the presence of which greatly simplifies terrain orientation, and also provides improved controllability in games and applications for virtual reality glasses reality.
Advantages and disadvantages
Pros:
- attractive appearance;
- impressive amounts of memory;
- good main camera;
- excellent screen;
- the presence of a protective coating Gorilla Glass 3;
- high-quality sound in headphones;
- 6-axis gyroscope;
- convenient and fast fingerprint scanner;
- additional accessories included.
Minuses:
- no hardware proximity sensor;
- When using the device without a protective case, scratches appear on the glossy cover.
Review results
Ulefone Mix compares favorably with its closest “frameless” competitors, presented in the price category up to $150, with a higher quality camera with Sony IMX258 image sensor, huge memory capacity on the internal storage capacity of 64 GB, as well as improved multitasking performance due to 4 GB of RAM. Considering these features, Ulefone Mix can be a good option for users who are looking for a budget 5.5-inch smartphone with a catchy, stylish design and minimal bezels around screen.
