The first thing to note about the phone it the minimal packaging - this has definitely been designed to be posted through your letter box. Also, to look like nothing, in a plain brown box…
Inside you will find some equally tidy packaging, with a neat black box with a tear strip at one end. Once you open this you will reveal two slots - one with the phone and the other with the accessories. Though I am not sure how recyclable the foam inserts are.
NOTE - you do NOT get a power supply, just a USB-C to USB-C cable… which could be a problem and would have been for me had my laptop not had a USB-C port which I can use to charge the phone. Fortunately, I also have a wireless desk stand and that will also charge the phone :)
Turning on the phone and setting it up is relatively straight forward, remember to put your SIM card into the bottom slot first… a nice thing is the phone does support dual SIM, though it is on the one SIM tray with one either side, which could make it a little tricky to get them back in… the nice thing is this means you can have one phone for both home and work, or sims on different networks to ensure you always have data connections - I am not sure entirely how it works, as I only have the one sim.
Mentioning data - I am getting good 5g Data speeds - enough that you could consider ditching the landline internet connection if you are the only person in the house and can tether your computer to the phone.
During the setup process you get the option to migrate from another phone, including an iPhone - NOTE - in order to move from an iPhone you need a lightning to USB-C cable, which I did not have, so I lost all my SMS and WhatsApp messages…
Overall, the phone looks really nice, all shiny - and this has a problem, I found it to be really quite slippery… if you put is on a surface which is not flat, do not expect it to stay still. This brings me to another issue - the screen is supposed to be fairly tough, within 2 days though, it had a couple of minor scratches on it. I have not put it in a case and put a screen protector on the front, which I should have done as soon as it arrived.
Another feature of this phone are the Glyphs - essentially lights in the back of the phone - are they useful? Not really, they are just a bit flashy, litterally as you can use them as part of your ring tone… now this could be very useful if you are hard of hearing.
They are not any use for providing lighting for taking photos, so I am not entirely sure what their intention is…
The cameras perform adequately - both front and rear cameras are of a useable quality for capturing quick snaps and the screen is nice and crisp for reviewing them.
In terms of performance - it is OK - sometimes a little sliggish to bring apps up and there are a few apps I have tried where the screen goes blank and you have to swipe the app and bring it back again before it refreshes properly - is this an issue with the phone or the app? Who can say.
The battery life is good and it easily lasts me a day, including around 3 hours of using google maps on my bike for navigation (along with Strava in the background to record my ride) - then it happily charges (wirelessly) overnight.
One final thing to note is that the phone is an IP53 rating - this means that it will resist dust, and should be OK if you get caught out in the rain with it… DO NOT submerge it and try not to tip a drink over it as both of those could result in it stopping working.
For the money, a very capable phone, it is eye catching with the glyphs, potentially though for the same money you could get a faster and longer lasting phone without the lights.
PLEASE, do get a cover and screen protector as soon as possible to ensure you keep it in the best condition.
