 |
| Arsenal VR One Review; Setting the Bar |
INTRODUCTION:
Virtual Reality or popularly know as VR seems to be the next big thing for most of us, as it promises tons of features that can be enjoyable and useful at the same time. However, it receives inconsistent attention from the consumers, since the technology is still growing and there are lots of developments that still need to be done.
But, that does not stop Topstrasse Global Inc. to enter smartphone market, they are brave enough to introduce the newest smartphone brand in the country, the Arsenal Devices, along with a VR-centric handset - the Arsenal VR One.
The Arsenal VR One is one of the three smartphones the company unveiled earlier this year together with the Arsenal Power One and Arsenal Deca One. However, the other two devices mentioned are still in the pipeline, and only the mid-range VR One was officially released in stores.
PHYSICAL:
 |
| Back |
For a starter, the Arsenal VR One really impressed us with its simple, yet so striking design. It is not a head-turner per se, but it has a great balance of style, looks and build quality. It comfortably fits our hands and can be easily operated by just one hand. It measures 145.8mm x 71.5mm x 7.25mm and weights about 138 grams. For the sake of comparison, it is slimmer than OPPO F1s' 7.38mm, and about 0.35mm thinner than Vivo V5s' 7.6mm.
 |
| Display |
The front is fully covered with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 for added protection with the 5.2-inch display takes up most of the space. Speaking of display, it has JDI LTPS capacitive panel with Full HD resolution that translates to about 434 pixels per inch, which according Arsenal, gives the users more immersive VR experience. By the way it supports multiple touch, and has adaptive brightness, which works pretty well both indoor and outdoor.
Still at the front, the notification light, selfie camera, earpiece, and sensors are located above the screen, while the physical home button that doubles as fingerprint scanner is placed below. The back boasts the Arsenal logo in the middle, while the rear camera and its single LED flash are located in the upper-left corner.
 |
| Bottom |
Meanwhile, its micro USB port is placed between the loudspeakers at the bottom portion of the unit. Then, its 3.5mm headphone jack and the noise-cancelling microphone are situated at the top.
On the left side, the hybrid card slot is positioned. It accepts either micro-SIM or nano-SIM, as well as a micro SD card, that's if you prefer to expand its storage than utilizing dual SIM functionality. On the other side, buttons for power/lock, and volume keys are sited.
Arsenal VR One Unboxing and Hands-on
As usual, we prepared an unboxing and hands-on video above for better understanding of its physical appearance.
SOFTWARE:
 |
| Software |
The Arsenal VR One is running the Android 6.0 Marshmallow operating system. It is equipped with Arsenal One UI, enjoying its brand’s own interface. Nevertheless, we felt like it’s just a generic Android phone, and nothing is special about it. Yes, the interface is pretty much similar, if not the same with most locally branded Android devices.
PERFORMANCE:
 |
| CPU- Info |
The Arsenal VR One is powered by MediaTek MT6753 octa core CPU clocked at 1.3GHz each paired with a Mali T720-MP3 GPU. It is equipped with 3GB RAM and is complemented by 32GB internal storage that can be expanded up to 64GB via micro SD card. As a VR-centric smartphone, we expected more about what’s inside. We’re not saying that we’re frustrated, we just felt like the device could perform more if better internals were provided.
We ran it first on our favorite benchmark applications, and the results are as follows:
Antutu - 36,780
Quadrant - 20,721
NenaMark2 - 53.9fps
Geekbench - 613(single core)
Geekbench - 2,501 (multi core)
Geekbench - 1,832 (renderscript)
PC Mark - 2,749
3D Mark Sling Shot Extreme - 196
 |
| Benchmark Scores |
On the other hand, we like its performance when we used it as our primary phone. During our tests, we opened numbers of applications at once, wherein the device never lagged, or at least unnoticeable in our case. We also watched videos with heavy graphics, and the device was able to play it smoothly, however, its speakers, although have decent sound, are slightly distorted when the volume is cranked up. Apart from these, we also watched a roller coaster VR video using the supplied collapsible VR glasses, and based on our experience, the device proved its worth in this section.
Of course, it is not a powerhouse device, and as many of us know well, the chipset used is already an ageing silicon. So, expect stutters or lags when placed under heavy usage and apps.
CAMERA:
 |
| Camera Interface |
If there’s one thing about the Arsenal VR One that majorities would put their thumbs up with, it would be its cameras. It boasts 13-megapixel AF rear camera with LED flash, and 8-megapixel front camera, while its video recording capability is max out at 1080p. Small? Yes, it is not equipped with a heavier number, but its cameras were enough to impress us during our tests.
 |
| Bread Section |
 |
| Chainsaw |
 |
| Cheesecake |
 |
| Davao Rescue Vehicles |
 |
| Gloomy Morning in QMC |
 |
| Jack's Ridge Davao |
 |
| Salad |
 |
| Santan |
Although you could not compare it with other midrange photography-centric phone, the Arsenal VR One has exceeded our acceptable image quality. In fact, its rear camera did great when we took a number of snaps under different conditions. In places with good light conditions, it produced sharp images. It also delivers clear photos even in places with dim lighting.
 |
| Outdoor Selfie |
Its front camera performs well, too. It took decent ‘selfies’ in places with good lighting. However, photos became a little bit soft or grainy in places with dim lighting.
CONNECTIVITY:
The Arsenal VR One supports two Nano SIM cards with 4G/LTE (B1/B3/B5/B7/B28), there is also WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0 BLE, and GPS.
As we used it as our primary phone, we used it for our communication and day to day activities. True enough, the Arsenal VR One has a strong and reliable connectivity as we didn’t encounter any problem in terms of connections.
BATTERY:
Powered by only 2800mAh battery, it could not give us the battery life we needed when we used it as our main device. It gave us more than one day of power when we only used it for SMS and answering calls. However, when we played games and multimedia, it lasted for only 13 hours, while it gave us 7 hours of continuous usage when we connected it with Wi-Fi and ran multiple applications.
Meanwhile, when we did our traditional battery test with brightness and volume on its maximum level, and had an Internet connection, and looped video, the Arsenal VR One lasted only for almost six hours.
CONCLUSION:
With its introduction in the local market, Arsenal’s first smartphone has already set the bar for their upcoming devices. Looking at it as an ordinary smartphone, we could say that nothing’s new about its specifications and features. But, it is still a good choice to consider if you’re actually looking for a sub-12K handset as it has decent overall performance that could deliver your smartphone needs.
It is also impressive to note that Arsenal chose Virtual Reality to focus on, however, the VR One still has a lot of things to improve, most especially when they’re trying to steal the consumers’ attention.
Arsenal VR One Specifications:
- GSM: 850/900/1800/1900MHz
- 3G: 850/900/2100MHz
- LTE: B1/3/5/7/28
- Dual SIM, dual standby
- 5.2-inch JDI LTPS capacitive FHD (1920x1080) touchscreen display, 2.5D Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection
- Dimensions: 145.8mm x 71.5mm x 7.25mm
- Weight: 138 grams
- Android 6.0 Marshmallow
- 64-bit 1.3GHz octa core Cortex-A53 CPU, Mali-T720MP3 GPU, MediaTek MT6753 chipset
- 3GB RAM
- 32GB internal storage, expandable up to 128GB via micro SD, uses SIM 2 slot
- 13MP BSI auto focus f/2.2 Samsung main camera with LED flash
- 8MP f/2.4 Omnivision secondary wide-angle camera
- Multimedia player
- 3.5mm audio jack
- DIRAC HiFi audio chip
- FM Radio
- GPS with A-GPS, GLONASS
- WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n, dual band
- Bluetooth v4.0
- Micro USB 2.0
- Sensors: fingerprint, accelerometer, e-compass, gyroscope, proximity
- Battery: 2800mAh Li-Pol, non-removable
- Colors: pearl white, matte black
- Price: Php11,990