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| O+ Ultra Review, Extreme Degree |
INTRODUCTION:
One of the major concerns of smartphone users is the battery life, especially those people who are on the go and stay longer on the road. If you are one of them, O+ USA has something for you, the O+ Ultra.
The O+ Ultra packs an enormous 4,000mAh battery, a capacity that is twice than most Android phones have. In addition, it also comes with the latest innovation from O+ USA, the Power Plus feature, basically, it helps extend the battery life longer, we will discuss more about it later.
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| CPU Z Info |
This dual SIM device sports a 5.5-inch HD display powered by 1.3GHz MediaTek quad core processor coupled with 1GB of RAM, 8GB of internal storage and runs on Android Lollipop.
UNBOXING:
Unboxing and Hands-on Video
The usual O+ red retail box consists of the unit, charger with detachable USB cable, wired headset, user manual, warranty card and ejector pin. It also comes with two free items, namely screen protector and a micro SD card (in current O+ promotion, it includes 16GB). For a more understanding of how the phone looks like, from ports, buttons to design, you can watch our video unboxing and hands-on above.
See Also: O+ 360 Alpha Plus Unboxing and Review, Digital Beauty Regimen
DISPLAY:
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| Display |
The Oplus Utra has a 5.5-inch display with 720p resolution, which translates to about 267 pixels per inch, IPS technology for better viewing angles and it can recognize up to five fingers at the same time. The screen does not have a protective coating, but as mentioned above, you can use the free screen film in the package.
SENSORS:
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| Sensor |
The phone uses basic sensors, namely accelerometer, proximity and light sensor. All of it is working properly when checked using Android Sensor Box and CPU-Z. In real life usage, ambient light sensor allows adaptive brightness and proximity sensor turns off the screen automatically when in call. However, there is a slight concern when it comes to display orientation, it rotates from portray to landscape quickly, but from landscape to portray, it takes quite a while.
BENCHMARKS:
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| Antutu, Quadrant and PC Mark |
It is equipped with MediaTek MT6582 processor with four CPU cores clocked at 1.3GHz and 1GB of RAM. As expected, it scored pretty much the same with other devices with the same chipset. Apart from the results above, it also scored 50.8fps in NenaMark2, 1126, 760 and 1780 in Vellamo Multicore, Metal & Browser respectively.
SOFTWARE:
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| About Phone and System Updates |
The Oplus Ultra runs on Android 5.0 Lollipop with the familiar O+ interface, similar to that of the O+ EVO 4G (you can check the review at http://www.teknogadyet.com/2015/02/oplus-evo-4g-review.html). In about two months time, the phone received a software update that improves stability and removed the now defunct O+ Air Share app and added Clean Master app.
See Also: O+ 360 HD Unboxing and Hands-on
CAMERA and VIDEO:
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| Camera and Video Interface |
The camera and video interface is the same with O+ EVO 4G, apart from the normal mode, it also has other shooting modes, namely Live Photo, Selfie Fix, Panorama Mode, QR Code and HDR.
Sample Photos:
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| Day Shot without HDR |
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| 100% Crop of Above |
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| Day with HDR |
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| Day1 without HDR |
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| Day1 with HDR |
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| Night without Flash |
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| Night with Flash |
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| Indoor/Closeup |
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| Moving Subject |
The O+ Ultra has an 8MP auto focus main camera, in general, it takes decent photos with realistic colors and nice amount of resolved detail. In broad daylight, the HDR mode helps to create a more balanced output, although, there are times that the images are a little overexposed. The LED flash is also strong enough, creating a more usable output at night. Other strong points of the camera are the auto focus capability and shutter speed, the last photo above was taken with the subject moving at about 60 km/h and yet, it managed to capture it without ghosting or blur.
Sample Videos:
1080p Sample Video
720p Sample Video
The phone can also shoot videos up to Full HD resolution, you can check our 1080p as well as 720p sample videos above.
GAMING:
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| Clash of Clans |
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| Subway Surfers and Temple Run 2 |
The quad core processor plus 1GB of RAM easily handle games like Clash of Clans, Subway Surfers and Temple Run 2. Medium graphics games are also highly playable with little to no lagged at all. Meanwhile, some games that are really heavy on resources can be played as well, albeit, expect a little stuttering and longer load times.
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| Install location and Storage |
In terms of storage, once a micro SD card is inserted, it will become the default write disk as well as the default location for apps and games.
CONNECTIVITY:
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| Connectivity |
The O+ Ultra sports dual SIM with 3G/HSPA+, which a user can share via hotspot or tethering. It also has USB on-the-go function and we confirmed it is working just fine using flash drive and wireless mouse. Other connectivity features include WiFi, Bluetooth, 3.5mm audio jack and wireless print. For some reason, Miracast or wireless display is no where to be found.
See Also: O+ Convertible Unboxing, Hands-on and Initial Impression
PRODUCTIVITY:
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| Productivity |
The productivity apps installed are Calculator, Calendar, Clock, File Manager, My Notes, Sound Recorder and ToDo. There are no PDF reader and document editor, but you can simply get them in the Play Store.
GPS:
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| Location and GPS |
The O+ Ultra has GPS with A-GPS, when data is pre-loaded, it is able to get a satellite lock in around 15 to 20 seconds with an accuracy of 13 feet.
BATTERY STATS:
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| Battery Stats |
In PC Mark Work Battery Life test it managed to score an amazing 13 hours and 32 minutes. Meanwhile, in our video loop test, it lasted for an incredible 14 hours and yet, it still has 5% battery left.
OTHERS:
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| Power Plus |
The remarkable battery life of the Oplus Ultra can be further extended with the help of the latest O+ innovation, the Power Plus Feature. Once activated, the home screen will be converted to a black and white theme to further save energy. In addition, it will automatically reduce screen brightness, activates sleep mode, turn off wireless connectivity features and clear background apps.
CONCLUSION:
The O+ Ultra is a great smartphone for those who value the battery life of their device above anything else. There is no doubt that it can deliver in that area beyond expectations and unlike other phones with big battery capacity, it is not bulky, in fact, it has sleek body and good looking too!
PROS:
Impressive battery life
Nice design and build quality
Above average camera performance
CONS:
No scratch-resistant glass
O+ Ultra Specifications:
- 2G: 850/900/1800/1900MHz
- 3G: 850/1900/2100MHz
- Dual micro SIM, dual standby
- 5.5-inch IPS HD (1280x720) capacitive touchscreen display, 5-point touch
- Android 5.0.1 Lollipop
- 1.3GHz quad core Cortex-A7 CPU, Mali-400MP2 GPU, MediaTek MT6582 chipset
- 1GB of RAM
- 8GB internal storage, expandable up to 32GB via micro SD
- 8MP auto focus main camera with LED flash, 1080p video recording
- 5MP auto focus secondary camera with LED flash
- Multimedia player
- FM Radio
- 3.5mm audio jack
- GPS with A-GPS
- WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, WiFi Hotspot, Wireless Display
- Micro USB 2.0
- Bluetooth
- Sensor: accelerometer, light, proximity
- 4000mAh non-removable battery, Power PLUS technology
- Freebies: 8GB (now 16GB) micro SD card and screen protector
- Price: Php6,995