We spent some time with this new product (note that the Smartron T.Phone is available exclusively on Gadgets 360). And the good thing is that it is very different from the products that Indian companies have been making for many years. Smartron tried to do something new in the competitive Android smartphone market. Will this startup have the courage to challenge the big companies? Let us know.
Appearance and Design
smartron phone Looks a little different. The back panel of our review unit was bright orange. It is also available in pink, blue and neutral grey. The top and bottom of the phone are finished in a unique metallic gray color. Given its 5.5-inch screen, the T-Phone feels quite large and heavy. But it is one of the thinnest phones available in the market. Using this phone with one hand is not that easy.
At the top of the front panel you will see a large camera of a different type. An earpiece and a variety of sensors are also present in this part. You will see a small dot on the left edge. This is a multi-colored notification LED. It doesn’t have a fingerprint scanner. According to Smartron, most companies are unable to fully implement security options, and in such a situation, the fingerprint sensor is useless. The different design pattern gives the T-phone a solid look. It is completely different from regular phones with smooth glass and all-metal body.
On the right you will see a tray for two SIM cards. This means that you will have to choose between a microSD card and another SIM card. When we took it out, we found that the edge of the SIM tray was slightly worn. Looking at this, we are not sure whether this will be sustainable in the long run or not. The power and volume buttons are on the right side. They are very easy to reach. The standard 3.5mm audio jack is on top. USB Type-C port at the bottom. The T-phone comes with a fast charger. Along with this, a USB Type-A to Type-C cable, a headset and a SIM eject pin will also be available.
Specifications and software
While on the one hand companies are trying to attract more and more customers in the Rs 10,000 price range, Smartron is eyeing customers interested in slightly more expensive smartphones. Keeping the price in mind, the company has also provided powerful features to this phone. The T-Phone is powered by an octa-core Snapdragon 810 processor, which was Qualcomm’s most powerful processor until last year. In the early days, this processor was criticized due to overheating. Smartron stated that it used the latest version of this processor. You will get 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage. Screen 5.5 inches with a resolution of 1080×1920 pixels. Today, expensive smartphones use even higher resolution displays. It doesn’t really matter much. The display has Gorilla Glass 3 protection.
The rear camera has a 13-megapixel sensor. It comes with dual LED flash and phase detection autofocus. With it, you can record videos in 4K resolution. It is also stated that the 4-megapixel front camera sensor allows you to take excellent selfies in the dark. The reason for this is the larger pixels, much like the HTC UltraPixel camera. The T.Phone has four microphones, which the company says help reduce voice echoes and background noise.
The smartron has a 3000 mAh battery. This phone supports fast charging 2.0. You can use a microSD card up to 128GB. Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth 4.0, A-GPS and FM radio are included in this phone. You won’t find a fingerprint scanner, infrared, or NFC.
The T-Phone comes with Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow. The good thing is that Smartron has already talked about the Android N update. You will also get some minor customization options in this phone.
You will receive Smartron’s own TronX app. We’ve seen this before in T.Book. Here you can buy Smartron products and accessories.
performance
As expected, we have no complaints about the overall performance of the smartphone. The screen is decent, but the colors need to be more vibrant. Surprisingly, the Persistent Display option is present in the Settings app and is disabled in default mode. If this truly improves the display and reduces battery drain, then it should have been enabled by default. The T-phone features premium DTS audio enhancement technology. It produces very clear sound, but it’s not as loud as we expected. We’re not happy with the quality of the headset that comes with it and won’t use it to listen to songs.
While recording videos, using LTE data, or playing games, we noticed that the phone gets a little warm near the camera lens on the back and the speaker on the front. In all other tasks the phone remained cold. The user interface is quite responsive.
Test results indicate good performance. Even graphics-heavy games run smoothly. In our video recording test, the phone’s battery lasted 11 hours and 10 minutes. After using 4G data for a day and playing games, the battery easily lasted for a day.
When we first turned on the T-Phone and tried to set it up, we were most disappointed with the camera app. There were no modes and no creative tools. We also had to open a menu to switch between the front and rear cameras. We have three pages of options. The flash switch is located on the third menu level.
Sometimes the app would take a few seconds to save a photo, causing a slight delay in taking the next photo. In such a situation, it is impossible to take continuous photographs. All of these issues went away after using a different camera app, but autofocus still acted strangely at times.
After speaking with Smartron, we learned that an update has been released for this app. But we found that it is not available in either the phone firmware update tool or Google Play. We could get it through a manual update. The version of the new application is 2.1. In this version, the camera application has been completely redesigned.
The camera app sometimes experienced focusing issues when taking photos, especially in low light. It usually takes longer than expected for focus to lock after touching the screen. But when we took the time to take photos, everything turned out well. Viewing the images at full size, I found them to be severely lacking in texture and detail. Autofocusing at night has become more difficult. Photos taken with the front camera were disappointing.
our decision
Smartron emphasized that the T.Phone has been designed with India in mind. We also want the domestic company to make a name for itself in the international market. There’s a lot to like about the T-Phone. The best part is that the company has tried to offer something different instead of being part of the hustle and bustle of smartphone manufacturers. The price is aggressive, especially considering its features and capabilities. However, many people are satisfied with the capabilities of even cheap phones.
Battery life is the most important feature of the T-phone. It would be better if there were convenient features like a fingerprint scanner. We also have high hopes for TronX’s service. Smartron will have to work to further improve the out-of-the-box experience for its customers. The new camera app solved our problem, but what’s the point of such an update if the user has to put in a lot of effort to get it. The Xiaomi Mi 5, powered by a Snapdragon 820 processor and finished in a higher-end finish, is available in the same price range, but we hope there is no shortage of T-phone fans out there either. This is a strong offering from an ambitious new company, and we’ll be sure to keep an eye on Smartron’s next moves.
