This particular smartphone is getting a lot of traction thanks to its 4GB of RAM, 32GB of storage, ultrafast fingerprint sensor and octa core processor. Now we dive in to review the pros and cons of the UMI Plus 4G phablet to help you decide if this is the phone you want or if you're better off looking for another handset. Ready?
Pros and Cons of the UMI Plus 4G
Cons of the UMI Plus 4G
Picking between dual SIM and upgrading storage. As so many smartphones before it, the UMI Plus gives the user two options: he can upgrade storage through the additional microSD card slot up to an additional 256GB or he can have a dual SIM smartphone.
It's a con of the UMI Plus 4G that's very common amongst most manufacturers and if you consider the fact that the phone packs a solid 32GB of storage right off the bat it's not such a big deal yet it's definitely worth pointing out.
USB Type C is a double edged sword: Ok so this isn't exactly a major disadvantage but it's hardly a pro either, it sits somewhere between a pro and a con. On the positive side you get the latest connectivity technology yet on the flip side it's still a rather new technology so you might not have a bundle of compatible cables lying around the house. That's a big advantage of the standard microUSB port since most of us have a bunch of microUSB cables around the house yet we don't all have a USB Type C port.
There's no NFC or FM Radio. Surprise, surprise, on our roundup of pros and cons of the UMI Plus there's no NFC or FM Radio support. The FM Radio might be the less important disadvantage but the fact that it doesn't boost NFC connectivity means that mobile payments are a no-go from the the get-go.
This can be a dealbreaker for some and something completely negligible for others. Honestly, I don't really like using mobile payments so for me it's not a big deal but others might not see it that way.
Non removable battery. Again, this is actually a pretty common con in most new smartphones that have launched to market over the past year. You gain a beautiful unibody design but you loose when it comes to having a phone where you can easily swap out the battery.
This means that battery life will be a big deal for this phone. Fortunately for us UMI seems to have that covered and placed a pretty impressive battery within the phone so battery life won't be much of an issue, even for intensive users.
Cameras are OK but not that impressive. As it happens with most mid range smartphones, the camera set on the UMI Plus is pretty good but it's hardly a major selling point.
In fact, we've got a 13 megapixel sensor for the rear-end shooter and a 5 megapixel sensor for the frontal camera. This is pretty good and calling it a con of the UMI Plus is a bit of stretch since again we're talking about a pretty common drawback but they don't really fit as a pro either.
Pros of the UMI Plus 4G
Impressive battery life. We mentioned as a con the fact that the UMI Plus doesn't have a removable battery due to its stunning unibody design. However, a major pro of the UMI Plus is precisely its battery life.
Specifically, it packs a 4000mAh Sony battery that can deliver an impressive 15 hours of continuous gaming, up to 17 hours of playing video and a massive 121 hours of playing music. That means that with a full charge the UMI Plus is up and ready to deliver a steady two days of moderate usage, which takes us to the next point on our pros and cons list...
Super fast charging. As if having an impressive battery life wasn't enough, the UMI Plus also delivers some pretty quick charging speeds thanks to its Fast Charge+ feature. Overall, with a 30 minute charge you can expect about a day's worth of battery, while a one hour and 40 minute charge (100 minutes total) would deliver a full charge that's capable of handling up to two days of battery life.
High end components. Aside from its pretty attractive design, you probably like the UMI Plus due to its top notch internals. Don't worry, you wouldn't be the only one. The phone packs some pretty impressive hardware considering its low price point.
Specifically, you'd be getting none other than 4GB of RAM as well as 32GB of storage (upgradable via microSD in another 256GB). What's more, the processor in place is a Helio P10 octa core (8 cores) processor that clocks in at a base 1.8GHz.
That kind of specs used to be something that you'd get by spending several hundred dollars. In fact, most high end smartphones that cost in the range of 400-600 dollars pack specifically these kinds of specs so in that regard it's a pretty sweet deal.
Touch ID 2.1 is crazy fast. You can't talk about the pros of the UMI Plus and not mention the fact that it has a pretty fast fingerprint sensor. Overall, something we really liked is that the fingerprint sensor is located on the home button for a more safe and ergonomic experience.
What's more, the phone can unlock itself within just 0.1 second of placing your finger on it. As expected, it also allows for up to 5 fingers and you also get a pretty neat feature which is that it recognizes your finger from any angle.
Ultra fast focus. We mentioned the camera as we recapped the cons of the smartphone. Sure, it's not a high end set of cameras by any means. However, they are still pretty good, especially the back camera which can deliver an ultrafast focus speed 0.1 seconds. That means you can take pictures super fast and you don't have to wait around for the focus to get in check.
An excellent display. Aside from the high end specs a nice screen is way up there on our list of priorities when looking for a new smartphone. We're not just talking about a nice display but an ergonomical one as well. That's why we really liked this phones display. To the point, it's got a SHARP display with a 5.5 inch diagonal and a Full HD resolution.
Whats more is that its got the latest 2.5D technology which means you get a much more comfortable grip of the phone on daily usage. This is surely one of the UMI Plus's biggest advantages, alongside its internal hardware.
A very tight price point. Finally, we probably wouldn't be even talking about this phone had it not been for its very low price point. On sale at GearBest for just $179 for a limited time offer, this phone delivers premium performance at a low to mid range price point.
Show me any other phone that can deliver this kind of premium hardware at this price and you're in for a challenge. For a very low price you're getting a phone that offers not just a great gadget for today but also a great gadget for many years to come.
More often then not we see people buy very cheap handsets that have 1-2GB of RAM and therefore their utility tends to be pretty constrained to just a year or so before the user eventually gets tired and decided to buy a more up to date phone.
Considering the fact that right now 2GB is the base RAM you need to get a fluid Android 6.0 experience, having an additional 2GB means you get a phone that will deliver a fluid performance for many years to come meaning you won't have to worry about updating this handset any time soon.
Verdict: Final thoughts and opinions
There's no way around it, after delving onto the pros and cons of the UMI Plus its become quite clear that we're looking at a high end phone served to us at a low price point. We love everything about this phone from its unique design to its 4GB of RAM and Full HD Display and USB type C port. Surely the camera isn't amongst the best of the market but we didn't really expect it to be. That said, this is an excellent option for anyone looking to buy a new handset at a low price.