Vodafone Smart Ultra 6 Review
Thanks to Vodafone UK for the loaner.
TLDR? Try here http://www.head-fi.org/t/786012/vodafone-smart-ultra-6-review-by-mark2410#post_12030345
First Impressions: The Smart Ultra 6
isn’t a brand new device and neither in the one that I have here. It
box is, a box. It’s all natural unglossy card which I still find I
like. It’s a brave move in what’s obviously a budget device, risking
that people will think it’s a cost choice rather than an environmental
sustainability one. So there is the phone, as it is in most boxes. The
underside of it hiding the manuals and junk you’ll never look at, then
below that the accessories. Grrrr, I see they are white. Is it a white
phone I have here? No it bloody well isn’t so why oh why are the
accessories white?!?!?!?? I hate that, hate it deeply. Personally it
means if it was mine to keep they would be remaining in the box for all
time. There is a white UK plug with a USB socket, a micro USB cable and
some white, Apple esq ear phones. Hmm, by the look of them they can
stay in the box too. I really would rather phones came with no
earphones rather than ones that are total poo.
Powering the phone up, it’s a big old
thing and I can’t help but mentally flash, Iphone 6. Black face with
the flash of silver round the outside. Sides all rounded and smooth.
In fairness all phones are not exactly wildly different from one
another. Its light though, plastic does that and I can never decide if I
like phones to be light or heavy like the P8000 I have here also. It’s
quite nice really though the back is just so smooth, I would have liked
some soft touch coating for grip. I feel the need for case with some
grip to it.
Screen looks nice, as do the buttons on
the bottom and it is very, VERY welcome to see that ZTE/Vodafone have
put the buttons in the right order and not the idiotic backward way
Samsung puts them. Back on the left, home in the middle and then
multitasking button on the right.
Hardware: Looking up the specifications
and it’s got some really nice bits inside. It’s what I’d call the upper
/ mid-range with its Snapdragon 615, 2GB of RAM, 5.5 inch screen that
is a full HD (1920 x 1080) 13MP camera on the back and a 5MP pixel on
the front. In fact the only bit of hardware I would say is in the
slightest lacking is that it doesn’t support 5GH WiFi. That’s it, that
really is the only thing I felt was lacking full stop, never mind taking
into account the thing costs only £130. ZTE (the people who actually
make the thing) really have packed in a heck of a lot for the pennies. I
don’t know if Voda is making a profit on the handsets, I suspect they
aren’t as its exclusive to them. If you want this handset you have to
buy it from Vodafone.
Storage wise it comes with the more or
less standard 16GB. I can’t really complain at that, it’s a big step up
in usability from just 8GB that is still often found in cheap
handsets. Ahh but it also comes with a micro SD card slot which they
say will take up to 64GB. I dare say it would also take a 128 but I
don’t have one to try. In fairness 64 is rather a lot and if you’re
buying a “cheap” handset your probably not buying 128GB cards anyway.
CPU and GPU are on paper pretty good.
Lord knows I’m not one that gets caught up in benchmark number as I
think we have reached the phone plateau. Just as with computers before
them, once there was a time that you needed the fasted each and every
year because they were simply too slow for what we wanted. Now for most
normal users they really don’t need a quarter of what the most powerful
computers can do and now, with phones everyone no longer needs the
“best” available. The innards here reflect that they are good enough,
they feel fast and smooth in everyday use. Not once did I find myself
wanting. It’s a phone, I’m not running some 4 million cell excel
spreadsheet or running Photoshop.
Running the updated 3DMARK ”Slingshot
using ES3.0” the phone scored just 140. My aging nexus 5 scored 1006.
The positively ancient Nexus 4 got 329. My Moto G 4G however scrapped
in at 52 and lastly the P8000 (a prime competitor to the Ultra 6) came
in at 179. Compared to the Nexus, very old Nexii the Ultra 6 looks very
poor but benchmarks are intended to push the limits of hardware.
Firing my own “benchmark” Asphalt 8 I put
on high graphics and ran the first race. It ran it perfectly. No
stuttering or juddering, so to me it would seem capable of running games
just fine. Granted if you’re keeping the phone for 2 years that may
not be something true by the end of it.
The last curious addition, is the
inclusion of NFC. I believe all phones should have it but what really
makes its addition here curious as that Vodafone offer their own NFC
wallet app. You top up your separate Voda wallet account and then you
can use the phone to pay for things. I wish Voda had slapped on a
tenner or something so I could go try it and buy a coffee or something
but I wasn’t adding my own money to an account I won’t then have access
to shortly. (When they take the handset back.) Still I am pleased to
see its inclusion and I’m pleased to see at least one network doing
something about wireless payment. It might have been nice if it just
added the cost to your normal Voda bill / Voda call credit but hey.
Audio Software: While Voda felt the need
to have a video player it hasn’t installed an audio player. Good.
Google Play will do nicely and naturally I’m installing Deezer too. Of
course being android there are 53 million music app’s out there for you
to choose from which is just how it should be. You can choose what
works best for you, not what ZTE or Vodafone thinks is best. Oh it does
also have an FM radio in there, so err yeah if that matters to you but
as its not 1973 the odds of me ever firing that up are about the same as
me sprouting wings and taking flight.
Audio Hardware: Ahh, now things get
serious. With the track record of audio bits from the Snapdragon 400
phones I have high hopes for the 615. My hopes are, well, not really
fulfilled. It’s not to say that they don’t sound good, they do I had
hoped that being the superior and newer chipset that it would be even
better but it’s just not. As I fire up the Moto G 4G with its 400
chipset I am not really noticing much between the two of them. In
quality that is, in output power the Moto is pulling away and it can
drive the Senn Momentum 2.0 Over-Ear’s I’m playing with better. I’m
hesitant to say that the treble is better but that extra power does seem
to be refining them more. Then I go back to the 6 and I may be
imagining it but is it a little more open in the mids?
Lows: Good. They do lack in the power
department to truly drive and sustain low end, taught and lithe. It is
best when it’s punching or softening at the depths. The fact is that
several years ago the quality level is what I’d have expected from a DAP
at this price range. That it’s just a tack on feature is a little bit
of a modern marvel. I mean I’m sitting here using a pair of headphones
that cost significantly more than the Ultra 6 does, quite happily
listening to the tracks the Deezer is throwing my way. I’m enjoying
it. It feels unkind to point out the areas where it slips up a little.
It’s such a little trier, it’s trying so hard to be as good as the
bigger boys. It’s really trying its itty bitty little heart out.
Ultimately it hasn’t the capacitance and
electrical power to hold a powerful, low reaching low down into the
acoustic depths and when you crank the volume dial (and I can pretty
much max it) it’s such a valiant effort but….. ultimately, here is a
reason why audiophiles buy separate amps and DAP’s.
Mids: It’s arguably the easy bit and
again it’s trying its soul out. It’s really, really trying its very
damnedest to be as good as it can possibly be. In cleanly simple
acoustic stuff its really nice too. I could live with this if I had
to. I almost want to say there is a little tiny fraction more cream to
the mids than in the 400. There seems to be a tiny bit of energy
sapping and a push towards the sumptuous and smooth. It’s no secret
that is playing to my personal tastes. I like just that sort of vocal
style. Lingering and delicate, though there is a hint of air, they lack
the detail to truly be called airy. They cream, smoothly on the ear
but it’s a light, single cream with a splash of milk. Adel like.
It’s not what I’d pick for gym use as
it’s just not quite got the edge and speed for that. Though you could
get it by paring it with something sensitive and rather dry. Something
like the DBA-02 would liven it up dramatically. I should really fish it
out and try but I’m not. I’m joying them as is and with the DBA-02 I
won’t.
Highs: Good. However its caveated, it’s
good for a phone. I never at any point fount their treble playback to
be offensive to my delicate ears but I opted not to push it. The
clarity as is, is very good for what it is and I cannot justifiably
complain about it.
Still for all its accomplishments, when
you pair it to something that costs more than the phone itself does you
do hear its shortcomings. The detail is good but not amazing, the
extension is again good but not amazing. It actually rolls away quite
notably and dampens the hard metallic edges that should be there. It’s
just not got the power to shift a drive with the speed the best
requires. Not that your typical pairings are going to be capable of
displaying that anyway so you could argue it doesn’t matter. The simple
fact of the matter is thus, highs are the hardest bit to do and cheap
stuff doesn’t nail it. If it could then there wouldn’t be £1000 DAP’s
out there.
Soundstage/Instrument separation: Nice.
It hasn’t the power needed to really shine in separation but its
soundstage is nicely full and rounded. It’s nice. Not awesome but
pleasantly enjoyable to sit and listen to. Scale is moderately big,
think small church hall sorta scale.
Battery Life: Well it’s hard to truly
assess given there are so many factors that alter the battery life
you’ll get. Signal strength is a huge one, if you scrape a signal your
phone will drain itself dry due to the increased power output needed
over being next to a mast. Then there is what you have installed.
App’s will run, consume power, especially if they use data. Then there
is the big one, the screen. You keep that baby powered up and you can
practically watch the battery gauge drop. Spec sheet says it’s a
3000mAh battery which is fairly good. I got a good couple days before I
really needed to charge it. Still, for comfort sake I’d still charge
nightly.
However I feel I must note that in the
battery consumption chart, Vodafone Updates, Direct Accessories, Call+
& Message + were all in there as being significant battery eaters.
That did not please me. I am going to give the benefit of the doubt to
Call+ & Message+ and presume that it contained all my phone
calling. However Vodafone Updates and even more so, Direct Accessories,
I can’t forgive. That Voda’s accessory shop should appear on the
battery consumption list is unforgivable.
Build Quality: Nice. It was all very
cleanly put together, seams all perfectly tight, all very neat. The
screen looks lovely, the little buttons at the bottom light up most
pleasingly and evenly. There is nothing that I have any issues with.
However, I’m not one of those people who equates heavy as being “well
built” as the Ultra 6 is not heavy. It’s plastic and as such its very
light in the hand. The Ultra 6 feels VERY light. It’s a big thing but
in the hand it feels like it weighs practically nothing. So the plastic
construction won’t be loved by all. Personally my only issue was that
the plastic backing was smooth. It felt so light, so smooth, like it
could just fly out of my hand at any moment or a gust of wind would
carry it away. I don’t know what a soft touch backing would have cost
but for V2 I’d suggest Voda go for something with more grip. In
fairness if it was mine to keep adding a more grippy case would solve
the issue of course.
UI: The wonderful thing and
simultaneously the worst thing about Android is that you can change the
User Interface. In android speak they are called Launchers. Is it me
or is the Launcher used Stock Android? I am stunned. I remember the
Sonyericsson K700 I had back in the day, with something like 12
shortcuts to “Vodafone Live” now sure Voda have added a few apps but
it’s very refreshing that they have used plain old Android from Google.
Naturally it lasted all of 1 day before I installed Nova Launcher.
Still the Voda apps they add on for you are mostly removable. Though
the only one I really wanted to get rid off was that battery eating
“Direct Accessories” on the whole I’m really impressed with Vodafone not
trying to coat it in Voda junk that users don’t want like they did with
old K700. A big thumbs up from me here.
In The Hand: I like it, it’s very
comfortable with its rounded edges, it’s a little big for my hands but
what isn’t these days. It’s not an amazing, wow look at me device. It
is nice. In every way that matters I just keep coming back to nice,
it’s really pleasant to use. My only misgiving is its slightly slippy
nature but if it was mine I’d just slap a case on it. That back is just
too smooth for me, I feel like it want to fly out of my hand if given
half the chance.
Format Support: It Android, it plays anything you want.
Volume: I am not one for cranking the
volume to silly levels so for me it was fine. However I regularly had
it at the upper reaches of its volume output. Higher up the scale than I
would on most devices. While I was happy it may not quite be loud
enough for all. Of course it greatly depends on what your plugging into
it which I why I loathe that moronic French “volume” cap law. It’s
like a law saying you can only have one coffee per morning, so everyone
just starts using giant 2 litre mugs. Idiocy from idiot law makers,
nothing new I know but still.
Accessories: Well as touched upon
earlier, I loathe with a passion companies that bundle white accessories
with a black phone. Hate it, hate it, hate it, there is no excuse for
it whatsoever. Here they also include some white earphones that not
only do I hate visually, I’m not putting them in my ears. I mean if
your going to bundle what clearly are rubbish just don’t bother, it’s a
waste of money. Let people buy their own earphones. Anyway……. Moving
on to what’s otherwise available I am pleasantly surprised. Being a
network exclusive I’d expected the case and screen protector option to
be limited but there would seem to be plenty on eBay. In fact there is a
very nice selection available so if you’re like me and buy 3 cases for
every phone you should have plenty of options.
Speaker: Well anyone using a phone
speaker for music needs to be shot but, if your wanting to watch a
little TV show or something in your lonely hotel room while away for
work, then you sorta could. The volume is so so and in MX Player where
you can over drive the volume its fine. However pulling up Netflix and
slapping on The Good Wife, it is too quiet. Even in a silent room it’s
not comfortably loud enough to watch stuff on Netflix.
Camera: The numbers say a 13MP rear and a
5MP on the front. Both pretty big for a cheap handset. Now as I’ve
mentioned before, I am not a camera person so I really can’t speak with
any authority on the matter. For my eyes they look pretty reasonable
and by what I’ve read other think so too. I mean it can’t compare to a
real, proper camera much like it can’t compete with a high quality DAP.
To me it looks good enough to use and be happy with.
Reception: It’s hard to be exact on the
reception ability as Vodafone is not my normal network so I don’t know
where the questionable signal spots are so I can’t really say what is
network and what in phone. However….. it’s been rather good. For some
reason today as I write this it has taken somewhat of a nose dive and
signal strength is flitting between full bars and two bars. The
throughput has taken a dive too and is only giving me about 12mbit down
and about the 14mbit up. So while I say it’s taken a dive it’s not
exactly unusably slow!!! Even in this state it’s down load speed as
about twice what my land connection can get me and is a dozen times
better than my upload. Still, with the phone being plastic clad and not
metal I would expect it to a little better than most of holding onto a
signal.
The Good: Value. The phone is a
middling to upper ish range device but with a middling to low end price
tag. There isn’t anywhere I feel the device stands out as being great,
maybe its screen which is a full HD, 1920 x 1080. That’s the same
number of pixels as your 42 inch TV has but in your hand, for the budget
the screen is probably the single most impressive feature. The whole
however is that the Ultra 6 is just better in every aspect than you
would think you should get from a device with its price tag, nothing is
exceptional but it skimps nowhere, everything is better than it deserves
to be.
The Bad: Well there isn’t really
anything that’s bad. If anything it’s the backing, it’s just too slippy
for my liking but if I was keeping it I’d put a case on anyway. That’s
it. Well, maybe that it’s tied to Vodafone could be an issue for some
if Vodafone is poo where you live or you simply don’t live in the UK.
I’m really struggling to find anything bad.
Value: All the reviews I’ve seen of the
Ultra 6 all declare it to be super good value. It is. The “no ifs no
buts” it’s the new “Orange San Francisco,” it’s beyond good for what it
costs. It is very probably the single best value phone you can buy in
the UK, in a shop, right now.
Conclusion: The Ultra 6 is a crazy good
value device. Plain and simply if I was looking for a new phone and I
could only have one, this would have to be a contender. It’s not just
cheap, its sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo cheap. You put this phone
next to any phone, no matter how expensive and there just isn’t anywhere
it falls behind except in benchmarks. It really can’t match the most
powerful CPU and GPU’s but who expects it to???? it’s what, maybe a
quarter of the price of flagships? The Iphone 6s Plus starts at £620
and it can’t take a micro SD card. That’s £500 more expensive!!!
Price really is the headliner feature of
the Ultra 6. Its specs are all amazing for the price, not as absolutes
in themselves. The price therefore is key, utterly central to how you
must think of the Ultra 6. It is the defining aspect that means you will
buy it or not. You can get the same specs, better specs in a variety
of other places. You can even pretty much the same specs from other
devices if you look hard enough but I have never found one to be
available in the UK high-street. The closest I could find was the Sony
M4 Aqua but its £200 and only has a 1280 x 720 screen. Upon asking one
the helper chaps at The Carphone Warehouse, when I asked if there was
anything they know of comparable the reply was “There unfortunately is
nothing comparable from other networks.”
I
believe that is the core of the Ultra 6. There just is nothing
available in the UK for the other networks that can compete with it.
Its specs are outstanding for the money, it is that simple. It may not
be the world greatest phone but I cannot think of anything that
represents better value for money.
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