UMIDIGI A1 Pro Review: Entry-Level Smartphone with Dual-Rear Camera and Android 8.1 Oreo For Less Than $100

After the quite well-known manufacturer Umidigi launched some smartphones in the higher price range lately, they now produced a new low-budget device: Umidigi A1 Pro will cost hardly less than $100. But the device has some very nice features to offer.

Check UMIDIGI A1 Pro hands on video:

I have previously reviewed the UMIDIGI S2 which was a great budget phone with a massive battery. The UMIDIGI A1 Pro makes things even more affordable and is available from Aliexpress.com at $109.39 making it one of the most affordable phones I have reviewed, but do you sacrifice performance and quality for such a cheap phone?

The Umidigi A1 Pro is one of the first entry-level smartphones to feature the MediaTek MTK 6739 quad-core processor released in late 2017. In line with the current trend, an 18: 9 display with a size of 5.5 inches is also installed. For the first time, the processor natively supports a dual-camera setup in a, particularly favorable price range. In addition, a full dual-4G support is now integrated. Whether the Umidigi A1 Pro is a value for money cracker, we have tested for you. UMIDIGI A1 Pro Review Unit Provided by UMIDIGI. We would like to thanks UMIDIGI for his confidence in giving us the product for Review. You can Buy UMIDIGI A1 Pro From Aliexpress.com at $109.39

Specification

Unboxing

The smartphone is delivered in a fairly simple box made of black cardboard. On the front side is the company logo and on the back of the box is a sticker with IMEI and the main technical specification of the smartphone.

Inside the box, we find UMIDIGI A1 Pro Smartphone, Power Adapter, Silicone Case, Screen Protector Pre-applied, Quick User Guide, USB Cable Type-C and SIM Needle.

Design

As is usual in the UMIDIGI brand, it manufactures smartphones that, in terms of design and materials, are superior to their competitors in the same price range. They stand out above all for how beautiful they are and for their quality of construction.

Although the Umidigi A1 Pro is equipped scratch-resistant 2.5D glass on the front with a display in 18: 9 format, it does not seem long-drawn. Because with dimensions of 18.00 x 10.40 x 5.50 cm and a weight of 173g it feels good in the hand. Although the design of the smartphone is nothing new, we still like the Blue color back, which shows considerable reflection effects when exposed to light. Other than stated by the manufacturer is not glass, but plastic (back) and metal (frame). The body is made of metal, with a robust appearance, and the back is made of shiny polycarbonate, which at first glance looks like glass.

On the front, we have a front camera for selfies and 3 navigation keys, in addition to the screen. On the back, we have another double camera, LED flashlight and a fingerprint sensor. The latter can unlock the phone in less than 0.1 seconds with a 97% success rate.

The buttons for volume control and the power button are on the right side of the phone, while the tray for inserting the SIM card is on the top. At the bottom of the device, there is a 3.5mm headphone Jack, USB Type-C jack for charging, and the multimedia speaker. The speaker is heard quite well, with a high volume at maximum without distortions.

Display

The 5.5-inch IPS HD display impressed us completely. Although the screen only resolves at a resolution of 1440 × 720 pixels, all content is still sufficiently sharply displayed. Single pixels could only be seen by looking around and only with lettering. The colors we found very good and the contrast we liked. For example, the greens are much more saturated than the more expensive Xiaomi Redmi S2. The display is clearly a special highlight of the Umidigi A1 Pro in this price range. The brightness of the display is ok. In stronger sunlight, however, it could be difficult to read all the contents. The automatic brightness worked well.

One of the things that make the Umidigi A1 Pro very interesting is the size, in addition to the price. Umidigi combines relatively slim bezels with a 5.5-inch panel and the now standard 18: 9 aspect ratio. As a result, the Umidigi A1 Pro is extremely handy compared to the current standard for smartphones and tends almost towards 5 inches. Incidentally, you did not save on the display. The 720p resolution is not negative, because the quality of the display is really good. The used panel is even bright enough to be against sunlight. Thumbs up!

Hardware & Performance

UMiDigi proudly announced in epic style on Youtube videos that the UMiDigi A1 Pro is the first mobile phone in the world that includes MediaTek’s newest mobile chip: the MediaTek MT6739. This is basically an upgraded version of the MT6735, which is one of the most favorite among low-price devices. The improved MT6739 allows for better photo and video quality while being a powerful artist that easily manages photopolymerization.

Mounts a processor range entry of the new generation of MediaTek, with a power that has surprised me for good, thanks in part to the 3 GB of RAM. The fluency in daily use is very good and moves demanding games with ease. The processor is the MediaTek MT6739 with 4 cores at 1.3 GHz, accompanied by the PowerVR GE8100 GPU and 3 GB of RAM. It offers a very good performance in multitasking, heavy applications and demanding games. It is an entry-level configuration, which in this new generation develops more than enough power for any day-to-day task.

The A1 Pro offers only 16GB of storage (reasonable for its price), but fortunately, there is an SD card slot that will take cards up to 256GB. While this may be a bit overkill, as you do not put a 256Gb card on this mobile but instead a cheap 32GB card will help a lot. Unusually the MediaTek MT6739 has been combined with a PowerVR graphics chip. Almost exclusively we see the GPU ARM Mali units used on Android devices. Therefore, we should expect the results of the benchmarking tests on this issue.

Finally, we can see 3GB of RAM in the A1 Pro, which is more than enough to help you with multitasking and fast application rotation. In the AnTuTu benchmark, the Umidigi A1 Pro scored 45,686 points.

Android 8.1 OS

Another surprise is the operating system. Umidigi A1 Pro will probably be the first device under 90$ to have the latest version of Android. On the Umidigi A1 Pro runs a clean Android 8.1 Oreo which has received four OTA updates in the test and is now stable. A Google certification is available. The UMIDIGI A1 Pro comes with the new Android 8.1 Oreo in its pure version, without Chinese applications and completely in English. It behaves in a stable way and works very light, fast in transitions and in multitasking. It is one of the first models of economic range to bring as standard the new Android 8.1, in addition in its clean factory stock version. The fluidity that is achieved is outstanding, also helped by the 3 GB of RAM that moves the applications with ease, without lag or slowdowns.

Camera

The double rear camera of 13 MP + 5 MP is correct, with a good definition and a very decent dynamic range. In distant planes, it suffers a little, but in close-ups, the photographic quality defends itself well. What the camera does well are photos in daylight with a shorter distance to the object in focus. These pictures look really good and at no time close to a low-cost smartphone – certainly not one of Umidigi.

The main sensor of 13 megapixels is in charge of making the photo, and the secondary of 5 megapixels collects the background information to make the effect out of focus in the portraits. It defocuses the second planes very well, enhancing everything in the foreground. In landscape photography, it takes a little longer to keep the whole plane focused, although with a little patience some very cool things come out.

The colors are realistic, vivid and contrasted. The dynamic range in the lights and shadows is quite good, I have seen more expensive mobiles with a lower dynamic range. And you can make backlights as beautiful as this one. It is a budget range camera that does its job well, suitable for social networks and souvenir photos.

Surprisingly good is the front camera (5MP GC5025 f / 2.0), which generates very good selfies in daylight for the price range.

Connectivity

It also uses a hybrid slot that holds either two nano sim cards or a nano Sim + microSD card. In addition, both sim cards can be used in the 4G network. That is, it is easily possible to use a pure LTE Datensim for surfing and another for telephoning. LTE Volume 20 is of course usable.

The call quality was satisfactory in our test. We were able to understand our conversation partner throughout without any problems. The microphone is fine for the price but partly has a slightly metallic sound.

Nice is also the use of a type-C connection, which prevents the annoying insertion on the wrong side. Contrary to the trend remains the 3.5mm headphone jack, so you do not have to drag along a tiresome adapter.

A WLAN connection is possible via the 2.4 GHz (a / b / g / n) or the faster 5 GHz network. In our test, the compound was consistently stable and compound rates were at a high level. Of course, Bluetooth is also available, albeit only with the older standard version 4.0. Also, the GPS signal was consistently constant on our test track. A compass for navigation with Google Maps is available.

Unfortunately, there is no LED notification light, so for new notifications to activate the vibration or the display must be turned on.

Battery

The UMIDIGI A1 Pro features a powerful 3150mAh battery. This helps the smartphone to have a good battery life that with a normal use will last for a whole day. In practice, most users will have a smartphone that can withstand the day or less with a more intense use. I was able to get about 7 hours of continuous use. Continuous use = some games, social media (facebook, twitter), internet browsing,

Conclusion

The UMIDIGI A1 Pro has a very careful design for its very economical price, with quality materials with rounded lines. It feels good in the hand and seems more expensive than it really is, at the height of higher ranges. The UMIDIGI A1 Pro is a great smartphone for those looking to spend little money, without sacrificing a mobile phone of quality and good technical characteristics. The quality/price ratio is very high, probably one of the best in its price range. To emphasize the careful design, the screen in 18: 9 format and the high performance it offers to be an economical range. UMIDIGI manufactures high-quality smartphone at lower prices than its competitors. It is common to find models, which with the same characteristics, in UMIDIGI have a price between 20% and 30% cheaper. You buy the same for less money.

If you are interested in buy this smart mid-range UMIDIGI A1 Pro Smartphone for a good price, you can get it through Aliexpress.com at $109.39