Metal body and shiny glass on the front, a big screen, and a fingerprint sensor — most budget phones currently incorporate all of the above and end up looking more or less the same. But it’s something that can’t be helped too much, with these features being sought after by users to get that ‘premium’ feel. Chinese electronics brand ZTE Nubia is in the fray here, too; with a red rim around their camera lens and a red circle on the home button looking like a tiny target mark to serve as minor distinguishers on their phones. The company recently launched the M2 Play in the Indian market and here’s how the phone is to use.

The M2 Play review unit was all sleek black, with a matte sort of a textured finish on the back and wide bezels on the top and below the screen. The home button with the peculiar red dot and the navigation keys is below the screen. The sides hold the volume rockers and power button, with the bottom housing the speaker grilles and the USB 2 port. The top has the 3.5 mm jack. The phone isn’t too slippery and feels comfortable to hold and isn’t too heavy either.

When it comes to software, the phone, like most others, runs Android Nougat out of the box, which is topped with Nubia’s own interface (version 5.0). Nubia’s interface has some useful features that include dimming and increasing the brightness by running your fingers on the edges of the screen simultaneously. It runs on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 435, a typical but capable budget phone processor and this is backed by 3 GB of RAM, which make it well-equipped for daily use. It can handle a fair bit of continuous gaming too, but I noticed it warming up on playing some heavy games such as Asphalt Airborne. But then again, this is a budget phone, so it would be a little misplaced to expect too much from it. It comes with 32 GB internal memory and it can be increased to 128 GB.

The screen resolution is 1280 x 720 p and can leave you wanting for more, especially under direct sunlight. Also, home screen and app icon colours are slightly chalky. The 3,000 mAh battery was said to last a day, but with continuous use of apps that are daily necessities such as social media and delivery apps along with calling, it drains out sooner.

Now, Nubia makes it a point to highlight the cameras on their phones and given the M2 Play’s price, it packs in quite a bit of camera detail; at least on paper. It boasts of a Sony CMOS lens and Hybrid focus, all claimed to make your clicking experience better. While these work in the camera’s favour during the day, with pictures turning out clear, sharp and with colours well reproduced on your screen, the 13 MP rear camera is not as good at night, simply put. But it does a fairly good job at noise reduction. The 5 MP front camera comes with various ‘beautification’ modes, which seem to be the rage in budget phones now, and can give you decent selfies.

The Nubia M2 Play is poised to compete with the Moto E4, the Redmi 4A, and a few other budget phones in the price range.

Price: ₹8,999

Pros: Light weight, not slippery, decent performance and camera

Cons: Battery could last longer, display could be better

Related Topics
comment COMMENT NOW