Umi Emax Mini Test / Review

What's in the box

This was glutinous Umi Emax Mini Smartphone in a very attractive box that can be pushed on. On the front there is the inscription "UMI", on the back the specifications of the smartphone are printed. After pulling out the inner unit of the box, you can see the Umi Emax Mini embedded in foam, a flat ribbon USB data and charging cable and an EU charger with a USB socket. A very brief operating manual in English was also included. A screen protector was already applied to the smartphone.

First impression

The housing frame and the back of the 5-inch (according to CPU-Z 4.97-inch) smartphone are made of hardened plastic with an anthracite-colored look. The back is also grooved and can be completely removed. There is also a 13 megapixel rear camera (Sony IMX 214) and an LED flash on the back.

Overall, the Umi Emax Mini measures 139.8x69.6x8.9mm and weighs 130g. The bezel is rather average at 4mm.

The device's physical buttons, volume rocker and power button, are located on the right edge of the case. The smartphone does not have any other physical buttons. There are three capacitive buttons below the display, with the middle button highlighted. The buttons on the left and right light up when used.

Above the display are the 8 megapixel front camera (Samsung ISOCELL), the speaker, the notification LED and the light sensor.

After the first inspection, the Umi Emax Mini surprised me positively. Despite the plastic housing, it feels valuable and is also well made.

Display

Umi uses a high-quality panel from Sharp for the 5-inch display. The resolution is 1920x1080 pixels, the pixel density is 443 dpi. The display is razor sharp, the colors look strong and lively and the viewing angle stability was also convincing. I was able to read this display without any problems, especially in strong sunlight. MiraVision was not used on this smartphone, but the display was already perfectly set from the factory.

Performance

The Umi Emax Mini has a Snapdragon 615 SoC installed. This is a 64-bit octa-core processor with 4 cores clocking up to 1.5GHz and 4 cores clocking up to 1.11GHz. The graphics unit is an Adreno 405 with 550MHz. The smartphone also has 2GB of RAM. Overall, this is mid-range hardware, but the overall performance is extremely impressive. The navigation through Android 5.0.2 is consistently smooth and apps can also be opened quickly. However, this smartphone can also cause image breakdowns when playing computer-intensive games. Here are the results of individual benchmark tests:

user interface

The operating system used is Android 5.0.2. Already on the lockscreen it is noticeable that Umi does not use Stock Android. There are several quick start icons on the lockscreen, which can be used to open the calculator app, the camera app, the music app, the contacts app and a barcode scanner.

Within the user interface, the rounded custom icons immediately catch the eye. Otherwise, the Umi interface is very little different from Stock Android. Third-party apps were installed, but with the exception of an untranslated Chinese app, I could not find any suspicious apps.

Within the settings menu there are a few additional functions. For example, you can configure a gesture control, as well as you can regulate the LED notification. Unfortunately, the gesture control does not offer many functions. There is a "Double Tap 2 Wake" feature and a feature that mutes your smartphone should you put it on display. Also under the menu item "LED notification" you can only turn the notification on or off.

The Umi Emax Mini can be updated via OTA updates, which are received directly from the manufacturer.

Camera

I was especially looking forward to this test point. Umi has the Emax Mini missed a 13 megapixel rear camera with a Sony IMX214 image sensor and a 8 megapixel front camera with a Samsung ISOCELL image sensor. Especially for a mid-range smartphone, this is a very good hardware.

The camera app is a custom app that has not only the usual functions but also a time-lapse function, a barcode scanner or a "beauty picture". Images can be shot with 10 and 13 megapixels, videos are taken with up to 1080p. An image stabilizer can also be activated via the camera settings.

The 13 Megapixel rear camera offers decent pictures in daylight where there is virtually no picture noise. The colors look real and not overdriven. In lower light conditions, unfortunately, a stronger noise is observed.

The triggering time is fast. Recordings with flash are also implemented quickly. With the car focus, I had no problems so far.

The front camera with 8 megapixels is also good, and here, too, in low light conditions, there is a picture noise.

 reverse camera 

 Front camera 

Telephony, WLAN, Bluetooth

I would call the call quality good. I could understand my interlocutor well, as well as he could understand me properly. Noise I could not find any. The integrated speaker is also quite useful and is suitable as a speakerphone.

What I miss with so many Chinese smartphones and the Emax Mini is the LTE band 20 or LTE 800MHz. Especially if you live in the countryside you have to do without LTE. In the cities, however, an LTE reception is possible.

The WLAN and the Bluetooth connection are stable and the range is on average.

GPS

Again, I could not find anything negative. The GPS fix was quick and easy. The signal was constant and stable.

Battery

The Chinaphone has a 3050mAh battery installed, which is quite remarkable for a 5 inch smartphone. After 2 days of normal use with 4 hours of SOT (Screen On Time) and all tests, the battery is still around 35%. The Emax Mini is a real battery monster.

Unfortunately, there is a downside here. The smartphone's battery cannot be replaced.