Oukitel U7 Plus Review - Inexpensive China Phablet

First impression of the Oukitel U7 Plus

What's in the box

The Oukitel U7 Plus is delivered in a bright, orange cardboard box. In addition to the smartphone, it also includes a charger (5V 1A), a micro USB cable for charging the device or for transferring data, a leaflet with safety instructions and a warranty card. A screen protector is carefully applied to the display at the factory.

Design and workmanship

With a size of 15.80 x 7.80 x 0.90 cm, the Oukitel U7 Plus is comparatively bulky. However, the weight is a light 200g. Corresponding to the low price, the design of this smartphone is “more appearance than reality”. At first glance, when you think of the shiny metallic back, you think of a noble, metallic unibody back. In fact, the back is made of plastic and is removable. The side control buttons, which are a power button and volume buttons, are made of plastic and are embedded in the rear frame.

Nevertheless, the processing of the smartphone is not to be criticized. The control buttons are firmly seated in the case, unclean processed areas are looked for in vain and the back sits tightly without gaps on the device.

Another feature of the Oukitel U7 Plus is a small fingerprint scanner, which is located in the upper third of the back. A notification LED that shines in three different colors is located next to the auricle. Below the display there are a total of three capacitive buttons that unfortunately do not have lighting. The device can be connected via a micro USB socket located on the lower housing frame. Next to this there is a loudspeaker and a microphone. A headphone connection is located on the upper edge of the housing.

Display

The IPS display of the Oukitel U7 Plus has a screen diagonal of 5.5 inches and has a resolution of HD (1280 x 720). With a point density of 267, individual pixels can only be seen on closer inspection. The display edges are slightly rounded thanks to the so-called 2.5D curved glass. Colors are reproduced vigorously and the black value is also convincing. The maximum display brightness is good average. Even with direct incidence of light, the representation remained largely recognizable.

 However, the viewing angle stability of the display was not convincing. The color reproduction is disturbed even when the smartphone is tilted the slightest. Colors fade and appear increasingly falsified. In addition, it would have been desirable to integrate MiraVision into the display settings.

The touchscreen of the Oukitel U7 Plus recognizes a maximum of 5 simultaneous inputs. During the test, all inputs and movements on the touchscreen were accurately recognized.

Performance

A 64bit MediaTek MTK6737 processor clocks inside. This processor, released in May 2016, has a total of 4 processor cores that clock at a maximum of 1.3GHz. The processor graphics is a Mali T720 GPU, which is mainly suitable for not too demanding games. The main memory is 2GB. The internal memory measures 16GB, with 4GB already occupied by the operating system. However, the memory can also be expanded using a micro SD memory card. The memory is expanded using a separate SD memory card slot so that the dual SIM function is retained.

In practice, the smartphone convinces with its fluid operation. Apps open on average fast and even the navigation through the still current Android 6.0 takes place without major delays.

user interface

The Oukitel U7 Plus is already shipped with Android 6.0. The interface hardly deviates from Stock Android and has only been supplemented by custom icons and a few settings. Third-party apps were preinstalled, but they are not permanently integrated into the system and can be subsequently uninstalled using the app manager.

In the settings there are additional setting options for gesture control. The additional settings can be recognized by the fact that they have not been translated into German unless the system language is changed to German. Under the item “Gesture Motion” there is what is known as “Telephony Motion”, with which you can, for example, accept calls with a sweeping movement of the smartphone. The point "Gesture Unlock" enables you to unlock the device by swiping or to start different apps by drawing different letters. For example, if you draw an "O" on the activated display, the smartphone unlocks and starts YouTube. Gestures controlled by the proximity sensor can be activated under the “Smart Somatosensory” setting option.

The Oukitel U7 Plus "OTA" (Over The Air) receives updates. The smartphone was tested with the version "OUKITEL_U7_Plus_V13.0_20160922".

Camera

According to the manufacturer's data sheet, the smartphone has a 13 megapixel main camera and a 5 megapixel front camera. There is no question that these are interpolated values. The image sensors have a native resolution of a maximum of 8 or 2 megapixels. Information on the image sensors is missing. In addition, the main camera has an autofocus and a simple LED flash.

The main camera shoots acceptable images in good lighting conditions. The images have little noise, are rich in detail and the colors are also displayed accurately. In poor lighting conditions, the image noise increases significantly and a visible blurring is superimposed on the image. The main camera's autofocus works comparatively quickly. The tripping time, on the other hand, is below average.

The front camera produces low-detail images that are literally pervaded by a soft focus. If there are also poor lighting conditions, the pictures taken are anything but useful.

Fingerprint scanner

The fingerprint scanner can be set up as an additional unlock method via the settings menu. To do this, the finger profile is scanned several times and saved by the system. The same finger can also be scanned several times to improve the recognition rate. The recognition rate in the test was around 80%. The unlock time is below average 2 seconds. It feels like an eternity before the Oukitel U7 Plus is actually unlocked. Even entering a sample or code is quicker!

Sensors

 GPS and A-GPS are supported. In the test, the Oukitel U7 Plus was able to prove itself with an almost flawless navigation. There were minor deviations in urban areas, between urban canyons. The GPS fix was found after a short time. Further sensors are a proximity sensor, an acceleration sensor and a brightness sensor. A gyroscope is missing!

Connectivity and battery

All 2G, 3G but also 4G standards common in this country are supported. The voice quality is good in both directions. Hands-free calling via the loudspeaker is not recommended. The loudspeaker sounds tinny as the volume increases.

Data can be transmitted wirelessly via Bluetooth 4.0 and WiFi. The signal strength and the throughput rate are good. As expected, Dual Band WiFi is not supported, which is why you are solely dependent on the 2.4G network.

With a capacity of only 2.500mAh, the battery of the Oukitel U7 Plus is extremely small. Although the MediaTek MTK6737 processor is comparatively economical, a significantly larger battery would have been desirable. With normal use, you can barely get through the day with the fully charged battery. You should definitely charge the device in the evening. The charging time with the supplied charger is around 3 1/2 hours.