UMi Super Review - SUPER Smartphone?

First impression of the UMi Super

 What's in the box 

The UMi Super is delivered in an attractive metal box, which, in addition to the smartphone, also contains a USB Type-C charging cable, a charging adapter (5V - 1.67A) and a user manual. A SIM pin for opening the SIM slot on the side is included in the operating instructions. A screen protector is also already on the smartphone and is neatly applied at the factory.

 Design & processing 

The UMi Super leaves a very good impression on the surface. The metal unibody design looks particularly high-quality and with a weight of 196g the smartphone lies very comfortably in the hand. Still, the super smartphone is not perfect. In particular, the control buttons on the side are a bit too loose in the case for my taste, which means that a faint rustling can be heard with every slightest movement. The pressure point of the keys, on the other hand, feels good.

 front 

If we take a closer look at the smartphone, we have the 5.5-inch IPS display on the front. Underneath there is a circular notification LED that pulsates and lights up in seven different colors. The operation of the smartphone is interesting. On the one hand, three capacitive buttons are available here, which are located below the display, or you can activate the virtual navigation bar in the settings, which deactivates the capacitive buttons. Unfortunately, only the middle button is illuminated, which also contains the circular notification LED. Above the display are the auricle, a 5 megapixel front camera (without LED flash) and the proximity sensor.

 housing frame 

The housing frame contains a USB Type-C socket and two loudspeaker outputs on the underside. There is a 3.5mm audio output on the top. The control buttons on the side have a power button and a volume rocker (right) as well as a quick start button (left). The SIM card slot is on the left side of the frame. Two micro SIM cards can be inserted to use the dual SIM function. On the other hand, those who rely on memory expansion using a micro SD memory card will have to do without the second SIM slot because of the "hybrid slot"!

 back 

On the back, the UMi Super has a 13 megapixel main camera including a dual LED flash. There is a fingerprint scanner underneath. Because of the unibody design, the back cannot be removed, which is why the battery cannot be changed!

Display

The UMi Super uses a 5.5 inch LTPS panel from Sharp, which has a resolution of Full HD (1920x1080). The pixel density is 401 PPI, which means that individual pixels can no longer be seen with the naked eye. The contrast ratio is 1800:1 and the luminance is stated as 350 cd/m².

In everyday life, the UMi Super's display impresses with its rich color representation. The display is very warm, which is why the white tone shifts slightly into yellow. If you prefer a cold color display, you can change the display afterwards using "MiraVision". Within this setting point, the contrast and saturation, but also the sharpness or color temperature, can be individually adjusted.

The maximum display brightness is sufficient to be able to use the smartphone optimally even in stronger sunlight. Disturbing reflections are not noticeable. A good viewing angle stability is also given. The display remains easy to read even from a flat viewing angle. The touchscreen of the UMi Super supports a maximum of 5 finger multitouch. Entries are accurately recognized and implemented. A dirt-deviating coating of the 2.5D display glass largely prevents fingerprints and other dirt.

Hardware and performance

For the first time, UMi relies on a MediaTek processor of the latest generation. The Helio P10 SoC (MT6755) is an octa-core processor, the cores of which clock at 1.95GHz each. A Mali T860 is used as the GPU, which means that current Android games can also be played smoothly.

With a total of 4GB of RAM, the UMi Super is well equipped to guarantee a smooth user experience in everyday life. Apps can be opened in fractions of a second and multitasking is no hurdle for this smartphone. The internal memory is 32GB. The memory can be expanded by a maximum of 256GB using a micro SD memory card.

user interface

The UMi Super is delivered with Android 6.0. The user interface has only been modified minimally and is largely based on Stock Android. There are no annoying custom themes and no third-party apps are pre-installed apart from a flashlight app.

In the settings there is an additional menu item "Smart Assistant". The physical quick start button can be configured here, the virtual navigation bar can be activated, and there is also an energy-saving mode and a task manager. The UMi energy saving mode is an additional extension of the well-known Android 6.0 energy saving mode. Background apps can be deactivated via the task manager.

The notification LED can be configured in the menu item "Harlequin LED Notification". There are different options for displaying call notifications, or whether the LED should be activated while the battery is charging or when the battery is low. Unfortunately, apps cannot be individually set to the notification LED. The UMi Super "OTA" (Over The Air) receives updates.

Camera

Regarding the main camera, the UMi Super is equipped with a 13 megapixel image sensor from Panasonic. The f-number is f / 2.0, an autofocus is available and a dual LED flash is also located below the camera.

The recordings made with the main camera are largely convincing. The image noise that occurs especially in poor lighting conditions is very limited. The color representation is good so far. The colors don't look too strong, but not too pale either. What bothers me personally is a slight blurring that covers the entire picture. The autofocus focuses in an average of 1-2 seconds. The tripping time is also still average.

The front camera has a resolution of 5 megapixels. In good lighting conditions, the recordings are suitable for selfies or for a video conference. The gadgets within the MediaTek camera app are also interesting. From an automatic wrinkle removal, an additional soft focus to a beauty mode, everything is represented.

Fingerprint scanner

The UMi Super's fingerprint scanner works comparatively well. When the finger was placed directly on, there was hardly any error detection in the test phase. Lateral finger rests are also recognized well and incorrect identifications can be reduced very well by multiple scanning of the finger. The unlocking time is pleasantly short.

GPS and sensors

The GPS fix was found after a few seconds. The stability of the signal during an ongoing navigation is good. The additional e-compass makes navigation even more accurate. The additional sensors also do their job flawlessly. Overall, there is a brightness sensor, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a proximity sensor and a G-sensor.

Telephony, WLAN, Bluetooth

Telephony with the UMi Super is convincing. All 2G, 3G and 4G standards are supported, which is why LTE can also be used without restrictions in this country. Because of the "hybrid slot", either the dual SIM function or the memory expansion can be used. The voice quality is good. My interlocutor understood me clearly and I understood him very well and clearly. Telephony using the hands-free function also works well. The loudspeaker has a pleasant volume and does not sound tinny.

The UMi Super did not cause any problems in the WLAN either. The transmission range is decent and the signal quality also remains constant. The same applies to transmission via Bluetooth. Dual band WiFi (2.4GHz and 5GHz) is supported! 

Battery

The UMi Super relies on a 4.000mAh battery that promises a long runtime. A quick charging function "Pump Express Plus" is available, whereby the battery can be charged with a quick charger in the shortest possible time. It should be noted that the battery cannot be changed!

In everyday life, the UMi Super achieves a running time of around 1 ½ days with normal use. However, if you use the device excessively, you definitely have to charge the smartphone in the evening. A complete charging process takes about 100 minutes using the quick charge function. The measured charging capacity was far from the stated 4.000mAh. The USB multimeter showed me only 3.500mAh.