UMi Z - The new UMi flagship
UMi Z teaser on the official UMi Mobile YouTube channel
Unibody design
Like the most recently released UMi top models, the UMi Z also uses a metal unibody design. The manufacturer promises “Dual 3D” housing edges, which make the smartphone appear even sleeker, as well as thin display edges. We already know from past models that Chinese smartphone manufacturers like to lie with the term “bezeless”. The workmanship quality, which is highly praised by UMi itself, should also be viewed rather critically. The UMi devices we recently tested promised a lot, but were less convincing in terms of workmanship. We will only find out when the first test reports appear whether UMi has learned from its mistakes and whether the UMi Z will be better made.
MediaTek Helio X27
The UMi Z will be the first smartphone to launch alongside the MediaTek Helio X27 released in early December. This SoC is not based on a new processor architecture, but joins the already released “Helio X20” and “Helio X25” processors. Equipped with a total of 10 processor cores, which are divided into 2 Cortex-A72 cores (2.6GHz), 4 Cortex-A53 cores (2.0GHz) and 4 Cortex-A53 cores (1.6GHz), the Helio X27 offers a powerful overall package. The SoC's GPU is an ARM Mali-T880MP4, which clocks at a maximum of 875MHz. The processor is supported by 4GB of RAM. A 32GB flash memory is available for personal files and apps. Additional storage expansion using a MicroSD memory card is supported up to 256GB. However, you should note that the UMi Z only comes with a so-called "hybrid slot", where you have to decide between expanding the memory and a second SIM!
The hardware equipment leaves a good impression on the data sheet. In practice, too, a powerful smartphone can be expected with the UMi Z, which is suitable for smooth and multitasking everyday use.
High-resolution main and front camera
Both the main and front cameras use a 13 megapixel Samsung S5K3L8 image sensor. The same image sensor was already used in the UMi Plus, as well as in some models of the Xiaomi Redmi 3 and Note 4 series. Samsung ISOCELL technology ensures extensive color fidelity even in poor lighting conditions. The Helio X27 SoC's MediaTek Imagiq ISP enables high-resolution video recordings of up to 4K. In addition, the main camera is supported by PDAF (Phase Detection Autofocus) and laser focus. A quad-LED flash located next to the main camera ensures the best possible illumination. What particularly stands out is the front camera, which should be able to take excellent selfies with the help of the additional “softlight LED”.
UMi Z - Dual Camera Teaser
Battery, Fast-Charge and Other
UMi specifies the battery capacity of the UMi Z as 3.780mAh. This value should "still" be viewed with caution, as UMi often stated a higher value for the battery capacity, which was never comprehensible in the test report. With PE+ Quick Charge technology, the battery should be fully charged after just 100 minutes and can last for two days with average use. The charging socket is a USB Type-C port.
Below the display is a microarray 3D fingerprint scanner with which the smartphone can be unlocked in a very short time. A 3.5mm headphone jack is available. WiFi (802.11a / b / g / n) and Bluetooth 4.1 are available for wireless transmission. The usual network standards in this country from 2G to 3G to 4G are supported. GPS and an e-compass are also available, as well as a range of sensors, which are an acceleration sensor, a brightness sensor, a G-sensor, a gyroscope, a Hall sensor and a proximity sensor. When the UMi Z is delivered, Android 6 will be installed on the smartphone. UMi also promises an update to Android 7, which will be distributed OTA (Over The Air). UMi has not yet announced when the update will appear.
