Hi-tech

06.02.2018 2:35

Elephone U Pro (S9) Review: CHINA GOES CRAZY! Compare with Galaxy S8+, OnePlus 5, HTC U11+

Every year, Chinese manufacturers produce more and more devices and consumer products. In general, little-known Chinese brands release their smartphones on budget or mid-price chipsets from Mediatek, because they are cheap and competitive. Only few devices can offer high-quality and productive processors from Qualcomm. The processors of the American chipmaker are not cheap.

However, recently it was released new smartphone Elephone U Pro (S9), which received processor Snapdragon 660. It is very good news, and it allows the Chinese company to loudly declare itself.

The smartphone provides powerful processor, large AMOLED-display, and a lot of memory. So, should you buy Elephone U Pro, or choose Galaxy S8/S8 Plus, OnePlus 5T, HTC U11+ or other flagships? The last argument for Elephone U Pro is the price. It starts from $400. Are you interested? Then read our first review Elephone U Pro.

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Elephone U Pro (S9): Design

The design of new smartphone is very attractive. There is a simple reason for that – it’s almost a copy of Galaxy S8 Plus. The front panel of Elephone U Pro almost doesn’t differ from the South Korean flagship. The back side has some differences, for example vertical camera and secondary sensor. Also the Chinese smartphone comes in interesting color options: black, red, blue and gray.

Elephone U Pro (S9): Display

The display of Elephone U Pro has a diagonal of 6 inches and 18:9 aspect ratio. The screen resolution of 2160×1080 pixels, AMOLED matrix, occupies up to 83% of the front panel area (it is true and quite impressive), has 2.5D glass and curved edges just like Galaxy S8 Plus. The screen is protecred Gorilla Glass 5.

We cannot say something bad about display: bright, colorful, contrast.

Elephone U Pro (S9): Performance and memory

The company made a bet on Snapdragon chipset. Why to use flagship processor from Mediatek, if you can take mid-range chipset from Qualcomm and get not only great performance, but also good reputation.

Today Qualcomm chipsets are almost the only ones in the world, for the quality of which you should not worry. MediaTek processors are good in ultra-budget segment. However in budget category ($140) and higher, there is no alternative to Qualcomm, especially since very soon the chipmaker will show new and more productive low-cost processors.

So, the performance of Elephone U Pro can not be experienced at all, since eight-core processor Snapdragon 660 (analog of flagship Snapdragon 820) in synthetic test AnTuTu shows more than 130000 points. The processor is built not only on customized Kryo 260 cores, but also offers a powerful graphics Adreno 512.

Elephone U Pro comes in two version: 4/64 GB and 6/128GB. The type of RAM is LPDDR4X, operating in two-channel mode at a frequency of up to 1866 MHz, and built-in memory is UFS 2.1. Also we should note about the fact that Elephone U Pro supports memory cards up to 1 TB.

Elephone U Pro (S9): Camera and Battery

There are no real sample photos from Elephone U Pro, but the company’s website has 4 photos taken on this smartphone. However, they are fake, because they are not only made for professional equipment, but also edited in special programs.

Elephone U Pro has good hardware and display, so the camera should be good. It is known that new phone has dual 13MP rear camera, which consists of one RGB and one monochrome sensor. The company says that one sensor stores information about RGB-colors, the second mono-matrix keeps information about the brightness and detail of the image. The hardware algorithm combine images making the photos sharper, color, detail with low noise. Also, rear camera supports phase autofocus and portrait mode with a background blur.

Elephone says that photos from the smartphone are so good that they almost do not differ from professional, made on SLR cameras. A very loud statement, but it is unlikely that Elephone has created software for the camera better than Apple or Samsung.

The front camera received 8MP sensor with HD video recording.

As for the battery, Elephone U Pro comes with 3350 mAh battery, and there is support for quick charging Quick Charge 3.0 via USB Type-C 2.0 port.

Elephone U Pro (S9): Additional technologies

Among main features of Elephone U Pro us NFC and support wireless payment. Also it is announced support for wireless charging, chip for processing sound Smart PA, Android 8.0 Oreo operating system and face recognation. Speaking of the latest, it projects 128 points onto the face of user, thereby creating a face map (iPhone X has such 30000 points) and unlocking the device in just 0.08 seconds. Maybe this technology is really fast, but it’s hardly accurate and reliable. However, there is a fingerprint reader on the back.

Elephone U Pro (S9) specifications

• Color: red, gray, black, blue;
• Materials: metal and tempered glass on both sides;
• Screen: 5.99 inches, AMOLED-matrix, 2160×1080 pixels, density 403 ppi, format 18: 9, occupies 83.2% of the front panel, contrast ratio 1: 1000000, coverage of 103% of NTSC colors, Gorilla Glass 5;
• Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 660, eight-core Kryo 260, frequency up to 2.2 GHz, 14-nm process technology, 64-bit;
• Video core: Adreno 512 with a frequency of 650 MHz;
• Operational: 4 or 6 GB LPDDR4X, 2×1866 MHz;
• Storage: 64 or 128 GB UFS 2.1, memory cards up to 1 TB;
• Camera: two 13-megapixel sensors, dual flash, no optical stabilization, phase autofocus, portrait mode, 4K video recording;
• Self-camera: 8 MP, aperture f / 2.0;
• Fingerprint scanner (rear) and face scanner;
• Wi-Fi 802.11a / b / g / n / ac and Bluetooth 5.0 LE, USB Type-C 2.0, GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, NFC;
• Smart PA sound amplifier;
• SIM: Dual SIM dual stand by – one radio module;
• Networks: LTE Cat 12, max. transmission speed up to 600 Mbps;
• Battery: 3550 mAh + fast charging QC 3.0;
• Android 8.0;
• Dimensions: 154 x 72.5 x 8.4 mm;
• Weight: 166 grams;
• Antutu test: 130000+ points;
• Price: from $350

Elephone U Pro (S9) advantages and disadvantages

• + Modern and beautiful design;
• + Body materials;
• + High-quality display;
• + Powerful and up-to-date processor from Qualcomm;
• + Lots of memory;
• + Large battery and fast charging;
• + Compact dimensions;
• + New OS.

Elephone U Pro is really cool and powerful smartphone. It is a real flagship that can make competition to other flagship devices on the market. It comes AMOLED-display, there is a lot of memory, powerful hardware.

Elephone U Pro (S9) competitors

We choose the smartphone which can compete to Elephone U Pro.

Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus: 6.2-inch smartphone with 2K AMOLED-display, glass body and 18.5:9 aspect ratio. Galaxy S8+ offers top-end processor Snapdragon 835, 6/128 GB of memory, 3500mAh battery, fingerprint reader and iris scanner, moisture protection according to IP68 and much more.

It would seem that South Korean device looks similar to Elephone U Pro, but in fact this is far from the case. Galaxy S8+ is one of the best camera phones according to the source DXOMARK. A single camera of 12-megapixel device with a luminous power of the lens will give a light and more than once dual rear 13 MP camera of Elephone U Pro. However, Galaxy S8 Plus is twice as expensive, than Elephone u Pro.

OnePlus 5T is another the flagship of the famous Chinese manufacturer, which is now almost a hit with an excellent price/performance ratio. It offers: 6-inch screen with 18:9 aspect ratio and AMOLED display, full metal body, Snapdragon 835 processor with 8/128 GB of memory, dual 16 + 20 MP camera, a 3300 mAh battery and fingerprint reader. The price of OnePlus 5T starts from $520.

HTC U11 Plus is the best smartphone in the manufacturer’s portfolio. The device has all flagship features: Snapdragon 835 processor with 6/128 GB of memory, 6-inch 2K Super Clear LCD 5 panel with 18:9 aspect ratio, a glass body, one of the best cameras in the world with 12 megapixel resolution and aperture f/1.7 and a huge battery of 4000 mAh. Also there is a moisture protection according to IP68 standard.

Elephone U Pro (S9): Release date, price, conclusions

Smartphone is already on sale. You can buy Elephone U or Elephone U Pro. The first smartphone is powered by MediaTek processor, while the second one has Snapdragon chipset. The price starts from $350. You can find more details clicking the button below.

Also you can visit our page with coupons to buy Elephone U at the best price.