Surprisingly good budget phone - Blu Life One X2

[TurtleCrusher]

Does anyone else have experience with BLU phones? I started buying them when my Note Edge (Note 4) eMMC failed out of warranty. I can only buy unlocked phones and prefer dual-sim phones due to traveling abroad for work often. I initially bought the Life One X (2015) but the touchscreen on it kind of sucks (doesn't like long trails, essential for swipe typing) so I got the Blu R1 HD (16GB, 2GB model). While the quad core was sufficient for most tasks, CPU/GPU demanding applications were sluggish at times. I also tried using a Samsung Galaxy on5 that I got for free from MetroPCS for switching, canned it due to only 8GB phone space. Amazon currently has $10 off many warehouse deals (check slick deals for info) and the Life One X2 (2GB/16GB) was $93 for "very good condition." I picked one up and got it in the mail yesterday for $83. "Very Good Condition" apparently means brand new with scratched up packaging. The box was still sealed and all the contents were brand new with the plastic film. Comes with a Quick Charge 3.0 brick, too!

Specs are as follows:
CPU: Snapdragon 435 Octa-core (A53, 1.4ghz/1.1ghz BIG.little design, 28nm)
GPU: Adreno 505 @ 450mhz
Ram: 2GB (4GB optional)
Storage: 16GB (64GB optional), Microsd up to 64GB.
Screen: 5.2" 1080x1920 IPS, Corning GG 3
Sim: Dual Micro-Sim
Bands:

GSM:850 900 1800 1900
3G: UMTS 850 1700 1800 900
4G LTE: Bands 2,4,7,12,17​

Cameras: Back 16MP w/ flash, Front 8MP w/ flash
Fingerprint scanner: Front, also acts as home and wake button (great if you're coming from an iPhone)
Battery: 3000mah, Quickcharge 3.0 capable
Misc: Wifi N (2.4Ghz only), FM radio, no NFC, Hotspot capable, MicroUSB, 3.5mm headphone jack.
Any specs I missed? Let me know.

Photos (One X2 photos taken with iPhone 6, other photos taken with One X2)

Photos taken with rear camera

Front Camera (dont have any good shots without personal pics yet)

Thoughts: Seems faster than my Note Edge is most tasks (Quad core A7 2.7Ghz, could have been the qHD screen slowing things down), screen seems really nice, gaming is smooth which I didn't expect with a 1080 panel, rear camera is much better than any other budget phone that I've used, but not as good as Note Edge/iPhone 6. Front camera is good, and includes flash. Fingerprint scanner is MUCH faster than my iPhone 6 and seemingly as precise. Pebble and Bluetooth headphones work faster and seamless than most of my phones. Less apps move over to SD card compared to Life One X (android 5) Quickcharge 3.0 is noticeably faster than 2.0 with my Note Edge, which has an identical size battery. MetroPCS APN settings were automatic, no programming needed.

The most glaring improvement over the Life One X is the charging ability. One X only charges at 1 amp maximum, but it likely is much lower than that. Often times I'd plug it in and the % would decrease even with the phone screen off if the cable wasn't of high quality. Plugging it into a 5V 2.4A max port made no difference. When you charge it with the phone screen on it only stays at the same percentage or it lowers. I had it die on me once from using it at 15% plugged in and it shut off during a game. The One X2? It still charges relatively quick when I'm playing a game. Fingerprint scanner is a huge difference as well. Call quality is significantly better on the audio receiving end, and the front camera is much better for video calls.

Any questions? Benchmarks I should run?

 

[bob4432]

Appreciate the review

 

[IamDavid]

I used a BLU windows phone for about 6 months. Liked it allot until I dropped it and it shattered. You can buy 10 for the price of an IPhone so I don't understand why not more are sold.

 

[sweenish]

I mean, one, it's not an iPhone, if that's the comparison we're making.

Two, until very recently, Blu phones phoned home. To China. Because that's where these phones originate.

Three, these are security nightmares. The software they ship with is the software you get, forever.

For around the same money, a Moto G can be had, present or past generation, and they are better phones.

 

[luv2liv]

i had the BLU vivo air lte. beautiful phone. ridiculously thin, 2nd thinnest in the world. people were often shocked when i told them it costs only $150.
i agree BLU phones are great for the price. not a lot of people are buying them probably because lack of advertising.

 

[TurtleCrusher]

If anyone wants me to run a specific bench to compare the 2gb/16gb version to the 4gb/64gb version, let me know. I have a friend wanting the 2gb one so I bought the other for myself.

 

[Platypus]

All the ones I've hacked have been a security nightmare

 

[AMDisTheBEST]

Not as good as the leeco phones.....

 

[TurtleCrusher]

Not as good as the leeco phones.....

Because omitting the 3.5mm jack on phones is a good idea. You only need 3.8mm of clearance to implement a fully wrapped headphone port and their phones are almost 8mm. That alone is a good reason to avoid their products. They are bandwagoning on a trend that only limits what you can do with the device.

 

[AMDisTheBEST]

Because omitting the 3.5mm jack on phones is a good idea. You only need 3.8mm of clearance to implement a fully wrapped headphone port and their phones are almost 8mm. That alone is a good reason to avoid their products. They are bandwagoning on a trend that only limits what you can do with the device.

What are you talking about? Leeco phone has head phone jack. Also, you get a 3 gig ram, 32 gig storage, and a beefy snapdragon 820 for $200 bucks.

 

[TurtleCrusher]

What are you talking about? Leeco phone has head phone jack. Also, you get a 3 gig ram, 32 gig storage, and a beefy snapdragon 820 for $200 bucks.

Link? Their site only shows two phones, neither of them match that description. Neither have headphone jacks either.

 

[AMDisTheBEST]

Link? Their site only shows two phones, neither of them match that description. Neither have headphone jacks either.

http://m.gsmarena.com/leeco_le_max_2-8051.php
See? SD 820 and 3.5 mm adaptor

 

[TurtleCrusher]

http://m.gsmarena.com/leeco_le_max_2-8051.php
See? SD 820 and 3.5 mm adaptor

That's a $300 phone with no 3.5mm jack. Just a usb-c to 3.5mm dongle that you have to carry around, and cannot do inline mic volume changing or mute/pick up function. And it's a huge 5.7" phone. Coming from someone who is 6'4 and had a Note Edge, that's an always two handed phone.

 

[AMDisTheBEST]

That's a $300 phone with no 3.5mm jack. Just a usb-c to 3.5mm dongle that you have to carry around, and cannot do inline mic volume changing or mute/pick up function. And it's a huge 5.7" phone. Coming from someone who is 6'4 and had a Note Edge, that's an always two handed phone.

http://m.gearbest.com/cell-phones/pp_616001.html

http://m.ebay.com/itm/LeEco-LeTV-Le...8-/302237821560?nav=SEARCH&varId=601079500020

Entry level le Max 2 is just $200 and comes with SD 820, 4 gig ram, and 64 gig storage. Go get USB type c head phone if you worry about compatibility so much. I personally have only used Bluetooth head phone, wired head phone is very unconformable in my opinion.

That adaptors solves your compatibility issue and you can always buy a type c headset that produces superior sound quality so what's the downside?

It's 5.7 incher, not 6.4+, latter isn't 0.7 inches larger. You can hardly draw comparison between your Samsung and le Max 2. Every one inch increased diagonal is a Squared inch increase in area size. The area doesn't increased linearly.

Further, I used to own a Blu life one x before buying a redmi note 3. Moving from a cortex a53 to a cortex a72 means a snappier browsing speed and gaming capability. Browser taps literally loads faster on same wifi network. Sd 820 core is even faster than a72. Not to mention adreno 530 is more than 400% more powerful than the adreno 430 in Blu life x2

Getting le Max 2 over BLX2 for just 40 bucks more is no brainier. It outspecs it in every way.