Bluboo S3 Review

Bluboo S3 Review

Bluboo advertised the S3 with a promise of an immediate update from Android 7.0 Nougat to android 8.1 Oreo straight out of the box. It turns out that update is not so immediate which surprisingly does not surprise me. In the words of Nate Diaz, I'm not surprised. I'm not sure on this but I believe from Android 5.0 Lolipop and above you need the manufacturer to support an update to a higher version of Android you cannot simply do it yourself by rooting as you could with previous versions of Android. Ask yourself why not simply release the Bluboo S3 with Android 8.1 straight out of the box? Why depend on an update? Getting an operating system to work with the hardware is quite technical and Bluboo probably has run into more technical difficulties than they anticipated.

I'm optimistic and think the update is likely in the works. In one of my less likely scenarios by the time Bluboo put out the Android 8.1 update 8.1 Oreo will be outdated and of course, the worse scenario Bluboo risk putting themselves out of business by not putting 8.1 out at all.

Android 7.0 Nougat is integrated well and even with the low budget CPU, the operating system itself runs smoothly.




 Memory

Around 10 GB of the internal memory is used on apps and the 7.0 operating system, I suspect in the likely scenario we get an update to Oreo it will be more demanding on space. Of the 64GB internal memory, you have around 54GB with the option of increasing memory. Option one is the incorporating of an SD/ TF card not exceeding 256GB. I like this option the only vice I have as often with other Chinese Android is that one of the nano sim slots is also used as an SD card slot, meaning it’s dual sim or single sim and an SD card. These type of sim card slots are called Hybrid sim slots when I first heard that term I thought it would be a combination of the best of more than one element to make something cool like Linkin Park’s Hybrid theory instead it was something that was not as cool as ever like in underworld when a vampire and Lycan were combined. The Bluboo S3 is OTG compatible so it can take advantage of flash drives. 3G and 4G work fine but this feature may be a gamble depending on where you live.



Accessories And Android 8.1
 In the Box



 Out of the Box

 USB Cable

Charger

Phone Cover

Film Protector

Type C to 3.5mm Headphone Adapter

Type-C OTG Adapter

3 In Charge Cable

Warranty Card

Quick Guide


The type C to 3.5mm headphone adapter is not a bonus it is a necessity because the Bluboo S3 has no 3.5 mm audio port. I know that most of us would use 3.5mm ports and adapters for headphones but you can also attach speakers which I like.

Android 8.1 is the first Android version to display the battery level of Bluetooth devices connected to the phone. OTG devices are some of the best to connect to an android phone one of my personal favorites are android controllers. Just because controllers that plugin via the USB port is usable it does not mean the Bluboo S3 is particularly good for gaming. BLUBOO also gives you the option of using the S3’s as a power bank with Type-C OTG Adapter.

 

Bluboo S3 MTK6750T Price
When a phone a has all the features that the S3 does we will talk about further into this review cost have to be cut somewhere and the price of the price is the CPU. Snapdragon stands on top for CPU performance and price but Taiwanese company Media Tek also produces some high performing CPU at a lower price, the MTK6750T with a clock speed of 1.5 GHz just isn’t one of them.

Don't get me wrong when you are just using a phone for what its name suggests and phoning people who cares how advanced your CPU's specs are but no one uses their phones for just calls. The regular social media apps we all know will occupy the vast majority of phone users time such as Facebook and Instagram are quite reasonable in speed, you would not notice the difference between that and running them with the MTK6750T CPU or a Samsung Snapdragon. More demanding apps like high graphics games are slow unless you reduce the graphics that's why I said Bluboo S3 is not particularly good for gaming. One other cost of gaming or running videos is doing so causes the Bluboo S3 to heat up specifically the battery which may not be down to the CPU but instead the metal frame. I would suggest using water to cool the S3's engine but the phone is not waterproof or other kinds of proof I'm afraid.







Design

One of the biggest appeals of the Bluboo S3 if not the biggest is the big battery, 8500Mah to be precise. How far can an 8500 mah battery go on a 6 inch Full HD screen? the answer is a couple of days under the condition you do not use it, and depending on use 8 to 15 hours. 0 to 100% percent in 2.5 hours was the charging time Bluboo advertised the S3 as having. In fact, the S3 charges from 0 to max in just under 3 hours I don’t know in maybe like 2 hours 55 minutes 12 seconds and a few fingers taps put who’s impatiently counting or waiting. Oh life it’s always the things we are waiting for that rush us and make us feel impatient.

 One of the disadvantages of such a large battery is weight this is one of the heaviest androids I would usually expect this kind of weight from a rugged phone. The design is very sturdy and robust. Given the screen size, thick build and weight of the Bluboo S3 it can definitely be quite uncomfortable for users. Advertised as anti-slip because of the supposed skid-proof textures on the back of phone however it is still slippery. I still like the design even though it only equates to attempted skid-proof and when wet like most Androids anti-grip. Maybe this as too ambitious and Bluboo should have worked their way up by using terms like skid resistant when dry. Calling this phone skid proof is like calling the Titanic sink proof both clearly don’t do well with water.

Speakers are loud and have good base of course as I said earlier if you want to pump up the volume at home you do have other options like 3.5mm speakers or even Bluetooth speakers or even portable Bluetooth speakers you can even use the check the battery of the speakers because of the Android 8.1 operating sys, oh wait.



Screen


Firstly, I want to say thank goodness the screen is protected by Gorilla glass because if you were banking on the anti-skid back cover to prevent you from dropping the S3 you were just one hand wash away from hurt. It’s very responsive not the best but good true to the advertised five-point capacitive display it can, in fact, be responsive to five points at once.

Viewing angles are nice and the screen images produced are wonderful, the screen is accurate enough to display beauty in high resolution, unfortunately, the processor is not powerful enough to smoothly run high images resolution games without having to reduce the resolution.



One thing you will not have to do is reduce the resolution of is the images it can’t get much lower, in bad lighting anyway. Cameras good in good lighting. Dual Rear Cameras own, the night sounds like a slogan to promote a phone for Batman. Unfortunately, if Batman’s night vision was as clear as the S3 he’d be as blind as a bat. Autofocus is slow and even trying different apps the video quality is still slacking. Two lenses are not better than one how about Instead of putting all this effort into a dual camera design more effort is put into one camera that works really well. On the positive camera quality may improve with an update from Bluboo but don’t hold out, I said positive, not likely.



 NFC GPS



NFC is a rare feature in Chinese Androids under $200 so the fact the S3 has it is a very big plus is in fact very functional. NFC Is very convenient you can connect your phone to android pay and use the S3 to make purchases at supporting venues. GPS is very accurate, the fingerprint scanner is accurate but slow and face unlocking works as well.

This is dependant on your location however both 3G and 4G have worked fine and combined with dual sim is always a welcome feature if your willing to give up on the SD card. My favorite benefit of 4G is tethering the ability to share the Wifi with another device specifically my laptop. I went through a problem with my internet connection at one point and had to use computer shops for certain tasks, being able to use the S3’s 3G and 4G connection to use the internet would have been a blessing through those times. If you are in the UK and want to take advantage of 4G Giff Gaff is the best.



Gyroscope is often a missed feature on Android under $180 it allows you to use the Bluboo S3 for virtual reality or for turning a character on a high-resolution game by turning the S3 admittedly with reduced resolution.





How The S3 Should Have Been Advertised

I’ve made a joke or two at the Bluboo S3’s expense, however, in all honesty, you won’t find much that offers more value for money than the Bluboo S3. The camera quality is a big deal because of advertising when you advertise a phone as having dual rear cameras one of which is 21MP and made by Samsung we expect a lot.

To put so much in one phone for the price is very ambitious and a lot of the features were near if not completely as described. If I were to design the banners they’d go something like this.

Display remarkable at displaying still images.

Skid-proof depending on your grip and hand moisture levels.

 Android 8.1 after it’s been out of the box, for a while maybe

Near Field Communication

Face Unlock Works Well despite camera complaints

Fingerprint Scanner accurate at a moderate pace

All The accessories are useful

Gyroscope

 Use An SD Card Or Give Everyone your actual number

Large battery With a relatively quick charging time

 If you're still interested In The Bluboo S3 Price Click Here

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To Give yourself a idea of ow much value the S3 offers we've compared it to another Chinese Android phone that utilizes the MTK6750T CPU like the Bluboo S3

Bluboo S3 And Other MTK6750T Phone Comparison