Elephone A4 Pro REVIEW: It looks AMAZING for its price!

The new smartphone Elephone A4 Pro offers many interesting features for attractive price of only $150, such as 90% of screen to body ratio, Android 8.1 operating system, fast charging, face unlock and fingerprint scanner. What is the catch? Let’s make review of new phone, and find out its pros and cons.

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Elephone A4 Pro: Specifications

• Display: 5.85″, IPS, 1512×720 pixels, 18:9
• Processor: MTK6763, 8 cores with a frequency of up to 2.0 GHz
• RAM: 4GB
• Internal memory: 64GB, SD card up to 256GB
• Camera: 16MP
• Front camera: 8MP
• Battery: 3000mAh, fast charging support
• Connectivity: 2G, 3G, 4G, Wi-Fi, GPS, BT 4.0
• Features: fingerprint scanner on side
• Operating system: Android 8.1 Oreo
• Dimensions / weight: 150.4 x 72.8 x 0.8 mm / 189 g

Elephone A4 Pro: Design

Although all smartphones, especially budget ones, have ver similar design, Elephone A4 Pro has some differences from its competitors. In front, it looks almost the same as other Android phones with the notch above the display, but there are features on the side and back panel.

For example, the power button here is round, and under it is a fingerprint scanner, which is unconventional.

The back panel is smooth, and it is covered by glass. The rounded frames are metal and have a chrome finish.

The volume rocker is placed a little higher than usual, but due to the compact body there is no inconvenience. The round power button has a different texture, so it’s tactile and it’s not confused with the neighboring ones.

Under the power button is fingerprint scanner. In theory, I really liked this decision, but in practice it is uncomfortable to use. This position leads to occasional touches, especially when you get the smartphone out of your pocket.

In general, the built quality, given the price, inspires confidence, but not everything is perfect. For example, the glass case slips and quickly collects fingerprints. If the glass back panel and the fingerprint scanner on side are not a problem for you, then the design is very good for budget smartphone.

Elephone A4 Pro: Display

Elephone A4 Pro has IPS panel with notch above the screen, just like iPhone X. The screen has a nice contrast and quite bright colors, allowing you to enjoy the picture.

On the other hand, the screen resolution here is non-standard – 1512 x 720 pixes with aspect ratio of 18:9. A stunning screen to body ratio – as much as 90%, which is much higher than many other bezel-less devices in 2018.

Another interesting feature is that all four edges of the screen are rounded. Although it probably loses about twenty pixels, the effect seems very attractive on its own. Someone prefers classical sharp edges, but for me the rounded edges did not create special problems, and even conversely – it is very comfortable.

There are no problems with maximum and minimum brightness: at night the screen is not dark enough, and in the sun – it is bright. Although you can still use your smartphone outdoors and in direct sunlight, in the dark your eyes get tired quickly.

Elephone A4 Pro: Performance

The results of synthetic tests have pleased. AnTuTu shows about  66870 points. Geekbench 4 in single-core test shows 1599 points, and in multi-core test – 5411 points.

I also installed some games to check the performance. The arcade game “Does Not Commute” on the high graphics settings is a little slowly, but with medium graphics settings it is very comfortable to play. More demanding games like PUBG or Asphalt 8 on this smartphone will be launched, but there will be lags.

This device is definitely not designed for heavy games. However, it is perfect for instant messengers, browsing websites, and even using multiple applications at the same time.

Elephone A4 Pro: Operating system

Although Elephone A4 Pro runs on latest Android version, I can not say that it works very well. The first thing that catches your eye is the notification icons that go beyond the notch above the screen. The manufacturer for some reason did not consider this, but on some other phones with notches Android OS runs pretty well.

As for good things, there are no superfluous apps, as usually happens on cheap Chinese devices. The launcher is very close to stock Android, except for a couple pre-instaled apps from  Elephone.

Another problem with the firmware is the lack of performance optimization. The system sometimes does not work fast enough and smoothly. The application is launched quickly, but the animation slows down. When switching between open applications, there is a temporary decrease in the frame rate.

The work of the fingerprint scanner is also not perfect. I have several times added the same finger in settings, but I still have problems with unlocking, which is why I often had to enter the PIN after a series of unsuccessful unlock attempts. When recognition is triggered, unlocking occurs very quickly. The problem is that it rarely works.

Also there is face unlock function, but it does not provide the necessary level of protection: it can unlock the phone from photo, and at night does not work at all.

I really hope that the manufacturer will release updates, which will fix the flaws of the firmware, especially those associated with the scaling and positioning of icons on the top of the screen.

Elephone A4 Pro: Camera

To be honest, I expected worse camera quality from this smartphone. It is really good, at least does not have any serious flaws. It’s nice that the manufacturer did not add the second fake camera sensor, as many Chinese companies do for marketing purposes.

In poor lighting, the details are lost a bit, and the image is slightly blurred due to the operation of the noise reduction algorithms. But the finished images have decent quality. In the daytime, the colors are correct, the image is clear. The lens has a wide enough angle, so you can capture more objects at close range.

If we talk about video, Elephone A4 Pro records in Full HD with electronic stabilization, which really works! Unfortunately, like many Chinese smartphones with this type of stabilization, the footage is distorted and unnaturally stretched. Another thing is that the image is more stable than on other devices without this function.

Elephone A4 Pro: Battery

I remember when 3000mAh battery in smartphones was very good result. However, today it is not much. On a single charge, the smartphone works for about 7 hours of active use.

Elephone A4 Pro: Sound

If you listen to music on headphones, it all depends on their quality. In general, we have no problems with listening to music, just need to be ready for the average sound quality. Sometimes distortion was heard at medium and high frequencies, but not often and only when listening to complex compositions in this plan. The positive aspect is the good quality of the headphone jack.

The main speaker has an average sound: both in loudness and in quality. I did not notice any unpleasant distortions.

Elephone A4 Pro: Price

Elephone A4 Pro is very interesting smartphone in the price category udner $150. Our hero has a number of advantages, among which is build quality, good camera and a lot of RAM.

Right now there is a flash sale on Gearbest, and you can buy  Elephone A4 Pro smartphone for only $139.99.

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