[Device Reviews and Information] IceTea7:
Hello,

here is my review of the new ZTE Blade S6 PLUS. The original review is written in German language (my native language) and you can find it here: Link removed. I will sometimes compare the Plus with the normal model that I have already tested some weeks ago Link removed

Order

I have received the ZTE Blade S6 Plus for this review.

Specs

Brand: ZTE

Model: Blade S6 Plus

Betriebssystem: Android 5.0.2 Lollipop

Networking: 2G: GSM (850/900/1800/1900MHz) / 3G: WCDMA (900/2100MHz) / 4G: FDD-LTE (B3/B7/B8/B20 (1800/2600/900/800MHz))

SIM-card: DualSIM with DualStandby (both are MicroSIM-cards)

Attention: Only SIM-Slot1 supports 3G and 4G LTE, SIM-Slot2 only supports 2G

CPU: Qualcomm MSM8939 Snapdragon 615, 64Bit, 1.5GHz

GPU: Adreno 405

ROM: 16GB

RAM: 2GB

External memory: MicroSD up to 32Gb

Display: 5,5“ IPS Display

Resolution: 1280 x 720 (HD 720p)

Camera (back): 13MP, F2.0 aperture

Camera (front): 5MP, F2.2 aperture

Battery: 3000mAh

Notification led: Yes, blue pulsating homebutton

Radio: Yes, with headphones

GPS: Yes

WIFI: Yes, 802.11b/g/n

Bluetooth: Yes

Size: 157,9 x 78,9 x 8,4 mm / 6,21 x 3,10 x 0,33 inches

Weight: 0,150 kg

Unboxing: What’s in the box?

It is one of the first cellphones that I have received factory sealed. So I was able to say that it was a brand new phone and no one else has ever used it.

After removing the sealing I could see the phone, a small foldable manual and an USB/data cable with a power adapter in two different boxes. The power adapter is suitable to EU wall-socket.

Casing & Build Quality

The build quality is very good. Nothing knars and there is a nice looking silver frame around the front of the phone. The whole body is, like the one of the normal Blade S6, made out of plastic but it doesn’t feel cheap. Some users of the normal S6 mentioned that they are able to push in the back of the phone with their fingers. This isn’t the case here. Maybe because the backcover is removable on this phone (on the normal version it isn’t).

If we stay at the back of the phone we will find the dual LED flash in the top left corner. Next to it the 13MP back camera and a microphone. The camera is framed by a silver circle just like the front of the phone. Approximately 2cm below you can find the ZTE logo imprinted in light-grey.

At low range you can a CE logo, the number „1588“ and a picture of a crossed out bin. The writing „Designed by ZTE in California Assembled in China“, that you can find on the normal Blade S6, is missing. Lately there is the loudspeaker with a small bump next to it so that the phone doesn’t lay flat on the backside and covers the loudspeaker.

On the right-hand side you can detect the volume control and the on-off switch down below.

The micro-USB connector is in the middle of the bottom and next to it in the right corner you can find a microphone. The USB-port is a bit special because you use it to remove the backcover of the phone.

The left-hand side of the phone is clean. There are no buttons or for example SimSlots like on the normal Blade S6.

The 3,5mm headphone jack and the IR-blaster are placed on top of the phone.

If we look at the front of the ZTE Blade S6 Plus we will be able to see the all-white borders and the black display. The position of the earpiece is at top in the middle. Left besides is a sensor bar and lately the front-camera. Below the screen is a blue circle. It’s the homebutton. If the phone is turned off or in standby the two buttons left and right next to the homebutton aren’t noticeable.

There is one more thing to mention. The phone has rounded edges.

As previously reported is the backcover, in contrast to the normal Blade S6, removable on the Plus version. If you remove the back of the phone you will find the 3000mAh battery, the two micro-SimcardSlots and the micro-SdSlot. Of course there are the dual LED and back-camera visible, too.

With its rounded edges and the thickness of 8,4mm the ZTE Blade S6 Plus feels very good in the hand. The plastic housing doesn’t feel cheap because everything is well build and it isn’t too lightweight.

The borders around the screen are big and according to this the dimensions of the phone are bigger than other 5,5“ screens, too.

Display / Touchscreen / Multitouch

The used 5,5” 1280x720 IPS HD-Display is great. I can’t see any pixels and the colors are natural. The viewing angle is stable and watching YouTube videos makes a lot of fun. You can adjust the brightness very high and this is why there should be no problem using this phone in sunlight. The automatic brightness adjustment also works well and reacts fast on changing ambient light conditions. So far there have been no ghost-touches or something like that. The touchscreen is very snappy and precise. Finally I have to say that it is a five point multitouch screen.

Processor & Storage

The ZTE Blade S6 Plus has the same processor like the normal version. It is the solid Snapdragon 615 octacore processor with an Adreno 405 GPU and 2GB RAM.

It’s a 64bit Prozessor and there are no lags noticeable. Not even if you switch fast between the different homescreens. Apps and games starts fast and works well. I could even play graphic intense games like Asphalt8 and RealRacing3 on highest settings without any problems. 2Gb RAM are enough space to run various apps at the same time. For example it is possible to hear music in the background and to surf on the internet at the same time.

The phone has 16Gb of internal storage. The storage is partitioned in System Rom, User Rom and Internal SD card. You can expand it with a micro SDcard with up to 64Gb. I have tested a 64Gb micro SD card from Sandisc and it worked like a charm.

2G / 3G / 4G

The ZTE Blade S6 Plus supports DualSim (two Micro-simcards) and 4G LTE. The reception is very good and without any abortions.

Attention: SimSlot2 only supports 2G! You can only use 3G and 4G LTE in SimSot1. But of course you can make calls or write sms with in both SimSlots.

Sensors

To see the supported/build in sensors please check the GoogleDrive link that I have provided at the end of my review.

Wlan

The Wlan reception/range is very good. It is even better than on my Meizu MX4.

Bluetooth

The Bluetooth range is very long, too. I have tested it with several phones and Bluetooth speaker.

Cameras

The front-camera has 5MP with a F2.2 aperture and a 80° wide-angle lens. The main camera on the back has 13MP with a F2.0 aperture and gets support by a dual LED flash.

The camera quality of both camera is decent in my eyes. The front-camera is good enough for selfies and apps like Skype and with the back-camera you can make snapshots and semi-professional pictures.

Please conceive an opinion by yourself by looking at the pictures at my GoogleDrive folder (link provided at the end of my review). All pictures were made with the preinstalled camera app without any changes in the settings.

Benchmark Tests

Please check the results in the GoogleDrive link that I have provided at the end of my review.

Firmware

The ZTE Blade S6 comes with Android 5.0.2 Lollipop out of the box. Everything works fast and reacts snapppy.

The preinstalled launcher is called „MiFavor 3.0“ and looks good. There is no app drawer, so you find all the installed apps on the homescreen just like on FlymeOS or MIUI. You have to sort your Apps with folders for a better user experience. If you don’t like it you can easily download a different launcher with the preinstalled Google PlayStore.

Sliding up on the homescreen or pressing the menu button (left or right next to the homebutton) opens a menu where you can change the background/wallpaper or the animation when you scroll through the different homescreens. In the settings is possible to change the function of the two buttons around the homebutton. You can select that the back button is on the right and that the menu button is on the left side of the homebutton or the other way around.

If you hold the homebutton for a while (not only touch it) GoogleSearch will open. The ZTE Blade S6 Plus has a multilingual firmware and supports a lot of languages just like German, English, Spanish, French… .

Unlike the normal ZTE Blade S6 the Plus version doesn’t support SmartGestures (I couldn’t find any settings) but on the other hand there is another launcher called „Family Mode“. With this launcher every icon is very big and so it is easier to handle for older people who are sick of the sight of small things.

Moreover ZTE has implemented a service with the name „ZTE AliveShare“. ZTE claims that it is 40 times faster than Bluetooth. With this App you can get connected to your friends, share e.g. pictures and play games against them. I wasn’t able to test it in depth because I’m the only one in my area with a ZTE smartphone.

There is no option to see the battery percentage preinstalled. You can easily fix this if you install the app „Battery Percent Enabler“ by kroegerama. After the installation you have to set a check mark and reboot the phone. Then you will see the battery percentage and you can delete the app without losing the notification.

Root

It is possible to root the ZTE Blade S6 Plus using the curren version of KingRoot (4.0.0.233).

You can download it here: http://203.205.136.145/mmgr.myapp.co...&f=d388&p=.apk

Copy the downloaded .apk file to your phone, install the app, start it and click on "Root".

Audio

The sound quality is good and phone calls are clear as well on both sides of the line. Just like on the normal Blade S6, the Plus version has the little bump next to the loudspeaker as well. It really helps to improve the sound and the loudness if you lay the phone on its back while listening to music or watching a movie.

Notification LED

The ZTE Blade S6 Plus has a notification led in the form of the blue pulsating homebutton. It looks very nice and I like it more than the normal LEDs of the most phones.

Battery

The 3000mAh battery is non removable. It will always be hard to say if the stated value is real or fake because you can’t for example scale the weight of a built-in battery. The battery lasts very long and a screen-on time of more than five hours was unproblematically possible. Please don‘t forget that this really depends on the user behavior and can differ very hard from user to user. Maybe if you play games for a long time you only get three hours of screen-on time.

GPS

Supported

Compass

Supported

IR-Blaster

The ZTE Blade S6 Plus has a built-in IR-blaster on top of the phone. It performs vey well. I have tried it with the free app „Remote for Samsung TV“ from the PlayStore. Even long distances approximately 6m away from my television were no problem.

Radio

There is a radio preinstalled but you have to use headphones to be able to use it. It doesn’t support DRS.

Conclusion

All in all is the ZTE Blade S6 Plus a good looking phone, with great specifications and an outstanding reception of GPS, Wlan and networking. Everything works out of the box and all GoogleApps are preinstalled so that you can directly download tons of apps and games. The phone comes with the newest Android version (5.0.2 Lollipop) and until now I couldn‘t find any bugs or lags. Everything starts fast and reacts snappy. At the moment there is no working method to root this device. So if you definitely need root for some apps I give you the advice to wait a bit of time before you order (there is still no root for the normal Blade S6, too). The display and battery are good and the reception of GPS, Wlan are very good. I really like the IR-blaster but I see it as a gadget and will still use my normal remote. One thing that I can’t understand and where I really see potential for improvement are the large bezels around the display because they make the phone very big in comparison to other 5,5“ and especially to the new borderless smartphones like the Nubia Z9. An improvement would make the operation with one hand a lot easier.

Pro:

- powerful processor

- very good reception of Wlan, Bluetooth and GPS

- Infrared blaster supported

- Android 5.0.2 Lollipop with GoogleApps preinstalled out of the box

Neutral:

- Cameras

- Notification LED with only one color (blue)

- price

Contra:

- only SIM-Slot1 supports 3G and 4G LTE

- less accessories in the box (no case or screen protector)

- huge bezels around the display

To see the pictures of the ZTE Blade S6 Plus please click on the following link:

https://drive.google.com/folderview...BaRW9yT0JaRHZDblh1RUhpc0dvay1Bd0k&usp=sharing

If you have any questions or want me to test something special then please leave a comment in this thread.

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