[Device Reviews and Information] Alberto96:
Review (part 1)

Introduction

This is the BLUBOO S1.

Hardware

Together with all Xiaomi Mi MIX clones released in the last few months, this BLUBOO S1 might not get the level of attention compared to already released models, but in reality this differs from others and might be considered as a new idea of the Mi Mix clone. It is powered by a Mediatek Helio P25 (seems to be real this time), with 6GB of RAM and 64GB of ROM.

Unboxing

Even though the package looks enormous for the device, it doesn't include lots of accessories as you might expect: 1x Type-C USB Cable, 1x 3.5mm to Type-C Adapter, 1x 5V/2A USB Charger, 1x Quick Start Guide, 1x Warranty Card, 1x Bluboo Customer Paper, 1x Glass Screen Protector. 1x TPU Case, 1x SIM Card Tray Remover and the Smartphone (of course). There is no screen protector pre-applied.

Based on the Xiaomi Mi Mix design, also this one comes with a thin bezels design but when it comes to build quality everything changes. The chassis is completely made of plastic thus you can notice some crackling sound if you try to squeeze the device slightly but still it doesn't feel that bad considering the materials. Also, the whole device has been covered with an oleophobic coating so it is almost impossible to leave fingerprint marks on it, pretty impressive.

It is 14.40x7.56x0.86mm, as compact as other 5.5" inches devices following the same design so compact and ergonomically perfect, with a weight of 170g.

On the front side there is the usual 2.5D glass covering the FHD IPS panel. It is easy to notice how thin bezels but, due to the white color, there is an annoying black frame that interferes with the great design. The upper front side features a real earpiece (unlike the Mi Mix) and the sensors hole that includes both light and proximity sensors.

As regards the lower front side, there is the Fingerprint Scanner built-in into the Home Button, it can't be pressed physically though, and the front-facing camera on the right corner. There is some wasted space where they could have added some touch buttons.

On the back side there is a glossy back cover that seems to be made of Plastic.

The upper rear side of the device features the Dual Camera Sensor supported by the Flashlight (i am not able to recognize the amount of LEDs) and nothing else. Except from the BLUBOO logo in the center, there isn't anything at all since the speaker is located on the bottom.

Device

Screen

Not being a fan of AMOLED screen, the presence of an IPS panel on this device made me consider it pretty unique compared to other clones. The panel itself is not the best i have ever seen unfortunately, with a noticeable lack of contrast, but with a good white balance and brightness.

Its light sensor doesn't support smooth light changes so do not except an efficient auto-brightness mechanism, and its maximum brightness is enough for decent outdoor usage.

Viewing Angles are as good as you might expect from an IPS panel, nothing to complain about.

Camera

Just like on the BLUBOO S8, also this S1 features the same sensors, a Sony IMX135 (13MP) as a rear camera sensor and a Sony IMX190 (8MP?) as a front camera sensor. Do they work the same on this device? Well...no. It seems that the S1 features a wider-angle lens plus color accuracy is better. I think the new ISP included on the Helio P25 helps a bit for the latter.

Generically speaking, most photos do not look that bad, with a decent amount of details and not too much noise, but sometimes in case of high-light conditions such as outdoors, the software doesn't handle the exposure properly, as you can notice in one of the photos attached below. Shooting with HDR mode on solves the issue, but also requires lots of time to take a shot.

Macros look decent with no focus issues, and due to the exposure issue mentioned before, photos taken using the flashlight look darker than usual. Pretty funny, with flashlight you get darker photos, without you get brighter photos...lol.

As regards Video Recording, videos are recorded at 1080p resolution but there is a serious stuttering issue that causes frame-rate to drop constantly without any reason.

The Front-Camera is placed on the lower front side of the device, so you need to shoot photos with the device upside-down for selfies and so on. Color Accuracy is OK, but there is a pretty high level of noise.

Audio

Considering the limited amount of space available inside the device, it is normal to see that the Speaker is not super-powerful when it comes to volume but it is still loud enough, much better compared to the S8, and there is a little amount of low-frequencies.

No issues found with the Microphone, nothing to report about.

GPS

GPS Quality is not good at all unfortunately, with unstable and not accurate signal outdoors, and inexistent signal indoors.

Indoors on the left, outdoors on the right.

Telephony, Mobile Network & WiFi

Providing full european bands support (with 4G Band 20), the device was able to keep a stable connection to my 4G Network, with excellent signal reception and able to reach the same speed i reach on my daily Redmi Note 4. High quality 4G antennas have been used.

The same applies for the WiFi. With 5GHz networks support, connected at 135Mbps, the device is able to use my VDSL internet bandwidth completely, matching my laptop's WiFi speed. Well Done BLUBOO.

Battery Life

Just like what happened on the S8, also on the S1 the battery capacity doesn't match the declared value, but here the lack of capacity is even higher. (3500mAh declared, real ~2980mAh)

As expected, due to the lack of battery capacity, also battery life is pretty low, reaching only 7h 12m with the PCMark Battery Life test.

I don't know why BLUBOO hides this feature, but i have discovered that even though they include a standard 5V/2A charger, the device is compatible with Mediatek Pump Express up to 9V, so you can quick charge the device. Here you can see the proof, using my LeEco's charger.

Software

Thankfully BLUBOO choose to use a clean Android OS for this device, with no custom UIs or anything weird. It runs on the usual Mediatek AOSP based on Android 7.0 Nougat with August 2017 security patches. Unfortunately, just like what happened on the S8, also on the S1 there is an huge amount of bloarware pre-installed.

Even with that amount of bloatware, the device runs pretty smooth and doesn't stutter even while running intensive tasks.

Just like most Mediatek devices, also this one features the usual set of features such as Gestures, Double tap-to-wake and MiraVision.

Both Gyroscope and Compass/Magnetometer sensors are here.

As expected, when lots of bloatware is pre-installed, malwares are detected. Scan run using Malware-Bytes Anti-Malware.

Its fingerprint scanner is accurate and pretty fast to unlock the device, it isn't lightning fast but still it is one of the best available.

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