BackReview: Coolpad Max is a good start, but still needs refinement
Coolpad's new smartphone gets a lot of things right but can it take on established rivals?
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After the Coolpad Note 3 and Note 3 Lite, Chinese phone maker Coolpad is now eyeing the mid-range price band. its new smartphone Coolpad Max ( ₹ 24,999) marks a major leap not just in terms of price but features too. But will it be able to take on the more established rivals such as the OnePlus 2 ₹ 22,999) or the Moto X Style ( ₹ 26,999).
Design: Solidly built with a sleek form factor
The Max’s unique selling point is its classy design. Though the back is flat, it feels good in hand, mainly due to its matte metallic finish. The unique rose wood shade adds to its overall look. At first, it looks similar to the rose gold colour finish in Apple iPhone 6s and 6s Plus.
At 170g, the phone weighs as much as most other 5.5-inch smartphones. What impresses more is its sleek profile (7.6mm) which is less than many other phones in its price point. The other notable aspects in the phone’s design include the dual speaker at the base, the slightly protruded camera which makes it vulnerable to scratches and an accurate circular fingerprint sensor.
Between the Max, the OnePlus 2 and the Moto X Style, what you get are three very different designs. Coolpad, it must be said, has taken great inspiration from the iPhone 6s Plus’s design (which isn’t necessarily a bad thing), while the OnePlus 2 has the unique sandstone finish on the back panel and the Moto X Style has a curvy design that makes it feel a tad smaller than it actually is.
Display: Colourful and scratch-resistant
The display is 5.5 inches big and has a healthy screen resolution of 1920x1080p. At this price, we have seen phones offer higher resolutions. For example, the Moto X Style packs in a 2560x1440p resolution on a 5.7-inch display. Photos and videos on the Coolpad Max look rich and colourful, while the text looks crisp. Visibility from odd angles is good but the display struggles outdoors due to the reflective nature of the screen. Coolpad has used Corning’s latest scratch-resistant Gorilla Glass 4 which is impressive, considering that many of the mid-range phones still have the older and less robust Gorilla Glass 3. Surprisingly, for a phone with a custom interface, it doesn’t allow colour customisation of any sort.
Software: Old Android with a heavy UI
The Coolpad Max runs the Lollipop (5.1) version of Android with a typical Chinese smartphone interface. There is no app drawer which means all the apps are placed on the home screen itself. However, you can club apps under different folders so you can find them easily. The key highlight of this interface is the many customisations it offers. There are plenty of themes too, but they look ordinary in comparison to the themes on the MIUI or the Vibe UI. The fact that it runs an old Android is a limitation, but you won’t miss out on some of the key features of new Android. For example, app permissions, a feature of Android 6.0, is available on the Coolpad Max too. Though the interface looks cluttered, there are not many pre-loaded apps. Some of the notable apps include the cool wallpaper app, which changes the wallpaper every time you shake the phone, and the unique dual Spaces mode, which allows users to create two separate user profiles on the device and separate office apps and files from personal apps.
Performance: Can handle most tasks and games
To power up the device, Coolpad has used Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 617 octa-core processor and paired it with 4GB RAM. While some may lament at the fact that it runs the same processor that also runs the much more affordable Moto G4 Plus ( ₹ 13,499), what we liked is that the Coolpad Max was able to handle most tasks and games such as Asphalt 8 without any niggle, even though for a phone with 4GB of RAM, it doesn’t feel nippy. But that is more to do with the phone’s heavy user interface. Even when all the apps are closed the phone shows only 2GB of RAM is available. Switching between apps is smooth, while the more intensive tasks such as games and HD movies played out without any niggle or heating issues on the back panel. The phone supports dual SIM slots and has 64GB of internal storage and can add another 64GB via micro SD cards. The only knock is the average 2,800mAh battery, which barely lasted a full day on single charge.
Camera: Handles colours well
The 13-megapixel camera is a mixed bag. On a bright day, it can capture details along with colours brilliantly. The camera holds well even around sunset time and was able to capture the natural shade of the sky and the yellow colour of a few night bulbs very well. It can take good shots if indoor lighting is good, but in the absence of it, pictures look mostly blurry.
Verdict
The Coolpad Max is a notable addition to the mid-range segment due to its good looks, ability to handle heavy tasks, high internal storage and good-looking display. The Moto X Style has an edge over it on account of its superior and bigger display, splash resistant body, minimalistic and latest version of Android.
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