Bluboo Edge review – Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge lookalike

The Bluboo Edge is a quad core powered handset from Bluboo that comes packed with 2GB RAM and 16GB of ROM. The handset is a Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge lookalike; it is priced at $141 approx Rs. 9,500. Read the review to know more.

Unboxing: The box pack also looks similar to S7 Edge box, inside you will get the handset, user manual, warranty card, screen guard, data cable and travel charger 5V/1A, plastic case and SIM Tray ejector pin.

Design, Display and OS

The Bluboo Edge has got a curvy design. It is using a metal frame with glass on the front and plastic on the back. The back panel is using glossy layer, it look like glass but made of plastic. The front and the back edges are curved.

This handset looks good, build quality and finishing is also good, however handset is very heavy. Weight with built in battery is 203 grams and thickness is 8.6mm. This Bluboo Edge was easy to use but the weight is just too much considering the specs.

It’s a dual SIM hybrid handset you can use 2x nano SIM or 1x nano SIM + micro SD card. 4G with VoLTE is supported but I had issues with Jio SIM – 4G voice calling did not work but I was able to use 4G data, this issue probably can be fixed via software updates.

Screen is 5.5 inches supporting 720p resolution. It’s using double layer OGS technology. The front glass is curved however the screen underneath is flat. Color reproduction, touch response and viewing angles are okay. There is LED notification and following sensors – accelerometer, proximity and light.

Android marshmallow runs out of the box.

Memory and storage

Bluboo Edge comes with 2GB RAM and 16GB ROM. On first boot you will get around 11 GB free ROM (internal storage space) and 1.3GB free memory on an average. OTG worked you can connect external storage devices.

Performance

This handset houses the MediaTek MT6737 64 bit quad core processor clocked at 1.3GHz with Mali T720 GPU. Performance is smooth, but when playing heavy games it played well in low quality mode. Handset is not for gaming use and battery temperature was well under control.

Benchmark

Quadrant : N/A (app error)
AnTuTu : 28242 / 2327  2^nd time 28519  / 2352
Nenamark 2 : 55.5fps
Disk Speed : 92 MB/s read / 46 MB/s write
Multi Touch : 5 point

Gaming performance

I played Asphalt 8, the game was not at all smooth in high visual quality mode, but played well in low visual quality mode – check video review.

Camera

The rear camera is 8MP and front camera is 5MP. Rear AF camera is interpolated to 13MP and front FF camera to 8MP. Camera quality is average. This handset can shoot 720p videos but in general it can play FHD videos.

Camera rating 3.8 out of 5

Blueboo Edge rear and front camera samples

Download Original Image files (right click and save) (do not use it for commercial purpose, without permission of gogi.in).

Others

There is finger print sensor on the front. It is accurate but takes a lot of time detecting / processing. No other issues found. Network signal was good, sound was loud and clear. Had issues with Reliance Jio that I have already mentioned.

There is heart rate sensor too on the back. Just run the app and place your finger on the heart rate sensor, wait for few seconds to get the reading.

There is one more design problem, when you press the back panel in the center, the screen on the front gets distorted, check video review. The same happens when you press left / right side – at times it even happens with light press.

Battery

There is a 2600 mAh non-removable battery. Battery life is okay – you will get 3 to 5 hours of non-stop moderate to heavy usage. With mixed moderate usage you can expect 24 hours battery life.

Bluboo Edge Battery Performance (time / battery % drop / estimated battery temperature)

• Running Benchmark app –10 minutes / 3% / n/a (not working)
• Asphalt 8 game play – 20 minutes / 10% / n/a
• FHD video playback with full brightness (WiFi /4G on) – 31 minutes / 10% / n/a

The battery temperature reading was not available but handset did not show sign of heat up.

It took me 2 hours 38 minutes to charge the handset from 1% to 100% using wall charger.

Verdict

The handset looks good but is very heavy, also the performance is just about okay. Bluboo Edge is available for $141 (approx Rs. 9,500). Not really a good option, plus if you import into India you will need to pay extra custom duty – not worth.

Rating : 2.5 out of 5

Bluboo Edge buy options.