iVoomi i1 Review: 18:9 display and dual cameras on an Ultra-Budget flagship

iVoomi started the year by launching their latest flagship, the iVoomi i1. The smartphone falls under the ultra-budget segment. The highlights of the smartphone include the 18:9 display and the dual camera setup at the back. We have put the iVoomi i1 through various tests and here's our intensive review.

Specifications

The iVoomi i1 features a 5.45-inch display with a resolution of 640x1280 pixels. The display on the smartphone comes with an 18:9 aspect ratio. The smartphone is powered by the MediaTek MT6737 SoC which is a quad-core processor clocked at 1.3GHz. The device is available in 2GB RAM + 16GB storage variant or 3GB RAM + 32GB storage variant. The storage on the device is expandable up to 128GB using a microSD card. The iVoomi i1 runs on Android 7.0 Nougat out of the box. Under the hood, there is a 3,000mAh battery powering up the internals.

Design

As soon as we unboxed the iVoomi i1, we were impressed with the 18:9 display. The 18:9 display has been implemented by the company in such a way that the phone gives a premium look up front. As soon as we flip the device, there sits a plastic back panel which when opened reveals the micro-SIM slots and the microSD card slot. However, the device feels good in the hand thanks to the narrow and tall design. Also, it is worth mentioning that iVoomi provides a screen protector inside the box to protect the beautiful display from scratches.

Software

The iVoomi i1 runs on Android 7.0 Nougat out of the box. The smartphone started lagging as soon as we had set it up for the first time. There were noticeable stutters and app crashes. Thanks to the company, the i1 soon got a new software update which actually brought improvements to the software experience. The software on the smartphone is near to stock with a different icon pack and few extra features here and there. Some of the features include fingerprint gestures and DuraSpeed.

Performance

As mentioned in the software segment, the smartphone initially had issues with performance. The iVoomi i1 started to stutter even with a limited number of applications installed. However, the company was concerned about its customer's experience and soon after the launch rolled out a software update. After the update, the software showed improvements and became much more usable. As the smartphone is an entry-level device, heavy games did take a lot of time to load and did lag and stutter during our testing. Games like Subway Surfers performed well most of the times.

Camera

The iVoomi i1 sports a dual camera setup at the back with a 13-megapixel sensor and a 2-megapixel sensor. Up front, there is an 8-megapixel selfie shooter. Both the camera setups do a decent job. The front-camera was able to take decent shots in brighter environments. The rear camera was also able to take some good images outdoors. However, the camera application on the smartphone is not optimised well and can become better over the updates. The Bokeh mode was kind of gimmicky as the background was not getting blurred properly or the object was getting affected.

Battery

The iVoomi i1 is backed by a 3,000mAh battery. The smartphone, when used heavily, will need a top up at around 5 PM. While light or moderate usage can last up to 7 or 8 PM. During our intensive review, the smartphone was usually on 4G and our usage included basic apps and few minutes spend on gaming.

Verdict

iVoomi launched the i1 at a starting price of Rs. 5,999. At this price point, the smartphone comes with entry-level specifications. The device was able to handle day to day tasks with ease. Though we faced few issues initially, they were fixed soon after the official launch. The smartphone also comes with a fingerprint scanner which is not the fastest when the screen is off. The fingerprint sensor is quite reliable and is quick enough if the screen is turned on first.

With it's 18:9 display and a dual camera setup at the back, iVoomi i1 has surely toughened the budget smartphone game. The competition among the ultra-budget smartphones like 10.or D, Xiaomi Redmi 5A and now the iVoomi i1 are getting close.