iVOOMi iPro First Impressions: Does Android Go makes cheap smartphones better?

iVOOMi recently launched its first Android 8.1 Oreo (Go Edition) powered smartphone with a shatterproof display. The latest iVOOMi iPro is priced at Rs. 3,999 available exclusively on Flipkart. It sports some nifty features such as face unlock and augmented reality emoji. However, the specifications on the iVOOMi iPro aren't that great. On the bright side, the smartphone runs Google's Android Go operating system, which should make the experience really great. Here is what I thought about  So let's find out if the iVOOMi iPro is a good buy or not?

iVOOMi iPro: Specifications

The iVOOMi iPro sports a 4.95-inch Full View display with a resolution of 960 x 480 pixels. The company claims that the display is shatterproof, however, we are not certain how much the smartphone display can sustain before breaking. The iVOOMi Me 3 and the Me 3s also had a shatterproof display, and if the display on the iPro is same, the smartphone will be able to take quite a beating before shattering the display. We know that because we were able to break the one on a Me 3s

In terms of performance specifications, iVOOMi iPro is powered by the MediaTek MT6737 processor clocked at 1.3GHz. The processor is aided by 1GB of RAM and 8GB of internal storage. There is a dedicated microSD card slot for expandable storage up to 128GB. As far as the optics are concerned, the iVOOMi iPro sports a 5-megapixel rear camera paired with a LED flash. On the front, there is a 5-megapixel shooter for selfies and video calling. The front camera also serves the purpose of facial recognition and can be used to unlock the device. All of this is backed up by a 2,000mAh battery.

iVOOMi iPro: Design

The iVOOMi iPro sports a 4.95-inch Full View shatterproof display with an aspect ratio of 18:9. The display on the smartphone is not too great but works for the price point and the overall build quality is a little unsatisfactory. The entirety of the phone feels like its built out of a cheap plastic.

Designwise the phone looks good, but the materials used don't feel so great. However, considering the price point of the smartphone, this was kind of expected. Considering the fact how cheap this smartphone is, I would rather not complain about the materials used. The smartphone feels really cheap in hand, but for Rs 4000, this is one of the best-looking smartphones in the market.

iVOOMi iPro: Camera

On the optics front, the iVOOMi iPro sports a 5-megapixel rear sensor coupled with a 5-megapixel front sensor for taking selfies.

Let's just say that the iPro wasn't just meant to have photos taken photos with its camera. The photos taken with the rear camera come out very dull and the focus is mostly out of place. The white balance is bad and even with great lighting, the details are really bad.

The situation with the front camera is even worse. We tried on multiple occasions to take photos with the front camera, but we couldn't get a single shot that was not blurry.

Sure, the phone is really cheap, but with such low level of camera performance, any person interested in taking photos should give this phone a hard pass.

iVOOMi iPro: Conclusion

The smartphone costs Rs 3,999 and comes with amazing looks and an 18:9 display and a shatterproof display. It runs Android 8.1 Oreo (Go Edition) for improved performance with the low-end hardware, hence the cheap price. But with the company's SmartMe OS 3.0 skin on the top, the smartphone experience is not that good. It is not a really big pain, however, a stock UI would have been much appreciated.

Overall, the smartphone looks good in its price segment, however, performance is questionable. The extra features and skin added by iVOOMi on the top slow down the device a lot. The camera is the one topic, you should ignore if you are thinking of purchasing this phone. Overall, considering the price of the smartphone is a really not a bad deal.