Kult an Indian smartphone manufacturer after launching two smartphones in the country, today unveiled its newest entry-level offering, the Kult Ambition in India. We got to use the device for some time and here are our initial impressions about it, the full review will follow soon.
Design and Build
The Kult Ambition sports a 5-inch IPS 720p HD display. It is powered by the MediaTek MT6735 chipset clocked at 1.25GHz. The device looks extremely similar to the Kult Gladiator, which some might even think is the predecessor to this smartphone. It features a removable metal backplate which makes the device feel much more premium and sturdy. Don't take me wrong, I don't hate bezels that much, but the top and the bottom bezels on this device are huge and might be a deal breaker for some. However, we can let that slide as it seems Kult's Ambition isn't to capture the flagship market, instead they want to establish a strong foothold in the entry-level market.
On the front, we get to see the 5-inch HD display which features on-screen navigation buttons, thus driving the size of the display down. A 5-inch display is perfect for many people, who don't want to get smartphones with huge displays. Additionally, the display is completely legible under direct sunlight. On the back, the device features a removable back panel, along with the 13-megapixel camera, fingerprint sensor, speaker and the Kult branding.On the right edge, we get three separate buttons, two for volume control and the third one for turning on/off the smartphone whereas the left edge is completely smooth with nothing. On the top edge, the device sports a 3.5mm audio jack along with a micro USB port for charging and data transfer.
Overall, the Kult Ambition has a very minimalist design and it feels very good in the hand.
Display
The Kult Ambition sports a 5-inch 720p HD IPS display. This seems much more manageable than the previous two smartphones launched by Kult in India in 2017. The 5-inch display is a sweet spot for me as it isn't too big and can be used by one hand, it also can be put in your pocket very easily. The display is good considering the price point of the smartphone. It is legible both indoors and outdoors under direct sunlight. The company can still work on the auto-brightness setting a bit as the smartphone took a bit of time to adapt to the lighting conditions. Viewing angles of the smartphone are pretty good.
Also Read: Kult Beyond In-Depth Review: A new smartphone from a new company
Software/UI
The Kult Ambition runs on Google's Android 7.0 Nougat, which might not be the latest but it gets the work done). It seems as if there is a skin on top of the operating system, however, due to the experience being extremely close to stock Android, we don't have much to complain about.
In the time I was able to spend with the smartphone, I found it to be very interesting. The near stock experience is one of the main things which is gravitating me towards liking this smartphone. As for the software, I think Kult might just have got the hang of it already.
Camera
The camera of the Ambition is my only area of complaints about the smartphone. The Kult Ambition features a 13-megapixel primary camera along with Auto Focus and an LED flash. On the front, we get a 5-megapixel camera along with an LED flash for selfies.
The primary camera is extremely average, the images taken with it in good lighting aren't sharp and the colours seem to be washed out. In low light, the images come out with a lot of distortion and grain. The autofocus is too slow on this, it seems like the device doesn't want to focus on anything, and even when it focuses on something it would be something a lot far than the thing you are trying to focus on.
As for the front camera, the story doesn't get any better for the smartphone here. We get to see a lot of distortion, and the colours seem too washed out.
I know you can't get a good camera smartphone at this price point, and compared to the Xiaomi Redmi 4, the camera is much better. However, if your primary focus is taking photos, this might just be a phone for you to skip.
Price
The Kult Ambition might be the third smartphone this year from the company, however, it seems as if the company is trying to impress us as if this is their first smartphone ever. The Kult Ambition has been priced in India at Rs. 5,999. It will be available exclusively via Amazon India starting December 11. The company seems to have priced the smartphone very competitively, it will be fun to see how the smartphone will stack up against the recently launched Xiaomi Redmi 5A.
Conclusion
The Kult Ambition is a good smartphone in the entry-level market. Its build quality and the display have blown me away. As of now if you can't wait, you can go ahead and buy the device. However, I would recommend you to wait a bit, until we are finished with our full in-depth review and are able to test out how the device performs in the real world.
