Kult Impulse Hands-On Review: Great hardware for the price point?

Indian Smartphone manufacturer, Kult launched their fourth smartphone in India recently. After the success of their previous smartphones, the recently announced Kult Impulse adds to the company's lineup. The smartphone is launched with a price tag of Rs. 8,999. With that price tag, it comes in direct competition with smartphones like the 10.or G and Xiaomi Redmi 5.

The highlights of the smartphone include the massive 4,000mAh battery, Face Unlock and a 5.99-inch HD+ TruView 18:9 aspect ratio display. The phone is powered by the MediaTek MTK 6739 Quad-core SoC clocked at 1.5 GHz. The device packs 13-megapixel f/2.0 front and back camera sensors. The dual-SIM handset comes with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage.

Design

Kult Impulse boasts a 5.99-inch IPS LCD display with an aspect ratio of 18:9. The company claims a near bezel-less display but we feel the phone is taller and still has a lot of bezels. The display is not something you can call best of the line. However, considering the price tag, the display is better than the most. The overall build quality is good enough for the price point. At first glance, anyone would be convinced that the phone has a metal back which is not true as it is actually plastic.

The device feels nothing like a cheap budget phone. Sure, it doesn't feel as premium as it looks. However, it still feels quite good in the hand. The taller design is getting popular these days and most apps have already started supporting the new aspect ratio. The device also has features like Face Unlock at this price point. However, we will need to test its effectiveness.

Camera

On the optics front, the Kult Impulse sports a 13-megapixel rear camera with LED flash and autofocus. The rear camera is just above average for the price. The contrast and the white balance poor. However, the camera manages to bring acceptable colours. Overall, we feel the images are quite acceptable for the price.

For the selfies, the Kult Impulse features a 13-megapixel front-facing camera with an LED flash. The story is same with the front camera as the company used same sensors at the back as well as the front.

Overall, the camera on the Kult Impulse is fairly normal. The rear camera is better than the front. However, a better white balance is something that might put you off.

Price

The smartphone costs Rs, 8,999 with features like Face Unlock and 18:9 display. The smartphone packs a lot of power and features for that price point. However, the features like the Face Unlock if implemented badly can be more of a negative point than a plus point. Those features need to be tested. Also, the software lagged a little during the time we had with the device. However, its a software thing and it can be easily fixed before the phone in the near future via software updates. So from the initial impressions, we believe that the smartphone could withstand its competition.