Beauty will save the world
Fedor Dostoevsky
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Remember how 15 years ago in the movie “I, Robot” we were all surprised
On the Ukrainian market, TP-Link presentsThere are quite a lot of models: on one outlet there are already 17 positions of smartphones that are sold under the Neffos brand. These are mainly entry-class models for very little money, but there are also more expensive ones. Today we will get acquainted with one of them, which is by no means the cheapest in the line - TP-Link Neffos X20 Pro has good characteristics, a pleasant and fashionable appearance and a price tag of less than 4,000 UAH, as well as some features that we will discuss in more detail below.
What is it?
TP-Link Neffos X20 Pro is the older TP-Link model,which runs on Android 9 with its proprietary NFUI 9.0 shell. The case is made of glass and metal with a gradient design (multilayer nanocrystalline coating), which was created last year by Huawei. Smooth contours of the edges, a large widescreen (with an aspect ratio of 19:9) rounded screen with a miniature teardrop-shaped cutout for the front camera, average characteristics and an attractive price for such a set of functions - this is briefly about this model.
What makes him interesting?
According to the manufacturer, the camera in the smartphonenot just any kind, but intellectual. That is, it can recognize scenes and adjust modes for, for example, shooting food, portraits, bokeh or moving objects. The device also boasts face unlock, larger than 6.26″ display with a drop-shaped cutout for the camera and 19:9 aspect ratio, a good 4,100 mAh battery and optimized Android 9 OS. If technical details are important to you, here they are: HD+ screen (1520×720), MTK MT6762 processor with cores 4×2.0 GHz + 4×1.5 GHz, memory 3/64 GB. The legacy of the parent company TP-Link had a good impact on the communication capabilities of the model: there is support for 4G, Bluetooth version 5.0, and dual-band Wi-Fi 2.4 / 5 GHz standard 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, which today can be considered pleasant with the exception of the budget segment of smartphones. Supports two SIM cards and a memory card. The latter is especially interesting, because most smartphone models on the market can contain either only two SIM cards, or one SIM card and one memory card. TP-Link Neffos X20 Pro is clearly targeting consumers with a special mentality: dual SIM cards and additional memory are especially important for subscribers in Eastern Europe.
What is in the box?
In the box - phone, charger 5V 2A,wiring to it (using the MicroUSB connector already a thing of the past, which can not but upset), a small instruction in a separate flat cardboard box, which is why inside the packed box, if you shake it, terrible knocks are heard, as if the phone or charging are not fixed nothing.
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Appearance and build quality
The phone feels quite weighty in the hands(more precisely, not super lightweight) bar with smooth contours of the body. It is pleasant and comfortable to hold: despite the glossy coating of the back cover, which is made of plastic, it does not slip in the hands, and the proportions are harmonious and not cause inconvenience. On the left side there is a compartment for a tray with SIM cards and memory, on the top there is a standard 3.5 mm headphone jack, on the right are the classic volume buttons and the main Power, at the bottom there are two grilles on the sides of the microUSB, in one speaker and in the other microphone . On the back cover of the device is a fingerprint sensor in the middle, and on the side there are two camera modules and a flash. On the front panel is the brand name at the bottom, and at the top there is a drop-shaped cutout for the front camera.
Solid assembly: the case and chassis frames fit well, nothing creaks and does not play. There are only questions to the glossy finish - it is not clear how traces of inevitable scratches will be visible, for example, a year after operation. It’s convenient to hold the device near your ear, the hole of the earpiece is right at the junction of the case and the screen, so positioning your smartphone so that you can hear well will be easy.
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Screen
The first impression of the screen is good and bright. Then, when you start watching videos on YouTube and try to turn on the resolution of more than 720p, you are surprised that the screen does not allow this. But there is a function of increasing the video so that it is shown over the entire display area - and here it is with proportions of 19: 9. You can remove the cutout, and the screen will be standard, only in those very places will the battery and signal strength indicators remain.
In the sun, brightness is almost enough. Well, that is, the image is distinguishable, but not in the way that screens on more expensive smartphones can show a picture. The tactile sensations from the screen are pleasant: there is an oleophobic coating, the interface responds quickly and clearly, and it’s convenient to reach the upper and lower sides of the screen with a finger (male with a medium-sized hand): a good body with the correct thickness and proportions plays a role.
Performance and autonomy
Despite its own NFUI shell on topnormal Android 9 (below is more about the pros and cons of interfaces), the smartphone does not slow down and does not stutter during everyday work. Applications open quickly and smoothly, pre-installed games also do not slow down, all settings elements are clear and respond quickly. The smartphone during normal use (browsing, video, twitter, instant messengers) lasted two days, but just lying with an active SIM card without turning on the screen and without network activity, it turned out 8 days. A capacious battery (4,100 mAh) allows you not to think about the charge for two light days - you must agree, a very good result. Of course, he is individual, but still indicative.
Separately, it is worth talking about face recognition.when unlocking the smartphone. It occurs slowly (about a half to two seconds) and often does not work. To do this, you need to hold the phone exactly and precisely so that your face hits exactly the camera. Deviations along the axes, the darkness around, the bright sun in the camera, as well as simple or sunglasses reduce the presence of this function to nothing, and it remains to unlock either with a key or a finger. A smartphone that is not locked with a password cannot be used categorically - it is unsafe, and I'm not paranoid at all.
Interface
As is often the case with manufacturerssmartphones, Neffos decided to equip their smartphones with their own development - the NFUI interface. What does this mean in reality? And the fact that the TP-Link Neffos X20 Pro has several billion options for themes (well, a little smaller, but still quite a lot): with different icons, colors, fonts, and other decorations that Chinese brands love so much. You also have several million (well, you yourself understand how many in reality) themes for the keyboard, icon sets, fonts, emoticons and other husks that an experienced user absolutely do not need.
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According to my personal observations, decorationsthe first owners of such equipment suffer, whose budget was enough for Neffos, and not for other, more well-known brands. After all, the device runs on Android 9, which is beautiful in its transparency and comprehensibility - so why do you manufacturers complicate the device with your add-ons and more? And other TP-Link programmers' developments are their own versions of the camera, an inconvenient browser (who would ever think of using something other than Chrome?), Weather, file manager, notepad, sharing of the Internet and other applications? Why reinvent the wheel when Google has already done all this for you?
Also, I was not happy at all with Clean.Master as the default cleaning service (why - I can tell in the comments), pre-installed games, a suite of office programs Office Suite and proprietary applications for smart home, data migration and a video player. There is a function for cloning applications - for example, to simultaneously run one program with different accounts. Pay attention to gesture control, a floating button - does anyone use this at all? If so, write in the comments why, why, and how you came to such a life
In general, my personal belief is that the OS shouldwork as is, without any additional decorations and shells: autonomy, speed, and the availability of updates are more important than the ability to choose purple keyboards or neon-style icons from the 90s. However, it is worth recognizing that the interface of the TP-Link Neffos X20 Pro is smooth and responsive, freezes and braking were not observed.
Image Quality
Well, now the saddest partstorytelling. At first glance, the pictures are good: bright and juicy, high-quality and sharp. But, as soon as the departures start away from the ideal shooting conditions, the problems begin immediately. For example, in the test photos, you can see that the sunset, even in the HDR mode, turned out to be not very spectacular, but if you turn off this mode, then focusing / sharpening the exposure on the ground and the sky gave a completely unsatisfactory result. Which, however, will be true for any other smartphone in this price category.
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Zooming in to the maximum, we seenoise at the edges and the explicit operation of the algorithm that processes the image. Personally, I don’t like this result, it resembles the quality of images taken by top-end smartphones for 2015. See for yourself this to understand what I'm talking about. Download all pictures in original resolution here.
The front camera also can not boastexcellent result. At first glance, everything is fine, but then you begin to understand that the combined operation of the lenses, the module, and (most probably the most important) image processing algorithm simply cannot produce something more. And this is despite the 13 MP matrix, which in principle can show a normal result - but no, not in this case. But there is the possibility of blurring the background, which is quite possible to use and get the result.
The camera interface is clear, but not the fastest.There is a mode for black and white images (why?), bokeh, shooting food or fast objects (why then does the camera have AI, because it should automatically detect such scenes), there is also a “pro” mode with manual setting of shooting parameters. But the smart camera detects the scenes correctly, although it is difficult to notice too much of a difference between them - except for bokeh and automatic HDR activation, which work as they should. Autofocus occurs without problems and quite quickly, but the TP-Link Neffos X20 Pro shoots video so-so: the dynamic range is small, autofocus moves if there are moving objects in the frame. This is especially true for slow-motion shooting - 120 frames per second is achieved at the expense of a huge reduction in video resolution, and it is better not to shoot in this mode at all, so as not to be disappointed with the picture later.
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How is TP-Link Neffos X20 Pro different from TP-Link Neffos X20
TP-Link Neffos X20 Pro has a younger brother -model TP-Link Neffos X20. It costs 500 hryvnia less, has a simpler processor (4-core MediaTek Helio A22 versus 8-core Helio P22), less memory (2/32 GB versus 4/64 GB) and a simplified version of the front camera (8 megapixels, not 13). Otherwise, all the advantages of the X20 Pro are retained - a high-capacity 4100 mAh battery, a frameless IPS screen with a drop-shaped cutout for the front camera, an impressive appearance thanks to the gradient design, steel and glass in the body design, support for dual-band Wi-Fi (critical for apartment buildings, where the 2.4 GHz band is often congested by neighbors' networks, while 5 GHz is almost always clear), a camera with scene recognition, a fingerprint sensor, face unlock and a separate compartment for a memory card. Which makes it a good candidate as a first smartphone for a student.
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In the dry residue
TP-Link turned out, in principle, quite goodsmartphone - TP-Link Neffos X20 Pro is definitely worth the money, looks fashionable/stylish/modern, offers everything a user needs in 2019 (with the exception of NFC, which would be very useful in the era of popularity of contactless payments). Probably, inexperienced users will turn a blind eye to the quality of the photo and the shell - most likely due to the fact that they have not seen any alternatives: they will be quite satisfied with such quality and management. A powerful battery, two SIM cards and a memory card, a cutout for the front camera and a stylish body will captivate those who want to look good for little money.
5 reasons to buy TP-Link Neffos X20 Pro
- Fashionable appearance with gradient design;
- capacious battery 4100 mAh;
- Android 9.0 Pie;
- support for dual-band Wi-Fi;
- separate tray for memory cards.
2 reasons not to buy TP-Link Neffos X20 Pro
- low quality photos (but you’ll better not find it for the money anyway);
- no NFC.
Neffos X20 Pro
Beautiful inexpensive smartphone with a capacious battery
The eldest 2019 Neffos model. It is interesting with a large bezel-free 6.26-inch IPS-screen with a drop-shaped notch for the front camera, a resolution of 1520x720, a 4100 mAh battery, a MediaTek Helio P22 processor, a dual AI camera and 3/64 GB memory. It runs on Android 9.0, is equipped with a fingerprint sensor and an unlock function on the face of the user. Of the shortcomings - the smartphone does not have NFC support.
fashion design
Technical specifications of TP-Link Neffos X20 Pro
Display
IPS, 6.26″, 1520×720, 19:9, 269 ppi
Dimensions and weight
dimensions 160x77x9 mm, 172 g
CPU
MediaTek Helio P22 MT6762: 4 x Cortex-A53 2.0 GHz + 4 x Cortex-A53 1.5 GHz, PowerVR GE8320 graphics
RAM
3 GB
Flash memory
64 GB + microSD (up to 128 GB)
Camera
Main: 13 + 5 MP, front 13 MP
Wireless technology
Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS
Battery
4100 mAh, non-removable
operating system
Android 9.0 Pie + NFUI 9
Sim card
2хnanoSIM