Budget Android smartphones with dual SIM capabilities never seem to stop coming and today we have another budget Android smartphone from another Indian manufacturer. Xolo A600 is a budget Android smartphone that is currently priced around Rs. 7,100 and comes with a decent display, a dual-core processor and a 5MP back on its back. Is it worth buying? Lets find out.
Video Review
Design, Build and Handling
The build and design of the Xolo A600 contradict its pricing and the budget category that it belongs to. The build feels quite premium and the choice of materials used is quite interesting for a phone at this price. The design language is however, nothing much different. On the front, we have a glass slab that has the display beneath it and on the sides and back, we have a matte finish material which gives the device great gripping. The top and bottom part of the phone have a chrome finish material enhancing the premium look.
On the front, we have the 4.5inch display which occupies most of the real estate. Above the display, we have the Xolo logo above which we have the earpiece. Towards the left of the earpiece, we have the proximity and ambient sensor combination and towards further left, we have the front facing camera.
Below the display, we have three capacitive touch keys for navigation and a mouthpiece along the bottom edge.
On the right side, we have the power lock button on the right side.
On the bottom, there is nothing but a chrome color metal.
On the left side, we have the volume rocker.
On the top, we have a 3.5mm audio jack and microUSB port.
The keys are made of the similar matte material that dominates and the haptic feedback is average. The keys are not clunky.
On the back, we have a 5MP camera on the top left with a LED flash below it. There is a Xolo logo on the center and a speaker on the bottom left corner.
The Xolo A600 comes with a removable back cover and on removing it, we have a 1900mAh battery with two mini SIM card slots and the microSD Card placed between them.
In terms of handling, the 4.5inch form factor makes it easy to handle when compared to those 5inch + phablets. However, the sharp edges can feel unnatural against the hands.
Display
One of telling points of this budget smartphone is its 4.5inch qHD display. The 4.5inch IPS display houses 540×960 pixels and has a pixel density of 245ppi.
In terms of display quality, the display is definitely good. Thanks to the high pixel density, it is hard to notice pixels from a decent distance from the phone. When looked head on(which is how you will look at the device most of the times), the colors are quite nice. The viewing angles aren’t the greatest and when viewed from a slightly different angle, the display loses contrast and begins to show unnatural colors and contrast seems to fade away. As a part of cutting cost, the display has been compromised in the fact that, it is just a 2 point multi-touch(which is low when compared to the 5point multi-touch).
Overall, the display, though average, gets the job done.
Hardware Specifications and Performance
Xolo A600 is powered by a 1.3GHz dual-core processor from MediaTek MT6572W. Graphics are taken care by the Mali 400 GPU that accompanies the processor and there is 512MB RAM to keep the device going.
Out of the 512MB RAM, 467MB RAM is usable and when the device is idle, around 200MB RAM is free.
Xolo A600 comes with 4GB internal storage and out of the 4GB, 1.27GB is available for app installation and the remaining 1.27GB is user accessible. There is a microSD card slot to expand the internal storage. And yes apps can be moved to SD card.
In terms of performance, the Xolo A600 is a disappointment. The device is slow and sluggish 8 out of 10 times. If you are planning to continuously meddle with your new smartphone, then this may not be the perfect choice because you won’t be happy with the performance. The dual-core processor MT6572W is just not up to the mark and its performing is underwhelming. You can check out the benchmark performance of Xolo A600 in our benchmarks post.
You can also check out the benchmarks video right below.
Camera
Xolo A600 comes with 5MP camera at the back and a 0.3MP camera on the front. The rear camera on Xolo A600 is capable of recording 720p videos.
The camera application on Xolo A600 is a typical MediaTek camera app and comes with a very familiar camera UI. On the left, we have a scrollable list of camera modes that includes – Normal, HDR, Panorama and Smile Shot. On the right side of the viewfinder, we have the flash and front/rear camera toggle on the top. To the right of it, on the top right corner, we have the shortcut to gallery(swiping left will also take you to the gallery). Below the gallery shortcut icon, we have a separate photo and video shutter button. Below that, we have a settings icon. Clicking the settings icon, opens a familiar tabbed settings menu with basic options like White Balance, Exposure, Color Effect, Image Properties and separate set of options for photos and videos.
In terms of camera quality, the performance of Xolo A600 is average. Indoor images have a lot of noise and outdoor shots lack colors. Generally the photos are muted and lack appeal. You can check out the camera samples right below.
- With Flash
- HDR OFF
- HDR ON
The 720p video sample is right below.
Software
Xolo A600 runs on a near stock version of Android 4.2.2 Jellybean. Xolo, however, have added a few of their applications for supposedly better experience. Some of the apps that Xolo have preinstalled on the A600 include Xolo Care, Xolo Power and Xolo Secure. Xolo Care application registers your device for warranty; lets you check for OTA updates and lets you contact Xolo customer care via call, message or email. Xolo Power is an interesting battery application that lets you manage you battery efficiently and Xolo Secure helps you protect device from malware threats and backup your personal data to cloud.
Battery and Connectivity
Xolo A600 has a 1900mAh user replaceable Li-Po battery. The battery life is quite good for a dual SIM smartphone and with both SIMs turned on and moderate usage, you can easily get a whole day of usage.
In terms of connectivity, you get typical smartphone connectivity options like WiFi, 3G, Bluetooth, microUSB and GPS. Only one SIM supports 3G.
Conclusion
Xolo A600 is a typical budget smartphone with a good build quality and good battery life, but finds itself a little above the budget price line considering the features it offers and the performance it delivers.
Pros
- Solid Build quality
- Good Battery
- Above average display
Cons
- Performance could have been better
- Average camera
- Bit expensive for the features and performance
