Smartphone zte blade s6 16 GB silver. ZTE Blade S6 review: another mid-range android smartphone
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This time, our focus is ZTE Blade S6 is one of the first mid-range solutions equipped with Android 5.0. A new version a system called Lollipop came out relatively recently and is still found mainly on expensive and top-end devices. However, the models of Chinese brands are slowly destroying this trend, and one of them turned out to be the hero of the review.
So, ZTE Blade S6 is able to offer a very good modern filling and the latest version of the operating system. And all this for a really reasonable price. Next, we will find out what the developers of the smartphone were forced to sacrifice, as well as how this affected its user characteristics.
Before proceeding with the review of the ZTE Blade S6 smartphone, we would like to thank the Chinese online store with free shipping GearBest for sending the smartphone for testing. It turned out to be quite easy to order a smartphone in the online store and receive it by mail.
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Also in the online store GearBest is available for sale smartphone ZTE Blade S6 Plus with a diagonal of 5.5 inches.
Specifications ZTE Blade S6
| Device type | Smartphone |
| Model | ZTE Blade S6 |
| CPU | Qualcomm Snapdragon 615, Octa core 1.5GHz |
| video processor | Adreno 405 |
| Operating system | Android 5.0 Lollipop |
| Memory, GB | 2 RAM; 16ROM |
| Screen | 5.0" IPS, 1280 x 720 |
| Cameras, Mpix | 2.0 + 13.0 |
| Net | GSM; WCDMA; LTE |
| Number of SIM cards, pcs. | 2 (nano SIM) |
| Micro SD support | Yes (up to 64 GB) |
| Data transfer | GSM; WCDMA; LTE; bluetooth; WiFi; GPS; GLONASS |
| GPS/aGPS/EPO/GLONASS | Yes/Yes/No/Yes |
| Battery, mAh | 2 400 |
| Dimensions, mm | 144.5 x 71.6 x 8.9 |
| Weight, g | 165 |
| price, rub. | ~17 000 |
Of course, the first thing that attracts attention is the Android version. But the other parameters of the novelty are no less interesting. For adequate money, we are offered a new generation Qualcomm processor and support for 4G networks.
Packaging and equipment ZTE Blade S6
The ZTE smartphone comes in a relatively small white box. Traditionally, cardboard is chosen as the material. It is thick and strong enough to protect the device from damage during transportation. The inscriptions and ends of the main compartment, which is put on top cover, are in grey.
On the front side, right in the center, you can see the name of the device, and in the upper left corner - a small manufacturer's logo. The ends of the box are empty. Only two seals protect its contents from unauthorized opening.
There are two stickers on the back side. All are on one personal numbers device (serial number and two IMEIs), device model, color (in this case "Silver") and a notice that it was made in China. On the second - brief technical parameters of the product.
The first thing we see under the cover is the device itself. It is covered with shipping films on both sides and firmly fixed in place with a plastic stand molded to fit the case. The manufacturer took care of additional fixation of the device with a foam lining on the lid itself - a trifle, but nice.
To remove the smartphone from the box, a plastic tab is provided - if you pull it, the device will rise from its place.
Two cardboard boxes are hidden under it - one for the power adapter, the other for the USB-microUSB cable and paper clips for opening the card trays.
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The scope of delivery is absolutely standard and not a bit surprising. Although everything you need is available.
It includes:
- Power adapter;
- USB-microUSB cable;
- Clip;
- Documentation.
We have more or less figured out the characteristics and equipment, now let's turn our attention to the smartphone.
Technology moves forward and the beginning of 2015 brought us a new member of the family ZTE-Blade S6. The closest competitor to it can be considered ZTE Star 1, released a year earlier, but supporting only 1 micro-SIM SIM card.
ZTE Blade S6 has a classic body, but unlike the aforementioned analogue, it has rounded corners. Two standard colors: black and white. The smartphone is quite comfortable in the hand, does not slip, and the sidewalls do not interfere when working with the phone with one hand.
The gadget is based on Android 5th version. Works great with two nano-SIMs in alternate mode. Weighing 132 grams, it does not burden the pocket at all. Dimensions WxHxT are 70.7x144x7.7 mm. Based on this, we can say that the device is quite practical in size, and the language will not turn to call it a “shovel”.
Capacitive multi-touch screen, 5 inches in size, has excellent color reproduction and clarity. The image is served at a maximum resolution of 1280x720, at 294 inches by 1 inch. Just like all analogues, it has the function of auto-rotation of the display.
But the most "delicious" part ZTE Blade S6 is its 13 megapixel camera. The quality of images sometimes exceeds the results of budget digital cameras. Movie recording, excellent autofocus, face detection and geo-tagging. In general, a complete set, enclosed in a maximum resolution of 1920x1080 and seasoned with a frame rate of 30 fps.
The front camera, so adored by fans of instant messengers with a video function, will please 5 million pixels. The gadget also works with MP3 and catches FM radio.
Communication is carried out according to GSM 900,1800 and 1900 standards. Excellent support for 3G and 4G LTE. By the way, the smartphone boasts support for LTE bands: B1, B3, B7, B8, B20. There is also "forever alive" Bluetooth 4.0 and USB. As well as Wi-Fi 802.11n, without which a smartphone is not a smartphone.
The absence of GLONASS is fully compensated by standardized GPS and A-GPS system. It is possible to use Blade C6 like a standard USB stick. There is voice dialing and voice control.
The device is smart thanks to the 8-core processor and 2 GB random access memory. Integrated memory is 16 GB, for those who do not have enough, and there is a slot for micro-SD up to 32 GB.
Lithium-polymer battery 2400 mAh, as in most analogues, non-removable. Light and proximity sensors included. As always, a high-quality gyroscope and compass are on guard for the position of the device.
Users consider the model to be more than just successful, however, they consider the main drawback small capacity battery. However, no matter what the battery is, its capacity will always be small, and for its cost, on average, about 14 thousand rubles, ZTE Blade S6 is an excellent choice for those who appreciate functionality and fast work.
Information about the make, model, and alternative names of a particular device, if any.
Design
Information about the dimensions and weight of the device, presented in different units of measurement. Used materials, suggested colors, certificates.
| Width Width information refers to the horizontal side of the device in its standard orientation during use. | 70.7 mm (millimeters) 7.07 cm (centimeters) 0.23 ft 2.78in |
| Height Height information refers to the vertical side of the device in its standard orientation during use. | 144 mm (millimeters) 14.4 cm (centimeters) 0.47ft 5.67in |
| Thickness Information about the thickness of the device in different units measurements. | 7.9 mm (millimeters) 0.79 cm (centimeters) 0.03 ft 0.31in |
| The weight Information about the weight of the device in different units of measurement. | 154 g (grams) 0.34 lbs 5.43oz |
| Volume Approximate volume of the device, calculated from dimensions provided by the manufacturer. Refers to devices with the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped. | 80.43 cm³ (cubic centimeters) 4.88 in³ (cubic inches) |
| Colors Information about the colors in which this device is offered for sale. | Silver |
| Housing materials The materials used to make the body of the device. | Plastic |
SIM card
The SIM card is used in mobile devices to store data that certifies the authenticity of mobile service subscribers.
Mobile networks
A mobile network is a radio system that allows multiple mobile devices to communicate with each other.
| GSM GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) is designed to replace the analogue mobile network (1G). For this reason, GSM is often referred to as a 2G mobile network. It is enhanced by the addition of GPRS (General Packet Radio Services) and later EDGE (Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution) technologies. | GSM 850 MHz GSM 900 MHz GSM 1800 MHz GSM 1900 MHz |
| UMTS UMTS is short for Universal Mobile Telecommunications System. It is based on the GSM standard and belongs to 3G mobile networks. Developed by 3GPP and its biggest advantage is to provide more speed and spectral efficiency with W-CDMA technology. | UMTS 900 MHz UMTS 2100 MHz UMTS 850 MHz (Blade S6 AU Edition) |
| LTE LTE (Long Term Evolution) is defined as fourth generation (4G) technology. It is developed by 3GPP based on GSM/EDGE and UMTS/HSPA to increase the capacity and speed of wireless mobile networks. The subsequent development of technologies is called LTE Advanced. | LTE 800 MHz LTE 900 MHz LTE 1800 MHz LTE 2100 MHz LTE 2600 MHz LTE 700 MHz (B28) (Blade S6 AU Edition) |
Mobile technologies and data rates
Communication between devices in mobile networks is carried out through technologies that provide different data transfer rates.
Operating system
The operating system is the system software that manages and coordinates the operation of the hardware components in the device.
SoC (System on a Chip)
System on a chip (SoC) includes all the most important hardware components of a mobile device in one chip.
| SoC (System on a Chip) A system on a chip (SoC) integrates various hardware components such as a processor, graphics processor, memory, peripherals, interfaces, etc., as well as the software necessary for their operation. | Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 MSM8939 |
| Technological process Information about technological process on which the chip is made. The value in nanometers measures half the distance between the elements in the processor. | 28 nm (nanometers) |
| Processor (CPU) The main function of the processor (CPU) mobile device is the interpretation and execution of instructions contained in software applications. | 4x 1.5 GHz ARM Cortex-A53, 4x 1.0 GHz ARM Cortex-A53 |
| Processor bit depth The bit depth (bits) of a processor is determined by the size (in bits) of registers, address buses, and data buses. 64-bit processors have higher performance than 32-bit processors, which, in turn, are more productive than 16-bit processors. | 64 bit |
| Instruction Set Architecture Instructions are commands by which the software sets/controls the operation of the processor. Information about the instruction set (ISA) that the processor can execute. | ARMv8 |
| Level 0 Cache (L0) Some processors have an L0 (level 0) cache that is faster to access than L1, L2, L3, etc. The advantage of having such a memory is not only more high performance but also reduced electricity consumption. | 4 kB + 4 kB (kilobytes) |
| First level cache (L1) Cache memory is used by the processor to reduce access time to more frequently accessed data and instructions. L1 (level 1) cache is small and much faster than system memory, and other cache levels. If the processor does not find the requested data in L1, it continues to look for them in the L2 cache. With some processors, this search is performed simultaneously in L1 and L2. | 16 kB + 16 kB (kilobytes) |
| Second level cache (L2) L2 (level 2) cache is slower than L1, but in return it has a larger capacity, allowing more data to be cached. It, like L1, is much faster than system memory (RAM). If the processor does not find the requested data in L2, it continues to look for it in the L3 cache (if available) or RAM. | 2048 KB (kilobytes) 2 MB (megabytes) |
| Number of processor cores The processor core executes program instructions. There are processors with one, two or more cores. Having more cores increases performance by allowing many instructions to be executed in parallel. | 8 |
| Processor clock speed The clock speed of a processor describes its speed in terms of cycles per second. It is measured in megahertz (MHz) or gigahertz (GHz). | 1500 MHz (megahertz) |
| Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) The graphics processing unit (GPU) handles calculations for various 2D/3D graphics applications. In mobile devices, it is used most often by games, consumer interface, video applications, etc. | Qualcomm Adreno 405 |
| GPU clock speed The speed of work is clock frequency GPU, which is measured in megahertz (MHz) or gigahertz (GHz). | 550 MHz (megahertz) |
| The amount of random access memory (RAM) Random access memory (RAM) is used by the operating system and all installed applications. Data stored in RAM is lost when the device is turned off or restarted. | 2 GB (gigabytes) |
| Type of random access memory (RAM) Information about the type of random access memory (RAM) used by the device. | LPDDR3 |
| Number of RAM channels Information about the number of RAM channels that are integrated into the SoC. More channels means higher data rates. | single channel |
| RAM frequency The frequency of RAM determines its speed, more specifically, the speed of reading / writing data. | 800 MHz (megahertz) |
Built-in memory
Each mobile device has a built-in (non-removable) memory with a fixed amount.
Memory cards
Memory cards are used in mobile devices to increase the storage capacity for storing data.
Screen
The screen of a mobile device is characterized by its technology, resolution, pixel density, diagonal length, color depth, etc.
| Type/technology One of the main characteristics of the screen is the technology by which it is made and on which the image quality of information directly depends. | IPS |
| Diagonal For mobile devices, the screen size is expressed in terms of its diagonal length, measured in inches. | 5 in 127 mm (millimeters) 12.7 cm (centimeters) |
| Width Approximate Screen Width | 2.45in 62.26 mm (millimeters) 6.23 cm (centimeters) |
| Height Approximate Screen Height | 4.36in 110.69 mm (millimeters) 11.07 cm (centimeters) |
| Aspect Ratio The ratio of the dimensions of the long side of the screen to its short side | 1.778:1 16:9 |
| Permission Screen resolution indicates the number of pixels vertically and horizontally on the screen. More a high resolution means sharper image detail. | 720 x 1280 pixels |
| Pixel Density Information about the number of pixels per centimeter or inch of the screen. Higher density allows information to be shown on the screen in clearer detail. | 294 ppi (pixels per inch) 115ppm (pixels per centimeter) |
| Color depth Screen color depth reflects the total number of bits used for the color components in a single pixel. Information about the maximum number of colors the screen can display. | 24 bit 16777216 flowers |
| Screen area Approximate percentage of screen space on the front of the device. | 67.91% (percentage) |
| Other characteristics Information about other functions and features of the screen. | capacitive Multitouch Scratch resistance |
| 2.5D curved glass screen OGS (One Glass Solution) |
Sensors
Different sensors perform different quantitative measurements and convert physical indicators into signals that are recognized by the mobile device.
rear camera
The main camera of a mobile device is usually located on its rear panel and can be combined with one or more additional cameras.
| Sensor Model Information about the manufacturer and model of the sensor used by the camera. | Sony IMX214 Exmor RS |
| Sensor type Information about the type of camera sensor. Some of the most widely used sensor types in mobile device cameras are CMOS, BSI, ISOCELL, etc. | CMOS (complementary metal-oxide semiconductor) |
| Sensor size Information about the size of the photosensor used in the device. Typically, cameras with a larger sensor and lower pixel density offer better image quality despite lower resolution. | 4.69 x 3.52 mm (millimeters) 0.23in |
| Pixel size Pixels are usually measured in microns. Larger pixels are able to capture more light and therefore provide better low-light performance and a wider dynamic range than smaller pixels. On the other hand, smaller pixels allow higher resolution while maintaining the same sensor size. | 1.136 µm (micrometers) 0.001136 mm (millimeters) |
| crop factor The crop factor is the ratio between the size of a full-frame sensor (36 x 24mm, equivalent to a frame of standard 35mm film) and the size of the device's photosensor. The number shown is the diagonal ratio of the full-frame sensor (43.3 mm) and the photosensor specific device. | 7.38 |
| ISO (light sensitivity) The ISO value/number indicates the sensitivity of the sensor to light. Digital camera sensors operate within a specific ISO range. The higher the ISO number, the higher the sensor's sensitivity to light. | 100 - 800 |
| Svetlosila | f/2 |
| Focal length Focal length indicates the distance in millimeters from the sensor to the optical center of the lens. The equivalent focal length (35mm) is the focal length of a mobile device camera that is equal to the focal length of a 35mm full-frame sensor that would achieve the same angle of view. It is calculated by multiplying the actual focal length of the mobile device's camera by the crop factor of its sensor. The crop factor can be defined as the ratio between the 35mm diagonals of a full-frame sensor and a mobile device sensor. | 3.79 mm (millimeters) 27.99 mm (millimeters) *(35 mm / full frame) |
| Flash type The rear (rear) cameras of mobile devices mainly use LED flashes. They can be configured with one, two or more light sources and vary in shape. | LED |
| Image resolution | 4128 x 3096 pixels 12.78 MP (megapixels) |
| Video resolution | 1920 x 1080 pixels 2.07 MP (megapixels) |
| 30 fps (frames per second) | |
| Characteristics Information about additional software and hardware features of the rear (rear) camera. | autofocus Burst shooting digital zoom Digital Image Stabilization geo tags panoramic shooting HDR shooting Touch focus Face recognition Adjusting the white balance ISO setting Exposure compensation Self-timer Scene Selection Mode |
Front-camera
Smartphones have one or more front cameras of various designs - a pop-up camera, a PTZ camera, a cutout or hole in the display, a camera under the display.
| Svetlosila Luminosity (also known as f-stop, aperture, or f-number) is a measure of the size of a lens aperture that determines the amount of light that enters the sensor. The lower the f-number, the larger the aperture and the more light reaches the sensor. Usually, the number f is indicated, which corresponds to the maximum possible aperture of the aperture. | f/2.2 |
| Image resolution One of the main characteristics of cameras is resolution. It represents the number of horizontal and vertical pixels in an image. For convenience, smartphone manufacturers often list resolution in megapixels, giving an approximate number of pixels in millions. | 2560 x 1920 pixels 4.92 MP (megapixels) |
| Video resolution Information about the maximum video resolution that the camera can record. | 1920 x 1080 pixels 2.07 MP (megapixels) |
| Video recording speed (frame rate) Information about the maximum recording rate (frames per second, fps) supported by the camera at maximum resolution. Some of the most basic video recording speeds are 24 fps, 25 fps, 30 fps, 60 fps. | 30 fps (frames per second) |
Audio
Information about the type of speakers and audio technologies supported by the device.
Radio
The radio of the mobile device is a built-in FM receiver.
Location determination
Information about navigation and location technologies supported by the device.
WiFi
Wi-Fi is a technology that provides wireless communication for short distance data transmission between different devices.
Bluetooth
Bluetooth is a standard for secure wireless data transfer between different types of devices over short distances.
| Version There are several versions of Bluetooth, with each subsequent one improving communication speed, coverage, making it easier to discover and connect devices. Information about the Bluetooth version of the device. | 4.0 |
| Characteristics Bluetooth uses different profiles and protocols for faster data transfer, power savings, better device discovery, and more. Some of the profiles and protocols that the device supports are shown here. | A2DP (Advanced Audio Distribution Profile) AVRCP (Audio/Visual Remote Control Profile) FTP (File Transfer Profile) GAVDP (Generic Audio/Video Distribution Profile) HFP (Hands Free Profile) HID (Human Interface Profile) HSP (Headset Profile) LE (Low Energy) MAP (Message Access Profile) OPP (Object Push Profile) PAN (Personal Area Networking Profile) PBAP/PAB (Phone Book Access Profile) |
USB
USB (Universal Serial Bus) is an industry standard that allows different electronic devices to communicate.
Headphone jack
This is an audio connector, which is also called an audio jack. The most widely used standard in mobile devices is the 3.5mm headphone jack.
Connecting devices
Information about other important connection technologies supported by the device.
Browser
A web browser is a software application for accessing and viewing information on the Internet.
Video file formats/codecs
Mobile devices support various video file formats and codecs, which store and encode/decode digital video data, respectively.
Battery
Mobile device batteries differ from each other in their capacity and technology. They provide the electrical charge they need to function.
| Capacity The capacity of a battery indicates the maximum charge it can store, measured in milliamp-hours. | 2400 mAh (milliamp-hours) |
| Type of The type of battery is determined by its structure and, more specifically, by the chemicals used. There are different types of batteries, with lithium-ion and lithium-ion polymer batteries being the most commonly used in mobile devices. | Li-polymer (Li-polymer) |
| Talk time 2G Talk time in 2G is the period of time during which the battery is completely discharged during a continuous conversation in a 2G network. | 9 h (hours) 540 min (minutes) 0.4 days |
| 2G standby time The 2G standby time is the amount of time it takes for the battery to fully discharge when the device is in stand-by mode and connected to a 2G network. | 180 h (hours) 10800 min (minutes) 7.5 days |
| 3G talk time Talk time in 3G is the period of time during which the battery is completely discharged during a continuous conversation in a 3G network. | 9 h (hours) 540 min (minutes) 0.4 days |
| 3G standby time The 3G standby time is the amount of time it takes for the battery to fully discharge when the device is in stand-by mode and connected to a 3G network. | 180 h (hours) 10800 min (minutes) 7.5 days |
| Characteristics Information about some additional features device battery. | Fixed |
Specific Absorption Rate (SAR)
SAR levels refer to the amount of electromagnetic radiation absorbed by the human body while using a mobile device.
| Head SAR (EU) The SAR level indicates the maximum number electromagnetic radiation that the human body is exposed to when holding a mobile device next to the ear in a conversation position. In Europe, the maximum allowable SAR value for mobile devices is limited to 2 W/kg per 10 grams of human tissue. This standard established by CENELEC in accordance with IEC standards following ICNIRP guidelines of 1998. | 1.29 W/kg (watt per kilogram) |
| Body SAR (EU) The SAR level indicates the maximum amount of electromagnetic radiation that the human body is exposed to when holding a mobile device at hip level. The maximum allowed SAR value for mobile devices in Europe is 2 W/kg per 10 grams of human tissue. This standard has been established by CENELEC following the 1998 ICNIRP guidelines and IEC standards. | 1.34 W/kg (watt per kilogram) |
Inexpensive nice device on a productive Qualcomm platform
Last month online trading platform AliExpress has a curious offer: exclusively and only in this store, sales of a new ZTE smartphone Blade S6, presented at an unusually low price - only $250. At first, the novelty could only be purchased from a few AliExpress sellers, and only by the end of February the device was supposed to appear in other stores.
The smartphone turned out to be really noticeable: first of all, it has a nice design, as well as an advantageous ratio of decent hardware characteristics at a very digestible price. What is only worth the fact that a fresh and fairly powerful 64-bit SoC of the market leader, Qualcomm, is installed here as a hardware platform. The ZTE Blade S6 uses a Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 with a fairly powerful video subsystem, a decent set of network modules and overall high performance. Devices on this platform on sale can still be counted on the fingers, and they all turn out to be much more expensive than the hero of today's review (for example, the Samsung Galaxy A7). It remains to make sure whether the rest of the components of the ZTE Blade S6 smartphone correspond to the high level set by the Qualcomm hardware platform, or everything is limited by its outstanding capabilities. First, let's look at the main characteristics of the model.
Key Features of ZTE Blade S6
| ZTE Blade S6 | Lenovo S90 | Oppo R5 | Fly Tornado Slim | Highscreen Zera U | |
| Screen | 5" IPS | 5″ Super AMOLED | 5.2″ AMOLED | 4.8″ Super AMOLED | 5" IPS |
| Permission | 1280×720, 294 ppi | 1280×720, 294 ppi | 1920×1080, 423 ppi | 1280×720, 306 ppi | 1920×1080, 441ppi |
| SoC | Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 (4x ARM Cortex-A53) @1.2GHz | Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 (8 ARM Cortex-A53 cores) @1.5 GHz | MediaTek MT6592 (8x ARM Cortex-A7 @1.7GHz) | MediaTek MT6592T (8x ARM Cortex-A7 @2.0GHz) | |
| GPU | Adreno 405 | Adreno 306 | Adreno 405 | Mali 450MP | Mali 450MP |
| RAM | 2 GB | 2 GB | 2 GB | 1 GB | 2 GB |
| Flash memory | 16 GB | 16/32 GB | 16 GB | 16 GB | 16 GB |
| Memory card support | microSD | — | — | — | microSD |
| Operating system | Google Android 5.0 | Google Android 4.4 | Google Android 4.4 | Google Android 4.4 | Google Android 4.4 |
| Battery | non-removable, 2400 mAh | non-removable, 2300 mAh | non-removable, 2000 mAh | non-removable, 2050 mAh | removable, 2000 mAh |
| cameras | rear (13 MP; video 1080p), front (8 MP) | rear (13 MP; video 1080p), front (5 MP) | rear (8 MP; video 1080p), front (5 MP) | rear (13 MP; video 1080p), front (2 MP) | |
| Dimensions and weight | 144×71×7.7mm, 135g | 146×72×6.9mm, 129g | 149×74×4.9mm, 157g | 140×67×5.2mm, 97g | 134×70×8.8mm, 140g |
| average price | T-11929517 | T-11964162 | T-11168103 | T-11553831 | T-11914220 |
| Offers ZTE Blade S6 | L-11929517-10 | ||||
- SoC Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 (MSM8939), 1500 MHz, 8 cores ARM Cortex-A53
- GPU Adreno 405 @550 MHz
- operating room android system 5.0, MI Favor 3.0
- Touch display IPS, 5″, 1280×720, 294 ppi
- Random access memory (RAM) 2 GB, inner memory 16 GB
- MicroSD support up to 64 GB
- Support Nano-SIM (2 pcs.)
- Communication 2G: GSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHz
- 3G communication: WCDMA 900/2100 MHz
- Data transmission FDD LTE (Cat4, up to 150 Mbps)
- Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n/ac (2 bands), Wi-Fi Direct, Wi-Fi Display
- Bluetooth 4.0
- USB 2.0
- GPS (A-GPS), Glonass, Beidou
- Camera 13 MP, f/2.0, AF, LED flash
- Camera 5 MP (front), f/2.2, FF
- Proximity sensor, light sensor, accelerometer, electronic compass
- Non-removable battery 2400 mAh
- Dimensions 144×71×7.7 mm
- Weight 135 g
Equipment
Smartphone ZTE Blade S6 goes on sale in a small rectangular box with a removable lid and inconspicuous appearance. The box is entirely cardboard, has a minimum number of inscriptions, contains a plastic tray inside, on which the smartphone itself is located, under it the rest of the contents of the kit are packaged in two smaller boxes.
The accessory kit consists of a miniature, not too powerful charger(output current 5V, 1A), connecting Micro-USB cable, as well as several thin books of paper documentation and a branded paper clip to remove SIM-cards. For the Chinese, this can be considered an unusually minimalistic package: no headphones, no plastic case, not even protective film not put on the screen.
Appearance and usability
Design ZTE Blade S6, of course, copied from the iPhone 6, it's obvious. The shape of the case, the back wall, the corner radius, the location of the camera with a flash on the back, the convex glass with sloping edges, the round button in the center - everything is very, very reminiscent of the latest Apple product. The Chinese only had to replace the metal in the case with cheap plastic, and change the location of the elements in some places - successful ergonomics had already been provided by the developers from Cupertino.
Accordingly, the smartphone is very comfortable in the hand: thoughtful dimensions, low weight, rounded edges, thin profile - all this contributes to a comfortable holding of the device in the palm of your hand.
The surface of the plastic is painted with silver paint, and from the side the case really looks like metal. The coating is matte and hard, the smartphone is moderately slippery, but not easily soiled - there are no fingerprints on the surface at all. There are no side bezels and frames here: just like the iPhone 6, zte case The Blade S6 is a single piece trough with a single gluing along the perimeter of the front glass. Only the trough here, as already mentioned, is not metal, but plastic. Accordingly, even with well-fitted parts and high-quality assembly, crunches are still constantly heard at any slightest touch and squeezing of the case. The plastic here is obviously thin, after some time of getting to know the device, you understand that the smartphone is quite flimsy, it is dangerous to drop it.
Unlike Apple smartphone, a simple camera module here fits perfectly inside a thin body so that nothing protrudes beyond the rear surface. Next to the eye of the camera is a single LED flash that can play the role of a flashlight. It is curious that to turn on the flashlight here, it is enough to hold down the power button and shake the device - the flashlight will turn on automatically.
With a grille for sound output, they acted easier here: instead of outputting sound through the bottom end, the developers, with a familiar gesture, cut out an ordinary longitudinal slot on the back of the case, which, even despite a small protrusion, still overlaps quite strongly with the surface on which it lies mobile device.
The entire front panel is completely covered with a protective glass with sloping edges, so that the impression of a bulge is created. It looks nice, more interesting than ordinary flat glass. Roundings along the edges of the front glass, as it were, repeat the roundness of the back wall, giving the form the correct completeness. Actually, this is what the designers from Apple were striving for when creating the iPhone 6, everything turned out very similar here.
For greater similarity, the icons of the touch buttons under the screen were removed altogether, leaving only a circle in the middle, and the side buttons have no images at all. At the moment of operation, only small dots of indicators light up under them for a moment with a soft bluish light, the rest of the time the side buttons do not give themselves away, so it seems that there is only one central button under the screen. This gives the smartphone, made on the Android OS, even more similar to the iPhone, by the way, Meizu traditionally does the same, another Chinese lover of copying the design of Apple products, which in the past was even caught for this by the organizers of major international exhibitions. The purpose of the two side keys, by the way, can be changed here among themselves. The central button, among other things, plays the role of an alert indicator, signaling with a flashing light about incoming events.
The mechanical keys here are assembled on one, right side, made of plastic, painted in a common tone with the case. The buttons are large, have a good distinct response, in general, there are no complaints about the controls, although two keys that are in a very close neighborhood can lead to confusion in actions.
On the opposite side, there are both slots for cards: one of them fits two Nano-SIM cards at once, the second is entirely given over to the card microSD memory. Reboot is not required to replace SIM cards - the device automatically detects newly installed cards in the slots. At this point, it is worth noting that the slots are not equivalent in terms of capabilities: the user must remember that the card that he intends to use for wireless data transfer (3G / 4G) must be inserted only in the first slot and nothing else. Cards installed in the second slot will in any case work only in 2G mode, that is, they will be used only for voice communication.
Containers with cards are removed by the usual method of pressing hidden buttons using the supplied key or any suitable paper clip. Near the openings of the slots there are corresponding icons for ease of orientation, everything is well thought out in this regard, and in general, the mechanism for inserting and removing cards is implemented in general conveniently.
The universal Micro-USB connector is located at the bottom. It supports connection mode external devices OTG. There are no plugs and covers on the case, since the device is not equipped with protection against water and dirt. Not found on the case and fastening for the strap. Wireless charging The device also does not support Qi.
Screen
Smartphone ZTE Blade S6 is equipped with an IPS touch matrix with In-Cell technology. The screen dimensions are 62 × 111 mm, the diagonal is 5 inches, the resolution is 1280 × 720 pixels. Accordingly, the pixel density is only 294 ppi, which is not so much by modern standards - FHD could have been done for 5 inches.
The side frames are not so thin, although the developers themselves claim that their width is 2.2 mm, but what's the point of measuring the distance from the edge of the glass to the screen, if the thickness of the gasket, the bulging of the case and the black border around the screen are added here? As a result, all the same, a total of about 4 mm runs. For example, in Meizu MX4, all of the above in total does not exceed 2 mm - this is a “legitimate” record, but here the frames in reality are twice as wide. The width of the top and bottom edges is from 14 to 18 mm.
The brightness of the display can be adjusted manually, or you can use automatic adjustment based on the operation of the light sensor. Multi-touch technology allows you to handle 10 simultaneous touches. The smartphone also has a proximity sensor that blocks the screen when you bring the smartphone to your ear.
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A detailed examination using measuring instruments was carried out by the editor of the "Monitors" and "Projectors and TV" sections Alexey Kudryavtsev. Here is his expert opinion on the screen of the test sample.
The front surface of the screen is made in the form of a glass plate with a mirror-smooth surface, resistant to scratches. Judging by the reflection of objects, the anti-glare properties of the screen are no worse than those of the Google Nexus 7 (2013) screen (hereinafter simply Nexus 7). For clarity, here is a photo in which a white surface is reflected in the off screens (on the left - Nexus 7, on the right - ZTE Blade S6, then they can be distinguished by size):
The screen on the ZTE Blade S6 is a bit darker (brightness in photos is 86 versus 92 on the Nexus 7). The ghosting of reflected objects in the ZTE Blade S6 screen is very weak, which indicates that there is no air gap between the screen layers (more specifically, between the outer glass and the LCD matrix surface) (OGS type screen - One Glass Solution). Due to the smaller number of borders (glass-air type) with very different refractive indices, such screens look better in conditions of strong external illumination, but their repair in case of cracked external glass is much more expensive, since the entire screen has to be changed. On the outer surface of the screen there is a special oleophobic (grease-repellent) coating (in terms of efficiency no worse than the Nexus 7), so fingerprints are removed more easily, and appear at a slower rate than in the case of ordinary glass.
With manual brightness control and with a white field displayed in full screen, the maximum brightness value was about 350 cd/m², the minimum was 16 cd/m². The maximum brightness is not high, but given the excellent anti-reflective properties, readability even on a sunny day outdoors will be at an acceptable level. In complete darkness, the brightness can be reduced to a comfortable value. In the presence of automatic brightness control by light sensor (located on the right upper corner on the front panel). AT automatic mode as the ambient light conditions change, the brightness of the screen both increases and decreases. This function depends on the position of the brightness slider. If it is 100%, then in complete darkness the auto-brightness function reduces the brightness to 150 cd / m² (a little too much), in an office lit by artificial light (about 400 lux) it sets it to 250 cd / m² (it could have been less), in a very bright environment (corresponds to lighting on a clear day outdoors, but without direct sunlight - 20,000 lux or a little more) the brightness increases to 350 cd / m² (to the maximum - it is necessary); if the adjustment is about 50%, then the values are as follows: 25-30, 130-175 and 350 cd / m² (ideal combination), the regulator at 0% - 16, 20 and 350 cd / m² (the average value is underestimated, which is logical). It turns out that the auto-brightness function works adequately and allows the user to customize their work to individual requirements, however, it is worth noting the large spread of steady-state values due to the unstable operation of the light sensor. At any brightness level, there is virtually no backlight modulation, so there is no screen flicker.
AT this smartphone IPS type matrix is used. Micrographs show a typical IPS subpixel structure:
For comparison, you can see the gallery of microphotographs of screens used in mobile technology.
The screen has good viewing angles without significant color shift even at large deviations of the gaze from the perpendicular to the screen and without inverting shades. For comparison, here are photographs in which the same images are displayed on the screens of ZTE Blade S6 and Nexus 7, while the brightness of the screens was initially set to about 200 cd / m², and the color balance on the camera was forcibly switched to 6500 K. A white field is perpendicular to the screens:
Note the good uniformity of brightness and color tone of the white field. And a test picture:
The color reproduction is good, the saturation is normal (well, maybe a little increased, perhaps there is some kind of post-processing), the color balance is somewhat different. Now at an angle of about 45 degrees to the plane and to the side of the screen:
It can be seen that the colors did not change much on both screens, but on the ZTE Blade S6, the contrast decreased to a greater extent due to the strong black highlights and the greater decrease in brightness. And the white box:
The brightness at an angle of the screens has decreased (at least 5 times, based on the difference in shutter speed), but the ZTE Blade S6 screen is still a little darker. The black field when deviated diagonally is highlighted strongly, but remains approximately neutral gray. The photos below demonstrate this (the brightness of the white areas in the direction perpendicular to the plane of the screens is the same!):
And from another angle:
With a perpendicular view, the uniformity of the black field is good, however, the misfortune of almost all devices with a white case appears - a backlight shines through it at the edge of the screen, which causes some displeasure:
Contrast (approximately in the center of the screen) is good - about 900:1. The response time for the black-white-black transition is 14 ms (8 ms on + 6 ms off). The transition between grayscale 25% and 75% (according to the numerical value of the color) and back in total takes 23 ms. The gamma curve constructed from 32 points with an equal interval according to the numerical value of the shade of gray did not reveal a blockage either in the highlights or in the shadows. The fit exponent is 2.00, slightly below the standard value of 2.2. In this case, the real gamma curve deviates very little from the power dependence:
The color gamut is almost equal to sRGB:
The spectra show that the matrix filters moderately mix the components to each other:
As a result, visually the colors have a natural saturation. The balance of shades on the scale is a compromise, since the color temperature is much higher than the standard 6500 K, but the deviation from the black body spectrum (ΔE) is less than 10 (and even less than 3), which is considered a good indicator for a consumer device. At the same time, the color temperature and ΔE change little from shade to shade - this has a positive effect on the visual assessment of color balance. (The darkest areas of the gray scale can be ignored, since the color balance does not matter much there, and the measurement error of color characteristics at low brightness is large.)
To summarize: the screen has a not very high maximum brightness, but it has good anti-glare properties, so the device, most likely, can be used outdoors without any problems even on a sunny summer day. In complete darkness, the brightness can be lowered to a comfortable level. It is permissible to use the mode with automatic brightness adjustment, which works more or less adequately. Also, the advantages of the screen include the presence of an effective oleophobic coating, the absence of an air gap in the layers of the screen and flicker, a sufficiently high contrast, good black field uniformity, acceptable color balance, and sRGB color gamut. The disadvantages are the low stability of black to the deviation of the gaze from the perpendicular to the plane of the screen. Nevertheless, taking into account the importance of the characteristics for this particular class of devices, the screen quality can be considered high.
Sound
The ZTE Blade S6 sounds completely uninteresting, and this is perhaps one of the few outright disadvantages of the device. Considering its advantageous cost, the absence of any top-end characteristics could not be considered as a minus in this case, but the sound of the device is really bad. The sound consists only of high frequencies, low frequencies are not heard at all, the speaker sounds loud and shrill, besides, it chokes at the maximum level, there are extraneous noise and wheezing, as a result, the played composition turns into an indistinguishable "porridge".
In headphones, the sound is also not of high quality, only this time the sound can be described as muffled and dim - the sound seems to pass through a layer of cotton wool, the maximum volume level is insufficient. Before us is clearly not a musical solution, although in the settings of the proprietary player you can even find support for Hi-Fi quality, but this is nothing more than a tribute to fashion. Branded headphones, as mentioned above, were not included in the package for the smartphone. In conversational dynamics, the interlocutor's speech, timbre and intonation remain recognizable, there are no complaints here.
There is an FM radio with the ability to record programs from the air in the smartphone, it works only with connected headphones. Telephone conversations The device does not know how to record by regular means.
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Camera
ZTE Blade S6 is equipped with two modules of digital cameras with a resolution of 13 and 5 megapixels. For front shooting, a 5 megapixel module with f / 2.2 aperture and a relatively wide-angle lens (80%) is used, respectively, the developers are hinting at the possibility of creating group selfies. Among the settings there is the possibility of tracking a smile and automatically shooting when it is detected. In any case, the shooting quality of the front module of the ZTE Blade S6 is quite poor, the image is noticeably distorted at the edges and loses clarity.
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The main rear camera is equipped with a 13-megapixel Sony Exmor IMX214 CMOS sensor with f/2.0 aperture, autofocus and single LED flash. The camera settings menu is the little that in the proprietary smartphone interface of ZTE differs from the standard Google Android interface. Everything else in the Blade S6 remains virtually unchanged, but the camera is completely different. Camera control is quite clear and intuitive - many times more convenient than the regular menu for the camera in the 5th android versions OS. There are a lot of shooting modes, from the usual HDR and panorama, to more specific ones, such as the ability to clear photos of unwanted objects and even edit the image sharpness on an already captured image. It is also possible to switch the camera to manual settings mode, where you can independently influence the exposure level, white balance, etc.; here, the grid and level already appear on the viewfinder screen, the developers call this mode “Expert”.
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The camera can shoot video at resolutions up to 1080p, an example of a test video is shown below.
- Clip #1 (44 MB, 1920×1080, 30 fps)
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Unfortunately, autofocus errors like this are not uncommon. |
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In general, the sharpness is not bad. |
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The sharpness drops quite smoothly with the removal of the plan, while the distant plan is not so badly worked out. |
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Noise can be seen in the shadows, but they are mostly smeared. |
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The long-range plan worked out quite well. |
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The numbers of almost all cars are distinguishable. |
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The camera copes well with text in room lighting. |
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Macro photography is a little worse, but overall not bad. |
We also tested the camera on a laboratory bench according to our methodology.
The camera is good, but nothing more. It does not demonstrate any outstanding results, therefore it cannot be called a flagship. It is worth noting that it often makes mistakes with focus, and the pictures are blurry almost every other time when shooting quickly without specifying the focus point. Also disturbing is the abundance software processing which is very eye catching.
The camera passes the laboratory test relatively well and is quite stable. There is a noticeable dip only in poor lighting, but with good camera even manages to work out the edges quite well.
In general, the camera, of course, is far from being a flagship, but it will cope well with most tasks.
Telephone part and communications
The ZTE Blade S6 hardware platform is a high-quality SoC 600 series from the market leader Qualcomm, so the smartphone has a complete order with network modules. The device operates in most bands modern networks 2G GSM, 3G WCDMA and FDD LTE Cat4, supporting frequencies for Russia with a theoretical maximum speed of up to 150 Mbps per download. In practice, with SIM-cards of domestic operators, the smartphone is stably registered and works in 4G networks. The rest of the network capabilities of the device are also worthy: Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n/ac is supported with the ability to work in two bands (2.4 and 5 GHz); As a standard, you can organize a wireless access point via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth 4.0 channels, there are Wi-Fi Direct and Wi-Fi Display modes. But the Chinese traditionally do not pre-install NFC in their devices. The mode of connecting external devices via an OTG adapter is supported by the device.
The navigation module was pleased with the response speed: even in cold mode, the first satellites are literally in tens of seconds. The module works with all three global navigation networks: GPS / A-GPS, domestic Glonass and Chinese satellite system Beidou (BDS). It is worth noting the presence of a magnetic field sensor in the device, on the basis of which the electronic compass of navigation cartographic programs functions.
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Spontaneous reboots / shutdowns were not observed during testing, there are no problems with this, the interface works very quickly, no delays or slowdowns were noticed. With Russian language support virtual keyboards no problem. At the factory, a third-party program called with a wide range of various features and support for many languages is pre-installed in the standard configuration of a smartphone; a separate section of the electronic manual for working with a smartphone installed in the device is dedicated to it. When dialing a number, SmartDial is supported with a search by the first letters in contacts, you can also use the continuous writing method like Swype. There are no options for reducing the size of the working screen area for the convenience of one-handed operation.
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The smartphone supports two SIM cards: you can assign any of the SIM cards as the main one for organizing voice calls, data transfer or sending SMS messages. When making a call, you can select the desired card only if no specific one has been previously assigned, which is not very convenient. Work with two SIM-cards is organized according to the usual Dual standard SIM Dual Standby, when both cards can be in active standby mode, but cannot work at the same time - there is only one radio module here.
Slots for SIM-cards are unequal in their capabilities: only the first slot supports high-speed data transfer in 3G (4G) networks, the second one is designed only for 2G, that is, it can practically be used only for voice data transmission.
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OS and software
ZTE Blade S6 runs natively on the Google Android software platform fresh version 5.0 with all its innovations, about which so much has already been said. Despite the fact that a proprietary user interface called MiFavor 3.0 is installed here, in general, most of the features of the OS from Google, its appearance with the concept of "Material Design", the structure of all sections, the notification curtain, the menu of recently opened programs, interactive tiles with notifications, everything looks exactly as if the ZTE Blade S6 was one of those smartphones that operate on a "pure" OS Android fifth versions without any third-party launchers. The changes brought here by the alternative shell MiFavor 3.0 consist only in the absence of a separate program menu, little things like redrawn themes, as well as added support for gesture control.
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Developers from ZTE were not too lazy to equip their mobile products with their own technology for communication between devices based on Wi-Fi. With the help of a proprietary pre-installed program called AliveShare, ZTE smartphone owners can link them together, create their own groups, join them, share files, participate in group chats and even play interactive games against each other in real time.
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The program interface is convenient and concise, support for the Russian language is not satisfactory, everything works clearly and quickly: the organizer of the group automatically creates a point on his smartphone WiFi access, and other participants, having accepted the invitation, are also automatically connected to it. Also, all participants can unite into a single group based on any existing Wi-Fi network. The speed of data exchange between AliveShare participants is such that a 1.76 GB verification file was transferred from one smartphone to another in less than 6 minutes, that is, approximately 5 MB / s.
Performance
The ZTE Blade S6 hardware platform is based on a fairly fresh eight-core single-chip system (SoC) Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 (MSM8939). This 64-bit platform is made using the big.LITTLE technology, where four Cortex-A53 processor cores are adjacent to four of the same Cortex-A53 cores, but these “fours” have a different maximum operating frequency. Depending on the nature and degree of loading, either 4 "younger" or 4 "senior" (up to 1.5 GHz) cores are included, which saves energy. For graphics processing, the Adreno 405 video accelerator with a frequency of up to 550 MHz is responsible here. SoC Snapdragon 615 is made using the 28 nm process technology, and belongs to the mid-range category.
The RAM of the smartphone is 2 GB. The device has 16 GB of flash memory, of which only about 7.7 GB is available for user needs, and the rest is reserved for the system and applications. The memory capacity can also be increased by MicroSD cards. The mode of connecting external devices to the Micro-USB (OTG) port in the device is also supported.
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According to the test results, the eight-core hardware platform ZTE Blade S6 showed average results, approximately at the level of 30K in AnTuTu v 5.x, while for top solutions this value is now from 45K. There is nothing special to add here, the platform is far in its capabilities from the most productive modern platforms that are installed in flagship solutions. The lot of devices with such a filling is a confident average level, nothing more. Nevertheless, the smartphone described today is sufficiently productive that its capabilities are enough for some time to perform almost any task, including 3D games.
Testing in latest versions complex tests AnTuTu and GeekBench 3:
For convenience, we have summarized all the results obtained by us when testing a smartphone in the latest versions of popular benchmarks in tables. Several other devices from various segments are usually added to the table, also tested on similar latest versions of benchmarks (this is done only for a visual assessment of the obtained dry numbers). Unfortunately, within a single comparison, it is impossible to present the results from different versions benchmarks, so many worthy and relevant models remain “behind the scenes” - due to the fact that they once passed the “obstacle course” on previous versions test programs.
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Testing the graphics subsystem in 3DMark gaming tests,GFXBenchmark, and Bonsai Benchmark:
When testing in 3DMark for the highest performing smartphones, it is now possible to run the application in Unlimited mode, where the rendering resolution is fixed at 720p and VSync is disabled (due to which the speed can rise above 60 fps).
| ZTE Blade S6 (Qualcomm Snapdragon 615) |
Lenovo S90 (Qualcomm Snapdragon 410) |
Oppo R5 (Qualcomm Snapdragon 615) |
Fly Tornado Slim (Mediatek MT6592) |
Highscreen Zera U (Mediatek MT6592T) |
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| 3DMark Ice Storm Extreme (more is better) |
5656 | 2656 | 5527 | 5028 | 4837 |
| 3DMark Ice Storm Unlimited (more is better) |
8523 | 4335 | 8055 | 7131 | 7217 |
| GFXBenchmark T-Rex HD (C24Z16 Onscreen) | 24 fps | 9.5 fps | 13.1 fps | 16 fps | 11 fps |
| GFXBenchmark T-Rex HD (C24Z16 Offscreen) | 15 fps | 5.4 fps | 13.5 fps | 12 fps | 12 fps |
| Bonsai Benchmark | 2660 (38 fps) | 1693 (24 fps) | 1721 (24fps) | 2330 (33 fps) | 1452 (21 fps) |
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Browser cross-platform tests:
As for benchmarks for evaluating the speed of the javascript engine, you should always make allowances for the fact that the results in them depend significantly on the browser in which they are launched, so that the comparison can only be truly correct on the same OS and browsers, and this possibility is available when testing not always. In the case of Android OS, we always try to use Google Chrome.
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Video playback
To test the "omnivorous" when playing video (including support for various codecs, containers and special features, such as subtitles), we used the most common formats, which make up the bulk of the content available on the Web. Note that for mobile devices it is important to have support for hardware video decoding at the chip level, since it is most often impossible to process modern versions using processor cores alone. Also, do not expect everything from a mobile device to decode everything, since the leadership in flexibility belongs to the PC, and no one is going to challenge it. All results are summarized in a single table.
According to the test results, the test subject was not equipped with all the necessary decoders that are necessary for the full playback of most of the most common multimedia files on the network. To successfully play them, you will have to resort to the help of a third-party player - for example, MX Player. True, it is also necessary to change the settings in it and manually install additional custom codecs, because now this player does not officially support the AC3 audio format.
| Format | container, video, sound | MX Video Player | Regular video player |
| DVDRip | AVI, XviD 720×400 2200 Kbps, MP3+AC3 | plays normally | plays normally |
| Web-DL SD | AVI, XviD 720×400 1400 Kbps, MP3+AC3 | plays normally | plays normally |
| Web-DL HD | MKV, H.264 1280x720 3000Kbps, AC3 | Video plays fine, no sound¹ | |
| BDRip 720p | MKV, H.264 1280x720 4000Kbps, AC3 | Video plays fine, no sound¹ | Video plays fine, no sound¹ |
| BDRip 1080p | MKV, H.264 1920x1080 8000Kbps, AC3 | Video plays fine, no sound¹ | Video plays fine, no sound¹ |
¹ Audio in MX Video Player only played after installing an alternative custom audio codec; The regular player does not have such a setting.
Video output features tested Alexey Kudryavtsev.
We did not find the MHL interface, as well as Mobility DisplayPort in this smartphone, so we had to limit ourselves to testing the output of video files on the screen of the device itself. To do this, we used a set of test files with an arrow and a rectangle moving one division per frame (see “Methodology for testing video signal playback and display devices. Version 1 (for mobile devices) Red marks indicate possible problems associated with the playback of the respective files.
According to the frame output criterion, the quality of video files playback on the screen of the smartphone itself is good, since frames (or groups of frames) can (but are not required) to be displayed with more or less uniform alternation of intervals and without frame drops. When playing video files with a resolution of 1280 by 720 pixels (720p) on a smartphone screen, the image of the video file itself is displayed exactly along the border of the screen, one to one in pixels, that is, in its original resolution. The brightness range displayed on the screen corresponds to the standard range of 16-235 - in the shadows, only a couple of shades do not differ in brightness from black, but in the highlights, all gradations of shades are displayed.
Battery life
The ZTE Blade S6 has a 2400 mAh non-removable battery, standard for modern mid-range smartphones. The resolution of the display, as the most energy-intensive of the elements of a smartphone, is not so high here (720p), the platform is not the most demanding, so in terms of autonomy, the smartphone has everything worthy - no records, but it is quite consistent with the modern average level. Without recharging in normal operation, the device confidently lives up to night charging, this is the main thing. It is also worth noting that the testing was carried out without using any energy-saving features, and with them the smartphone is obviously able to last longer. By the way, the regular power-saving mode is automatically turned on here after each reboot, so an inexperienced user will most likely have a smartphone that will constantly function in this mode. The results are summarized in a table.
| Battery capacity | Reading mode | Video mode | 3D game mode | |
| ZTE Blade S6 | 2400 mAh | 11:40 a.m. | 8:30 a.m. | 3h 40m |
| Lenovo S90 | 2300 mAh | 11:00 a.m. | 9:30 a.m. | 3h 50m |
| Oppo R5 | 2000 mAh | 12:00 p.m. | 7:00 a.m. | 2h 20m |
| Fly Tornado Slim | 2050 mAh | 10:30 | 7:00 a.m. | 3h 10m |
| Fly Tornado One | 1920 mAh | 13:00 | 7:30 a.m. | 3h 30m |
| Highscreen Zera U | 2000 mAh | 10:00 a.m. | 6 a.m. | 2 a.m. |
| Zopo ZP920 | 2300 mAh | 11:10 am | 8h 40m | 3h 20m |
| samsung galaxy A7 | 2600 mAh | 22h 10m | 12:00 p.m. | 3h 20m |
| Samsung Galaxy A5 | 2300 mAh | 14:00 | 11:00 a.m. | 4h 20m |
Continuous reading in the FBReader program (with a standard, light theme) at the minimum comfortable brightness level (the brightness was set to 100 cd / m²) lasted a little less than 12 hours until the battery was completely discharged, and with continuous viewing of video in high quality (720p) with that the same brightness level through home network Wi-Fi device lasted 8.5 hours. In gaming mode, the smartphone functioned for more than 3.5 hours. The total charging time is 2.5 hours.
Outcome
As for the cost of the smartphone, we have already discussed this issue in detail at the very beginning of the article: the device is still being sold on exclusive rights through online sellers at the old price of $250, later the price will rise to $264 and more. But even at this price, the smartphone, the heart of which was decided to be a fresh and powerful Qualcomm 600-series platform, deserves the closest attention. Of course, not everything turned out to be so cloudless: the screen installed in the device did not reach a decent Full HD in resolution, and the sound capabilities of the smartphone turned out to be even lower. acceptable level. You can also complain about cheap manufacturing materials: beautiful shapes, smooth contours and a thin profile would look and feel better in the hand if they were made of metal, and not made of flimsy plastic crunching under the fingers. But this, perhaps, all the cons and end. Otherwise, the ZTE Blade S6 turned out to be a very worthy device with a productive and reliable platform, a good camera, a good set of network capabilities and quite acceptable autonomy. Given the fact that the smartphone is at a higher level in terms of its main characteristics than most solutions offered at this price, you can turn a blind eye to a few disadvantages. If you are not afraid of the difficulties associated with ordering in foreign online stores and the long waiting time for delivery, then the decision to purchase the ZTE Blade S6 looks optimal for those interested in decent mid-range smartphones at a reasonable price.
In January 2015, the Chinese mid-range smartphone ZTE Blade S6 saw the light of day. Both the name and the appearance of the device clearly indicated a connection with the iPhone 6. A little more than six months later, in September 2015, a simplified version of the smartphone, called the ZTE Blade S6 Lite LTE, was released for sale. She got more modest hardware, but the price tag was lower. Now you can buy a device at a price of about 150-170 dollars, depending on the market.
Overview Blade S6 Lite LTE is designed to show what (except for the number in the title) makes it related to Apple's brainchild, and also how the simplified version differs from the "full" one.
The smartphone received characteristics that are consistent with the budget device in 2015. However, for the Chinese they are somewhat atypical.
Appearance
When you first look at the ZTE Blade S6 Lite, its resemblance to the iPhone 6 is striking. The same rounded body, silver back cover, a round button below the screen - all this is clearly copied from it. But there are differences, and they are significant. So, not aluminum is used as a material, but ordinary painted plastic (that's why there are no dividing strips on the rear panel). The Home button is touch-sensitive and, of course, lacks a fingerprint scanner. The layout of the ends is also different.
The dimensions of the smartphone are slightly larger than those of the iPhone. Width - 70 mm, length - 144, and thickness - 7.7. The mass of the device is 132 g.
CPU
Atypical for Chinese smartphone(though not unique) is the central processing unit. Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 is a quad-core chip running at 1.2 GHz and equipped with an Adreno 306 graphics accelerator. Compared to competitors from MTK, it differs more high price(hence the cost of S6 Lite, overpriced for a state employee from China), but it supports LTE and gains a little more points in AnTuTu (up to 22 thousand, against the background of 18-20 for MT6582).
The processor's capabilities are enough for everyday work, web surfing, watching movies. But in resource-intensive games, it does not shine with speed, the heaviest of them (like WoT Blitz) will go to the minimum settings.
Memory
The RAM in the smartphone is 1 GB, that is, half as much as in the older version. Such a volume is typical for a state employee, but for $150 you can also find models with 2 GB. At startup, about half of the RAM is available, but running programs quickly consumes it. Nevertheless, there are no brakes when switching tasks, several resource-intensive programs in the background keep without crashes.
The built-in memory in the smartphone is 8 GB, about half of them is operating system. Blade S6 Lite supports memory cards up to 32 GB, so expansion problems inner space should not be. You can try to install a 64 GB module if the file system is FAT32, but such cards are not officially supported. There is also a USB OTG function.
Battery
The S6 Lite has a 2400 mAh non-removable battery. The autonomy indicators of the smartphone fit into the framework of the average. As a plus, it is worth noting the fact that the declared capacity is quite consistent with reality, which was a rarity even for large Chinese companies until recently.
In the mode of Internet surfing or watching a video, the device will last about 6-8 hours, but games discharge it quite quickly: 3 hours - and you have to look for an outlet. With gentle use, the batteries will last for a day, but those who do not part with a smartphone may be disappointed. With a complete charger, the process of replenishing the battery capacity to 100% lasts about an hour.
cameras
The main camera of the Blade S6 Lite is equipped with an 8 MP sensor. Of course, autofocus and LED flash are present. Photo quality compared to others budget smartphones does not stand out. It is a little short of, for example, the Galaxy S3, but it looks favorably in comparison with 8-megapixel matrices in Chinese for $60-80. There are no significant shortcomings during the day, noises appear in the evening or in the room. At night, getting a clear picture is unrealistic, but this is a general minus of mobile cameras, and not a reproach towards the ZTE Blade S6 Lite.
The smartphone also has a front camera. 5 MP is the de facto unwritten standard for a low-cost device in 2015. And this is perhaps its main characteristic. It does not have any special functions (like autofocus, virtual or physical flash, a lens with increased aperture), the frame quality is comparable to most devices priced from 50 to 150 dollars. Enough for a selfie, and even more so for Skype.
Display
The smartphone has a 5-inch display with a resolution of 1280x720 pixels. The pixel density is 294 PPI, which is quite decent for a state employee. An unprepared person will not even notice the graininess of the ZTE Blade S6 Lite screen. Users tempted by FullHD matrices will notice individual points only if they peer specifically.
The matrix belongs to the IPS type and was created using OGS technology. The touchscreen material is glass coated with an oleophobic layer. The latter is visually invisible, does not contribute to the appearance of glare. The viewing angle is good, the color reproduction is natural, and the brightness of 350 cd / m2 is enough so that the sun does not blind the display to a state of unreadability.
Connection
ZTE Blade S6 Lite is equipped with two Nano-SIM slots. What caused this move is unknown: the smartphone does not have a powerful hardware that requires a complex and dimensional board, a high-capacity battery or a record low thickness, and there would be extra millimeters for Micro-SIM that have become the standard. It is very likely that when buying an S6 Lite, you will have to arm yourself with scissors for trimming sims.
From the standards cellular communication The smartphone supports GSM, 3G and 4G LTE. The set of wireless interfaces also includes Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4th generation and GPS/GLONASS navigator.
Sound
The ZTE Blade S6 Lite speaker, unlike the iPhone, which has become a model for designers, is located not at the bottom, but at the bottom of the rear panel. It has a decent volume, the sound can be called clear, but nothing more. Traditionally for budget smartphones, the device cannot claim to be a boombox. But in the headphones, everything is quite decent, there are no complaints.
System
The operating system of the ZTE Blade S6 Lite is Android 5 Lolipop. As GUI user has the MiFavor shell installed. Its design is similar to that of iOS or Xiaomi's MIUI. This implementation can be considered controversial, since not everyone will like the lack of a dedicated application menu and finding all shortcuts on home screens. The system works properly, without obvious glitches and slowdowns. The animation is rendered smoothly, the transition between programs does not take much time.
Peculiarities
The manufacturer was pleased with the fact that he posted on the site source ZTE Blade S6 Lite firmware. Thus, enthusiasts will be able to study it and create their own modified versions of the software, with bugs fixed or features adapted for themselves. This can be called a plus for "geeks", since the same Xiaomi prefer to keep the source code secret, and when creating "custom" enthusiasts long and painstakingly look for compatible drivers for peripheral hardware (cameras, wireless modules etc.).
Pros and cons of the Blade S6 Lite
Pros:
- attractive (though not original) design;
- LTE support;
- good screen.
Smartphone cons:
- somewhat overpriced (other large Chinese companies offer more impressive hardware for $150);
- outstanding camera;
- mediocre autonomy.
Our review of the Blade S6 Lite
ZTE Blade S6 Lite turned out to be a good budget device, which can only be held back by a slightly overpriced price. The review of the smartphone did not reveal critical shortcomings, but no obvious advantages were found either. Thus, it can be called balanced. In general, it is worth noting positively the design (which is pleasant, despite the frank "copy-pasting" from the iPhone), the build quality, as well as the relatively high-quality screen.
As for the cons - they are not so significant. If it were not for the price, they could not be remembered at all, since for a state employee, both the camera and the battery are quite good. Simply, given that the manufacturer of the device is not Samsung or even HTC, the cost of the smartphone seems somewhat overpriced.
Video review of the smartphone ZTE Blade S6 Lite
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