It looks like the new standard for a flagship phone is now pegged at 5-inches and comes with a quad-core chip. That’s where the O+ 8.15 is sitting at right now. Check out our full review after the break.
O+ is a fairly new player in the local market so it has a lot of catching up to do. Based on what we’ve seen so far, and the number of devices they’ve been releasing, they’re actually catching up pretty quickly.
We’ve asked the folks from O+ on the unique naming convention but couldn’t get any solid answers either. All we understand at this moment is that the higher the number after the decimal point, the better/bigger the handset is.
Design and Construction.
The handset follows the same design signature as many other O+ handsets before it. This is evident with the glossy polycarbonate body with a distinct pattern. The chassis design is simple and polished. The body feels very solid, has a two-tone color scheme (white and silver).
The power button is placed on the right side of the device while the volume rocker is on the left side. At the top is where they placed the 3.5mm headphone jack and the micro-USB port.
At the back side is where the 8MP camera is positioned with the LED flash just below it, along with the noise-cancelling microphone. The O+ logo sits just below them and then speaker grills are flushed at the bottom left corner.
At the front is an all-glass panel with a little gap on the top end for the earpiece. A number of sensors line up discretely in the same corner, hidden below the glass panel.
The soft buttons for Android menu are found on the lower corner, visible only by back-illumination. The glass panel is framed by a thin strip of metal and surrounded by another layer of silver polycarbonate trimmings.
On the side, you will notice a slightly curved body that arches around the mid-section. This is similar to the design execution we’ve been familiar with in the Xperia Arc before. It’s a nice simple touch that leaves a good impression.
Display.
The O+ 8.15 packs a large 5-inch display with a screen resolution of 720×1280 pixels, giving it a pixel density of 294ppi. Not bad for a display with a 5-inch real estate size. Images are clear and crisp, has good contrast and great viewing angles. We played a full HD 1080p movie and the video was really smooth and vibrant.
We’re not sure if the IPS LCD was protected by Gorilla Glass or some sort of scratch resistant coating just like the one on the 8.12 but from the looks of it (and after a few scratch tests), we think it’s tough and durable.
OS, UI and Apps.
O+ uses a simple custom UI and its own set of icons and widgets. While there’s not much to rave for here, we wished they could have just stuck with the vanilla Android flavor and be done with it (would have looked better).
One of the things that surprised us is that the O+ 8.15 comes pre-installed with Android 4.2.1 which is very close to the latest version (most handsets come with 4.1 only). The only other devices that came out with this close to the latest version are the Samsung Galaxy line and of course the Nexus line.
Access to hundreds of thousands of apps and games on the Google Play Store allows you to maximize the use of the phone and even customize it to your liking.
The virtual keyboard is very simple and basic but that works well for us. The keys are spaced well apart although predictive text doesn’t really work for us. the clean and simple layout is actually better in our book.
Multimedia and Camera.
The handset is great for multimedia consumption. The large 5-inch display is just right for viewing photos, watching full HD movies and browsing the web. Audio from the speakers at the back sounded good and was as loud as we wanted it to be, especially when playing games and watching movies.
The 8MP camera takes decent photos. It’s not very sharp but color saturation is pretty good. Here are some sample shots taken with the the 8.15:
[fancygallery id=”16″ album=”16″]
Here’s a sample video clip taken with the camera:
One thing that we found to be a bit cumbersome is that the hover feature of the screen actually activates the shutter of the camera so we found ourselves taking multiple shots before actually composing the frame or actually focusing on the subject.
Performance and Benchmarks.
The handset can practically handle anything we throw at it — be it full HD 1080p video playback, multiple apps running at the background or dozens of tabs loading on Google Chrome — we didn’t any any significant lags. All of the popular games like Temple Run 2, Drag Racing and Dead Shot Zombies worked well and smooth.
Our Quadrant test gave us a final score of 3,995 while Antutu Benchmark results to a score of 13,189, both of which are already pretty good. NenaMark2 test resulted to a maximum frame rate of 45.7 fps.
Based on the graphic-heavy games that we played, the frame rates are good and over-all experience is smooth.
Call Quality, Connectivity and Battery Life.
Call quality of the handset is pretty good and we did not experience any problem with switching between the 2 SIM cards that are running on the phone. Voice calls are clear and crisp, SMS came thru with any significant delay and the HSDPA+ connection was actually surprisingly fast based on several speed tests we’ve made.
As for battery life, the results were pretty decent. We’re able to last close to a full day on a single full charge with both SIM cards active. If it were just voice, SMS and light WiFi internet to run the usual apps (Twitter, FB, WhatsApp), then we’re quite satisfied with it running thru the night before we’d recharge.
To give us a more accurate measure, we played a full HD 1080p movie in a continuous loop at 50% brightness and 0% volume and the battery latest for about 7.25 hours (compared to the 11.5 hours on the galaxy S4 on the same test). That’s pretty efficient considering the battery is only rated at 2,000mAh.
The 8.15 came with dual-SIM with 3G/HSDPA+ capabilities, Bluetooth 4.0 and WiFi which is pretty much what we’d expect for a handset at this price range. No NFC or LTE here but we can’t really demand that much considering the price tag. The FM radio tuner also works great but needs the earphones plugged in to act as the antenna.
Conclusion.
A good combination of hardware, simple and elegant design and latest Android Jellybean — all packaged in an affordable price makes up for a compelling offering with the O+ 8.15. O+ USA definitely has a really good contender for the quad-core smartphone category.
Suggested retail price of the O+ 8.15 is Php12,990USD 221INR 18,765EUR 211CNY 1,612 and is now available in stores nationwide (they held an opening sale of only Php9,990USD 170INR 14,432EUR 162CNY 1,240 last Saturday).
O+ 8.15 specs:
5.0” IPS LCD display @ 720×1280 pixels
Mediatek MT6589 1.2GHz quad-core processor
PowerVR SGX 544 300MHz graphics
1GB RAM
3G/HSPA+
Dual-SIM, dual-standby
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth 4.0
8MP rear autofocus camera, LED flash
1.3MP front-facing camera
GPS w/ aGPS support
FM Radio tuner
Android 4.2.1 Jellybean
Li-Ion 2,000mAh battery
What we liked about it:
* Very good performance
* Nice, large HD display
* Good build quality
* Jellybean 4.2 out of the box
What we did not like:
* Average camera performance
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unggoy says:
the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog
kapag jumped wala ng ‘s’ sa sentence. ;)
Abe Olandres says:
Auto-correct.
Ivan says:
Actually hindi na kailangan nung unang ‘the’ kasi meron na sa may dulo.
Phillip says:
wow ok to ah.. but I’m still not yet confident with this quality-wise..
abuzalzal says:
Of course you shouldn’t
after all this is just another rebranded China OEM
tmcr7 says:
This is not a rebranded China phone. O+ designs their own.
Martzy says:
There are two things that I don’t like in O+.
the camera quality and the default UI(icons and homescreen).
They should improve that first.
Ivan says:
You can always use a different launcher like Nova, Apex, etc. There are also icon packs you can download in the playstore.
O2x says:
Seems like a good one but the battery is a bit off for a 5-incher quad-core
Ron says:
Too bad this was not priced close to the A919i. Having tougher glass and a more updated OS for P2500 or so seems a bit high compared to MyPhone’s.
Ryan says:
Nice review. Pro kung 10k tlga SRP n2 ubos agad stock nla. Mahirap kc sumugal nung saturday lalo na kapag wlang review from sir yuga.
mando says:
is this a Cortex A9 or A7?
Abe Olandres says:
Cortex-A7, according to MediaTek
angryman says:
O+’s naming convention in their phones is confusing as hell. One would easily mistake the name of the smartphone in this review as an 8-inch smartphone. O+ better brush up their naming convention because it confuses the hell out of their consumers.
ferdinand marte says:
those pictures look more interesting than the phone. May i know what resort is this? in the Philippines? thanks,
Abe Olandres says:
World Center Marriott in Orlando, Florida.
potanes says:
haha..pumunta ka na ko ayong..
Jay says:
Hahaha. Itawit ka bitu sir.. ^^
ferdinand says:
Sayang, dapat eto nalang binili ko kesa 8.12
jc says:
Sir abe db parehas lang ng gpu nto yung a919i? Bakit mas mataas ang score ng8.15 sa nena mark ??? Waaah
melanderq says:
they do have the same GPU since they have the same chipset which is an MTK6589.
the higher result of Nenamark is probably due to an uncapped FPS, compared to the A919i which has a capped 45FPS limit.
abuzalzal says:
I think the Galaxy S3 is a better deal for Php4k more
Phillip says:
this is exactly what came to my mind when I was contemplating, hehehehe.
jeff says:
s3 is non dual sim so not comaprable
john1206 says:
not a rebrand, this is designed in the US and ASSEMBLED in China. If its a rebrand, its designed and assembled in China, imported by local brands.
jb estrigan says:
any reactions/comments from actual users?
planning to buy this one..
RenzLuigi says:
Just bought this O+ 8.15 last friday. And… It SUCKS!!! JOKE!! Grabe! Inline with the myphone A919i and CM Skyfire 2.0, ang P12,995 na magagastos mo, it’s really worth it. Before I bought this, specs wise kasi ako, I did some research bout the MT6589 Processor sobrang ayos sya. Siguro kung budgeted ka, i would go nalang sa myphone. Kasi parehas sila ng processor. Compared naman sa Skyfire, it’s the same as flame 2.0 so sorry for the term but why waste your money. camera lang naman pinagkaiba ng skyfire sa flame. In addition, ang myphone is one of the best smartphones today na kaya ng budget ng mga pilipino. Pero nag invest padin ako sa O+ kasi unang una, 4.2 jellybean na sya compared naman sa myphone. At isa pa, gawa ng camera at internal storage ang nagustuhan ko naman sa O+ compared naman sa myphone.
Ivan says:
How is the brand pronounced anyway? ‘O plus’ or ‘O positive’?
Phillip says:
O cross
craptacular says:
O noes.
VIN says:
sir yuga, ok b tong fone n to? quality wise? spec-wise? ty.
Abe Olandres says:
yup! i actually liked it a lot.
john says:
Hi Yuga, O+ 8.15 or Alcatael Scribe HD?
Marucz says:
Thank you for this site, atleat may mga reviews, kaso talaga plan ko bumili ng 8.15 i was there also sa SM North noong nag open sila dami tao and hindi nila expect na ganun ka dami ang gulo kaya nag decide na lang ako na umuwi na lang …siksikan kasi…hindi nila inaayos.
Anyway IO still want to purchase this product… but i need more review lalo na sa mga talagang user nito.
Havent tried using Android mas ok ba siya kesa sa OS ng Iphone? madali lang ba siyang gamitin?
onel says:
sir yuga, what would you choose between O+ 8.15 and Alcatel One touch Scribe HD?
nicco orbasido says:
i’m planning to buy a smartphone..
tatlo ang pinagpipilian ko..
CM OMEGA HD, MYPHONE A919i and
O+ 8.15 android…
can u give me d difference of the three?
and why should i prefer the o+ despite of its high SRP.
i like dis o+…
James Harrill says:
Good day Mr. Yuga! Does it support DivX, Xvid and wmv video files? Thanks in advance! :-D
James Harrill says:
Good day Mr. Yuga! Does it support DivX/Xvid/wmv video files? Thanks in advance! :D
EiLee says:
Sir Yuga anu po mas maganda O+ 8.15 or Starmobile Knight?. Any suggestion?..
julius says:
sir yuga which is better, lenovo k860 or O+8.15. tx
anonymous says:
Can we see front camera pictures of this model?
dodi says:
Abe,
Kindly give your comments on these mobile phones—-
O+ and Alcatel Scribe HD.
your reply is much appreciated.
Abe Olandres says:
See here: http://www.yugatech.com/mobile/alcatel-one-touch-scribe-hd-review/
dodi says:
Abe,
I did check the site. Very helpful! Now, bet these 2 phones? Which one would you choose?
acheche says:
pls include in your reviews about the thickness of the devices.. it matters to some consumers like me.. tnx
lee says:
Hi sir Yuga,
Where can I buy this one? Thanks! :)
hi3n says:
mga sir which is better this phone or galaxy s3
both in performance and specs?
can this phone o+ 8.15 last long ?
Mayet says:
I’m planning to purchase an O+ 8.15 but this article hinders me. Can anyone verify this one? Much appreciated.
http://n5e.interaksyon.com/Top.aspx?g=482D6B5C89C24A8&c=1001
yow says:
is this a scratch resistant front glass like gorilla glass display? thanks
harold says:
why have 8gb when it is splitted into 1gb internal and 6 gb phone storage. i am now almost full in internal and empty in phone storage. badly reconfigured storage system
Rose says:
Hi!
Can anyone help me, which is better to buy o+8.15 or lenovo A850?
feed back pls..
Joel Alvarez says:
I have this phone for almost six months now. I have no problem with it..the performance is very good and the size of this phone is just enough to put on your pocket. what bothers me on this phone is that the back cover is so smooth and there is always a tendency to slip down and feel on the ground, that is why u really need to have a protector. the camera for me is ok. the battery lasts only a day to one and half depends on how you used it. over all its a very good phone for me..