Coolpad COOL 20+ Review

There are a lot of smartphones available for under PHP 7,000USD 119INR 10,112EUR 114CNY 869 from different brands. With that, it can be hard to choose. But there’s a new budget brand that wants to make for themselves in the country – Coolpad.

Coolpad recently launched two new models in the Philippines, the more affordable CP12 and the phone that we’ll be reviewing today, the COOL 20+.

With a retail price of just PHP 5,699USD 97INR 8,233EUR 92CNY 707, the Coolpad COOL 20+ is one affordable smartphone with somewhat decent specs on paper. But how does it compare to others? And more importantly, is it a phone you should consider? Well, let’s find out.

Design and Construction

Let’s start with the design of the Coolpad COOL 20+. It’s quite decent and resembles most budget smartphones in the segment. The back panel features a minimalist design with the camera housing located on the upper left portion. Aside from that, the only other design cue is the Coolpad logo located at the bottom left.

The unit we have is in the blue colorway, and it looks great. There appears to be some metallic flake added to the paint, making the back panel sparkle under bright lights. The back panel is made out of glass, which is surprising to find on a phone at this price point.

Meanwhile, the frame is made of plastic, and overall it does feel durable. I prefer using the phone with the provided rubber case for added protection and to prevent leaving nasty fingerprints.

At the bottom, you’ll find the USB-C port along with the loudspeakers. Meanwhile, on the right side, there’s the volume rocker and power button. On the left, there’s the dual-sim card slot which doubles as a microSD slot, and the 3.5mm audio jack at the top.

Compared to other budget smartphones in the segment, the Coolpad COOL 20+ is rather thick and does feel a bit bulky in your pocket. In addition, it does have some weight to it, weighing 197.1 grams. So if you’re used to lighter slimmer phones, you might have to adjust a bit when using it.

Display and Multimedia

Power up the screen, and you’re greeted by a somewhat smaller 6.52-inch IPS LCD. There are relatively thick borders all around, specifically at the bottom, but it’s not surprising considering the price point of this phone. The colors are decent at best; they’re not the most vivid but the blacks are quite deep.

It’s good enough if you just want to watch some videos or go through some photos on the internet or social media. One thing to note is that the screen is bright, so you won’t have any issues when watching it when using the phone under direct sunlight.

If you’re watching videos with friends or family, you do get two downward-firing loudspeakers. They’re not the best, but that’s to be expected.

Since they are mono speakers, you do have to be mindful of where you put your fingers when watching videos. While quality might not be the best, they are loud so your group will be able to hear what’s happening on screen.

Performance and Benchmarks

Under the hood is where Coolpad did cheap out a bit on the COOL 20+. For starters, it packs a Mediatek Helio G85, which is quite an old chipset first introduced in 2020.

Our review unit also comes with 6GB of RAM along with 128GB of storage. Storage can be expanded by a microSD card, but you do give up the second sim card slot if you choose to do so.

While the chipset might be old, it can run some light gaming. I was able to play Mobile Legends and Asphalt 9 on this phone, but I did have to tweak the settings for the games to run smoothly. But still, at least you can play games on this phone. Although I wouldn’t recommend playing more graphics-intensive titles like Genshin Impact or Honkai Star Rail.

To give you a better idea of how it performs, check out the benchmark scores here.

OS, Apps, and UI

One thing to note is the OS Coolpad installed onto the COOL20+. It only runs CoolOS 2 which is based on Android 11. I tried updating the phone to Android 12 or 13, but the option didn’t seem possible.

I’m surprised that this phone isn’t running Android 13, which could be an issue if you want to use newer apps. Thankfully, there isn’t any bloatware when you boot it up.

The UI is quite simple too, and it’s rather easy to use. Although I do wish they added a bit more design to make it look nicer.

Cameras

The dual rear camera on the Coolpad COOL 20+ uses a 48MP main lens paired with a 0.3MP sensor. As expected it’s great when you’re shooting in well-lit areas in the daylight. The photos come out quite sharp, and you do get decent bokeh in portrait mode.

Although the photos do lack contrast and saturation for my liking. It’s also surprisingly decent when shooting at night or in low-light conditions when you adjust the brightness slider when shooting. You don’t even need to use night mode since the standard photo mode takes night photos better.

While the rear camera is very capable, the front camera is average at best. It’s a 5MP shooter, but it’s decent enough for shooting selfies in well-lit. Just don’t expect too much when the lighting is bad.

In terms of video, both the front and rear cameras can record at a maximum of 1080P. Like the photos, they’re surprisingly capable too even in low-light conditions.

Check out the gallery below to see the photos and videos of the Coolpad COOL 20+.

Battery and Connectivity

The battery on the Coolpad COOL 20+ is rated at 4500mAh which does last quite a relatively long time. According to the PCMark battery test, the phone did record 14 hours, which is quite a great score. There’s no fast charging on this phone, and it does take a while to recharge.

In terms of connectivity, there’s not a lot. You do get the basics like Wi-Fi 5, Bluetooth 5.0, and GPS.

Conclusion

Overall, there are some good points to the Coolpad COOL 20+ including the nice glass back panel and the camera. However, it does suffer in terms of performance since it does use an older chipset. At the same time, it runs on an older OS, specifically Android 11.

With that, there’s nothing too special about the Coolpad COOL 20+ that would set it apart from other phones in the segment. The only gimmick would be the glass back panel, which is rather

For the price of just PHP 5,699USD 97INR 8,233EUR 92CNY 707, the Coolpad COOL 20+ is not too bad. I’m sure some will hesitate to try it since they are a new entry into the market, and PHP 5,699USD 97INR 8,233EUR 92CNY 707 is still money after all. But if you’re willing to try something new, why not?

The real question is this though – is the Coolpad COOL 20+ a budget smartphone you would consider given other options available? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Coolpad COOL 20+ Specs:

6.517-inch waterdrop HD+ display @ 1600 x 720 pixels
MediaTek Helio G85
Arm Mali G52 MC2 GPU
4GB, 6GB RAM
64GB, 128GB storage
48MP AI Dual Camera
5MP selfie camera
dual-SIM
microSD card slot
Wi-Fi 802.11 ac/a/b/g/n
Bluetooth 5.0
GPS/ AGPS/ Glonass/Beidou/ Galileo / QZSS
USB Type-C
3.5mm headphone jack
Fingerprint unlock (side)
Face Unlock
Android 11
4,500 mAh battery
164.3 x 75.66 8.65 mm
197g (weight)
Blue, Black

What we liked:
Very affordable price
Glass back panel
Decent camera

What we didn’t like:
Only runs Android 11
Uses old chipset
UI isn’t that optimized