A new six-incher from O+ USA has recently arrived in stores packing an eight-megapixel rear camera and LTE connectivity. Does bigger always mean better? Here’s our take on the Venti 4G.
Table of Contents
Design and Construction
At the front is the 6-inch display surrounded by a thick black bezel, and speaker grilles at the top and bottom for the earpiece and loudspeaker. The front camera and several sensors are also noticeable at the top, while the LED notification light is seemingly placed at the middle-bottom chin part of the device.
The volume rockers and the power/lock button are all located on the right side of the device, covered in chrome. They are placed in a location where you can easily access it with one hand.
The sides of the device are accentuated with a small gap that distinguishes the front panel from the back unibody. At the top, we have the 3.5mm audio jack. Looking at the bottom, we have the microUSB port and the microphone slot. There’s also that small slit that can be used to pry the back panel open easily.
The device also employs a curved arched back for easier grip when holding the device. Flipping it over, we have the eight-megapixel rear camera centered at the top part and is really noticeable due to the stark contrast of the camera plate (a shiny black circle) and the rose pink polycarbonate back casing. The back does register some smudges and fingerprints, but they aren’t that too noticeable.
One-hand operation is not feasible especially with a device of this size, as well as putting it in the pockets of your tight jeans. On the bright side, it is not slippery, so you don’t have to worry too much about accidentally dropping it
Display and Multimedia
Considering its big size, the Venti is equipped with a qHD resolution display and a pixel density of 184ppi which may not sit well to those who prefer greater details on the screen. While it presents itself with the right amount of brightness that’s suitable for outdoor use, decent colors, and good viewing angles, its sharpness — or the lack thereof — is evidently present. The screen also has a maximum of two touch points, so users with multi-touch games may find themselves struggling. While it lacks the clarity needed, it compensates in terms of screen size which is good for watching videos.
The design may give the illusion that the front-facing speakers can pump loud sounds, however, only one is utilized for it. Nevertheless, the lone speaker emits decent loudness that can fill up a small, quiet room. Listening through earphones is also pleasant, but it’s not as detailed as you expect it to be.
Camera
The eight-megapixel camera sensor at the back is surprisingly good and produces photos of great color, vibrancy, and sharpness in broad daylight, save for a few wrong exposure instances which can be corrected with a manual refocusing. Panorama photo-taking is present, as well as HDR photography. Low-light performance is decent when accompanied with its LED Flash, but is still not sufficient for night shots. The front camera takes decent photos as well, but may also be subject to exposure miscalculations.
We’ve also noticed that the camera app seems a bit sluggish in taking photos, as it takes around 2 seconds to capture one photo. Here are a few sample shots:
As for videos it can record at Full HD resolution at 28fps, and presents itself with clear details and good colors, with mono sound from the device’s microphone. Check out this sample clip:
OS, UI, and Apps
The Venti 4G comes with an almost stock Android Lollipop operating system right off the bat, with some minor optimizations and tweaks. The brand’s new iconography is also present, and is a lot more palatable when compared to its predecessor. There’s an option to kill all running window applications when you look at the recent apps menu, which can be accessed by holding the home button.
Trademark features are available such as Doodle Control and Air Shuffle. As expected, there are several pre-installed apps on the device such as Clean Master, Facebook, a few Google ones including Gmail and Photos, as well as the O+ App for updates and other information. You only have 3.8GB of its 8GB internal storage for your media files and apps, so a microSD card is very much recommended.
Performance and Benchmarks
The Venti generally works well, save for noticeable slow animations around regular UI operation, and minimal to moderate hiccups when playing graphic-intensive games such as Hungry Shark Evo or Asphalt 8. The device heats up at times at the upper-back part when heavy tasks are being done or when 4G is activated long enough, but not too hot to handle.
Here are the results of the benchmarks we ran on the device:
AnTuTu – 21,544
Quadrant Standard – 4,987
Vellamo – 1602 (Webview), 1137 (Multicore), 660 (Metal)
3DMark – 3580 (Ice Storm Unlimited)
PCMark Work Performance – 2872
PCMark Storage Score – 1,014
Connectivity and Battery Life
Connectivity is great on the Venti. It’s quick to connect to 4G LTE signals, as well as other wireless functions such as Bluetooth and WiFi. GPS, on the other hand, experiences minor lock issues but nonetheless does not affect the overall performance of the smartphone. Calls made and received were good enough for a decent conversation, but one might get a bit awkward holding a big phone on your ear.
We initially hoped for a longer battery life given its internals and display resolution, and we’re pretty satisfied with a day’s worth of use for minimal to moderate use — calls, SMS messages, and occasional WiFi and mobile data. Our video loop test, on the other hand, clocked in at 9 hours and 56 minutes. Recharging the device takes between one and a half to two hours.
PCMark, on the other hand, clocked the Venti at 8 hours and 49 minutes, which puts it alongside the Vivo V3 Max and the Xiaomi Mi5 based on our Android Battery Life rankings. It’s worth noting, however, that those two phones sport beefier internals and sharper displays. It’s average, to say the least, but we expected the scores to be a lot higher than this.
Conclusion
O+ has been releasing plus-sized smartphones as part of their offerings — we’ve seen the Grande take off a few years back, and now they are back to release the second-generation Venti. Packed with a good camera, decent battery life, and big screen size enough for multimedia consumption, it does not disappoint for a casual user.
On the other hand, several things could deter you from purchasing this device — there are a few issues with the hardware choice and the dull screen resolution given to a phone display this large, as well as the hefty Php6,395 price tag it possess. The thick black bezels around the device is also somewhat of a concern, as the device profile could have been a bit smaller if it was properly sized.
Despite all of this, the Venti is something you should consider should you want a large phone that’s just about right at the budget.
O+ Venti 4G specs:
6-inch qHD IPS display @ 960×540 pixels pixels, 184ppi
1.3GHz Quad-Core Spreadtrum SC9832 CPU
Mali 400MP2 GPU
1GB RAM
8GB internal storage
microSD card support (Free 32GB SanDisk card)
8MP rear camera w/ LED flash
5MP front camera
Dual-SIM (Micro)
4G LTE
WiFi
Bluetooth
GPS, A-GPS
FM Radio
Android 5.1 Lollipop
3,000mAh battery
What we like about it:
- Good camera
- Great battery life
- Big screen size
What we didn’t like:
- qHD screen reolution
- thick black bezel
- A little too pricey for the spec sheet
if you can buy it for 4k, is it a great buy?