Battle of the two 4.5″ dual-SIM smartphones

Today, we pit two dual-SIM Android handsets that are almost identical in specs but differ in pricing. So if you’re torn between getting the Starmobile Crystal and the O+ 8.12, we might just be able to help you in deciding which one’s for you.

Design and Construction

We’re not exactly sure to which phone we will favor because looks is matter of preference. We also like to point out that both handsets are well-built and are gorgeous in its own right. Having said this, we’d give each device a score in this category.

Starmobile Crystal: 1 | O+ 8.12: 1

Display

Because both handsets have the same screen size and resolution, one would think that we’d call it a tie. But the Crystal has one trick up its sleeve, and that its IPS display. With this type of screen, the handset is able to provide wide viewing angles and slight crisper display quality. 8.12 takes this category away from Crystal because of the shock-proof and scratch-resistant properties of its display.

Starmobile Crystal: 1 | O+ 8.12: 2

Audio

If there’s a significant difference between these two handsets, it’ll be the audio quality. The O+ 8.12 is the better of the two by a mile, thanks to its loud speakers with pretty decent sound quality.

Starmobile Crystal: 1 | O+ 8.12: 3

Camera

This one goes to the Starmobile Crystal because of its better low-light performance due to its BSI sensor. In addition, the Crystal has a better front-facing camera (2MP vs VGA) than the O+ 8.12, making it a hands-down victor in this aspect.

Starmobile Crystal: 2 | O+ 8.12: 3

Performance

Just like design, the performance factor can be very subjective for the reason that each of us uses our device differently. So we thought of basing our decision on the benchmark scores.

As seen in the table above, the score is too close to call. Even though the 8.12 had twice the RAM that the Crystal have, it seems that it was a non-factor in the benchmark tests that we performed. But no matter how close the scores were, we’d still give the O+ 8.12 a slight advantage over the Starmobile Crystal in this segment as the added RAM can be very handy when doing resource-heavy tasks on the phone.

Starmobile Crystal: 2 | O+ 8.12: 4

Battery

On paper, the O+ 8.12’ 1850mAh battery pack has a slight advantage over the Crystal’s 1700mAh. But there’s more to battery life than the battery rating and having a 150mAh advantage over your competitor is not enough to win consumers. Having said this, we’ll call this one a tie, giving each handset a score.

Starmobile Crystal: 3 | O+ 8.12: 5

Pricing

With only one more aspect left, it seems that we can chalk this one up for the O+ 8.12. But just to be fair, let’s still look in to the pricing aspect of this match-up. The O+ 8.12 currently retails for Php11,995USD 204INR 17,328EUR 195CNY 1,489 while the Starmobile Crystal only costs Php7,990USD 136INR 11,542EUR 130CNY 992. To be honest, we had a hard time scoring the handsets on this category. On one hand, we got the decently spec’d Starmobile Crystal which only costs two-thirds of what O+ is asking for their handset. The 8.12 on the other hand has twice RAM capacity than the Crystal and its screen has an added protection from scratches and accidental drop.

The O+ 8.12 may have the better screen and extra oomph under the hood, but unless you’re a clumsy user or a power user, you won’t really notice the difference that those two features brings to the handset. In addition, average consumers (esp. in our country) has a higher probability to go for the cheaper option that can basically do most of the tasks that the pricier one has to offer. And for that, we give this one to the Starmobile Crystal for the simple reason that it’s more competitively priced than the O+ 8.12. However, if you have money to spare (Php4,005USD 68INR 5,786EUR 65CNY 497 to be exact), then the 8.12 will probably be a good investment.

Starmobile Crystal: 4 | O+ 8.12: 5

Verdict

It was a close fight, but the Starmobile Crystal emerged victorious in our head-to-head 4.5-inch dual-SIM Android matchup. It may have half the RAM as the O+ 8.12, but it was able to compensate it with its other features and enticing price. O+ 8.12, with its rugged display and 1GB of RAM, managed to take home the victory. The added features comes at a price though, but if you’re willing to shell out extra dough, you won’t go wrong with this handset. If you want to read more about this handset, our full review can be found here.

As for the runner-up, we’d like to commend it by giving the Crystal a run for its money. In fact, had it not been for its slightly pricier SRP, the O+ 8.12 would’ve walked away with the victory. Though beaten, we feel that the cheaper Starmobile Crystal has the potential to win the hearts of the budget-conscious consumers. It’s mid-range specs coupled with a wallet-friendly price tag makes it a viable choice if you’re in a hunt for a decent 4.5-inch dual-SIM Android smartphone. You can check out our full review of this handset by heading over to this link.

Editor’s Note: We apologize for missing out on one of the O+ 8.12’s feature (display) and for any confusion that the previous version of this article may have caused. In accordance to this, we’ve changed the scoring and verdict accordingly to fit the changes we’ve made. We also like to thank the readers who politely pointed out our mistakes.