The Elephone Vowney is a non-name, no-frills Chinese phone with a killer spec sheet and an appealing price.
Names like Xiaomi, OnePlus, Huawei, and ZTE are slowly becoming more recognizable, and the phones they produce are getting better and better. However, there are still little-known brands on the fringes of the smartphone world that keep pushing out new hardware in the hopes of attracting buyers who are disillusioned by the big names and equally large price tags. Even farther out on the fringe is Elephone, the Chinese company responsible for the Vowney, which we’ve been testing out for a short while.
My hopes were recently dashed by another Chinese phone with monster specs and a low price tag — the Blu Pure XL — so I was cautious about the Vowney. After all, it’s $300 and has a 5.5-inch 2,560 x 1,440 pixel screen, an octa-core processor, a 21-megapixel camera, a giant 4,000mAh battery, and 4GB of RAM. That’s a promising spec sheet for a very tempting price.
The stereotype for imported Chinese phones is that the user interface isn’t even going to look like Android because of the ridiculous bloatware and skin on top. Even big names like Huawei and ZTE can’t resist meddling with Android. It was a very welcome surprise to find an almost stock version of Android 5.1 Lollipop installed on the Vowney, complete with Google Play, and very little in the way of apps I’d never want. Elephone’s own browser and an FM radio app was about it.
Plenty of power
Because it’s running nearly pure Android, the Vowney is fast. The Helio X10 processor really benefits from having 4GB of RAM, and ran Riptide GP and Danmaku Unlimitedwith all the graphics settings turned up without issue. It’s also quick to startup, reboot, and use. Experienced Android owners will find all the settings and tools in the usual places. There’s no hunting around, digging through custom apps, or spending an hour trying to delete the things you don’t want. The only thing that could be improved is the camera app. Elephone’s needs improvement, or it should just install the standard Google Camera app on its phones. Otherwise, like a Nexus phone, it’s ready to use once you’ve added your account details.
Andy Boxall/Digital Trends
Andy Boxall/Digital Trends
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