Yezz Andy 5Q Review: A Great Value Android Budget Smartphone

|
, ,

In North America, the focus seems to gravitate towards the latest flagship devices from leading manufacturers. More prevalent in Europe and developing countries, other manufacturers are selling budget phones at a much lower price point and lower specifications. Some of these devices are slowly making their way to North America, but you’ll have a hard time finding them at your major mobile providers. Yezz is one such company and we take a look at one of their Android devices in our Andy 5Q review.

Specs

Being in the budget device category, the Andy 5Q (also called the Andy C5QL in some regions) doesn’t boast the latest and greatest specification wise and features the following specifications:

  • 5.0″ qHD IPS (540×960) display
  • 1.3 GHz Quad Core
  • 1GB RAM, 8GB Internal Memory
  • Rear Camera 13.1MP
  • Front Camera 5MP
  • 2020 mAh Li-Ion battery
  • Wi-Fi, dual-band, hotspot, Bluetooth v4.0, GPS, stereo FM radio, microUSB v2.0
  • accelerometer, proximity
  • microSD card support up to 64GB
  • Android 4.4.2 (KitKat)

Design

Yezz-Andy-C5QL-Review-Back
The Andy 5Q is well constructed and doesn’t feel like a budget phone.

Yezz’s Andy 5Q doesn’t feel like a budget device at all. The phone features a metal frame with a plastic removable back for access to the removable battery, micro SIM card slot and microSD card slot. The Andy 5Q has a nice weight to it and feels like a solid phone when held. As with most Android devices of this size, the power button is on the right, volume buttons on the left, microUSB port on the bottom (in this case off centered towards the left), and the headphone jack is on the top.

HOW TO: Change system date in OS X ...
HOW TO: Change system date in OS X from Terminal

Not only does the Andy 5Q ship with a USB cable and AC adapter, the device includes a total of three plastic backs (black, red and white), a smart cover, a plastic smartphone case, screen protector, and headphones. The additional backs and covers allow you some form of personalization and protection right out of the box.

Display

The screen on the device is a 5.0″ IPS display with qHD (540×960) display. While the resolution is on the lower side, the screen itself is pretty clear under most lighting conditions. The smaller resolution also makes text and other elements feel larger when compared to other 5″ devices with 720p or 1080p screens, but it definitely remains very usable. Desktop icons, some apps and games though do suffer from a bit of a blur, but text remains very readable.

Software

The Andy 5Q runs Android KitKat (4.4.2) and as a result has full access to the Google Play Store and services. There is no word if the device will be getting upgraded to Android Lollipop (5.0), but it runs well with KitKat. The default launcher is pretty close to stock, to be honest I couldn’t see many major differences aside from a few icon changes such as the phone shortcut. As far as additional pre-installed software, a number of apps like Skype, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, WhatsApp, and others are included. Also included are a few games, particularly ones from Gameloft including Danger Dash, The Avengers, Real Football 2014, and Texas Hold’em Poker. Unlike other devices with pre-installed software, these apps and games can actually be uninstalled should you wish not to use them.

The phone also comes with a few custom apps such as a Flashlight, Hot-Spot, Movie Studio, Notebook, Music, FM Radio, and more. The FM Radio app works well, using your earphones as the antenna. Even though your earphones are plugged in, you still have the option to use the speakers for sound output.

Speakers

The speakers on the Andy 5Q are pretty decent. When listening to music or watching video, the sound was pretty clear albeit on the slightly more treble side of the scale. That being said, I’d have no issue with listening to music on the device for any length of time.

Performance

For a budget smartphone selling at less than $200, the Andy 5Q runs surprisingly well and smooth. Most apps launch quickly and function well. The games I tried ran decently enough as well, most with little to no lag. Interestingly enough, Riptide GP 2 played perfectly fine while games like Simpsons Tapped Out seemed much slower to respond and did lag a bit – not unusable by any means, but definitely slower than devices like the Nexus 5.

Day to day apps such as email, Facebook, Twitter, and core apps ran perfectly fine given the specifications of the device.

Cameras

Like most Android devices, the Andy 5Q has a back and front camera. The back camera is a 13.1MP camera with flash, while the front camera clocks in at 5MP. The camera quality is about what you’d expect for a budget device, but it seemed pretty consistent on both indoor and outdoor shooting. The camera also includes an HDR mode but it requires you to hold the phone absolutely still while it takes what looks like a couple shots and merges them together. Other camera modes include setting your color effects (mono, sepia, negative, or sepia blue), scene mode (auto or night), and white balance (auto, incandescent, daylight, fluorescent, cloudy, or tungsten).

Yezz-Andy-5Q-100-Crop
100% crop using the included camera on default settings.

Reception/Call Quality

While I don’t make or receive many calls these days, the reception and call quality on the Andy 5Q was clear and there were no complaints on either end of the call.

Battery Life

Battery life is always a big concern and with flagship devices is often a let down for most users. While a 2020mAh battery doesn’t sound like much, coupled with the specifications of the phone, the resulting battery life is outstanding. I easily got 24 to 36 hours on a single charge with normal use.

Ecosystem

Being an Android device, the phone relies on the Google Play Store, and the Amazon App Store if you decide to install it giving full access to all the popular Android applications. Unlike other manufacturers, Yezz has opted not to include another app store which (in my opinion) makes for a better user experience.

Accessories

Yezz-Andy-C5QL-Review-Complete-Accessories
The Andy 5Q includes plenty of accessories.

As mentioned earlier, the accessories that are included with the Andy 5Q cover pretty much everything you need. Multiple back covers, a smart cover, charger with USB cable, screen protector, phone case, and headphones cover the needs of most smartphone users. The included accessories are of decent quality as well, and the headphones sound good when listening to music or watching videos on the phone.

Price/Value

Simply put, the Yezz Andy 5Q is a great unlocked, off-contract device for the price of $189.99. It’s rare these days to see anything included with your smartphone outside of a charger and USB cable much less including headphones, additional cases, covers, and a screen protector. Additional functionality like the FM Radio is a great addition as well and adds even more value to the device. The ability to add a microSD card for extra storage is another feature that is slowly disappearing for major manufacturers, and even though the specifications aren’t top of the line, the Andy 5Q still performs well.

Wrap Up

While it’s nice to have the fastest, highest specced smartphone these days, it’s not always necessary. Yezz offers a very suitable replacement at a very affordable cost. The additional features on the device add great value as well as the included accessories. While pricing and target market is still undetermined, if you’re in the market for a new smartphone, you should definitely give budget devices a closer look and the Yezz Andy 5Q should definitely be one of those smartphones you should consider.

[rwp-review id=”0″]
**We were sent a demo unit of the Andy 5Q by Yezz for the purposes of this review.

Last Updated on November 27, 2018.

Previous

Sniper Elite 3 Ultimate Edition Now Available

Former Google Exec Michelle Lee To Head Up U.S. Patent Office

Next

Comments are closed.

Latest Articles

Share via
Copy link
Powered by Social Snap