Nuu Mobile is one of those smartphone manufacturers that offer affordable prices for customers who don’t need to get the latest and greatest. Nor will it break the bank. Nuu Mobile’s latest smartphone, the X6, comes with some decent specifications at an affordable price. To find out more, continue reading our full review below.
Specifications
| Display | 5.71″ HD+ 18:9 (1440 x 720) IPS TFT, 2.75D glass |
| Processor | MT6761 4 x Cortex-A53 2.0GHz (Quad-Core) |
| GPU | PowerVR GE8300 @660 MHz |
| Storage | 32GB internal, expandable up to 128GB with Micro SD |
| RAM | 3GB |
| Rear Camera | • 13MP with AF • VGA |
| Front Camera | 5MP |
| Rear Video | 1080p |
| Front Video | 1080p |
| Connectivity | WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth® 4.0, 3.5mm Headset Jack |
| Sensors | Vibrator, Proximity Sensor, Gravity, Fingerprint ID, Ambient Light Sensor |
| Network | • Dual SIM Dual Standby • 4G B2/4/5/7/12/17/28a/28b • 3G 850/1900/2100 • 2G 850/900/1800/1900 |
| Battery | 2,800mAh |
| Charging | Micro-USB |
| OS | Android 9 (Pie) |
| Dimensions | 148.5 x 70.8 x 9.1 (mm) |
| Weight | 10.1 ounces |
What’s in the box
- X6 smartphone
- Removable battery
- Screen protector
- TPU case
- Power adapter
- Micro-USB cable
- Manual
Design
A phone with rounded corners is something we’re all used to at this point, so it’s no surprise that the Nuu Mobile X6 is a phone with rounded corners.
The front of the device has some bezel around the entire screen. The front-facing camera is inside the bezel at the top underneath the earpiece grill. The forehead portion of the phone is small but the chin could have been shrunk a bit more giving more screen-to-body ratio. The right-hand side of the phone has the volume rocker and the power/standby button while the left-hand side is completely clean.
Flipping the device over, you’ll see the plastic backing with a fingerprint sensor in the middle, Nuu’s logo below that, and a dual-camera setup with flash. Moving to the top of the device you can see a 3.5mm headphone jack while the bottom has two speaker grills — although only one is an actual speaker — and a Micro-USB port for charging the phone.
Overall, the design of the device is nice. It’s a nice change of pace when you’re using a Google Pixel 3 XL and a Samsung Galaxy S10 all the time. One thing that I did knock off for points is that this time is a fingerprint magnet. Even the case will smudge quickly.
Display
On the display side of things, the Nuu Mobile X6 comes with a 5.71″ with a resolution of 1440 x 720. That’s just above HD but lower than FHD. For the resolution, it’s not that bad since the colors are very vibrant when looking at the screen while browsing the internet, playing games, or on social media. With the colors being as vibrate as they are, you’re getting brighter reds, blues, greens, etc. As for blacks, they’re dark enough and white colors are bright and clean.
On the other hand, when steaming videos such as on YouTube, Hulu, and Netflix, the resolution is low and choppy at times. You’re able to see the pixels when watching something. YouTube videos I had to drop down the quality to 480p just to watch something without it lagging behind. It’s doable but anyone who has a more premium device will notice a big difference.
One thing to mention is that this display, like the rest of the phone, also shows fingerprints constantly. I found myself cleaning the screen close to every time I used the phone because of how clearly they showed up.
Software
When it comes to software, the X6 is running Android 9 (Pie) and is as close to stock as it can be. There’s really no skin on top of Android and Nuu went the best route by not adding in additional bloatware on the device. Of course, that doesn’t mean Nuu isn’t using their own design for basic applications such as the Camera, Clock, FM Radio, and Calculator.
Since this phone comes with Android 9, you do get a Dark Mode option in the Display settings. Unfortunately, when you choose turn it on it doesn’t change the theme. It stays as a Light theme. There is an option to Night Mode in Developer options that “should” force it to work but it didn’t. I had to manually go into Contacts and Messages to turn it on. The dialer app doesn’t have an option through settings. So, for those that are looking to use Dark Mode, you won’t be happy about this.
When it comes to non-major smartphone manufacturers, in this case, Nuu, it’s tough to tell if it will be getting Android 10 at all. As of right now, there has been no word if this phone will be getting an OS update. We will keep you posted.
Performance
The Nuu Mobile X6 comes with an MT6761 quad-core SoC @2.0GHz, 3GB RAM, and 32GB internal that can be expanded up to 128GB with a Micro SD card. This MediaTek Helio A22 is in the entry-level department, so you’re not going to get the best of the best speeds. When putting this phone through the wringer, it performed pretty well. I’d switch between some apps and only hit a little bit speed bumps, which was to be expected. However, at times there was some serious noticeable lag when. Considering this is an entry-level processor, it’s to be expected.
If you do plan on playing some games, the phone should be able to handle less intensive games with no problems. I played Clash Royale and Brawl Stars a lot and there was little to no lag when it came to either dropping players or using specific actions. More heavy intense games will most likely cause a little more lag when playing which is to be expected.
The fingerprint scanner on the back of the device unlocked the phone quickly — when it worked. Unfortunately, there were times where the device wouldn’t unlock or read my fingerprint at all. I’d place it on the sensor and keep doing it until the phone unlocked. My hand wasn’t wet or had dust or had anything on it.
Sound Quality
Moving on to the sound quality of the device I can say that it’s ok at best. It’s not the greatest by any means but it’ll do the job if you are by yourself. Music is alright but has no balance to it. No bass, mids are ok, and highs seem to be non-existent. However, it does get pretty loud with the volume turned up to max. On the other hand, phone calls on speakerphone are extremely quiet even with the volume up all the way. I could barely hear what was being said.
Yes, it could be better but again, this is an entry-level device.
Camera
The rear dual-camera setup has a 13MP lens and a VGA depth lens. It’s not the worst but definitely not the best. You can choose between Mono, Video, Picture, Beauty, Bokah, Night, and Pro mode. All are just about standard on any phone you purchase these days, but what’s important right now is how well the photos came out.
While taking photos outside, they came out great for this type of device. This was done outside in natural light and some with overcast. Sure, it’s not the same quality as the Pixel devices or iPhones but it gets the job done for what you’re getting. Colors did come out vibrate on the display and looked low res but when you look at them on a bigger screen, they looked much clearer. Using Bokeh mode was a struggle. What I mean by that is when you’re first using that mode, it’s blurring scale is set to 60 (out of 80) and it blurs everything but the object you’re looking at. It’s a bit too much considering what I wanted was also being blurred. Scaling down the blur helped a bit but things around the object would start to become more clear. I don’t really recommend using this mode.
The front-facing camera has a 5MP lens and takes decent photos. There’s no auto-focus, so you’re in the dark when it comes to taking the best photos possible. Unfortunately, without auto-focus, any artificial light that is in the background tends to mess up lighting and causes the photos to turn out brighter than they should.
Overall, with this being more of a budget-friendly device you lose certain features and specifications to keep the cost down.
Call Quality/Reception
Call quality and reception came down to the service and in this case, we were using the device on Mint Mobile which uses T-Mobile’s network. Considering I use T-Mobile as my main provider, using Mint Mobile in my area was great. I didn’t have any issues when it came to calling quality as I was able to hear everyone I called clearly and vice versa.
On the reception side of the spectrum, the signal again was great. It was rare that I lost any signal and if I did it was one to two bars. Nothing special compared to what I am already used to. Yes, T-Mobile and Mint Mobile are different but overall the service is about the same.
Battery Life
Even with this being an entry-level device and a battery capacity of 2,800mAh it may not seem all that great compared to the more premium devices we use every day. Starting out at 100% when first using the device in the morning and going through the usual routine of checking social media and light web searches, the battery drain wasn’t bad. during the afternoon to the evening where people are messaging me and I’m using the device more the battery drain was more noticeable. This included some calls, checking social media more, playing games and more web browsing. By the end of the night, I’d be left with about 20% battery life and leave the phone as is until I went to bed and repeated the whole process over.
No, I’m not the biggest heavy user and everyone’s days are different than mine, the battery life was more than enough for me compared to me using my S10 or Pixel 3 XL.
Overall, the battery life was good for what I did. Heavy users likely won’t be picking up this device but others who don’t usually do much during the day will like the battery life.
Price
Those that might be interested in purchasing the Nuu Mobile X6 will be glad to know that the full retail price is US$99.99. It’s currently $89.99 on Amazon and Nuu’s website at the time of this review and no end date, so act fast if you want a good deal.
For what you’re getting, $100 sound about right for this phone. Sure, it’s not top of the line and phones these days are getting better when it comes to internals while keeping the price point reasonable. The X6 can be used as an upgrade to your current entry-level device or as someone’s first smartphone. It’ll run a good while for them until it’s time to upgrade to something different later down the road.
Wrap Up
The Nuu Mobile X6 is great for the price and what you’re getting. Yes, there are drawbacks to it that may shy people away from this device who are used to a more higher-end device. A phone like this is meant for those who are looking to purchase a device while on a budget and this fits the shoe. First smartphone users or someone looking to get a budget phone for the basics will like this device.
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Last Updated on February 3, 2021.
