At the end of June I had the opportunity to test the BQ Aquaris X2 Pro, a mid-range terminal that I have recommended many times since I tried it. And this mobile from BQ, a Spanish manufacturer, pleasantly surprised me. Its high-end design and good technical characteristics convinced me. With a very contained price, we get a terminal that performs perfectly and has a double rear camera that achieves great results .
But of course, it is not the same to spend 15 days with a mobile than to try it for a few months. After the wear and tear of the day to day, the terminal can be affected in performance. In addition, a more continuous use can cause us to detect failures that we had not seen before. So, now that I've been with it for a few months, I want to tell you about my experience using the BQ Aquaris X2 Pro as the main mobile .
An elegant and striking design
After a few months of testing, I can say that there have been several occasions in which a family member or friend has been surprised to see the BQ Aquaris X2 Pro. When leaving it on the table or taking it out to look at something, the most repeated comment has been " What a beautiful mobile! ".
And the truth is that it is. In my case I have the blank model. Its back is made of glass , like that of most higher-end terminals. However, being white, the traces are much less noticeable than in other terminals that I have tested.
The frames are metallic, with a beautiful gold finish that gives it an extra elegance. And something I really like is that the edges of the back curve slightly to meet the frame. A design detail that I have always loved.
Ahead we also have a nice finish that will surely please notch haters. The notch has become as popular as it is hated, so BQ has decided not to put it . This makes the Aquaris X2 Pro almost unique in its price range, as most have a notch on the screen.
The removal of the notch brings us back to the symmetry that so many users long for. Its size of 5.65 inches seemed like something right at first, but the truth is that it is very comfortable. I have many friends who have found it the ideal size for a mobile.
Also, the screen looks really good, with very good color reproduction thanks to Quantum Color + technology . Even in broad daylight I have been able to enjoy the mobile without problems, since it reaches 650 nits of maximum brightness .
Surprising double camera
Photo completely at night
The BQ Aquaris X2 Pro has a 12 + 5 megapixel dual rear camera . The main sensor has a good f / 1.8 aperture and has a Dual PD focus system. Thanks to this set I have been able to take very good photos in almost any situation. Even in very difficult conditions, such as night shots, the mobile has achieved quality photographs.
The focus system is fast and allows you to focus from quite close. In addition, with the Portrait mode of the main camera I have achieved a quite natural blur effect . And if we like it more exaggerated we can raise the level with the touch of a button.
And it is that the camera application of the BQ Aquaris X2 Pro is very intuitive . We have a small carousel to select the mode, with four direct options: Manual, Portrait, Auto and Panorama. The video mode is in a special button located above the main shutter, something that I loved.
Manual mode offers more expert users the possibility to play with some parameters. We can modify the focus, the white balance, the ISO, the shutter speed and the exposure compensation.
We have direct access to Google Lens
Another option that attracts a lot of attention is the integration of Google Lens in the application . To use it we will only have to click on the button that we have under the trigger. The camera will recognize what it is seeing and will show us the information.
But if the results with the rear camera have surprised me, the front camera has even more. For selfies we have an 8 megapixel sensor with f / 2.0 aperture and 1.12 μm pixels . The result is really good.
Portrait mode with front camera in difficult situation
In the front camera we also have Portrait mode . The BQ Aquaris X2 Pro features AI-based SoftNeuro technology to achieve the bokeh effect with a single camera. And the result, as you can see, is quite good. Even when the light began to fade, it allowed me to use Portrait mode, something that is not usually very common.
Without any performance issues
The mid-range is reaching a really impressive level of performance. The BQ Aquaris X2 Pro equips a Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 processor . This includes technology that improves performance by more than 67% and reduces energy consumption by 30%. We will talk about this last part later, but the truth is that it potentially shows. I have not had any problems with either running heavy applications or multitasking.
I have been able to open several applications at the same time without any lag. And I have also been able to play games with a significant graphical load without problems. I must confess that the performance of this mobile has nothing to envy that offered by the highest-end terminals .
Surely for everything to work perfectly help a lot the 4 GB of RAM that the terminal includes. We also have 64 GB of storage , more than enough for the vast majority of users.
Stereo sound and FM Radio
We currently use mobile for almost everything, including playing games and listening to music. And for both, we need a mobile that performs well in the sound section.
Before receiving the BQ Aquaris X2 Pro I reviewed its features and saw that it included the Qualcomm Aqstic system , along with two speakers up to 9V. Through this system, the headphones reproduce in high fidelity, with distortion levels of just 0.002% at maximum volume.
So, during the weeks that I have used the mobile I have tested these systems in depth. And the truth is that they perform really well. The terminal loudspeakers offer a clean and clear sound, even at high volumes . Plus, they are powerful enough to fill a small room without the need for an external speaker.
It sounds even better when we connect headphones. And if these are without cables, we get a wireless reproduction of the highest quality thanks to the aptX codec for Bluetooth .
But if something I have loved at the audio level is that the BQ Aquaris X2 Pro retains the FM radio function . It is a functionality that is being lost and that most of us miss. It is true that you can listen to the radio over the Internet, but we will not always be able to have the data connection for this purpose. A great success for BQ to maintain this functionality.
I come home with battery
Oddly enough, today there are still many terminals with serious autonomy problems. Users have gotten used to it and now we only ask to be able to get home with some battery. But some are not able to offer even that.
However, I have been very happy in this regard with the BQ Aquaris X2 Pro. Although it has a 3,100 milliamp battery , a capacity that might seem scarce, the truth is that there has not been a day that I had to charge it before going to sleep.
After a long day of photos, social networks, browsing and even the odd game, I have come home with more than 30% battery . In very intense days this capacity has dropped a bit, but I have never gone to bed with the battery below 15%.
Even so, if we are "heavy users" and do not leave the mobile for a single minute, it is good to know that the BQ Aquaris X2 Pro has a Quick Charge 4+ fast charge . Thanks to this, the days that I have gone out at night and I have wanted to give it an extra autonomy, while taking a shower, it has been charged enough to have several more hours of charge.
I love Android One
Last but not least, I want to highlight the use of Android One . Honestly, and I already said it in the analysis of the terminal, I think that BQ has fully succeeded using the pure version of Android.
It is wonderful to use a mobile free of applications that we will never use . At least I use for almost all Google applications. In the BQ Aquaris X2 Pro we only have the BQ Plus application and the Camera application. In addition, the use of Android One makes the terminal performance superior.
I also liked that BQ has not forgotten about NFC . This system allows us, among other things, to use mobile payments through the different bank applications. Also, if we are lucky enough to be in a compatible bank, we can also use Google Pay.
Conclusions
As I said at the beginning, since your analysis I have recommended the BQ Aquaris X2 Pro many times when they asked me for advice to buy a mid-range terminal with a contained price. So, as you have been able to read, my experience of using this mobile has been really good.
It has a design with first-class materials and without notch , something that many users surely like. Many will also prefer a more restrained screen size. And more if we take into account that it is a panel that offers a lot of quality.
In terms of performance, you can not put a single but. Everything runs smoothly, without hangs and without lag . The chip, memory and Android One combination works wonders.
Very surprised I was when I did the test with the camera. The magnificent aperture of the main sensor allows for good photos even in low light . The portrait mode and the image quality achieved by the front sensor are also very interesting.
And the whole is finished off by a very good autonomy . As I was saying, I have had no problems spending the whole day without charging my mobile.
But the best of all is that we can get the BQ Aquaris X2 Pro with an official price of starting at 380 euros .
