ZTE Blade A452, we have tested it

We have tested the economical and efficient ZTE Blade A452, a phone with a very competitive price and surprising features for a smartphone in its category. Included within the segment of entry-level mobile range smartphones, the  ZTE Blade A452 includes among its many features, a 4000 mAh battery capable of maintaining autonomy with moderate use for up to 48 hours . With an impeccable finish and design, the ZTE Blade A452 is a perfect phone for those looking to renew their terminal without having to hurt their pocket. Without further ado, let's go on to analyze this device from the firm based inShenzhen .

Display and layout

For a long time, the ZTE company has given a twist to its designs and of course with the Axon family the changes came for the better. The ZTE Blade A452 closely resembles the design of the mobiles of this family, with sober lines, beveled edges and a finish not very common in a phone of its price. It is finished in a medium quality plastic and the back cover is removable. The measurements of this smartphone are 145.5 x 71.5 x 9.25 millimeters and 158 grams of weight , more or less like the ZTE Axon Elite.  It is comfortable to use, fits perfectly in the hand and despite its light weight, it offers a feeling of robustness. This terminal has been released in three different colors, white, black and gold, all of them in a pearl finish. The back cover and side buttons can be completely removed, but  the battery is not removable.  The  microSIM and microSD card slots  are located at the bottom of the phone and the speakers are at the bottom of the back case. The capacitive buttons will be found on the front, marked in blue to give it a more striking appearance.

As for the screen, we find within a 3-millimeter black frame a multi-touch IPS LCD panel   with HD resolution of  1280 x 720 megapixels  and a total of 294 pixels per inch. The resolution is not its strong suit, but it does not cause problems in use, the colors look bright and quite sharp, the blacks are quite deep, although sometimes it yellows a bit, something that has been common in terminals of this range.

Processor and battery

The ZTE Blade A452 has a processor MediaTek MKT6735P of 4 cores running at 1.0 Ghz with 64 - bit architecture. Accompanying the processor is 1 GB of RAM. The GPU is a Mali T720 MP2 integrated unit , which has support for modern graphics standards such as OpenGL ES 3.1.

With these internal characteristics we could think that the phone is not going to offer us optimal performance and although, using games or several applications at the same time the phone slows down, we could conclude that its results, although humble, are efficient. For common use, such as calling, using instant messaging or browsing the Internet, we have not had any problems.

The operating system that runs this terminal is Android 5.1.1  Lollipop , with the customization layer of ZTE Mi Favor 3.1 , which, as we already saw in other terminals of the company, allows us to configure the phone in our own way in a simple and intuitive way .

Regarding the internal memory of the phone, we already warn from here that it will be practically essential to expand the memory through microSD, since the phone has 8 GB of internal memory of which less than 4 GB are free if we have the operating system .

But if there is something that this phone can boast of, it is the battery it mounts. We are talking about a battery of no more and no less than 4,000 mAh, which allows us an unusual autonomy in terminals of this range. In our tests, the phone has given us up to two full days of moderate use (calls, messaging and internet) without the need for any type of charge and more than a week at rest. Despite the good performance of this phone's battery, we recommend this article where we tell you how to optimize its performance.

Below we show the results of the AnTuTu test that we have subjected to the smartphone.

Photographic equipment

Despite the fact that the processor and screen of the phone are quite basic, ZTE has opted, as in the case of the battery, for a camera with important characteristics. The main camera of ZTE Blade A452  presents a sensor version with 13 megapixels with f / 2.0 aperture and 4 lenses that are accompanied by an LED flash and autofocus that does not allow you to take high-quality photographs and record videos in HD. The phone holds pretty good lighting conditionsalthough the absence of light does make it suffer. We found quite a bit of grain in the photographs taken in low artificial light and at night, although the result in good light is very good. Here are some tests in which you can check what was explained above.

Natural light

Absence of light

Among the modes that this phone has we find that of panoramic photos so fashionable now. Although it is true that the sensor is difficult to recognize the movement and requires several attempts until we manage to take the photo satisfactorily.

Another mode that is also very common and established for a long time in smartphones is the HDR mode. This mode takes different photos and then overlays them for more vivid and brilliant results. It is an ideal mode for taking landscape photos. The ZTE Blade A452 was not going to be less and incorporates this mode that we can say has given us more subtle results than we are used to in other phones but quite good after all. Let's look at a couple of pictures taken with and without HDR mode.

No HDR mode

With HDR mode

We also have another common mode in Asian brands: face beauty mode. This mode, as its name suggests, allows us to take selfies that will be immediately retouched. Smoother skin, blemishes outside or bigger eyes are some of the "miracles" that beauty mode will do for our selfies.

Finally we find the "live photos" which are photos in which several frames are joined to give a sensation of movement. This is also found in many smartphones although not low-end.

As for video recording, the main camera is capable of recording at a maximum of 30 frames per second with HD resolution but we must add that the audio quality is not really good.

Finally we will add that the front camera is rather limited since it has CMOS of only two megapixels, without flash and without stabilizer.

Connectivity and software

In terms of connectivity, the ZTE  Blade A452 has all the connectivity modules and sensors that are usually found in phones in its range. Among them are  a slot for two SIM cards and a microSD card. In the event that we use two cards simultaneously, the first of them will have  support for 3G and 4G LTE networks but  the second will only be able to handle GSM frequencies. The SIM slot is not hybrid, so the phone allows the simultaneous use of two microSIM cards or one microSD card.

Regarding WiFi connectivity, WiFi 802.11 b / g / n support  is only compatible with 2.4GHz frequencies. It also has Bluetooth 4.0, GPS with A-GPS and as sensors an accelerometer, a compass, an illumination sensor, a proximity sensor and a gyroscope.

Influencing the software theme, the ZTE Blade A452 incorporates Android 5.1 Lollipop as  the operating system with the Mifavor interface in version 3.1, from ZTE. Although the  storage capacity of the phone is, as we mentioned in another section of the review, somewhat limited, we will find several applications  installed by default on the device , such as Facebook, Instagram or Avast Mobile Security. All can be removed, except Avast which can only be deactivated.

Conclusions, price and availability

Without a doubt, what we liked the most about this terminal is that it has features worthy of devices in a much higher price range such as 4G LTE support, the 12 mega-pixel camera or of course, its 4000 mAh camera.

It is clear that the other great strength of this phone is its price since for only 100 euros we can have a 5-inch phone,  dual SIM, microSD  and the aforementioned benefits. If we have to emphasize something that really does not seem positive to us, it is that its memory is only 8GB, but we always have the easy and affordable possibility of expanding it up to 32GB via microSD. But if you are one of those who usually have many applications installed, you have to take into account that the ZTE Blade A452 does not allow us to move them to the microSD when we have occupied all the memory.

For this reason, it is a phone that is not bound to end up full of applications or multitasking, since the performance of its processor does not allow it lightly.

In short, it is a more than complete phone for those who want quality at the best price . Its battery and rear camera are its strengths, in addition to the multiple connectivity options.

ZTE Blade A452

screen

Design

Camera

Multimedia

software

Memory

Connections

Autonomy

+ info

Price: 100 euros