Do you need to spend almost 1000 euros on a powerful high-end smartphone? Elephone brings to Spain the Elephone U Pro, an impressive phone with an attractive design and a more than striking interior (with 6 GB of RAM).
The Elephone U Pro is a powerful 5.99-inch terminal, 128 GB of internal storage (expandable via microSD card) and 6 GB of RAM. The Chinese manufacturer has not wanted to skimp on resources for its flagship terminal.
The smartphone is also not short on the camera: the main one is a dual 13 + 13 megapixel camera , and it has an 8 megapixel front lens for selfies. In addition, the terminal can record video in 4K quality.
Taking into account the aforementioned characteristics, the price is quite competitive in the market: 500 euros for high-end benefits that tend to be around 900 euros in other brands.
We have thoroughly analyzed the Elephone U Pro to tell you our impressions. Elephone has confirmed to us that the smartphone we have tested has some flaws because it is a prototype version of the terminal.
Large screen and curved sides
The most striking thing about the Elephone U pro mobile, at first glance, is the design. The 5.99-inch panel spans the entire front, with hardly any edges, and with curved sides. It has a resolution of 1080 x 2160 pixels, and a density of 403 pixels per inch.
On an aesthetic and graphic level, operating such a screen is a fantastic experience. The colors are bright and shape of the panel is perfect for enjoying a series or a movie in full immersion, thanks to the curved side edges.
On the right side we find the volume buttons and the on / off button. As a striking detail, it should be mentioned that the card tray is not on the left side, but on the top of the phone.
The smartphone supports two nanoSIM cards or one nanoSIM and one microSD card for external storage.
At the bottom we find the double speaker and the USB type C port .
From behind, the phone has the two dual camera lenses, oriented vertically , and the fingerprint sensor just below. As an extra security element, in addition to the fingerprint, we can use facial recognition on the phone.
The metallic effect finish is very nice and shiny, but it does have a downside: it scratches very easily . So a protection cover would be essential to avoid scares.
The Elephone U Pro measures 154 millimeters long x 72.5 millimeters wide and 8.4 millimeters thick, and weighs 144 grams .
Processor and performance in style for the most demanding users
It is clear that the Chinese brand Elephone has wanted to bet strongly on the internal features of its Elephone U Pro terminal. The smartphone seems designed for the most demanding users , who do not want to suffer any performance problems or lack of space.
The Elephone U Pro uses a 2.2 GHz 8-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 processor , and has an impressive 6 GB RAM memory that guarantees fluidity in all processes.
In addition, the available internal storage space is 128 GB , but we can expand with a microSD card of up to 256 GB if we want.
For the purposes of use, the RAM is noticeable (and a lot). Applications open and close instantly, graphics work at high speed and we can have several apps that consume many resources open at the same time.
Operating system and pre-installed applications
The Elephone U Pro runs on Android 8.0 as standard and has a fairly light Elephone customization layer. It modifies the look of the icons and offers few pre-installed apps: just a music player and a shortcut to the flashlight, plus access to technical support.
Elephone U Pro
screen | 5.99-inch, 1,080 x 2,160-pixel HD (403dpi) | |
Main chamber | Dual, 13 + 13 megapixels, Dual LED flash, Full HD video | |
Camera for selfies | 8 megapixels, video 3264 x 2448 pixels | |
Internal memory | 128 GB / Expandable via microSD card | |
Extension | microSD up to 256GB | |
Processor and RAM | Qualcomm Snapdragon 660, 8 cores 2.2 GHz / 6 GB RAM AnTuTu Benchmark Power Test: 130611 points Geekbench 4 Power Test: 1613 points (Single-Core) / 5780 points (Multi-Core) | |
Battery | 3,550 mAh, fast charge AnTuTu Tester test: 8801 points | |
Operating system | Android 8.0 Oreo | |
Connections | Bluetooth, GPS, USB Type-C, NFC | |
SIM | DualSIM (two nanoSIM cards) | |
Design | Plastic and metal, fingerprint reader | |
Dimensions | 154 x 72.5 x 8.4 mm (166 grams) | |
Featured Features | FM radio, curved screen, file manager | |
Release date | February 2018 | |
Price | 500 euros |
Elephone U Pro battery
The smartphone is equipped with a 3550 mAh battery and fast charging technology . With intensive use, it holds up perfectly the whole day, and has behaved phenomenally in the AnTuTu Tester duration test (130611 points).
It should be mentioned, however, that the phone turns off in a short time when it reaches low battery levels, so it is preferable to keep it with a high charge level to avoid surprises .
Elephone U Pro camera: good lenses, slow app
The main camera of this Elephone smartphone is dual, 13 + 13 megapixels , and the front lens is 8 megapixels.
In good lighting conditions we get good quality images, but in low light environments it is quite disappointing .
First of all, you will likely get quite grainy or even pixelated photos, and if you don't have a very good pulse it will take several tries. Logically, for photographs in night mode it is always necessary to stabilize the phone or use a tripod, but in the case of the Elephone U Pro you may have sharpness problems even if there is a little more light .
This problem is directly related to the operation of the camera app. On the Elephone U Pro, even if you don't have other applications open and you can enjoy 6 GB of RAM just for the camera, many times you will have to fight with its options and buttons .
The fire button, for example, takes a long time to react, and sometimes you have to hit it more than once. If you try to take pictures too quickly in different modes, it is likely that the mobile "hangs" and that you have to exit and re-enter the camera application.
Elephone has confirmed that they are aware of the bugs. These are small errors that occur because these terminals that we have tested are still prototypes .
Therefore, our impressions of the performance and speed of the camera application are based only on our contact with a prototype terminal. These bugs have been corrected in the final terminals that will go on sale in the market.
Elephone U Pro camera modes
Basic shooting options
From the camera settings menu, we can activate or deactivate several interesting options, such as face detection, continuous shooting or geolocation of images.
The Elephone U Pro also has a system that eliminates red eyes , a countdown timer and a series of filters to apply to photos, perfect if we want to share images on social networks.
Automatic mode vs. professional mode
There is a very interesting detail in the camera of this phone: even if we have the automatic mode activated, from the settings menu we can manually configure parameters such as exposure , ISO value, lens aperture or white balance.
Therefore, even if there is no direct access to a professional mode, we can control the different settings to our liking before capturing the photo.
Scene modes
The main lens of the Elephone U Pro also allows you to choose a certain type of scene according to the ambient lighting conditions. We can choose backlight, landscape mode, portrait mode, flowers, sport mode, backlight, sunset, night, beach, snow ...
Selecting one of these scene modes disables some of the manual settings . For example, with the snow mode we cannot "touch" the exposure or the white balance, but we can change the ISO value to our liking.
Panoramic photography
With the smartphone we can also capture places that are difficult to cover in a single photo. Panorama mode works in both portrait and landscape orientation .
Photo settings for secondary camera
With the selfie camera active, we can also select the type of scene (night, sunset, backlighting, etc.) and we will have the option to activate or deactivate the flash, the timer and face detection.
Although the Elephone U Pro does not have a flash for the secondary camera, it uses the illumination of the screen (all white) to illuminate the selfies.
With the secondary camera we can also apply filters , configure parameters such as white balance or exposure, and activate the red-eye reduction mode.
The only option that is missing is the ability to capture panoramic selfies . As soon as panoramic mode is activated, the mobile automatically switches the camera to the main lens.
Finally, it should be mentioned that in the secondary camera we can activate or deactivate the "mirror mode" , depending on the result we want in the photos.
Video recording
The main camera can record videos up to 4K quality , while the selfie camera reaches up to Full HD (1080p). In both cases we can activate or deactivate the image stabilization system and adjust the white balance.
The Elephone U Pro allows to use image filters in real time with the videos, so we can obtain recordings in black and white, in sepia, in neon mode ...
Price and conclusions
The Elephone U Pro is priced at 500 euros , and will be available in Spain in the coming weeks. There is no doubt that it has a very competitive price in the market, in a high range where we usually find terminals of 800 or even 1000 euros.
The main advantages, as we have mentioned, are in the design and in the power, in addition to the storage capacity. With 128 GB of space and 6 GB of RAM , many demanding users will go for this terminal.
Another interesting detail is the large screen, with curved edges and good resolution , perfect for enjoying series and movies.
The only negative impression that we take with the phone is the series of problems related to the camera application, which Elephone assures that they have been corrected in the final terminals.
In short: this Chinese terminal can be an excellent alternative to the 900 euro models of other brands, and you can forget about storage problems for your apps and files.