MyPhone Rio Pixie Review, One Of The Best Budget Selfie Centric Smartphone!
MyPhone officially joins on the recent selfie craze with it's newest offering, the selfie-centric Rio Pixie. MyPhone decided to focus and invest on its camera and selfie shot capabilities rather than pure processing and graphics power, and comes bundled with an official branded selfie stick and its own selfie app, Fotoku.
CPU: 1.3 GHz MT6582 quad core processor
GPU: Mali 400
RAM: 1 GB
ROM: 8 GB expandable via microSD card slot up to 64 GB
Back Camera: 8 MP AF w/ LED Flash
Selfie Camera: 8 MP w/ LED Flash and burst shot
Battery: 2,300 mAh
OS: Android 5.0 Lollipop
Connectivity: WiFi, 3G, HSPA+, Bluetooth, Dual SIM, Dual Standby, FM Radio, Micro USB 2.0, USB OTG
Sensors: Light, motion, proximity
Others: Dedicated camera button, Free selfie stick
Price: 7,599 Pesos
Upon opening the box, you'll get a handful of standard accessories. From 1A USB wall charger adapter, thick yet flexible microUSB charging / data cable, a decent sounding earphones with mic and warranty docs. Added as a bonus is a free MyPhone selfie stick with Bluetooth that actually works. What's missing here in the package is the inclusion of a free case that most local phone manufacturers provide nowadays.
The Rio Pixie sports almost the same design and build language of the highly popular MyPhone Rio 2. It's made out of high quality plastic that doesn't feel cheap and flimsy to hold. It has a back cover with rounded edges and a silver chrome painted sides that doesn't have sharp edges. Design-wise, the Rio Pixie looks hip and young with the number of vibrant colors to choose from.
Gorilla Glass 2 starts to scratch about 1.12lb/0.5kg of localised pressure, but even before, it would be very difficult to do this without forcefully scratching it with a sharp object like your keys. With the MyPhone Rio Pixie now sporting the Gorilla Glass 3, it's able to resist scratching at pressures of as much as 1.8lb/0.8kg, almost a kilo of force. It makes you wonder, do we even need a screen protector at this point?
We've had the Rio Pixie naked in our pockets and on a variety of odd surfaces, even tumbling amidst other gadgets in bags and cases for months, and not a dent to its screen. It really shows how the technology for screen glass has improved. If you want a high quality display and you like the naked feel of a screen without a protector, then the MyPhone Rio Pixie is the right phone for you!
MyPhone Rio Pixie's display is certainly the strongest point of this phone. It's 4.8 inch AMOLED HD Display brings crisp and sharp images in a wide array of viewing angles, and doesn't hurt the eyes even in lowlight conditions. The brightness level of the display itself I find is too good that I had to actually tone it down a bit on the settings. For this price range, you can't really go wrong with such a display. It's tight, it's bright and colors are simply vibrant looking. There isn't much else you can ask for in terms of display.
Also sporting a built in sound enhancer, making your RIO Pixie sound more dynamic. Though many purist will consider turning this off for a more natural sound, it's a good addition for a casual listeners experience, making low quality sound files more rounded to the ears.
Now the Microphone itself is very clear, able to record surrounding noises very well. During calls, the person I was talking to could catch what the person beside me was saying, too well if I'd say. Decent, decent performance indeed. Definitely a good quailty local handset you can use for calls without using an external earphone/mic, crisp and loud, all nice and dandy even without one.
Quality-wise, the camera of the Rio Pixie is extra impressive and interesting! It was able to take vibrant photos with good tonal balance that's not grainy and over saturated. In can also perform better in lowlight compared to other phones even without flash. From memory, I like the camera of this one better than the Rio 2, a lot better than the Infinity 2 Lite and can compete even against other expensive smartphones. Aside from that, the Rio Pixie also boast quick shutter and focus on both cameras. It also has a rare burst shot feature in the front camera when you hold the dedicated camera button.
The package includes a monopod selfie stick which is bluetooth capable. It also comes pre-installed with a selfie app called Fotoku.
Fotoku is built in application for selfie-lovers! Encouraging users to take as many selfies as they want. It offers a very easy to use interface, launching the front camera by default. The front-camera functionality is automatic and works right of the bat and makes taking pictures hassle free. The perfect App for camera darlings, now comes prepackaged on your phone. Make adjustments to your selfies on the fly using an assortment of readily available filters, and decorate it with an virtually unlimited set of cute emoji, stickers, and frames. It also serves online as a image-centric social media services for selfies. taking selfies even more exciting with Fotoku.
Aside from Fotoku, the stock camera app of Rio Pixie also has a lot of photography and beautification options which I'm sure most selfie lovers would like.
Even with the usage of only 1 GB RAM, applications, general usage, and even most casual games are able to run with no hiccups and noticeable slowdowns. Social media apps despite high usage never seemed to slow down as we were expecting. Lag free on most applications and casual games, so if your not going to be playing high end games that require higher GPU and a more powerful CPU then you're not going to experience any lag at all even with multiple apps already loaded in the background, (and I had many).
Now I did emulate a few other games other than what's available in the App store, it's able to maintain 30FPS for gaming emulation of PS1, PS2 and and PSP.
Pro's - Great screen, high quality camera, good build, lollipop
Con's - Many bloatwares, using and older gen processor and gpu
GIZ Rating: 4/5 Stars
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| MyPhone Rio Pixie review |
MyPhone Rio Pixie Specs
Display: 4.8 Inch HD AMOLED 1280 x 720 resolution w/ Gorilla Glass 3 protection at 306 ppiCPU: 1.3 GHz MT6582 quad core processor
GPU: Mali 400
RAM: 1 GB
ROM: 8 GB expandable via microSD card slot up to 64 GB
Back Camera: 8 MP AF w/ LED Flash
Selfie Camera: 8 MP w/ LED Flash and burst shot
Battery: 2,300 mAh
OS: Android 5.0 Lollipop
Connectivity: WiFi, 3G, HSPA+, Bluetooth, Dual SIM, Dual Standby, FM Radio, Micro USB 2.0, USB OTG
Sensors: Light, motion, proximity
Others: Dedicated camera button, Free selfie stick
Price: 7,599 Pesos
Unboxing / Accessories
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| Simple and elegant top slide packaging |
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| The bunch of accessories included in the package |
Upon opening the box, you'll get a handful of standard accessories. From 1A USB wall charger adapter, thick yet flexible microUSB charging / data cable, a decent sounding earphones with mic and warranty docs. Added as a bonus is a free MyPhone selfie stick with Bluetooth that actually works. What's missing here in the package is the inclusion of a free case that most local phone manufacturers provide nowadays.
Build Quality / Design
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| A good textured polycarbonate cover at the back showing the speakers and rear camera |
The Rio Pixie sports almost the same design and build language of the highly popular MyPhone Rio 2. It's made out of high quality plastic that doesn't feel cheap and flimsy to hold. It has a back cover with rounded edges and a silver chrome painted sides that doesn't have sharp edges. Design-wise, the Rio Pixie looks hip and young with the number of vibrant colors to choose from.
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| There's a dedicated camera button! :) |
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| Power button on the right side and volume rocker on the left side |
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| Found below is the microphone, 3.5 mm female port and micro USB port |
Gorilla Glass 2 starts to scratch about 1.12lb/0.5kg of localised pressure, but even before, it would be very difficult to do this without forcefully scratching it with a sharp object like your keys. With the MyPhone Rio Pixie now sporting the Gorilla Glass 3, it's able to resist scratching at pressures of as much as 1.8lb/0.8kg, almost a kilo of force. It makes you wonder, do we even need a screen protector at this point?
We've had the Rio Pixie naked in our pockets and on a variety of odd surfaces, even tumbling amidst other gadgets in bags and cases for months, and not a dent to its screen. It really shows how the technology for screen glass has improved. If you want a high quality display and you like the naked feel of a screen without a protector, then the MyPhone Rio Pixie is the right phone for you!
Display Quality
The MyPhone Rio Pixie display is built with 4.8" AMOLED HD Display and Gorilla Glass 3, Able to display your pictures and selfies in vibrant and colorful high definition! |
| The display |
MyPhone Rio Pixie's display is certainly the strongest point of this phone. It's 4.8 inch AMOLED HD Display brings crisp and sharp images in a wide array of viewing angles, and doesn't hurt the eyes even in lowlight conditions. The brightness level of the display itself I find is too good that I had to actually tone it down a bit on the settings. For this price range, you can't really go wrong with such a display. It's tight, it's bright and colors are simply vibrant looking. There isn't much else you can ask for in terms of display.
Audio
Speakers - Good amount of detail while still sounding very much full bodied. The loudness itself was very good, able to fill a small room with quality sound. The audio is clean and doesn't break even at volume levels beyond 70 %. This is case even with the built in Volume booster turned on compared to previous MyPhone models, where having the Volume booster on and cranking high enough volume levels would cause a scratchy distortion.Also sporting a built in sound enhancer, making your RIO Pixie sound more dynamic. Though many purist will consider turning this off for a more natural sound, it's a good addition for a casual listeners experience, making low quality sound files more rounded to the ears.
Now the Microphone itself is very clear, able to record surrounding noises very well. During calls, the person I was talking to could catch what the person beside me was saying, too well if I'd say. Decent, decent performance indeed. Definitely a good quailty local handset you can use for calls without using an external earphone/mic, crisp and loud, all nice and dandy even without one.
Battery
Packing 2,300 mAh of battery capacity in a smaller screen size at 4.8 inches, the Rio Pixie has an impressive battery life! The general casual usage normally can help me last thru the day. Under heavy usage of pure gaming, music, videos and internet it was able to last for a little more than 4 hours. |
| The battery saver that can help you add more battery life |
Camera
Boasting an 8 MP camera with LED flash on both the front and back. The Rio Pixie can give you the same quality shots using either the rear or selfie cam. You can also now take high quality selfies even in dark and low light of situations. |
| The camera at the back |
Quality-wise, the camera of the Rio Pixie is extra impressive and interesting! It was able to take vibrant photos with good tonal balance that's not grainy and over saturated. In can also perform better in lowlight compared to other phones even without flash. From memory, I like the camera of this one better than the Rio 2, a lot better than the Infinity 2 Lite and can compete even against other expensive smartphones. Aside from that, the Rio Pixie also boast quick shutter and focus on both cameras. It also has a rare burst shot feature in the front camera when you hold the dedicated camera button.
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| Selfie time with the free Bluetooth monopod |
The package includes a monopod selfie stick which is bluetooth capable. It also comes pre-installed with a selfie app called Fotoku.
Fotoku is built in application for selfie-lovers! Encouraging users to take as many selfies as they want. It offers a very easy to use interface, launching the front camera by default. The front-camera functionality is automatic and works right of the bat and makes taking pictures hassle free. The perfect App for camera darlings, now comes prepackaged on your phone. Make adjustments to your selfies on the fly using an assortment of readily available filters, and decorate it with an virtually unlimited set of cute emoji, stickers, and frames. It also serves online as a image-centric social media services for selfies. taking selfies even more exciting with Fotoku.
Aside from Fotoku, the stock camera app of Rio Pixie also has a lot of photography and beautification options which I'm sure most selfie lovers would like.
Camera Samples
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| Sample landscape shot |
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| Low light shot |
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| Dim light shot |
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| Random coffee shot |
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| 100% crop shot, very detailed |
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| Wide angle mode, perfect for groufies! |
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| Selfie with flash |
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| More selfies |
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| This photo is taken using the front camera |
Performance
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| The custom Android 5.0 Lollipop UI by MyPhone called My/OS |
Even with the usage of only 1 GB RAM, applications, general usage, and even most casual games are able to run with no hiccups and noticeable slowdowns. Social media apps despite high usage never seemed to slow down as we were expecting. Lag free on most applications and casual games, so if your not going to be playing high end games that require higher GPU and a more powerful CPU then you're not going to experience any lag at all even with multiple apps already loaded in the background, (and I had many).
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| Sample gaming |
Now I did emulate a few other games other than what's available in the App store, it's able to maintain 30FPS for gaming emulation of PS1, PS2 and and PSP.
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| Sample gaming 2 |
Benchmarks
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| The expected Antutu score of more than 19K and the unexpected 10 point multi touch screen |
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| Decent score on geek bench and quadrant |
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| GPU bench scores |
Pro's - Great screen, high quality camera, good build, lollipop
Con's - Many bloatwares, using and older gen processor and gpu
Verdict
It has its fair share of weaknesses, but the Rio Pixie did its main job very well which makes it one of the best selfie phone we've ever tested under 10,000 Pesos! It's a clear must have for everyone who loves to take good quality shots in both the front and back camera without emptying your wallets.GIZ Rating: 4/5 Stars
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