MyPhone My86 DTV Review - Budget Full Seg Digital TV Experience

MyPhone is one of the major local brands who values providing products that has a lot of bang for your buck and more. Recently, the Philippine based smartphone giant released their latest line of DTV enabled handsets to target budget conscious consumers who wants a usable Android phone with clear TV in one.

MyPhone My86 review

Moving forward, meet MyPhone My86, one of the most interesting of the bunch as it uses a Full Seg DTV function. That's said to be clearer and better than other phones who's just using a 1 Seg hardware.

Few weeks back, we got that unit, tested it and came up with this review. Find out now if it is a phone for you.

Disclaimer: This review unit was provided by MyPhone for an honest review

MyPhone My86 DTV Specs

Display: 5 Inch HD IPS 1280 x 720 resolution at 294 ppi

CPU: 1.3 GHz SC7731 quad core processor

GPU: Mali 400

RAM: 1 GB

ROM: 8 GB expandable via micro SD card slot

Back Camera: 13 MP w/ AF and LED flash

Selfie Camera: 5 MP

Battery: 2,300 mAh

OS: Android 5.1 Lollipop

Connectivity: WiFi, 3G, HSPA+, Bluetooth, GPS, A GPS, dual SIM

Others: Full Seg DTV

Price: 2,999 Pesos

Unboxing / Accessories

The packaging of My86

The packaging of MyPhone remained simplistic and easy to open on this one. It contains basic information that should be useful for most.

Inclusions inside

Upon opening the box, you'll see a lot of things included which is cool to see on a budget phone. There's the My86 in the flesh, 1A USB charger, thick yet flexible and long enough USB data / charging cable, in ear monitors with mic, pre-attached screen protector, detectable antenna and paper documentations.

In general, we like what we saw in its package as everything serves its purpose in an okay way.

Note: Take care of the removable antennas as they can be misplaced easily.

Build Quality / Design

View at the back showing the camera, PH map, MyPhone logo and speaker below

Phones with very low asking price often have flimsy build and not that refined ergonomics. Gladly, MyPhone isn't into that practice as they continued the tradition of providing durable yet affordable handsets over and over again. This My86 is a part of them.

Removable battery, dual SIM and micro SD card slot visible here

The back cover is made out of matte rubber painted plastic materials, the frame with tough enough type of polymer and real glass type of material on top w/ a thin layer of screen protector attached.

That type of build is enough to warrant you with decent durability considering the price. However, while we think that it is fairly durable, it's still not as well crafted compared with metal framed / clad devices, so taking great care of it is a must.

Top view showing the headphone jack

View below for the single mic and micro USB port

Power button and volume rocker located at the right

In terms of design, it was kept on a minimalist way. The phone looks good enough for a budget phone. It has nice contours, curves and slimness. We also like that MyPhone aded that chrome painted buttons on the side that adds some sort of character and flare.

However, you'll notice few weaknesses there such as the large gap between the glass and the actual display. Then, while the back cover of this phone isn't that prone to scratches, it isn't exempted from oily fingerprint smudges.

For me the best part of this phone is its easy to hold ergonomics with good grip.

MyPhone did a great job in making this phone feels just right in your palm. The curves, rounded corners and contours were great, there are no sharp edges and the grip were superb. All the buttons and ports are also properly in place for your easy reach. However, there's no LED light and backlit keys for the external capacitive buttons.

Display 

The screen in action while watching DTV

In the sub-3K range, the industry is still dominated with 4.5 inch phones with low-res screens. That's something where MyPhone stepped up their game a little to match other competitors quite well.

The My86 uses a 5 inch HD screen nice enough quality, sharpness and colors. It'll be great to let you enjoy watching TV, movies and etc. on the go. It's also nice for reading and viewing photos.

2 points of multitouch only

However, just like any other budget phones, there are weaknesses. The viewing angles isn't that great, not that readable under direct sunlight and only has 2 point of multi touch. It would have been better if phone makers won't use that type of panel as it'll be hard to type and play games if it doesn't have at least 5 points of touch.

Anyway, as whole, there isn't much room for complains as this phone is still has a capable screen for the price.

Audio quality

A handset with DTV function should be paired with pretty loud speakers. Gladly, MyPhone knew that as they added a fairly loud speakers with this handset. It isn't something that will blow your mind in terms of sonic capabilities, but it's good enough to make your favorite show hearable in a clear manner.

When used with a headphone or an IEM, it has a fairly balanced signature, but obviously not as detailed and refined compared with high-end music phones. At least the bass ins't so loud which doesn't overpower the vocals. However, we find that the highs were fatiguing and has that narrow soundstage.

We also noticed that it isn't CTIA ready. The phone can't be used with earphones for iPhone unlike most of the modern phones today. Something like the Ekobuds Lifetones with Android / iPhone switch or a headphone with no mic is needed to pair with the phone properly.

Anyway, at least this budget phone can play lossless files and has average driving power.

The mic of this phone is also nice enough for calls and recordings. There are noticeable noise and grains, but it's acceptable overall.

Battery Life

Long battery life here!

For a phone that only has 2,300 mAh of battery. This handset is such as surprise. It was able to last almost 8 hours in our battery test.

It has longer than expected battery life.

For our normal usage, it can last for a whole day of use that includes SMS, calls, data and DTV on the go. Charging time was a little more than 2 hours.

Camera

The main camera w/ dual LED flash at the back

MyPhone's My86 is using a 13 MP main camera w/ AF and LED flash and a 5 MP front facing camera w/ LED flash too. That setup is pretty interesting as there are few phones with that type of pixel count in the sub-3K range.

However, we did not set out expectations high here as normally, companies are just interpolating the pixel count here to make it look great on paper.

Gladly, quality-wise, the main camera of this handset did okay for the price. It's a little washed out, but has nice details and sharpness. The phone has slow focus speed, but its shutter is pretty fast. It got some nice type of HDR, but you'll have to wait for several seconds. 

In challenging light, it struggles a to focus and get details and in the dark, flash is needed to give you decent shots.

In front, it doesn't feel like a 5 MP cam. Even with adequate room light, it still doesn't produce good colors and has so much grains. Flash is needed almost every time to give you decent selfies.

For videos, at least it can record 1080p at the back and 480p in front. It's good enough for the price, but can be shaky if you don't have steady hands.

Rear Camera Samples

Normal vs HDR

Indoor challenging light

Great for macros with good light

Nice slightly blueish strong flash

Selfie Camera Samples

Selfie in good room white light

Selfie w/ flash

Performance

Antutu score and geekbench score

This handset is powered by 1.3 GHz SC7731 quad core processor paired with Mali 400 and 1 GB RAM. That setup is speedy enough to give you nice performance when doing regular smartphone task like social media, watching HD videos and etc.

However, in multitasking, 1 GB RAM isn't not good enough nowadays. Its only decent when you opened few apps, but you'll feel the hiccups when you open several apps at the same time. In gaming, this Spreadtrum chip is decent for light and casual games, but will surely lag in heavy 3D games.

Gladly, this phone doesn't heat up annoyingly even when data or WiFi is on.

MyPhone's clean UI

Another thing that we like is MyPhone didn't used a heavily skinned type of UI here to keep the performance optimized for that specs. There are very few bloats that doesn't eat so much space in its not that big 8 GB ROM.

The DTV app

The main highlight of My86 is its Full Seg TV function. It enables you to get clearer and even HD type of DTV signals that's not present with 1 Seg DTV phones. As a result, you'll get both 1 seg and Full Seg signals and choose the one you want to load.

To use the DTV, you just need to attach either the antenna included or your favorite headphones that will act as an antenna. However, we suggest that you use the DTV function outdoors as not everyone has strong DTV signals at home. If you're lucky, you can load all the local channels easily though. Watching is also pretty stable even if you're moving at times.

The DTV app of MyPhone is also functional and easy to understand. There's an easy search button and can even record your favorite shows.

Pros - Full Seg DTV, ergonomically great, decent specs, okay main camera, long battery life

Cons - Visible gap on screen, 2 point multitouch only, not on Marshmallow yet, tinny headphone audio out, selfie cam needs improvement, no LED notification, capacitive keys are not backlit, no OTG

Verdict

If you're the type of person who's into phones that has DTV function on a tight budget, this phone is a must consider. It would be great for your entertainment on the go due to its clear DTV output.

While there are some minor flaws here, MyPhone's My86 did a great job on its main purpose of that functional phone with good entertainment on the go. At just 2,999 Pesos, nitpicking might not be that reasonable.

GIZ Rating: 3.75/5 Stars