Kata M3s First Impressions

The latest handset of Kata in the country is the M3s. It's an entry-midrange handset designed to be your stylish, capable, and secured Android companion.

Kata M3s impressions!

As a quick recap, the handset highlights a metal clad frame with 5.5 inch HD screen. What's special here is it is one of the few sub PHP 7K devices equipped with a fingerprint scanner behind.

Now let's see what is this handset all about.

Kata M3s Specs

Display: 5.5 Inch HD 1280 x 720 resolution at 267 ppi

CPU: 1.3 GHz 64 Bit MT6737 quad core processor

GPU: Mali T720

RAM: 2 GB

ROM: 16 GB expandable via micro SD card slot

Main Camera: 13 MP f/2.4 w/ AF and LED flash

Selfie Camera: 8 MP f/2.8 w/ LED flash

Battery: 2,500 mAh

OS: Android 6.0 Marshmallow

Connectivity: WiFi, 3G, LTE, Bluetooth 4.0, OTG, GPS, A GPS, dual SIM

Sensors: Gravity, proximity, light, magnetic, gyroscope

Others: Fingerprint sensor

Dimensions: 154.6 x 78 x 8.5 mm

Weight: 169 g

Price: PHP 7,399

Disclaimer: This is a seeded review unit from Kata Philippines

Build Quality / Design

Main camera, dual LED flash, fingerprint scanner, and speaker behind

In terms of construction, Kata did a fine job with the M3s for the price. It highlights a chamfered metal frame with mostly plastic body inside. The back cover is also made out of inexpensive plastic that doesn't feel that durable. In front, the 5.5 inch HD screen is made out of glass. There's no mention of Dragontrail of Gorilla Glass protection.

3.5 mm jack on top

Microphone and micro USB port below

Volume rocker and power button at left

It's technically slim at 8.5 mm and doesn't look that big for a 5.5 inch device. The black bezel on the screen isn't as thick compared with their older offerings. The removable plastic back cover also has nice curvatures all over for better grip and hold.

Design-wise, the handset technically looks fine. 

All the buttons and ports are mostly on standard proper locations. The volume rocker / power button is at right, headphone jack on top, and micro USB port below. Behind, you'll find the main camera, flash, fingerprint scanner and single speaker.

The speaker placement behind, isn't the best, but still understandable for the price. We also like the fact that it has a dedicated micro SD card and dual SIM slots.

Initial findings

1. Build is fine on this handset surprisingly. The back cover isn't just the most durable and it doesn't have glass protection. The screen at HD resolution looks dull in colors and brightness, but has enough sharpness at 267 ppi.
2. At under 7.5K, the Kata M3s is equipped with the same chipset found with the decent Samsung Galaxy J2 Prime. It also has 2 GB of RAM for multitasking. Battery is just small at 2,500 mAh.
3. Kata is still using Android 6.0 Marshmallow OS with Kata's own skin. It looks clean, but it isn't as robust in features compared with competing skins from OPPO and Vivo.
4. The main camera at 13 MP f/2.4 is decent in daylight even if it has some inconsistencies. The selfie camera at 8 MP has flash, but at f/2.8 I'm not expecting it to perform well. The software is also stock and doesn't have much photography features.
5. It has no LED indicator, Android keys are on-screen, OTG works, gyroscope is present, fingerprint scanner works but not that quick.

As of the moment

The Kata M3s isn't that bad so far. We liked that it has a decent style, solid metal frame, big 5.5 inch screen, and fingerprint scanner behind. However, the similarly priced Kata i5 is still better on paper even if it has a smaller 5 inch display.

Stay tuned for our full review.