The launch of an entry-level or mid-range smartphone is usually underlooked in the tech world unless it’s Apple and it’s iPhone fanboys. itel mobile Uganda did a stupendous job to get our attention with the new Power Series itel P36 but will it be worth your time? Follow us in our journey as we explore the itel P36 in our in-depth review;
Quick questions before you even think of buying this itel P36 Series;
- Do you want a smartphone on a budget?
- Do you need a short term replacement or a secondary smartphone?
- Are you looking for an entry-level phone or your first smartphone?
- Are you looking for a big battery smartphone?
- Are you looking to buy for your Kid at home a learning gadget during this COVID days?
If you answer yes to at least two of the above questions then itel P36 is your best bet. However, don’t rule out the chance of adopting this as your primary smartphone since the demands regarding specs and features are usually subjective and itel P36 would fit right in your budget and price range.
itel P36 Unboxing + Set-Up
The exhilaration and anxiety that comes with unboxing a new shiny gadget for a techie are quite real. There was no exception when it came to unboxing the itel P36.
We dug a little deeper to unearth what makes the P36 special, but before we show you why it’s worth your attention. Let’s start from the beginning.
What Is in the Box?
- 1 x deep blue itel P36 smartphone with the screen protector
- 1 x black USB-C cable
- 1 x black charging adapter
- 1 x red earphone
- 1 x sim card ejector
There are few things to write about the set up as it requires one to have an internet connection to properly get it done. A worthy mention is the Google Play Store feature which allows you to export apps and data from your previous Android phone which is really instrumental in case you have lost your phone.
Related: itel Mobile launches the itel P36 and P36 Pro LTE in Uganda
itel P36 Full Specs
Of course, the geeks want to know the specs down to the detail. Here are the full specs before we proceed with the itel P36 review.
- Model: itel P36 (W6501):
- Colours: Gradation Purple, Graduation Blue & Deep Blue
- SIM: Dual Micro SIM
- OS: Android 9 Pie GO edition
- Network: GSM, WCDMA, GPRS, EDGE
- Display: 6.5’ Inch 165.5*76*8.6mm(283PPI)
- CPU: ARM Unisoc
- GPU: The ARM Mali-T820
- Processor: SC7731E 1.3GHz Quad-core
- Memory: 16GB ROM, 1GB RAM, microSD, up to 32GB (dedicated slot)
- Camera: 8MP with flash + 8MP selfie camera with front flash
- Sensors: Accelerometer & Proximity.
- Battery: Non-removable Li-Ion 5000 mAh battery
- Others: Bluetooth, Radio, Sound recorder,
itel P36 Performance
To properly review the itel P36 performance, we looked at key elements, primarily the battery, camera, digital wellbeing & parental controls, fitness & entertainment, and the phone optimization tools. We did the Geekbench scores as well and showed you the CPU performance of the chip in comparison to the premium options.
Battery
To me, a huge battery spec band like 5000 mAH battery doesn’t make sense and many of you will agree with me because our usage pattern might be similar. We juice up our phone all night and use it during the day, if the battery can last me a full day without worrying about charging then I consider it a good enough performance.
My experience with the P36 wasn’t any different, the phone had a battery percentage of 53% out of the box from around midday and took me to the next day at 19:00hrs doing all the extensive workload the phone can manage which is a big bonus in terms of battery performance.
I’m not so big in terms of gaming, but the neighbours’ kid gave the phone a severe test switching between Asphalt and Temple Run for a fair share of the day after a full overnight charge, and the battery percentage was 40% by 17:00hrs before I went for my evening road run.
In retrospect, the battery performance is premium and what an average smartphone user would ask for and won’t be disappointed with. The additional feature of fast charging is one which is a bit controversial and didn’t live up to the figures quoted by the manufacturer or maybe it’s solely found on the P36 Pro LTE device which unfortunately we never had a chance to give it a test run.
The icing in the battery department are the two functionalities of smart power saving and standard ultra power saving mode;
Smart Power Saving makes you adjust the phone performance (WLAN, Bluetooth, Data, brightness) and apps to extend battery life.
In the Ultra Power Saving: only calls, SMS, Calendar are available to maximize battery endurance to the limits.
Camera
The back of the phone embodies a rear 8MP dual-camera setup with a flashlight and front-screen houses an 8MP selfie camera. I understand there are trade-offs when making the gadgets but the overall photo quality produced was way below average. Shooting outdoors with the flashlights made the photos too bright and shooting indoors with the flashlights made the photo too sharp. Nonetheless, for a device of this grade and price range, I think the camera quality is okay and should serve the target audience just fine.
Find actual pictures taken with the iTel P36 camera below.
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Digital Wellbeing and Parental Controls
Digital wellbeing and parental control have been the forefront feature during the launch of Andriod 9 and luckily, the itel P36 device has a dedicated Digital Wellbeing and parental control setting. Let’s explore what they are all about.
Digital Wellbeing
This feature lets you do a number of things like turn on focus mode. Focus mode lets you pause distracting apps when you need to focus. You get to select which apps are “distracting”.
READ MORE: How to utilize Focus Mode on Android 10?
The Digital Wellbeing tool also tracks the amount of time you spend on various apps. Likewise, it can help you set daily timers for different apps so they are automatically paused when time is passed.
Parental Controls
There are a few apps with age restrictions and precautions are to be taken by parents towards children who are under-aged because this may lead to misuse of the apps. Parental control feature allows you to remotely supervise the phone and ward balance on screen time and other unsolicited apps. This is done with the Google Family Link app for parents.
Fitness and Entertainment
In this day and age, many urban dwellers have started taking their fitness and health quite serious and handy accessories on top of your smartwatches is usually your smartphone. To keep track of your workout journey and records. I did my daily 4KM run with the phone and had no trouble. The 8.6mm slim body design is a perfect blend and fitted well in my pockets all the time.
For streaming movies: Using the device to stream movies from Netflix or Amazon Prime is pretty much top-notch experience. The 1600*320 resolution and 283 Pixel density make the viewing excellent.
Multimedia: Don’t forget the itel P36 has only 16GB of storage which is close to being useless in case you want to download and curate your own music playlist on the device. So the other options are to extend storage with SD memory cards(which is quite old fashion) or download streaming apps and pay monthly subscriptions for(which again is an additional cost).
Geekbench Scores
Geekbench is popular as a cross-platform benchmark that tests both single-core and multi-core CPU performance using simulated workloads similar to common applications. We downloaded the latest Geekbench 5 app from the Play Store and ran it to compile the performance results viz-a-viz the premium high-end chips. The results aren’t shocking but it’s a solid proof of the difference between a top-tier gadget and a low one. You can click here to read more results on the Geekbench performance of the itel P36.
Phone Optimisation
There is that time when your phone gets slowed down due to multiple apps or usage over time. To keep your phone fast and fluid, the P36 has 4 apps to help you i.e. Power Master, App Freeze, Phone Manager, and Accelerate. All these work together to keep your phone performing.
itel P36: What We Liked
- 12 Month Carlcare warranty
- Affordable
- 5000 mAh battery
- Decent camera
What We Didn’t Like
- Too many bloatware
- Audio Output and Sound quality
- Poor haptics experience
- No 4G support
Final Verdict
The itel branded phones have always and will contain ue to be a budget and entry-level smartphones which means unless you’re on a shoelace budget, this isn’t a gadget you want. But still, it can be great as a gift to someone or for the young ones out of school for now.
And that our review of the itel P36. Have you used an itel smartphone in the past? What was your experience like? Was the device worth the money? You can let us know in the comments section.
