Vernee continues to systematically gain a significant share in the smartphone market. Following Vernee Thor, sales of Vernee Apollo Lite started this summer. With it, the bet is made on enthusiasts who are not ready to spend heavily on the purchase of flagship solutions, but at the same time place increased demands on the level of performance and appearance. Moreover, taking into account the update of the platform for such smartphones in the middle price segment, they are not inferior in basic parameters to recent leaders. Vernee Apollo Lite came to us later than the first batch was sold to customers. Company representatives talk about increased demand and large sales volumes.
For us, this also has its advantage, which concerns a series of software improvements that have been carried out during this time. They actually do this, unlike most of their competitors. For example, for Vernee Thor (review), OTA updates are released regularly, and the first test versions based on Android 7.0 have appeared. Currently, the cost of Vernee Apollo Lite is 15,500 rubles.
Vernee Apollo Lite review
Equipment
Vernee Apollo Lite is supplied in a thick cardboard package with a minimalist design. The smartphone has two protective films (on the screen and on the cover).
The package includes a power supply with support for fast charging, cable USB Type-C, tray clip, instructions and recommendations for OTA updates.
Appearance
Vernee Apollo Lite is available in dark gray and silver versions. A classic non-separable monoblock with a premium claim.
It looks coherent, there is no feeling of massiveness or congestion. Overall dimensions are 152 x 76.2 x 9.2 mm, with a weight of 175 grams.
Externally, it is a cross between the design of the Note line from Xiaomi and the new OnePlus 3. Rounded corners and sharp transitions in the area of the lid and front panel.
The construction is based on anodized aluminum. The overall rigidity is high, the body does not bend under finger pressure. There are two small plastic inserts in the color of metal, on the top and bottom, they are necessary for outputting the antennas of the communication modules.
The transition area is smooth, the fastening is tight. No creaking or play was noticed. Fingerprints and possible scratches are well hidden. The smartphone does not try to slip out of your hands or from a flat surface.
The main camera module of the Vernee Apollo Lite is shifted to the center. Protrudes approximately 1mm above the surface of the housing. Next to it is a dual LED flash.
Below is a fingerprint scanner. The location is convenient when using a smartphone handheld; some difficulties may arise only when installing it on a mount in a car.
You won’t be surprised by such scanners now; now it’s an unspoken standard for modern smartphones, allowing you to protect personal data from unauthorized access.
The accuracy of the scanner here is high. The finger is recognized instantly, its speed is not inferior to the Samsung S7 and Apple iPhone 6S Plus, there are detailed comparison tests online.
On the left side there are two separate slides for SIM cards. The top one is combined with a microSD memory card (capacious drives are supported). In the case of a second SIM, you will need to choose between additional memory or a second operator. There is only one telephone module. The second SIM is hot-swappable.
Vernee Apollo Lite lacks touch buttons; they are moved to the interface. This does not cause discomfort in applications and games, and does not take up extra space on the screen.
Buttons are hidden when interacting with the application and displayed when necessary. The button layout can be changed through the settings menu.
The LED event indicator is located in the corner of the upper frame. There is also a speaker grille, a front camera lens, a proximity and light sensor.
A pair of mechanical buttons on the right side. The volume rocker and power button are well secured in the case. They don't rattle. The ride is soft.
Connection to charging and a PC is made via a USB Type-C cable; this connector provides a bonus with increased file transfer speeds and fast charging capabilities. Along the edges are round holes for the speaker and main microphone.
Screen
A 5.5-inch IPS screen with Full HD resolution is installed. The version without the Lite prefix, which is expected to be announced in the future, will receive a display with a QHD screen. Is such increased detail necessary? There will definitely be fans of this pixel density, but Vernee Apollo Lite also pleases with picture quality without creating an increased load on the system core.
Matrix from SHARP - IGZO with reduced power consumption. Gorilla Glass 3 is installed without an air gap. The viewing angles are wide. The brightness adjustment range is wide, there is adaptive adjustment. The maximum brightness is enough for comfortable work under sunlight. The illumination is uniform over the entire area. Up to 10 simultaneous touches are supported, the sensor works clearly.
Filling
Under the metal cover of the Vernee Apollo Lite there are ten nuclear processor MediaTek MTK6797 Helio X20 with Mali-T880 graphics. This platform was created for QHD resolution; with FHD it copes with power reserves. In ordinary applications and not complex ones games are on disabling cores using only basic ones with low power consumption. The optimization is excellent, it does not overheat and there are no short-term slowdowns characteristic of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 810. In terms of performance in synthetic tests, it outperforms phones Samsung Galaxy S6 and Note 5.The interface works perfectly, programs launch quickly. All games available in Google Play on ultra graphics settings, they produce a high level of FPS. On board 4 GB RAM and 32 GB internal memory, more than in the Note lines from Meizu and Xiaomi.
Antutu
3DMark
Epic Citadel
GeekBench 4
Antutu Video
Vellamo
Connection
Vernee Apollo Lite works in LTE networks, Russian operators provide high speed file downloads. No ruptures were noticed. Dual-band Wi-Fi with 5 GHz support. Bluetooth. The navigation module uses a joint signal from several systems.
The positioning accuracy is high, the smartphone can be used as a navigator when walking and driving. A cold start takes about 10-20 seconds.
Battery
WITH autonomous operation It's even more interesting here. Vernee Apollo Lite was one of the first smartphones to support PUMP EXPRESS 3.0 technology. The included charger restores approximately 70-75% in the first 45 minutes. By the end of the hour, the battery level is around 90%. There is no noticeable heating of the lid, but it is important to understand that this technology requires a compatible charger. With regular charging there will be the same charging schedule as for phones without support for this technology. A full charge lasts approximately 4 hours at maximum brightness in 3D games. All day with active use. In economy mode you can last up to two days. The charging schedule is uniform. The capacity of 3180mAh corresponds to the declared one.
Camera
Main camera module with 16 megapixel Samsung matrix, front-camera 5 MP. Autofocus is fast. Dual LED flash. A standard Android application is used to interact with the camera. Judging by the data from OTA updates, engineers continue to fine-tune the camera. The operation of the HDR mode has recently been adjusted. Support for 4K video recording was turned on and off (in the firmware as of September 20, it was turned off).The quality of the pictures is excellent. Vernee Apollo Lite is a good alternative to a standalone digital camera.
Software
Operating room installed Android system 6.0. We consider the absence of branded shells to be a significant advantage. The user can supply everything he needs himself. There is no Chinese or partner software here. Even A-brands will envy the update release schedule. In the future we can expect the emergence large quantity alternative firmware.
Results for Vernee Apollo Lite
Vernee Apollo Lite is an excellent alternative to the Note lines from Xiaomi and Meizu, which offers high performance and lack of shells. On the Russian market, a significant advantage is cost; solutions with similar characteristics are noticeably more expensive. The strengths include a 5.5-inch IPS from SHARP, a 10-core processor, support for fast charging, 4 GB of RAM and 32 GB of internal memory, 16 megapixels Samsung camera, fingerprint scanner, LTE with two SIMs, optional space for a memory card. All this pleasure is enclosed in an aluminum housing with high-quality assembly. What else do you need from a modern smartphone? Vernee Apollo Lite receives the well-deserved award "Gold...
Preface and summary specifications Vernee smartphone Apollo Lite
Vernee - completely new brand, founded last year, 2016. Products under this brand are manufactured at the factory facilities of Shenzhen New-Bund Network Technology Co., Ltd. Most likely, this company used to produce smartphones on a contract basis for other manufacturers, and now it has rightly decided that “we ourselves have a mustache.” :)
But now, accordingly, you will also have to take full responsibility for everything, right down to the last “glitch” in the firmware and the “crooked” translation in the menu. :)
Today we received a high-end device from this new brand on our “operating table”: a “high-speed” platform, a large high-quality screen, an advanced main camera, and many other interesting things.
Main technical characteristics of the telephone she is Vernee Apollo Lite - in this table:
| Processor (SoC)* | MediaTek Helio X20 (64 bit) (aka MTK679 7), 10 cores in 3 clusters: 2 x 2.3 GHz, Cortex-A72, + 4 x 1.85 GHz, Cortex-A53, + 4 x 1.4 GHz, Cortex-A53 |
| GPU | Mali T 880 (integrated into processor) |
| Flash memory | 32 GB |
| RAM | 4 GB |
| Display (size, type, resolution) | 5.5", IPS, 1920x1080 (Full HD), OGS * |
| Cameras | Main: 16 MP (autofocus, flash); front: 5 MP |
| SIM cards | 2 (micro SIM + nano-SIM), alternating operation |
| Micro SD card slot | Yes (combined with nano-SIM) |
| Data transfer | GPRS/EDGE/3G/HSPA+/4G; Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n/ac ; Bluetooth 4.2 |
| Battery | 318 0 mAh (non-removable) |
| Navigation | GPS/GLONASS/ BDS |
| Additional functions | FM radio, fingerprint scanner |
| Dimensions |
152.0 x76.2 x 9.2 mm |
| Weight | 175 g |
| Official site | vernee.cc |
Note:
* OGS - One Glass Solution - technology display production, in which the touch surface is glued to the screen without an air gap between them.
Packaging and equipment
The box contains the smartphone itself on top, and below it is a set of accessories:
The set of accessories is not rich, only the very minimum possible: a charger, a cable for connecting to a computer and “charging”, as well as a “clip” for removing trays.
But, despite the meagerness of the set, there is something to look at and pay attention to.
Let's start with the cable:
The cable here is not simple, but gold USB Type-C. This cable is interesting in two aspects. Firstly, it is symmetrical, you can insert it in any direction. And secondly, theoretically it gives higher data transfer speeds. But practically there is no benefit from this, since at the other end the cable ends in a regular USB 2.0 connector with its inherent quite normal speed.
The charger has the magic words "Fast Charger" on it and lists the range of currents and voltages it can supply to the load. Multiplying the largest of them, we get a maximum power of 18 watts - that's a lot!
There is no protective film included separately in the kit, because it is already glued to the screen at the manufacturer.
The kit includes a little more "waste paper" - the traditional not very useful "User's Guide" and a sheet with recommendations for updating the firmware (not shown in the photo).
The equipment, as noted above, is the most minimal. If necessary, the user must purchase a headset (headphones) and a USB OTG adapter cable for the Type-C connector independently.
Appearance, design software Vernee Apollo Lite smartphone
On the front side, the smartphone has a conventional layout:
All the required elements are in place here. There is also an indicator LED, it is located in the upper left corner. But it is visible only when it glows, and it glows rather weakly (it is not visible on the street in sunny weather). But it can glow with a full set of RGB colors.
The front panel glass is made in the newfangled "2.5D Glass" style, and the factory glass is glued on top of the glass protective film. The design turned out to be glamorous, but not very practical. Due to the fact that the protective film is raised above the rest of the phone's surface, it will wear out quite quickly.
The touch buttons are located not under the screen, but on the screen itself, slightly “eating up” part of its usable area. True, many applications, for example, video players, can hide these buttons; and then the useful area is not lost.
The "plus" in the arrangement of the buttons on the screen is that in this case they do not require backlighting.
View from two diagonal angles:
As you can see, the arrangement of the main structural elements is quite standard. Of the features, only one non-obvious point should be noted. Although there are two speaker grilles visible on the bottom, there is actually only one speaker. The second grille has a purely aesthetic function; there is no speaker behind it.
The back cover of the smartphone is metal with two small plastic inserts on the top and bottom (to ensure radio transparency near the antennas). The central (metal) part is painted in a color very close to the color of the plastic inserts.
You also need to pay attention to the rear camera. Its front glass protrudes outward and is not protected by anything. Accordingly, the user himself must think about protecting the camera from scratches and other damage.
Now let's take a look at the main design feature of our patient: separate trays for SIM cards and memory cards. Usually, if SIM cards and a memory card are inserted into a smartphone using a tray, then there is only one tray, and all cards are pushed into it.
And we have two such trays, and each card is inserted into its own personal tray:
These trays are not the same. In the top one you can put either a nano-SIM card or a micro SD memory card. And in the bottom tray you can only put a micro-SIM card.
To prevent the user from confusing the trays with each other, they are signed with the words “UP” and “DOWN”:
Everything is clear in appearance. Let us now study the inner world of our patient; why will we give him into the hands of our ripper surgeon and Let's partially disassemble it.
Before disassembling, it is necessary to say the traditional words that officially it is not dismountable. It follows from this that, firstly, this should not be done unless necessary; and secondly, that all responsibility for possible breakdowns and losses during the disassembly and assembly process will fall on you, dear consumer.
Partial disassembly (remove the back cover) is carried out without any particular difficulties and is quite traditional.
In preparation for disassembly, it is enough to remove the trays with SIM cards and memory cards, because they pass through the lid and will not allow it to be removed.
It should be borne in mind that the plastic inserts on the top and bottom of the back cover are firmly connected to it, so it all needs to be removed as a single whole structure. And removal is done in a standard way: you need to snap the back cover around the perimeter from the base (front panel) using a thin plastic object or your own fingernail (if it is strong enough).
And then we remove the back cover carefully, without jerking, since it is connected by a cable to the motherboard. At the same time, we make sure that the side buttons do not get lost - they simply lie in their recesses in the lid and are not secured by anything.
As a result, we get a partially disassembled smartphone:
Now let's move on from appearance To software.
The list of applications installed by the manufacturer can be seen in the following screenshot:
The smartphone has Android 6.0 installed in its “pure” form, which saves the consumer from having to clear out software “garbage”.
Display
The smartphone display has Full resolution HD - 1 920x1080. Screen size - 5.5 inches; pixel density - 401 per inch (high).
The display is made using OG technologyS (One Glass Solution). This technology ensures that there is no air gap between the touch surface and the screen, which halves the number of reflective layers, and, accordingly, reduces the level of glare when working in conditions of strong external lighting.
The uniformity of brightness between white and black screens is excellent, without "spots".
The measurement results of technical parameters are shown in the following table (display settings are “default”):
The brightness adjustment range is sufficient even for working outdoors in bright sunny weather - the image on the display remained well readable.
The color temperature (8500K) turned out to be noticeably higher than the standard (6500K), which gives the image a slight “cool” tint. If desired, you can correct it using the built-in color adjustment utility called "MiraVision" (Settings -> Display -> MiraVision):
Contrast is over 1000. This is an excellent level, comfortable for viewing the entire spectrum of images.
The color gamut is close to the sRGB standard, deviations are not significant:
The sense of touch is normal: the touchscreen recognizes 5 simultaneous touches. Touch sensitivity is also normal.
Platform and performance of the Vernee Apollo Lite smartphone
In smartphone It uses, frankly speaking, a very advanced 64-bit processor (SoC) MediaTek MTK67 97 (Helio X20), 10 cores, 2 x 2.3 GHz, Cortex-A72 + 4 x 1.85 GHz, Cortex-A53+ 4 x 1.4 GHz, Cortex-A53.
As you can see, the description of the processor turned out to be quite complex, but it is deciphered quite simply. The processor consists of 3 clusters of cores: 2 powerful Cortex-A72 cores on high frequency; 4 “medium” performance Cortex-A53 cores; and 4 more Cortex-A53 cores at low frequencies for “sluggish” processes.
There is a “subtlety” in this processor: there is the same one, but with a lower frequency of the “senior” cluster - not 2.3 GHz, but 2.1 GHz. Therefore, smartphones with seemingly identical processors may have slightly different performance (especially if the manufacturer is also “tricky” in the firmware). But our patient is doing well - he has the “correct” processor installed.
Volume random access memory our patient has 4 GB, this is awesome!
First, let's take an X-ray of the patient's insides. We will use the well-known AnTuTu benchmark as an x-ray: it will show the “inside” and evaluate the performance.
And here are the long-awaited results of smar performance testingVernee Apollo Lite phone in AnTuTu:
In total, the result of the antutu test for the Vernee Apollo Lite smartphone was 89899 parrot points and a conditional 32nd place. As of today, this is the upper limit of the “strong middle peasants”, almost the flagship! We fully approve and support!
Let's run a little more in other "running" tests.
Geekbench:
Epic Citadel, minimum quality settings:
The result is very good, quite “fit for consumption”.
Now - the same Epic Citadel, but at maximum quality settings:
And at the maximum setting the result is also very good!
Then - 3 DMark in the "Ice Storm Extreme" version:
And one more thing - Basemark X:
Bonsai benchmark:
And finally, the popular complex test Vellamo in its three guises:
Performance Based on the test results, it can be assessed at a very high level. The smartphone is suitable not only for “general civilian” use (Internet, multimedia, etc.), but also for demanding games.
Job fingerprint scanner can be assessed as below average. The percentage of successful fingerprint recognition on the first attempt is above 50%, about 60-70%, but for its price category this is not enough. The manufacturer still has some work to do in this area. Perhaps the situation will improve with the next firmware update. At least, let's hope. :)
Let's move on to flash memory.
The entire amount of flash memory is 32 GB (very good!), but part of it is “eaten up” by the operating system and pre-installed applications:
In this screenshot we see that 25.16 GB are available to the user. Although this is not the ultimate dream, it is very good!
To expand the memory, you can add a micro-SD memory card. The smartphone recognized a 64 GB card and will be able to recognize more (apparently up to 128 GB inclusive).
You can also expand the memory by connecting external drives("flash drive") via USB port. Flash drives can be used to store files that do not always need to be on your smartphone. As you can see in the screenshot above, the smartphone successfully recognized the 4 GB KINGSTON flash drive.
True, there is one “but” here. To connect flash drives, you need a USB OTG adapter cable with a Type-C interface. You can see what it looks like, for example.
Multimedia (sound and video)
The smartphone has a standard sound design: a monaural ringing speaker and a headphone output in the form of a standard 3.5 mm jack.
Bass in the sound of the built-in speaker, as usual, is poorly represented, high and mid frequencies are normal. Volume level is good. Even quiet tracks in films can be “boosted” by adjusting the volume to a comfortable level.
In headphones (if they are medium or high level) you can hear even more high quality sound. WITH frequency range no problem, noises don't get through. And the volume, similar to the built-in speaker, has a large margin of adjustment.
In this review, for the first time, as an experiment, we will try to evaluate some characteristics of the audio path using oscillograms.
To take oscillograms, the “Audio test tone generator” program was launched on a smartphone, and the oscillograms themselves were photographed from the screen of a C1-55 analog oscilloscope. The measurements were carried out by connecting a 32 Ohm load equivalent to both channels simultaneously.
Sine 1000 Hz at maximum volume, vertical scale 0.5 Volts/cell:
As you can easily notice, the negative half-wave falls into the “cutoff” at a voltage of minus 1.3 Volts. To eliminate distortion, lower the signal level by one volume “rocker” division:
The distortions disappeared. Thus, we can calculate the maximum undistorted output power "on sine":
P=U 2 /2R = 1.1 2 /64 = 19 mW,
where U is the voltage amplitude (for the root mean square value and for direct current There should not be a two in the denominator of the formula).
This is a good power value. A “typical” player has a headphone power of 5 mW, the most powerful ones have up to 30 mW per channel.
For the kit, let's look at the sawtooth waveform (1000 Hz):
We will consider this oscillogram only from a qualitative point of view.
"Jags" near signal drops are usually formed when there is a filter with high degree rectangularity (this is good). The symmetrical nature of the “notches” suggests that the filter “sees” the signal “in the future” (due to a small delay) and converts the signal taking it into account in the “past” and “future”. Such filters can only be digital, which is quite logical, since analog filters would be too cumbersome.
Let's move on to checking video playback.
Playing video with the built-in player runs into a traditional problem: AC3 encoded audio does not play. We managed to “cure” this problem in the usual way - by installing a third-party player (VLC, MOBO, etc.). But I would like to ask the manufacturers: “How long?”
Both standard and “large-sized” video formats (up to 3,840x2160 @30 fps inclusive) were played back without problems.
We assess the level of multimedia in our patient as excellent.
Communication and navigation
The smartphone uses 4th generation (4G) communications. Its performance is confirmed not only by the appearance of the “4G” icon in the top line of the screen, but also by the really high data transfer speed.
The OOKLA Speedtest application showed the following average speed value:
These numbers, of course, are simply confirmation of the functionality of the 4G Internet channel (LTE). Real speed in different areas and areas different operators can be very different.
Other types wireless communication- Wi-Fi and Bluetooth worked without problems, as is usually the case.
Navigation system smartphone during a “cold” start was completed in a very short time - just over half a minute.
The launch of the AndroidTS navigation testing application showed that the smartphone supports all three declared navigation systems: imperialist GPS, Russian GLONASS and Chinese BDS (Beidou):
Recording of trial tracks confirmed the high quality of navigation in our patient. Even in difficult reception conditions (forest park), the track turned out to be quite accurate:
There are two tracks in the screenshot - there and back. Their coincidence with each other is on good level for a forest park. And the small “squiggle” at the turn on the left side of the screenshot is not a navigation error, but a real path with a slight deviation from the originally planned route.
The final rating for navigation is an uncompromising “excellent”.
Battery
The battery capacity of the smartphone is 3180 mAh, which is not so much. The smartphone will obviously not be long-lasting, but it can have at least average autonomy if the firmware is sufficiently optimal.
In “heavy” load mode (AnTuTu battery test), the smartphone lasted about 3 hours; this is a weak result.
When watching movies - over 7 hours; This is a quite decent result and corresponds to a good average level.
Let's look at the graph of the battery condition in the "discharge - pause - charge" mode. The discharge was carried out by the utility for testing batteries "AnTuTu Tester", the charge - from the standard one charger.
Based on the results of the battery test, our patient was ranked at the bottom of the list of “typical” devices:
The phone was charged very quickly from the standard charger, just under 1.5 hours (see the graph in the first screenshot). Thus, our patient’s “fast charging” mode is fully functional.
The contradictory results obtained on autonomy deserve deep and thoughtful analysis.
It can be assumed that during “quiet” loads (watching movies, etc.), the processor mostly “rests”, and energy is consumed mainly by the screen. As a result, autonomy is normal.
But as soon as the smartphone receives a high computing load (3D games, etc.), the powerful processor becomes the main energy consumer and quickly “sucks” all the energy from the battery. This is exactly the result recorded by the Antutu test.
Thus, we ultimately evaluate the autonomy of the device at the usual average level; but “gamer” autonomy will be low.
Cameras
The smartphone uses a “cool” 16-megapixel main (rear) camera measure from Samsung with autofocus and flash and a 5-megapixel front camera with fixed focus.
We start testing with the main (rear) camera. The image format with a resolution of 16 megapixels can be either standard 4:3 or wide 16:9 (set in the camera settings). Attention! By clicking on the photo they will open in a new window in full size, file size up to 6 MB!
Winter courtyard (city photography):
Park photography:
New Year's city motives:
Animal photography:
Indoor shooting:
Shooting text:
The entire text can be read without loss or doubt.
Macro photography:
Macro photography is very good.
So far in the test there have been nice photos With high quality. And now it’s time to add a fly in the ointment to this ointment - that is, several pictures in "problem" modes.
Shooting in stabilized mode:
In this image, the defect can only be seen when the image is enlarged to 100%. A vertical stripe of discolored image will then be visible running through the second rider. A similar stripe can be found on the right side of the frame. The defect presumably occurs when the stabilization mode is turned on at the same time and in the horizontal orientation of the smartphone.
Although no. Perhaps, in a photo with a “New Year’s” theme, this problem will be much more visible. A picture without stabilization (and without this defect) was presented above, and now look at the picture with stabilization turned on:
Here this discoloration stripe is noticeable even without enlarging the image, as a gray stripe just to the right of the light-colored drainpipe. There is another such strip - above the nearest column.
Flash photography:
But in this photo with a glamor cat, the problem is that the right side of the frame is illuminated by the flash more than the left.
Night photography:
In this photo, the problem is also noticeable when zoomed in to 100%. In the middle part of the frame, “noise reduction” smears small details, and at the edges (especially on the right) “sharpening” creates many small dark, light and colored dots and “curls.”
To the heap - shooting test frontal camera:
There are no significant problems in this photo; the front camera takes pictures normally for its resolution (5 megapixels).
Video shooting test(main camera):
The video was shot in Full HD format (1920x1080), stream 17.1 Mbit/s, 30 frames per second.
The video quality is good, as can be judged by the still frame from this video (click to enlarge):
(click to enlarge)
Some “roughness” in the image should be attributed not to the quality of the camera as such, but to the quality of frame stabilization when the smartphone vibrates (shooting on the go!). Stabilization, although it works with noticeable benefits, is still not ideal.
The smartphone can also shoot video in 4K (3840x2160) 30 frames/s. In this case, the flow increases to a mind-blowing 45 Mbit/s. But YouTube refuses to accept the encoding of such videos; these files can only be viewed locally.
Brief summary series of test photos and videos.
The quality of photos and videos on our smartphone is good, although there are some problematic modes.
With this, we consider the consultation of doctors complete and move on to the results.
Final diagnosis of the Vernee Apollo Lite smartphone
The smartphone proved to be a pleasant and fast device.
It has many positive qualities: a very good screen, fast and reliable communication, excellent navigation.
Autonomy turned out to be only at an average level, but this is quite acceptable. And the “fast charging” mode can be assessed as very positive.
Unfortunately, our “patient” was slightly let down by the imperfection of some photography modes. For now, we can advise simply avoiding these modes; and then, maybe, they will be corrected in the latest firmware (there is such a chance).
The final diagnosis is this.
pros:
Good screen with correct color rendering and excellent contrast;
Stable operation of wireless communications, communication support fourth generation 4G (LTE);
High processor performance (including 3D games);
High amount of RAM and flash memory;
Availability of a slot for an external micro SD memory card;
Supports two SIM cards, separate trays for each card;
Good quality sound and video playback;
Excellent navigation;
Support USB OTG function;
Availability of indicator LED.
Minuses:
- the presence of some problematic photography modes;
Significant decrease in autonomy in heavy modes (3D games, etc.);
Unlocking using the fingerprint scanner is not stable enough.
1. Check for system updates (since they are actually released), if there are any, install them.
2. The smartphone “unofficially” has call support context menu(this mainly applies to “old” programs). The invisible call button is located on the right side of the black stripe at the bottom of the screen, right on the border of the screen and the frame of the smartphone. This can and should be used!
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The Vernee brand is one of the newest in the Middle Kingdom; it was founded in early 2016. But it did not arise out of nowhere, but on the basis of the production facilities of the parent company - Shenzhen New-Bund Network Technology Co., Ltd. Thus, he has a solid "launching pad" with experience in the production of mobile devices.
The smartphone that became the hero of the review - Vernee Apollo Lite - is the first product under the Vernee brand that came into our test laboratory. However, no concessions will be made to the new product; the test will be passed to the fullest extent.
In this context, the most important question is whether the Vernee device will be able to fight the “monsters” of the Chinese smartphone industry, such as Meizu or Xiaomi? After all, sometimes newcomers can surprise! But the final word, as always, will remain with the reader and his wallet.
The official page of the Vernee Apollo Lite smartphone is here (in English).
Vernee Apollo Lite Specifications
| Model | Vernee Apollo Lite |
| CPU | MediaTek MTK6797 (Helio X20), ten cores; 2 x Cortex-A72 2.3 GHz + 4 x Cortex-A53 1.85 GHz + 4 x Cortex-A53 1.4 GHz |
| Video processor | Mali T880 |
| operating system | Android 6.0 |
| RAM, GB | 4 |
| Flash memory, GB | 32 |
| Screen (size, type, resolution) | 5.5", IGZO, 1920 x 1080 (FHD), OGS |
| Cameras, Mpix | Main 16.0 (autofocus, flash); front 5.0 |
| Number of SIM cards | 2 (micro-SIM + nano-SIM) |
| MicroSD card support | Yes, combined slot |
| Data transfer | GPRS/EDGE/3G/HSPA+/4G; Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n/ac; Bluetooth 4.2 |
| Navigation | GPS/A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS (Beidou) |
| Interfaces | USB Type-C, 3.5 mm jack (headphones/headset) |
| Additionally | FM radio, fingerprint sensor |
| Battery, mAh | 3 180 (fixed) |
| Dimensions, mm | 152.0 x 76.2 x 9.2 |
| Weight, g | 175 |
| price, rub. | 13 500 |
The Vernee Apollo Lite is available in different colors. We received a variant for testing in the “Space Gray” color. More broadly and prosaically, this color can be called dark gray with a blue-violet tint.
The device has a vibration motor, an automatic brightness adjustment sensor, orientation sensors (G-sensor), proximity sensors, a magnetometer, a gyroscope and some other little things. A notification LED is also installed - a very simple but convenient thing.
The smartphone runs Android 6.0 Marshmallow OS in its “pure” form. This device is a “light” version of Vernee Apollo, which received more a high resolution screen, a more powerful processor and more flash memory.
Packaging and equipment Vernee Apollo Lite
The review hero comes in a box made of thick and durable cardboard. But her color surprised me. On the top and sides it is a dark gray color, similar to the color of a smartphone. The product name is written in almost black color. Black color on a dark gray background is quite difficult to read:
There is nothing bad for the user in such colors, but brand recognition with such packaging is unlikely to increase.
All significant characteristics and parameters are indicated on the bottom side of the box, which is more informative than its “visible” parts:
In addition to the smartphone, the box contains a small set of accessories, as well as two “pieces of paper”: a microscopic “user manual” (including Russian) and a sheet listing methods for updating the firmware.
The entire set of accessories (without the mentioned documentation) is shown in the following picture:
The “clip” for removing trays with SIM cards is the most common, but the rest of the parts are not quite so. The cable here is not a standard one, but with a USB Type-C connector (smartphones with a “classic” microUSB connector are currently the most common). There are both pros and cons to this.
From a technical point of view, there are only “pluses”. Firstly, it is a faster interface, and secondly, the connector can be inserted in any direction, because it is symmetrical. But from an “organizational” point of view, there is a “minus”. Such cables are not yet widespread, and you can’t even buy them in every city if you suddenly need them. Although this is not so scary: Chinese Internet platforms are ready to help everyone.
Now let's take a closer look at the engraving on the charger:
The engraving shows that the charger is capable of delivering a range of output voltages: 5, 7 or 9 V at 2 A and 12 V at 1.5 A. This sure sign support for “fast charging” mode, when an increase in output voltage is used to transfer increased power to the battery. Of course, such an increase must have “smart” control from a smartphone, otherwise the latter may turn into a grenade.
And this is what the above-mentioned “pieces of paper” look like:
As usual, they are not very useful.
Let's summarize the simple configuration of the smartphone:
- The smartphone itself;
- Charger;
- USB Type-C cable;
- Tool for removing trays with SIM cards;
- User manual with warranty card (in one booklet);
- A sheet listing ways to update the firmware.
Unfortunately, there is no cover or case to protect the device from accidental damage. There are no headphones or headsets, as well as a USB-OTG adapter. But the display already has a protective film pasted at the manufacturer.
So, the kit of the new product represents the standard minimum: everything you need is there, but there are no additional frills or bonuses. Next, we move on to the main component of the kit – the smartphone.
Vernee is a young brand that has existed for no more than a year, but has already managed to introduce several very successful devices. One of them is the budget model Thor, which has weak characteristics but also a low price, and the second is Apollo, which acts as a flagship and is designed to compete with A-brand products. Although in reality it surpasses them only in terms of price, which does not exceed $200. The Vernee Apollo review showed that the smartphone is really good if we consider it solely in its price category - an amazing QHD display, a 10-core Helio X25 processor, an optimal amount of memory and an average battery.
Specifications of Vernee Apollo Lite:
- Processor: 10 core Helio X20 (MTK6797) with maximum clock frequency 2.3 GHz cores
- Graphics: 4 core Mali-T880, 780MHz
- RAM: 4GB
- Built-in memory: 32GB, expandable up to 128GB
- Screen: - 5.5 inches, IPS, 1920x1080, SHARP IGZO - Protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 3. - Oleophobic coating.
- Camera: - Main: 16 megapixels, F/2.0, RGBW light-sensor technology, PDAF. Possibility of recording video in 4K resolution (30 frames per second) and Full HD at 60 frames per second. - Front: 5 megapixels.
- Networks: 2G: Gsm 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900MHz 3G: Wcdma 900 / 2100MHz 4G: Fdd-lte 800 / 1800 / 2100 / 2600MHz
- Available slots: 1 micro SIM+1 nano SIM / TFcard
- Additional functions: - USB type C, - Fast charging PUMP EXPRESS 3.0 - Fingerprint scanner, - Dual-band WiFi
- Battery: 3180mAh
- Operating system: Android 6.0
- Dimensions: 152 x 76.2 x 9.2mm
- Weight: 175 g
Equipment
The Vernee Apollo Lite smartphone is sold in a neat black package, inside of which there is only everything you need: network adapter And USB-C cable, on which there is no information regarding the manufacturer. They are also included with most other Chinese devices. There is also documentation and a protective film already glued to the screen.
By tradition, we begin our review of the Vernee Apollo x 25 with its appearance. You can buy the device in one of two color options - white or black. The colors are classic, although the black has an inconspicuous purple tint.
The back and mechanical keys are made of metal, and to improve the quality of communication there are small plastic inserts at the ends. During testing there were a few small scratches on the back, so the case is highly recommended. It will also eliminate another problem - there are small joints between the plastic inserts and the metal into which dust gets clogged.
The main camera protrudes greatly beyond the body, and this despite the fact that it already has a considerable thickness of 9.2 mm. It would be fine if the glass was at least recessed relative to the protective rim, but no, it sticks out, which means that without a bumper it will be very easy to damage it.
The left side is occupied by a tray for micro + nanoSIM or microSIM + microSD. I would like to see a separate slot for a memory card, but this is not such a significant drawback, because 64 GB of internal memory will be enough for most users.
On the right side there is a power button and a volume rocker. They work well, but they have some slack.
The central space on the bottom edge is occupied by USB-C port, on the sides of which two slots are symmetrically located - for the main microphone and speaker.
The fingerprint scanner is located on the back; it only works well if you enter the same fingerprint into several slots in the database. There are 5 of them in total. On average, we have 8 successful operations out of 10 - a result typical of cheap devices.
Vernee Apollo helio x 25 review shows that the front panel is covered with Gorilla Glass 3 with a slight rounding at the edges. Over the course of several months of use, you should expect small scratches to appear on it, and this is subject to careful use. In this regard, for greater reliability, it is better to stick it on from the first days protective glass. What is pleasantly surprising is the presence of an oleophobic coating, which is of quite high quality.
The speaker grille is slightly recessed relative to the glass, which is why it becomes clogged with dust as it is used and needs regular cleaning. To the left of it is provided LED indicator events, front camera and the usual set of sensors.
The Vernee Apollo Lite smartphone was equipped with soft navigation keys, so the space under the display is simply empty.
The build quality can be given a four, deducting a point for the play of the mechanical keys and the poor design of the main camera.
Display
Vernee Apollo Lite review moves on to the characteristics of the screen, which the manufacturer has focused on. We are offered a chic IPS matrix with QHD resolution (2560 x 1440 pixels), which with a 5.5-inch diagonal gives a phenomenal 534 ppi. But the increased resolution cannot be called a huge advantage, because the difference with FullHD will not be noticeable to the average user, but performance and autonomy will suffer. The higher the screen resolution, the more processor resources are required to process tasks.
Of course, with such characteristics it will be impossible to examine individual pixels. The brightness reserve is also pleasantly impressive - it is comfortable to use even in bright sunshine. Viewing angles are close to ideal - the picture fades only a little at extreme tilts. If for one reason or another you are not satisfied with the factory calibration, then using the MiraVision software you can set your own settings. The Vernee Apollo Lite display is highly responsive and supports up to 5 simultaneous touches. In general, the impressions from the screen are wonderful, the only annoying thing is the large frames around its perimeter. The bottom frame could have been removed altogether, because there are no functional elements on it, and the side indents are very noticeable.
Performance Vernee Apollo Lite
Vernee Apollo Lite specifications are based on one of the most famous MediaTek Helio X25 processors, built on 10 cores. Of these, 4 are frequency limited up to 1.4 GHz, the same number up to 2 GHz and 2 more cores up to 2.5 GHz. This, combined with the Mali-T880 GPU graphics accelerator, allows you to count on decent performance when performing everyday tasks. But in games, not everything is so smooth. The picture is spoiled by the high resolution, due to which games such as Nova 3 or Asphalt 8 run only on minimum graphics. They didn’t skimp on the RAM either - 4 GB combined with 64 GB of internal memory. This is a standard for modern flagships, although recently it is increasingly found in devices in the mid-price category. Bandwidth RAM - 6 Gb/s - good result, but it is far from the flagships. The same applies to the speed of reading information from the built-in drive - 174 MB/s, writing speed reaches 137 MB/s.
Vernee Apollo Lite synthetic test results
Throttling practically does not appear - after half an hour of play, the smartphone only warmed up to 38 degrees. This is normal for its hardware and body materials. If performance is important to you, then at the same price you can pay attention to the Xiaomi Mi A1 or LeEco Le Max 2, the heart of which is the Snapdragon 820 processor.
Wireless communications
Vernee Apollo 2 review The review showed that the smartphone supports dual-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4th generation, GPS, as well as GLONASS. Connecting to satellites is fast, there are no problems with determining location and signal stability. A digital compass helps you navigate the terrain. Vernee Apollo Lite copes well with the functions of a dialer: the speaker is loud and conveys the voice of the interlocutor without distortion. Both cards can work in 3 and 4G networks, so there are no problems when using them. The interlocutor hears you well, but we did not find an additional noise-canceling microphone on the body.
The external speaker sounds quiet, there are no low frequencies and at least some sense of volume. In headphones, it sounds on par with price competitors - there is enough volume reserve, there is no noise that interferes with listening enjoyment. There is an FM radio that only works when a headset is connected.
Autonomy
Vernee Apollo 4g lte review shows that the built-in battery capacity is 3180 mAh. You can count on one day of autonomous use, if you do not load it with resource-intensive tasks. According to the manufacturer, the autonomy is enough for 3-4 hours of display activity. The result is not very good; even in this price category you can find better offers. The main problem is that 3180 mAh is clearly not enough for the power-hungry processor and QHD display resolution.
In real testing, the autonomy turned out to be an order of magnitude worse - it has to be charged every 10-12 hours with a couple of hours of screen activity. Another problem that we identified while reviewing the Vernee Apollo Lite is that when installing some applications, the smartphone stops going into sleep mode when the screen is locked. It was not possible to understand the reasons for what was happening even with ROOT access. We can only hope that the situation will be corrected in the coming updates.
MediaTek PE+ fast charging technology is supported, which works when using the included charger with parameters of 2 A at 5.7 or 9 W, as well as 1.5 A at 12 W. A full charge takes about 70 minutes. If you use a smartphone at the same time, it heats up to 45 degrees.
Cameras Vernee Apollo Lite
Vernee Apollo review and camera specifications are not particularly impressive. The smartphone uses a module from Samsung - a 5 MP front camera and a 16 MP main camera with f/2.2 aperture. If during the day you can still get more or less tolerable pictures, then at night and in weak artificial lighting you can forget about the camera. All objects in the frame are hidden behind noise.
Focusing doesn't always work accurately - there's a lot of blur at the edges of most shots.
The front panel is a little better than the main module, but you shouldn’t pin your hopes on it. A high-quality photo can only be taken in bright daylight.
Conclusion
Vernee Apollo Lite turned out to be a very controversial device, the advantages of which include the screen, performance when performing everyday tasks, the presence of a fingerprint scanner and fast charging. It has no less shortcomings - not the most successful design (in particular, the protruding front camera lens, which is very easy to damage), damp firmware, problems with autonomy and performance in games, disgusting cameras and a quiet main speaker. The Vernee Apollo Lite retails for around $200. For this money you can find a more suitable device with a Snapdragon 820 processor, which will be better in all respects.
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Apollo Lite has a metal body, a powerful processor, a lot of memory, a fingerprint scanner, fast charging and fashionable now USB connector Type-C. For this entire luxurious set, we are offered to pay $230, and if you take advantage of a special discount, which we will discuss below, it will be even cheaper.
Specifications
The filling of Apollo Lite inspires respect. Primarily due to powerful processor Helio X20, which is currently the flagship solution from MediaTek. This processor has as many as 10 cores distributed over three clusters. Each of them is activated separately depending on the required power. When performing the simplest tasks, the first cluster of four Cortex-A53 cores (1.4 GHz) works, with an average load the second cluster of four Cortex-A53 cores (2.0 GHz) is connected, and when required maximum performance, the remaining two Cortex-A72 cores (2.5 GHz) come to the rescue.
In addition, Apollo Lite has a separate, energy-efficient ARM Cortex-M4 chip designed to perform background tasks. It is responsible for playing music, tracking physical activity and other processes that do not require much computing power.
The second parameter you need to pay attention to is the amount of RAM. It is as much as 4 GB, and this is definitely enough to complete any task. As a result, both the operating system itself and all applications run absolutely smoothly, and switching between running programs occurs almost instantly. Apollo Lite owners will forever get rid of the need to unload anything from memory and use any optimizers. You can simply work, play, chat, listen to music, instantly switch between tasks, or do all this at the same time. Absolutely new level comfort.
Appearance and assembly
The Apollo Lite case is made of metal, only at the top and bottom ends there are plastic inserts to ensure stable communication. The shape of the smartphone is rectangular, a bit reminiscent of something from the Nexus line. In general, the materials are well chosen, the phone is pleasant to hold in your hand. However, the smooth metal surface is quite slippery, so be careful, especially at first, so as not to drop the smartphone from your hands.
The layout of the controls is absolutely standard: with right side- volume rocker and power button, headphones are connected on top, on the left there are two slots for SIM cards and/or memory cards, on the bottom there is a power connector and holes for the speaker and microphone. By the way, the USB Type-C port is used to charge and connect Apollo Lite to a computer. Once you get the right headphones, you can use it to listen to music. The quality, they say, is unearthly, but I haven’t tried it myself yet.
The assembly of the smartphone does not cause any complaints. All parts fit tightly, nothing creaks or loosens. Apollo Lite feels like a solid and quite weighty (178 grams) metal block, which, however, gives the device solidity.
Screen
On the screen, Vernee decided not to save money and purchased matrices made using Sharp IGZO technology. This technology makes it possible to make screens thinner, as well as reduce the response time of the matrix and reduce the pixel size.
The screen of this smartphone looks excellent. Apollo Lite has rich colors, sufficient brightness and good viewing angles. During the entire testing period, I never experienced any difficulties using the smartphone outdoors, even in bright sunshine. The display is covered with a high-quality oleophobic coating, and a film is glued on top. However, you can remove it with peace of mind, since Corning Gorilla Glass 3 is used.
Autonomy
A battery with a capacity of 3,180 mAh was considered an outstanding achievement just yesterday, but today it is already a common thing. Especially on a smartphone that has such productive filling. I’ll say right away: Apollo Lite doesn’t set any autonomy records, but it’s enough for a whole day. This is quite enough for most users, who are still used to charging their gadgets at night. This will have to be done, because the smartphone, even at rest, consumes several percent of the battery charge every hour.
By the way, we need to talk about charging separately. She is very fast and hot here. Pump Express 3.0 technology allows you to charge Apollo Lite by 50% in just half an hour, and a full charge will take about 45 minutes. However, it is worth keeping in mind that the smartphone heats up noticeably, so it is better to make sure that it is not in a case at this moment.
Camera
The technical characteristics of the main camera indicate that it has a Samsung S5K3P3 sensor with a resolution of 16 megapixels, which uses proprietary ISOCELL technology, which improves image quality. This gives us hope that Apollo Lite's images will be high-quality and detailed.
However, unfortunately, this is not the case. The standard Android camera with default settings produces such dull and inexpressive photos that at first it’s even surprising. At ideal conditions You can still achieve acceptable quality while shooting, but as soon as the sun goes below the horizon or the subject of the photo makes a quick movement, the camera takes over again.
In cheaper smartphones, I never find fault with the camera performance, knowing full well that miracles do not happen. But Apollo Lite claims to be a flagship, so you shouldn’t make such concessions for it. There is still a minus for the camera - with the hope that the quality of the pictures can still be corrected programmatically in the next firmware updates.
Performance
As you probably already understood, performance is the trump card of this device. Indeed, it handles any application or game without any strain. The Internet is full of videos demonstrating the work of the most modern 3D games on Apollo Lite, and in none of them you will not find even the slightest slowdown or lag. About the launch regular applications and the operating system itself needless to say: everything just flies.
Although synthetic benchmarks do not give a complete picture of the work real device, it’s still worth taking a look at Apollo Lite’s results in AnTuTu: 86,513 points and 18th place in the overall standings is no joke. Notice what good company Apollo Lite finds itself in: Huawei P9 and Samsung Galaxy Note 5, both costing about $600. After this comparison, you inevitably begin to look at the hero of our review with slightly different eyes.
Software
Almost all Chinese manufacturers try to give their devices an individual style with the help of branded shells and homemade operating systems. Not everyone is good at this.
Sometimes the user simply gets lost among all these bright icons, sophisticated launchers and pre-installed Chinese applications, under which the original Android is barely visible. In the case of Apollo Lite, this danger does not threaten you.
The Vernee company decided not to experiment with proprietary custom shells and installs a clean, almost canonical Android Marshmallow. And it seems to me that this is the right and useful step for users.
You won’t have to get used to the new working environment again, you won’t need to clean your device of dozens of affiliate programs tightly clinging to it. You just turn on your smartphone, add your Google account and install your favorite applications. And if you really want variety, then Google Play is full of launchers, icons, and utilities for every taste.
Results
The new smartphone from Vernee turned out, in my opinion, successful. Yes, it has weaknesses, but Apollo Lite has many more advantages. For clarity, I have summarized the most striking pros and cons of this device in a small table.
First of all, I would recommend this smartphone to gamers who, for very little money, will have at their disposal a powerful device that can handle all modern games. I would also like to draw the attention of those readers who are planning to update their outdated gadget to Apollo Lite. This device has such good hardware that it will be relevant for another year or even two. And at the same time it is quite inexpensive.
By the way, about the price. The Apollo Lite currently costs $230, but you can buy it for just $200 on this page. Tempting?