I took a different approach this time to my next review on MyPhone's newest octa-core phablet. Here's my asssessment on the MyPhone MY36.
For the unboxing part, MY36's box is back in a flatter and wider box unlike that more compact counterpart of the MY35. In the official retail package, it will also come up with either free Globe or Smart SIM with free mobile data (depending on the availability) and their 8th Anniversary commemorative watch.
Front: 5 MP front cam with flash & f/2.2 aperture, 5.2 inch IPS FHD display with 2.5 D Glass and Gorilla Glass
Back: 13 MP AF rear cam with flash & f/2.2 aperture, MyPhone logo, single speaker, removable back cover with leather-like texture.
Internals: Dual micro SIM (only SIM 1 is LTE capable), Android 5.1 Lollipop, 1.3 GHz Mediatek MT6753 octa-core processor, 3 GB RAM, 16 GB ROM, Bluetooth, WiFi, 2,900 mAh built-in battery
Top: 3.5 mm. audio jack
Bottom: OTG capable micro USB port, pin hole mic
Both the volume rocker and power/unlock button are at the right side of the device.
The usual essentials inside the box
Form factor, physical apperance, display and UI:
Compared to MY35, it is a bit thinner plus I like the 2.5 D glass which is easiser to grip the device plus no worries on fingerprints. This time, MY36 brought in the MyOS compared to the near stock Lollipop of MY35. Good thing after a few days, I tested to put in Google Now launcher in this once and I got no problems. As I had a 5 inch phone, that extra 0.2 inch gave me a bit of satisfaction plus the FHD resolution when I got some video marathon. Yes, MiraVision is present in this one.
Performance:
After my first baptism of fire on the MT6753 octa-core processor, I already got an idea on how can I maximize it. Fluidity on switching in apps was breeze for me even I had less than 10 running apps, this device gave me that enjoyment.
Connectivity:
WiFi, Bluetooth, sending/receiving SMS and calls are a-ok on this one as it is easy to switch back and forth if you have 2 different telcos for different situations and coverage areas. For the bad side, I found out that only the SIM 1 slot has the capability to connect to LTE (SIM 2 is only for 2G only) which is buti na lang that the dual micro SIM slots are hot swappable. Thumbs up on this handset as it has 4G only option for those who only need LTE and nothing else. In engineering mode, I found out that this phone has bands 1, 3 and 5. Band 7 is missing here which is present on MY35,
Benchmarks:
In terms of sensors, I'm impressed that MY36 got 7 out of 9 inside including gyro. The Antutu score got at around 36k.
Battery:
Coz the phone has a slightly bigger display, better screen resolution & a bit lower battery capacity, I knew that my battery tests of MY36 will not gonna surpass on what MY35 has achieved. On my video loop battery test, it got a few minutes of 11 hours of running time. On heavy usage, I can squeeze the entire 24 hours with 5 1/2 hours of screen ontime with default battery saver on. Not bad at all.
Camera:
As I came recently on MY35, I felt short on it's output which I got some high hopes on the MY36 and the results were right (will follow up front cam shots soon).
MyPhone MY36 13 MP rear camera samples
Normal versus HDR shots
Random extras:
This the 2nd MyPhone that I encountered (will reveal it on another MyPhone device review) that has a prompt that if you charge the phone with a 3rd party charger, it will refill the battery pack slowly which is kinda sad esp. if you forgot or broke that standard USB charger. The charging time took me less than 3 1/2 hours. There's no quick charging support here unlike on MY35. Out of 16 GB ROM, you can get over 10 GB of app storage. Some of the pre-loaded apps can be uninstalled. I'm happy that MY36 has a better default volume and I prefer the sound quality on earphones on this one.
Pros: Better cameras (if to compare to MY35), there's LTE-only support, front flash, nice battery life, thumbs up on the build.
Cons: Only SIM 1 has LTE support, no quick charging support, picky on 3rd party chargers
Coming off from MY35 review, there's a bit of void for my standards in terms of camera output which I am expecting on MY36 and it got it right for the price plus the front flash. I'll not gonna make a big deal on the LTE support only on SIM 1 but thanks that they had the LTE preference that I'm sharing to various brands for months. For a big battery plus the capability of MY35, I got a question on why the local brand didn't put in that quick charging technology on the MY36. MT6753 is another Mediatek SoC that I like since the 1.4 GHz MT6592 processor and the right amount of power and realibility were prsent on this handset.
I'll gonna have 4.5 out of 5 for MyPhone MY36.
