Xolo Era 4K

Xolo Era 4K starting from ₹4,999 promises a long battery life with its 4000mAh battery and decent display quality. However there is nothing 4K about it, ironically enough, it doesn’t support 4K video resolution nor records 4K videos. 

For a smartphone in this price range, it offers many benefits as well as letdowns.

For a smartphone in this price range, the cheap aesthetic and plastic build is what you would expect, and the look and feel of this phone are no different, like any other low-cost phone in the market. The power and volume buttons are on the right and the 3.5 mm socket is at the top whereas the micro USB port is at the bottom. At the top are the front camera and the proximity sensor. The plastic panel at the back can be removed to get to the two Micro SIM and Micro SD card slots. There are 3 slots, two for the Micro SIM and one for the Micro SD card. The phone supports expandable storage of up to 326 GB and both SIM slots support 4G connectivity.  Overall, it’s a simple-looking phone with a comfortable shape and size, fit for daily use. It comes in two colours, blue and white. Admittedly, the blue one exudes more style.

The screen supports a 1280×720 pixel resolution. The brightness and colours are sharp. The 5-inch HD IPS LCD display is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 3. The chin of the phone is plain because of on-screen Android buttons. Viewing angles of the phone are satisfactory.

With its MT6735P SoC and 2GB of RAM, the Xolo Era 4K performs just as decently as any phone in this price range would do. Android 5.1 powers this phone and works efficiently. However, opening too many apps open may lead you to experience lag. The touch response is rough. There may be a little delay in opening apps and was a little weak in maintaining stable WiFi connections. 

The Xolo Era 4K has an 8-megapixel rear camera with LED flash and a 5-megapixel front camera. The primary camera records video at up to 720p, while the one in front can record video at up to 480p.  A variety of functions are present, including multi-angle view, live photo and panorama. There is also an HDR mode, as well as a QR scanner built into the app itself. The settings menu is a bit cluttered but fairly easy to use once you get the hang of it. Colours are reproduced nicely in pictures but are ill-defined. On zooming in, you will notice the noise and poor quality of the picture.

The battery is incredibly long-lasting thanks to its 4000mAh battery which lasts for more than a day easily with medium to heavy usage. It’s certainly one of the phone’s biggest USPs.

All in all, the Xolo Era 4K thrives when it comes to battery life and simplicity and ease of its software. However, it suffers greatly with respect to its limited storage of 8GB when phones in its price range offer up to 16GB storage and also, poor photo quality. This phone is certainly an interesting choice to look at and would be an apt purchase if your requirements are simple and not overwhelming for the phone.