Obi Worldphone SF1 Review – Good for multimedia consumption!

An emerging smartphone company, Obi Worldphone recently released their flagship phones in Nepal. Out of the three phones that were released, SF1 lies on the top in the paper.

Design

SF1 has  a 5 inch IPS 1080 p display, which is called a “floating display” as the screen seems bulked out from the body. While some people might find it unique and will like it to use, there seems to be no real necessity for such a display. The color production is good with warm colors. For the given price, one could say that the display is “okay”. The display is just 5 inches with gorilla glass 4 but when you hold the phone, it feels like a 6-inch device. The floating display makes the phone look so much big, also the area around the edges are completely unused. They could’ve added a physical button or front facing speakers to use the area, but the useless extra space makes the phone wide and bulky unnecessarily. The speakers and mini USB lie at the bottom of the phone and, the 3.5 mm audio jack is on the top.

Hardware

SF1 has got 1.5 Ghz Octa core Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 with 2GB RAM and 16GB of internal storage. It is also available with 3GB RAM and 32GB of internal storage. The hardware specifications are all good for the given price point. Also, the storage is expandable up to 64GB via a micro-sd slot. The hardware specifications are good and perform okay.

Software

The real problem is with the Phone’s software. It still runs Android lollipop 5.0.2. The UI is almost close to stock android with Obi’s own modifications to it, and it doesn’t look good. With 2GB of RAM and snapdragon 615, one would expect smooth performance, but it lags under normal use. The UI stutters while just swiping through the home screen but on the bright side, games and multimedia applications perform just fine. Obi should really work on their UI and try to make it better looking and easy to use.

Also Read: Dell 7559 -A Perfect Budget Gaming Laptop For Nepalese?

Camera

The SF1 camera is 13 megapixels with f/2.0 aperture with a flash. It performs well for the given price point. While the indoor pictures seem to be out of touch, the outdoor pictures are on point and the color production is good. The problem again is with the camera app, it is slow and the shutter speed is slower than most of the phones that are in today’s market. Obi should do a little bit better and Update their software. The front facing camera is 5 MP with a flash, which is unique as most phones don’t have a front facing flash. It also has got features like “chroma flash”, “refocus” and “opti zoom”. Chroma flash supposedly maintains the white balance and maintains the color of the picture even in low light. But when using it, there’s not much difference between a normal picture and a picture taken with chroma flash.

Battery

It has an impressive 3000MaH battery with quick charge 1.0 which charges from 30 to 90 percent in about 45 minutes or so. Also, the battery holds up while using the phone continuously for long period of time. One can get through a whole day without a recharge with normal use. The phone gets warm during heavy usage at the back but it does not present much of a problem.

Conclusion

Overall, the phone is good for multimedia consumption. The battery is good, the applications run just fine and the display is really nice for the given price point. But if you’re looking for a good-looking phone with easy handling, this might not be the one for you, but it sure is unique in its own sense. With major software changes, this phone might be able to attract some customers and make a place in Nepali market. Right now 16GB variant of SF1 is available for Rs.21,499 and 32GB variant is available for Rs.26,199. To find the nearest Obi store near you can visit this link.

Check out the  below Obi WorldPhone SF1 Review video for more on the phone.