U.S.-based company, BLU has released the BLU R1 Plus, a sequel to the BLU R1 HD smartphone which hit the market in June last year. Not much separates both devices in terms of specifications, but BLU has done well enough to improve on the affordable R1 HD, giving us the ultra-affordable BLU R1 Plus smartphone in return.
Its launch price is really surprising even if its features might not be top-notch, but the price is relatively cheap considering what you get in return. The Blu R1 Plus has an adequate HD display with its screen resolution at 720 * 1080 pixels, together with a lasting non-removable battery.
Blu R1 Plus Specifications, Review and Highlights
True to its budget status, the smartphone features just the right features for a device of its calibre.
It features a sizeable 4000mAh battery which can give you up to 30 hours on calls and as much as 750 hours on stand-by. But without the fast charge support, you would have to spend longer time charging your device. Although the back cover can be pulled off, the phone battery is non-removable. Inside the box comes some accessories including a case and micro SIM card adapters.
The BLU R1 Plus has a 5.5-inch HD display with 720pixels resolution protected by the Corning Gorilla Glass 3 itself, adequate screen protection in event of a potential damaging fall. The device measures 15376.610.5 mm and weighs 191g featuring a metal design with plastic being limited to the top and bottom edges alone.
Over to the camera setup, the smartphone possesses a 13MP rear camera and 5MP front-facing selfie shooter. Both cameras possess LED Flash and are good for outdoor shooting, the drawback being that they sometimes struggle indoor under low-light conditions. It operates on the Android 6.0 Marshmallow OS, although the Nougat OS would have been a better pick.
The device comes in 3GB and 2GB variants, both featuring an internal storage of 32GB and 16GB respectively. Beyond that, the device supports storage expansion up to 64GB using a microSD. It is powered by the Quad-core MediaTek 6737 chipset running at 1.3GHz and a Mali T720 GPU.
Blu R1 Plus Full Phone Specifications
General
| Device Brand | Blu |
| Model | R1 Plus |
| Announced | 2017, April |
| Released | 2017, April |
| Status | Available |
Network
| 2G Network | GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 GHz |
| 3G Network | HSDPA 850 / 1700(AWS) / 1900 / 2100 GHz |
| 4G Network | LTE band 2(1900), 4(1700/2100), 7(2600),12(700), 17(700) |
| SIM Type | Micro-SIM, dual standby |
| SIM Count | Dual SIM |
Data
| 2G | GPRS Up to 32 to 48 kbps; EDGE Up to 236.8 kbps |
| 3G | Up to 42.2 Mbps (HSDPA), 11.5Mbps;(HSUPA) |
| 4G | Up to 150/50 Mbps |
| Speed | HSPA 42.2/11.5 Mbps, LTE Cat4 150/50 Mbps |
| Web Browser | Yes, HTML5 |
Design
| Type | Smartphone |
| Dimensions | 153*76.6*10.5mm |
| Weight | 191g |
| Build | Metal frame with Metal back cover design |
| Colors | Black |
Display
| Display Type | IPS LCD Capacitive touchscreen |
| Size | 5.5 inches |
| Resolution | 720 * 1280 pixels |
| Colors | 16M colors |
| Pixel Density | ~267 ppi pixel density |
| Touch Screen | Yes |
| Protection | Corning Gorilla Glass 3 |
| Features | n/a |
| Secondary Display | n/a |
Camera
| Primary | 13MP |
| Properties | f/2.0 aperture |
| Image | Yes |
| Video | 720p HD Video |
| Features | Autofocus, 1.12 µm pixel size, geo-tagging, face detection, panorama |
| Flash | Yes, LED flash (Primary) (Secondary) |
| Secondary | 5MP |
Software
| Operating System | Android OS, v6.0 (Marshmallow) |
| User Interface | n/a |
| Java Support | No |
| Skype | Yes |
| Yes | |
| Yes | |
| Youtube | Yes |
Hardware
| Chipset | MediaTek MT6737 |
| CPU | Quad-Core 1.3 GHz ARM Cortex-A53 |
| GPU | Mali T720 |
| RAM (Memory) | 2GB RAM / 3GB RAM |
| Internal Storage | 16GB / 32GB |
| Card Slot | Expandable up to 64 GB using microSD |
| Sensors | Accelerometer, Proximity, Gyroscope, Ambient light |
| Controls | – |
Connectivity
| Bluetooth | Yes, Bluetooth v4.1 |
| Bluetooth Profiles | A2DP, LE |
| Infrared | n/a |
| Wi-Fi | Yes, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct |
| Wi-fi Hotspot | Yes |
| USB Type | Yes; microUSB v2.0 |
| GPS | Yes, GPS + A-GPS |
| NFC | n/a |
| HDMI | n/a |
| Wireless Charging | No |
| Fast Charging | No |
Battery
| Battery Type | Li-Po |
| Capacity | 4000mAh |
| Placement | Non-removable |
| Standby | 750hr(2G) / 650hr(3G) |
| Talk Time | Up to 30hr(2G) / Up to 22hr(3G) |
| Music Play | – |
Messaging
| SMS | Yes (threaded view) |
| MMS | Yes |
| Yes, IMAP4, POP3, SMTP | |
| IM | Yes |
Media
| Audio Playback | Yes, MP3, AAC, MP2, M4A, MKA |
| Video Playback | Yes, Mp4, MPEG4, H.263, H.264 player |
| Video Out | n/a |
| FM Radio | No |
| Alert Types | Vibration, Ringtones |
| Ring Tones | MP3, WAV |
| Loudspeaker | Yes |
| Handsfree | Yes, 3.5mm Jack |
Other Features
| – MP4/H.264 player – MP3/WAV/eAAC+/Flac player – Photo/video editor – Document viewer |
Availability and Price of Blu R1 Plus in U.S, Nigeria, Kenya & Ghana
The Blu R1 Plus is available in 3GB RAM and 2GB RAM variants at a launch price of $160 for the 3GB variant and $140 for the 2GB variant. It comes in a single black colour.