UMIDIGI launches the UMIDIGI Crystal, its $99 Xiaomi Mi MIX rival

UMIDIGI, a Chinese smartphone maker has unveiled an amazing (at least on the outside) smartphone which would go without bezel on three of its sides. The name given to this masterpiece is the UMIDIGI Crystal. The Crystal is expected in two variants, an all-metal edition and a blue Lumia edition. The smartphone would reportedly cost $99 when sales begin on the 15th of June, this year.

The UMIDIGI Crystal bears a striking resemblance to the phenomenal Xiaomi Mi MIX released last year, and that’s so because the Crystal is a direct rival of the Mi MIX. It has similar specifications to it and looks the same on the outside, and if the phone performs as good as the Mi MIX, it is sure to give the Apple of China a run for their money.

UMIDIGI Crystal Review

Display & Design

The Crystal sports a 5.5-inch display with a resolution of 1080 * 1920 pixels (Full HD) and 401ppi of pixel density. The screen is covered by a capacitive 2.5D curved glass with Dragontail glass serving up adequate protection against damages. It features an aluminium alloy unibody design and, don’t forget, it’s bezel-less on three sides.

Storage & Processor

As it comes in two editions, both editions display differences in this aspect. The all-metal edition is powered by an Octa-core MediaTek MT6757T Helio P25 SoC with a 2GB/4GB RAM variation along with 16GB/64GB of internal storage.

The blue Lumia on the other hand runs on the Snapdragon 835 Soc with a 6GB RAM along with128GB of internal memory. Both variants are powered by the same Mali-T720 MP2 GPU. The smartphones offers a storage expansion up to 128GB via an hybrid slot.

Camera

The crystal will sport a 13MP autofocus camera on the rear which also comes along with Dual LED flash. The selfie camera on its opposite end boasts of a 5MP shooter with no such thing as a flash.

Software & Hardware

The smartphone runs Android 7.0 Nougat OS out of the box. In a time when some smartphone makers still overlook the Nougat OS to adopt the Marshmallow, I must say Bravo!! to UMIDIGI. The Crystal features a fingerprint-sensor which we do expect is embedded in its home button.

UMIDIGI Crystal Full Phone Specifications

UMIDIGI Crystal

General

Device Brand UMIDIGI
Model Crystal
Launch Date 2017, May
Availability 2017, June 15
Status Coming

Network

2G Network GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 GHz
3G Network HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100 GHz
4G Network LTE band 1(2100), 3(1800), 7(2600), 20(800)
SIM Type Nano SIM, Dual Standby
SIM Count Dual Hybrid SIM

Design

Type Smartphone
Dimensions
Weight
Build Aluminium Alloy Unibody Design.
Colors Gold & Grey

Display

Display Type IPS LCD Capacitive touchscreen
Size 5.5 inches
Resolution 1080 * 1920 pixels
Colors 16M colors
Pixel Density ~401 ppi pixel density
Touch Screen Yes
Protection Dragontail Glass
Features n/a
Secondary Display n/a

Camera

Primary 13MP
Image Yes
Video 1080p HD Video
Features Autofocus, Subject-Tracking
Flash Yes, Dual-tone flash (Primary)
Secondary 5MP

Software

Operating System Android OS, v7.0 (Nougat)
User Interface n/a
Java Support
Skype Yes
Whatsapp Yes
Facebook Yes
Youtube Yes

Hardware

Chipset MediaTek MT6757T Helio P25 / Lumia Edition – Snapdragon 835.
CPU Octa-Core
GPU 600MHz ARM Mali-T720 MP2
RAM (Memory) 2 GB/4GB (All-metal Edition) / 6GB (Lumia Edition).
Internal Storage 16GB/64GB (All-metal Edition) | 128GB (Lumia Edition).
Card Slot Expandable up to 128 GB [hybrid]
Sensors Accelerometer, Proximity, Light, Fingerprint Sensor
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
NFC n/a
HDMI n/a
Wireless Charging No
Fast Charging No

Messaging

SMS Yes (threaded view)
MMS Yes
Email Yes, IMAP4, POP3, SMTP
IM Yes

Media

Audio Playback AAC, AMR, MP2, MP3, M4A, MKA.
Video Playback MP4/MPEG4/H.263/H.264 player.
Video Out n/a
FM Radio
Alert Types Vibration, Ringtones
Ring Tones MP3, WAV
Loudspeaker Yes
Handsfree Yes, 3.5mm Jack

Other Features

  – MP4/H.264 player
– Photo/video editor
– Document viewer

– Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic

Availability and Price of UMIDIGI Crystal in China & India

The Umidigi Crystal is a $99 smartphone and it is expected to go on sale starting on the 15th of June. It comes in Blue colour and is currently available for pre-order.

Leave a Comment