The company BQ introduces a new Magic smartphone BQ model number BQ-6040L. It can rightly be called a crisis due to the fact that he is quite adequate of money but offers a good set of features including a modern screen and support for contactless payment, which is gaining momentum in Russia.
In fact, the NFC chip used for payment is the killer feature of this smartphone because it will be extremely difficult to find this module in other phones in the same price range. At the time of publication of this article the cost of BQ Magic was exactly 8,000 rubles, or about US $ 120 – even Xiaomi company offers such affordable smart phones equipped with NFC.
In Russia, BQ Magic is available in three body shades – black, dark blue and red. Us for a test got the second option. Note that BQ there are other smartphones called Magic – in this article, we will analyze the model 6040L.
Packaging
BQ is known that she developed a corporate identity package to their smartphones – our site has reviews of other models of this brand, and you can see it in person. In 2019, the company began regularly experimenting with design and format boxes, and Magic, he also differs from the standard.
In this case, have a very sturdy cardboard box of white color is decorated with colourful images of the smartphone, we can say, in full growth. On the box of the apparatus depicted in dark blue design, we can assess its main features appearance.
The bottom is traditional for the BQ list of characteristics, plus provides information on the range of accessories supplied. The packaging was beautiful and informative.
Equipment
With the current exchange rate, we can assume that BQ Magic is very affordable, budget smartphone. For this reason, in the box with no additional accessories – case or headphones. But, in fairness, note that such bonuses are not always found in top-end smartphones.
BQ Magic comes with a charger at 1.5 amps (European plug), instruction manual, warranty card (electronic guarantee is also present, implemented in the form of an app) and a paper clip to open the tray SIM-cards. An accessory here, too, there is a protective film applied on the display at the factory.
Features
A very detailed list of specifications BQ Magic offered on the official website of the manufacturer on the box represented its lightweight, but also quite informative option. If necessary, you can get all required information from the instructions included or on Yandex.Market.
– display: IPS 6.1 inch, HD+, 19:9, 1560×720 pixel density of 320 ppi;
– processor: UNISOC SC9863A, 1.6 GHz, 8 cores ARM Cortex A55;
– graphics: PowerVR Rogue GE8322;
– memory: 2 GB RAM, 32 GB internal, microSD up to 128 GB;
interfaces: microUSB 2.0, 2xSIM, microSD, 3.5 mm;
– wireless interfaces: GPS, GLONASS, GSM, 3G, LTE (B1, B3, B7, B20, B38), Wi-Fi 802.11 n, Bluetooth 4.2, FM, NFC;
– battery: built-in, 4000 mAh;
– firmware: Google Android 9 Pie, basic interface Material UI;
– camera: 5 MP front, 13+2 MP main;
– housing material: plastic;
– case color: black, red, dark blue;
features: fingerprint reader, Face ID;
– dimensions: 153х73х9 mm;
– weight: 161 grams.
At this stage, we note the outdated microUSB connector instead of modern USB-C cost they vary slightly, and in 2019 it is time to put USB-C throughout – the cost of this particular smartphone, its use is not affected. Also note that to install both the SIM card and microSD will not work – one of the slots of the hybrid. On the other hand, 32 GB of memory is enough for most users. By the way, the tray is made of metal, which is important.
Also, it should be noted that in the Russian market BQ Magic competes with two smartphones of the Chinese company Huawei – Huawei Honor 8A and Y6. Smartphones have a number of similarities, but Magic BQ in comparison with them has several benefits, including more favorable price, increased battery capacity and more advanced primary camera. A detailed comparison is given in the table.
Design
BQ Magic got a modern performance – elongated sleek design, the cutout in the screen under the camera, a smaller display frame and gradient color (blue and red colors). Primary color, however, there is still black and blue and red colored at the ends, and it looks like this solution is very unusual and beautiful.
The phone in General looks very gently, and the feeling that he is at least half or even twice the price. We loved how we implemented the cutout for the camera is not godless bangs in the style of the Apple iPhone, and a neat drop, almost theduma useful area of the screen.
In the upper display frame manufacturer arranged standard light sensors and proximity, earpiece and full of information led by its flickering you can learn about the missed call and message, as well as about low battery level.
The bottom “chin” was broad enough to accommodate the buttons, but they are virtual, so the place is empty. All other elements are in place – speaker, charging port and bottom MIC, input under earphones from the top, the volume buttons and the inclusion on the right, and the tray under the SIM card, respectively, to the left of the screen.
On the back are the fingerprint scanner and the module of a double main camera. The latter was very compact, and in spite of the vertical arrangement, the places it takes quite a bit.
Ergonomics
As we have noted, the case BQ Magic fully glossy, and it means that it is covered with fingerprints immediately, and they are visible under any angle of illumination. Smartphone need a case is the necessary accessory for it.
To keep the smartphone in the hand because of the elongated housing is comfortable, and the grip even quite sure – there is no sense that he is about to slip. One-hand operation because of the screen format is impossible – it has long been a relic of the past. The screen itself is moderately large, can accommodate a considerable amount of information, plus you can further zoom out and get more content at a time.
The virtual buttons seem to be reduced in size, and that’s good – they take up little space, and you can customise them to forced folding in any application, even non-full -. Very comfortable thought the size and location of dactyloscopy – it is easy to find by touch, and he, having a circle shape, slightly recessed into the body.
A negative impression of the charging connector – microUSB 2.0, as you know, is not symmetric, therefore every time when connecting the cable it is necessary to monitor this process very carefully. Side buttons moderately elastic, but the power button does “corrugated” – it has special notches below in the dark not to miss it. The tray under the SIM card is firmly in its groove and does not rattle in it.
Build quality to consider will not – for the last three years have BQ was not a single machine that crunched in time of use or could boast loosely fitted elements. BQ do Magic with the execution of the order.
Screen
Display BQ Magic is almost no fading – we looked at it from different angles, and black color is almost always so remained. Pleased with the brightness in the room 20% will be enough that have a positive impact on battery life. In the sun the screen remains readable, but the brightness will have to wring the maximum.
The reaction of the instant sensor, the corners touch works as good as any other point, the total number of supported simultaneous touches – five. If you leave the zoom image standard you can see a little graininess, because for a diagonal Full HD resolution+ better than HD+. The problem is solved, if in the settings screen to reduce the zoom to minimum picture quality will be better in a few times.
Sound
Magic – one of the loudest smartphones BQ, incoming call it is guaranteed not to give a miss. Heard very well both indoors and outside, the sound is not “plastic”, but it is a full-bodied, without the rasp and crackle at maximum volume.
However, BQ Magic is not a music smartphone. Capabilities of its main speaker to reproduce frequencies will be enough for watching movies and clips on YouTube, but for music listening it is better to use headphones. The dynamics a bit lacking low frequencies, and high and mid are balanced quite well, that is the sound is not flat.
Speaker, if we estimate the volume on a 10-point scale, and receives 7 points – sometimes it is a bit lacking. In most cases, problems with hearing, of course, will not arise, but on the street, to hear the interlocutor will not always. The sound quality of the claims we have.
The microphone in your smartphone is great – the interlocutor will hear you loud and clear, without hissing and whistling. Windscreen present to some extent, but denoising is not provided.
Information protection and contactless payment
In BQ’s Magic manufacturer provides two ways to unlock in addition to the standard built into Android. Located on the back panel, fingerprint scanner works almost instantly – the delay is minimal and tends to zero. The screen will light up for about a second after unlocking.
Accuracy high – 8 times out of 10 with a single fingerprint. Second, you can not add, but if you decide, the accuracy will increase to 9 out of 10 times. For a budget smartphone is quite the result.
For unlocking by face response frontal 5-megapixel camera. IR-sensor and flash is not provided, but, according to the manufacturer, the face detection involved artificial intelligence.
In fact, in very low light the camera can’t recognize you, but if there is at least one dim light source, the recognition will happen. The light is no problem with recognition using Face ID does not arise. Of course, if you grow a thick beard or covered half her face with a scarf, then unlocking is no will. In General, in this smartphone, this technology can be considered as a replacement fingerprint scanner.
The NFC chip communicates here with the payment system Google Pay, also known as GPay. It is officially represented in Russia, but the spread is not as wide as Samsung Pay and Apple Pay. There is also the possibility of using NFC to interact with elements of smart homes, for example, with door locks – we’ve tested, it works. Need to install appropriate applications.
The camera
For its price BQ Magic shoots very well as the main and front camera. Selfie-the module allows you to take selfies even in the dark, but in low light noise, in small amounts. In bright light the camera is quite realistically conveys the shades, but the regular “beutification” it’s better not to use algorithms too much blur the picture. 8 points out of 10 – our final assessment of the frontalka.
The basic module is a very good landscape photos – colour reproduction on a level with the “artifacts” of special problems does not arise. Portrait pictures with blur background is not her strong point, sometimes the focus is not correctly recognized, especially in poor light. Detail, to put it mildly, quite good – 9 out of 10 points. Again, we consider it to be a budget smartphone – a modern camera phones at a price 5-10 times more expensive than the shoot itself, the better.
Performance
For its new smartphone BQ has chosen a rather rare CPU – UNISOC SC9863A. Previously, the vast majority of its smartphones were working on chips MediaTek, and the reason for the transition to production with a new vendor not reported.
However, this CPU is very good does its job – the phone is not slow neither in the system nor in challenging applications, including navigation, and even 3D games, albeit not on the highest graphics settings.
With the amount of memory in this smartphone was the compromise: 2 GB enough for OS Android 9, very well optimized for most applications. Except that the browser will not allow you to open many tabs at the same time, but it is quite possible to accept. The smartphone can keep in memory up to five light and two heavy programs, so that the discomfort in this regard is not felt. About 32 GB of internal memory we have already said – this volume is more than enough for 99% of tasks.
In the benchmark GeekBench BQ Magic earned 3470 points in multi-core mode and single core in 828. Game test 3DMark with package Ice Storm gave a result in the amount of 9226 points. Heating of CPU during testing was not observed.
Software
BQ Magic runs on pure Android 9 basic interface Material UI. To change is only to include additional features smart gestures, of which there are many for any taste. Little changed compared to the standard interface of digital cameras, and everything else was left untouched.
The firmware creates the impression that it is optimized – it works very fast, although the standard Google software is present and enabled by default. The speed was not affected by the excessively large number of applications installed for the sake of advertising.
Seriously these utilities there are too many, and they occupy space in memory, and they are embedded in the firmware, and to root them out without special knowledge will not work. Junk apps there are nine, and seven of them can be deleted manually via the menu – two from Yandex will only be possible to disable. After the first boot, the smartphone employs 6,28 GB of the 32 GB you can just poudalyat unnecessary programs and clean the cache, and in this case, frees up additional 500 MB.
Work offline
4000 mAh is a lot or a little? In the flagship this battery is still a rarity, and the power consumption is higher. Here are not particularly power consuming components and a larger battery capacity, which in theory should ensure a good autonomy.
In practice, all of it is true – after fine tuning of the device we were able to achieve more than 3 days of autonomy. Of course, it was a very economical mode of use – about 4 hours of YouTube in total, a couple of hours on the Internet and calls, but this way smartphones work most consumers. On average, BQ Magic live 2.5 days on a single charge.
The energy is long – 4 hours from full-time for 1.5-amp charging. Fast charging this smartphone lacks no less than USB-C. power supply, note, is heated significantly, but not critical, and the battery is not heated at all.
Pros BQ Magic
– huge battery;
– original colors;
– decent camera;
– loud speaker;
– optimized firmware.
Cons BQ Magic
– no USB-C and fast charging;
– the overabundance of ads.
© 2019, paradox. All rights reserved.
