Indian smartphone makers are giving tough competition to Chinese counterparts in the budget Android phone segment. Priced at Rs.6,499, the Intex Aqua Secure offers some cool features, and goes up against the likes of Coolpad Note 3 Lite (Rs.6,999).
Design: Handy and well-built
The Aqua Secure is a compact phone. The matte plastic finish on the back, and the phone’s compact and light form-factor (130g) makes it very handy. The volume and screen lock buttons can be reached comfortably even though they are placed higher on the side panel. Though the phone comes with a plastic back cover, which is removable, Intex has put the fingerprint sensor at the back. The sensor does seem a bit slow, but is spot-on most of the time.
Another notable feature is the phone’s reversible USB Type-C standard, which means you won’t have to worry about the orientation before connecting the converter to it. The USB type-C connector looks different from the usual Type-C connectors and cables we have seen with a lot of other Android phones and, in fact, looks very similar to the Apple iPhone’s lightening connector.
The Coolpad Note Lite 3 weighs slightly more at 142g but is equally well-built and handy to use due to its matte finish and curved edges. It is the only other phone in the price point that has a fingerprint sensor.
Display: Lacks sharpness
While a small screen makes the device compact, using it feels a bit restrictive at times. In budget phones where the screen resolution is often too low and viewing angles are poor, watching movies or typing is not always a very enjoyable experience. The Aqua Secure’s 4.5-inch display has a resolution of 854x480p but it handles colours well and its wide viewing angles are good too. This makes it a tad better than many other budget smartphones. However, its rival Coolpad Note 3 Lite offers a slightly bigger and sharper 1280x720p display, which works better for games and videos.
Performance: Works well with most tasks
Powered by MediaTek’s widely used MT6735 quadcore processor paired with 1GB RAM, the Aqua Secure can handle most individual tasks well. However, it doesn’t feel very smooth while using. The odd lag shows up from time to time while switching from one app to another or while running some heavy task. It can handle games such as SmashHit or Temple Run 2 very well, though. The phone offers 8GB of internal storage and one can add up to 32GB more using a micro SD card. The 1900 mAh battery may not be much on paper but can muster a whole day’s backup on one charge if you don’t really stress it too much.
It supports 4G, which means you can access faster broadband network. The Coolpad Note 3 is driven by the same processor but with 3GB RAM. Overall, it handles most tasks, including multi-tasking, better. Also, it comes with 16GB of internal storage and can take in another 64GB via micro SD.
Software: Offers some useful apps
The phone runs an older Lollipop version of Android with a slightly modified custom UI. The UI looks colourful and offers some useful apps and features such as Emergency Secure, Intex Care, an integrated Opera Max and a default call recorder. Emergency Secure sends out text messages and makes calls to family and friends once the user presses the volume buttons simultaneously. Intex Care connects you to all Intex service centres.
The Aqua Secure allows some cool customizations. For instance, you can modify the contrast and colour of the display. We didn’t see it making any major improvement to the display quality, though. You can alter the background transparency in the app drawer so the wallpaper on the home screen also shows in the app drawer.
The Coolpad Note 3 also runs on Android 5.1 (Lollipop) and uses a typical Chinese interface with no app drawer but offers more customisations to users.
Camera: Inconsistent even in daylight
The 5-megapixel camera is a bit inconsistent. It can handle colours and details in close-ups well, especially in daylight. However, it could not light up the image properly as objects in the background look darker than usual. Also, the slightest of zoom-in and you can see the noise clearly. The front camera is poor and looks noisy. The Coolpad Note 3 Lite has a superior 13-megapixel camera that delivers better picture quality in daylight.
Verdict
Intex Aqua Secure impresses with its build quality and handy design, has a fingerprint sensor and performs basic tasks quite smoothly. We are yet to get over the USB Type-C cable connector design though. The Coolpad Note 3 may not have so many features, but it has superior performance, a sharper display, a better camera and more storage.
