The Coolpad Note 8 comes at a time when the under INR 10,000 smartphone has seen some really good offerings. The Coolpad Note 8 comes with a MediaTek processor, dual rear cameras and 64GB of storage out of the box. We tested out the Note 8 for a few days and here are our thoughts on the smartphone.
Motorola One Power Specifications
- Display: 5.99-inch IPS LCD FHD+ display
- Software: Android 8.0 Oreo
- Fingerprint Scanner: Yes
- CPU: MediaTek MT6750 Octa-core processor
- RAM: 4 GB
- Storage: 64 GB internal storage, expandable up to 128GB
- Main Camera: 16 MP + 0.3MP dual-tone LED Flash
- Selfie Camera: 8 MP
- Connectivity: micro USB, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.2, GPS
- Cellular: 4G LTE (SIM 1 only), Dual SIM
- Battery: 4,000 mAh, Li-ion Polymer, non-removable
- Price: INR 9,999
Box Contents
Coolpad has kept design basis with the Notepad branding on top. Upon lifting the top section, you are greeted with the smartphone while the accessories are placed underneath.
A complete list of items you get inside the box:
- Coolpad Note 8 smartphone
- Sim Ejector Tool
- Charger
- Silicon Case
- Warranty and User Guide
Design and Display
Coolpad has gone with an all plastic back design here. The plastic used here is of decent quality and comes with a glossy finish which picks up fingerprints and scratches. The phone is bulky and that is due to the large 4,000mAh battery present here. The front of the phone houses the 5.99-inch display with the conventional design, no fancy notches here. When moving towards them, the phone houses a vertically stacked dual camera set up in the center with the circular fingerprint placed underneath.
The volume and power button are placed on the right with the dual slot tray on the left. At the bottom of the phone, you’ll find the Micro-USB port and speaker grill while the 3.5mm audio jack in placed on the top. Though being a fairly bulky phone, the curved sides on the back to help with overall in hand stability.
When it comes to the display, it is not much of a highlighting feature. There is no notch, which is very common in smartphones these days. The 5.99-inch IPS LCD display has an FHD+ resolution with chunky bezels on the top and bottom. The display gets bright enough so there are no issues with outdoor legibility.
Software and Performance
Unlike previous Coolpad smartphones, the Note 8 drops the custom ROM and instead comes with a stock Android build. The phone is running on the Android 8.0 oreo out of the box with the latest security patch update. Coolpad has kept most of the stock apps but has added a bunch of apps like Amazon Shopping, Amazon Prime Music, Amazon Prime Video, NewsDog, UC Browser, and Xender.
There are a host of security features, in addition to the fingerprint sensor, you get a face to unlock which is the native one found on the Android Oreo build and is fairly fast & accurate.
Coming to the performance, the smartphone comes with a fairly old MediaTek MT6750 chipset which is comparable to the Snapdragon 400 series in performance. The day to day performance has been lag free, this is due to the stock Android used here. Coolpad has supplied the phone with 4GB RAM so multitasking is at ease.
We tried gaming on this smartphone and this is where the processor aging factor highlights. Though most of the games were playable we were stuck at low to medium graphics. PUBG was barely smooth to play at the medium settings, so we reverted to the low graphics. The poor thermal management on this smartphone furthers lowers the performance.
Camera and Battery
The Coolpad Note 8 comes with a dual rear camera setup, with the main camera being a 16-megapixel sensor and the second one being a 0.3-megapixel depth sensor. On the front, you get an 8-megapixel selfie shooter. The performance of the rear camera is average, you get decent shots in bring lighting conditions but the camera struggles in low light. There is a noticeable shutter lag in low light environment and the images come with a high amount of noise.
The camera app used here has neatly laid out options like Panorama, FaceBeauty, Blur, Mono, Pro, Photo, and Video mode. The Pro mode allows you to tweak the ISO, white balance and exposure while swiping on the left in default photo mode reveals a bunch of filters. The selfies taken via the front camera are decent and passable.
Talking about the battery, Coolpad has fitted a 4,000mAh massive one here. The phone will last you just a little over a day which is surprisingly low from a battery of this size. During our tests, we managed to get 5 hours of screen on time with moderate usage and 20% battery left. Using the supplied 10W charger, the phone takes close to 3 hours for a full top up.
Pricing
Coolpad Note 8 – INR 9,999
Pros
- Stock Android
- Average battery life
Cons
- Below average cameras
- Outdated processor
Verdict – Should you go for it?
The Coolpad Note 8 enters the market at a time when established brands like Nokia and Asus already have a very decent offering at cut-throat prices. The phone overall has an average appeal and the glossy back doesn’t help either. The outdated processor and below average cameras take down the likable factor even more.
So, if you’re in the market for a sub INR 10,000 smartphone, we would recommend checking out the Zenfone Max Pro M1 (Review), Nokia 5.1 Plus (Review) or even the Infinix Note 5 (Review).
