Unihertz Titan Slim first look evaluation

Three years in the past I attempted out the large Unihertz Titan smartphone with a really giant bodily QWERTY keyboard. I cherished the BlackBerry Passport, however the Titan was simply too giant for me to hold each day and use it to get work executed recurrently. In 2021, I examined the Titan Pocket which was shut in measurement and design to the BlackBerry Daring so I discovered it a bit interesting. 

For the previous couple of weeks, I’ve been testing an early prototype of the Unihertz Titan Slim and I feel somebody at Unihertz meant Titan Slim and never Titan Slim. The Titan Slim is without doubt one of the thickest telephones I’ve examined in years, measuring 12.35mm in depth. That is simply 2mm thinner than a folded Galaxy Z Fold 3 and has no enterprise calling itself slim.

professionals and cons

Execs

• Giant variety of obtainable keyboard shortcuts
• Excessive capability battery
• Cheap

Cons

• Tiny keyboard
• Thick
• Low-cost supplies
• Subpar digital camera efficiency

Specs

• Processor: MediaTek Helio P70
• Show: 4.2-inches 768×1280 pixels decision
• Working system: Android 11
• RAM: 6GB
• Storage: 256GB inside storage (examined as 128GB)
• Cameras: 48-megapixel rear digital camera and 8-megapixel front-facing digital camera
• Wi-fi expertise: 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac WiFi, Bluetooth 4.1, NFC, GPS/BEIDOU/GLONASS, FM radio, infrared
• Sensors: Fingerprint, accelerometer, gyroscope, proximity, ambient gentle, and compass
• Battery: 4,100mAh non-removable
• Dimensions: 146.85 x 67.6 x 12.75mm and 204 grams

The Titan Pocket is the sixth cellphone launched on Kickstarter by Unihertz and I’ve had the chance to check out the final 5. The telephones are affordably priced, even outdoors of the Kickstarter particular presents, and goal area of interest segments of the smartphone market. Each has far exceeded the modest Kickstarter objectives and with the Titan Slim we see there are already greater than 2,000 backers with pledges nearly reaching $535,000 (on the time of publishing this text).

{Hardware}

When Unihertz first reached out to me in regards to the likelihood to check out a Titan Slim, I used to be excited as a result of I believed it might be an up to date model of one thing like a BlackBerry Key2. I rapidly opened up the plain bundle and nearly fell out of my chair laughing on the thickness of a cellphone with slim within the title. The Key2 measures 8.5mm in thickness, 4mm lower than the Titan Slim. For sure, this isn’t a slim or glossy cellphone.

Assessment: BlackBerry KEY2: An old-school idea, up to date

Now, in comparison with the opposite Unihertz Titan telephones, this one is glossy and slim, however these different fashions are large. The cellphone is pretty slim at 67.6mm so Titan Slim can be a extra applicable title. Nonetheless, the width of the cellphone additionally implies that the keyboard is pretty tiny and my ageing fats fingers had bother sustaining any form of velocity on the keys. Somebody with small fingers could benefit from the tactile expertise, however in 2022 I see no purpose for a {hardware} QWERTY keyboard on a smartphone.

The central fingerprint sensor is practical and likewise serves as a succesful house button. The keyboard capabilities enabled by way of the software program appear like they had been copied from BlackBerry with very comparable icons while you arrange shortcuts. You may set up an enormous variety of fast launch shortcuts, swipe up and down on the keyboard to scroll by way of lengthy pages of textual content and knowledge, and the tactile really feel is first rate on the tiny keys. The house bar is small, the shift and different essential keys are means up on the highest row, and there may be simply an excessive amount of bouncing round between the keyboard and the show to supply a seamless expertise.

Beginning on the entrance, now we have the 4.2-inch LCD display, which is okay for viewing textual content content material on the cellphone. The colours look nice on the show and it is vivid sufficient for any lighting situation.

The headset speaker and front-facing 8MP digital camera are above the show. There may be an IR transmitter on the highest, however regardless of the cellphone thickness, there isn’t any 3.5mm headphone jack. There may be software program included on the cellphone so you possibly can manipulate distant controls for varied digital merchandise. The USB-C port and mono speaker are on the underside of the cellphone.

The amount buttons are positioned on the higher proper aspect with the ability button under it. A customizable pink button is discovered on the left aspect with the 2 SIM card trays above this button. There’s a utility to customized a press and a press and maintain of this button.

Additionally: Unihertz Titan first impressions: Massive, rugged, long-lasting, QWERTY Android cellphone

The 48-megapixel digital camera is discovered within the higher left nook with a flash to the precise of the digital camera. The again is affordable, shiny black plastic, and mixed with the shiny black sides provides the cellphone a moderately horrible really feel. I assume on the estimated $250 worth, we will not ask for an excessive amount of.

The cameras had been moderately poor with timelapse, video, photograph, and guide modes obtainable. Most photographs had been blown out with poor colours and focus so they could be good for primary doc seize or sharing restricted pictures on social media.

Software program

The Unihertz Titan Slim launches with Android 11 out of the field and the prototype I examined has a September 5, 2021, Android safety replace put in. I checked a few different Unihertz telephones, and there’s no file of updates for firmware or month-to-month safety updates. Android 12 has been out now for practically a 12 months and Android 13 is correct across the nook. Don’t purchase this cellphone with an expectation of ever receiving updates, which may pose a safety threat for anybody shopping for this for enterprise use.

The cellphone runs a reasonably inventory model of Android. The Google Uncover web page is on the market while you swipe from left to proper to the primary panel, very similar to a Pixel cellphone.

Along with the Google fundamentals resembling calculator, calendar, digital camera, Chrome, Gmail, Maps, Messages, and extra, you get a number of apps from Unihertz. These embrace an FM radio, IR distant management app, music participant, NoteBook, sound recorder, and Toolbox.

The Toolbox is stuffed with helpful utilities that improve the performance of the cellphone. The instruments within the Toolbox embrace:

• Sound meter
• Compass
• Flashlight
• Bubble degree
• Image hanger instrument
• Coronary heart fee monitor
• Peak measuring utility
• Magnifier
• Pedometer
• Speedometer
• Alarm
• Plumb bob
• Protractor

It is cool to see the digital camera used with a few of these instruments to supply an augmented actuality expertise that gives you with a tool for correct measurements.

The house display helps widespread app widgets too so you possibly can customise your Android expertise. The Fast Controls part from the notification shade will also be personalized to your private preferences.

Additionally: Unihertz Atom XL hands-on: 4-inch show, 48MP digital camera, and DMR assist for lower than $330

Preliminary utilization experiences

Unihertz appeals to a distinct segment market and it seems there are a number of thousand folks world wide who’re fascinated by low cost telephones with a QWERTY keyboard.

Whereas I didn’t take pleasure in utilizing the keyboard, I did like {that a} BlackBerry-esque interface exists to arrange customized shortcuts. It is also good to have the keyboard perform as a trackpad for scrolling with out touching the show.

The cellphone sometimes locked up and froze on me in settings and a few apps. I didn’t need to reset it although and switching again to house and one other app appeared to get out the problem. The inventory Android expertise is nice, however safety updates and firmware assist are horrible.

I loved the soft-touch matte designs of previous Unihertz merchandise and am not a fan of the shiny end used on the Titan Slim. Fingerprints collect all around the sides and again whereas the fabric feels low cost within the hand.

Battery life appeared tremendous, however I truthfully could not hold my SIM in too lengthy to try it out as a result of I didn’t benefit from the expertise of utilizing the cellphone. Fundamental community assist is supplied with no 5G functionality. The Unihertz Titan Slim shouldn’t be a cellphone I can advocate, however there are clearly a number of individuals who do not thoughts spending about $250 to check out one thing distinctive.