iVoomi forayed into the Indian market earlier this year with the phones such as iVoomi Me 1+, iVoomi Me 4 priced below Rs. 5,000. Recently, the company has launched two smartphones above Rs. 5,000- the iVoomi Me 3 and Me 3S with the standout feature as the shatterproof display.
That said, the iVoomi Me 3 is priced at Rs. 5,499, whereas the Me 3S costs Rs. 6,499. Offering a shatterproof display at such a low price might sound like a gimmick, but the devices are not just about the display, they also offer decent specifications, especially at that price point. We've been using the iVoomi Me 3S for quite some time now, and here's what we think of the phone.
iVoomi Me 3S Review: Design and Display
The iVoomi Me 3S is a good-looking smartphone. The phone is entirely constructed out of metal, but it doesn't feel cheap when taken into hands, thanks to the soft finish at the back. The display of the phone is covered by a 2.5D curved glass, which gives it a decent look.
The back panel of the smartphone is removable, and below that, you can find two SIM card slots and a microSD card slot. At the right, we have the volume rockers and power button which offer decent tactile feedback, and at the top, you get the micro USB port and a 3.5mm headphone jack.
iVoomi has added a 5.2-inch display to the Me 3S, and below the display, there are three hardware navigation keys which aren't backlit. The 5.2-inch display offers HD resolution. It's decent in indoor conditions, but it struggles when taken into bright sunlight. Also, the panel is a reflective one which even affects the viewing angles.
In addition, this display is a shatterproof panel, which means that it won't crack with normal day-to-day accidental slip-downs. I have tested this display by throwing it from waist height, and it came out unbroken.
iVoomi Me 3S Hardware and Camera
The iVoomi Me 3S is powered by the MediaTek MT6737 chipset, which is coupled with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage. Graphics in the device are taken care by a Mali-T720 GPU. The Me 3S comes with a 13MP rear camera with an LED flash and an 8MP sensor is present on the front of the phone, which surprisingly comes with an LED flash support.
The real-life performance of the iVoomi Me 3S is acceptable, but not groundbreaking. It can serve you through all the basic tasks such as making phone calls, WhatsApp messaging, and even internet browsing on Google Chrome was fine. But where it struggles is the RAM management department. During my time, the phone kept close to six apps in memory, and if you have more apps opened in the background, the device starts misbehaving. However, it will get back to the normal state when you clear all the apps in the background. And thankfully, a clear all button is present in the recent apps menu.
It handles all the basic games such as Subway Surfers, Temple Run 2, and Beach Buggy Racing. Nevertheless, it struggled heavy titles such as Asphalt 8 Airborne or Dead Trigger 2.
Coming to the camera performance, the iVoomi Me 3S packs a decent 13MP shooter, but again, it doesn't produce any breathtaking results. The rear camera gets the job done in good lighting conditions, but it struggles with the light fading away. Low-light images came out with a noticeable amount of noise, which is expected considering the price of the smartphone.
The phone also has an 8MP front-facing camera, which even comes with an LED flash support. It also captures decent images in good lighting conditions, but low-light images are questionable.
iVoomi Me 3S Review: Software, Connectivity, and Battery Life
Like the earlier iVoomi devices, the Me 3S also ships with Android 7.0 Nougat out of the box, and it did not receive any software update during the entire duration of the review. The Me 3S' software is close to stock and comes with a lot of bloatware. Apps such as a UC Browser, UC News, Flipkart, Quick Touch, Xender comes preinstalled with the phone, and some of them can't be uninstalled.
All the Android Nougat features such as split screen multitasking, quick app switcher work flawlessly on the device. iVoomi might release Android 8.0 Oreo to the Me 3S in the near future, but there's no official update from the company yet.
Connectivity wise, I used the smartphone with Reliance Jio 4G SIM card during the review period. The phone has support for 4G LTE and VoLTE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, and a micro USB port.
Lastly, the Me 3S comes with a 3000mAh battery inside, and this is the primary aspect which the device disappoints. The phone's battery life isn't reliable- some days it died within eight hours, and in some days, it offered me an entire day worth battery life. That said, the screen-on time was hovering between three hours and three and half hours.
iVoomi Me 3S Review: Conclusion
The sub Rs. 6,000 price bracket is led by the Xiaomi Redmi 4A in the entire 2017, but the Me 3S is a good alternative to the Redmi 4A. It offers a decent design & display, reliable performance & software. The two disappointing factors are the camera and battery life. Cameras are good in bright light conditions but disappoint heavily in low-light conditions, whereas the battery life can be tweaked with a software update.
The iVoomi Me 3S is a decent budget smartphone, overall. And if the company manages to deliver Android Oreo update by the end of 2017, the device will be one of the go-to options in the budget segment.
