Mobiistar, a smartphone brand hailing from Vietnam, debuts in India with the launch of XQ Dual phone. The affordable handset is first in the line with firm’s “Selfie Star Series” that is touted to deliver great selfie-camera experience and performance, without costing too much.
The Mobiistar XQ Dual is primarily targeted towards buyers who prefer online markets to purchase phones. Firms like Xiaomi and Motorola, all started their journey in India in the similar fashion, and the Vietnamese firm is banking on the tried and tested formula.
We caught hold of the device and decided to take it for a spin. Here’s our assessment of the Mobiistar XQ Dual, after spending some quality time with it.
Mobiistar XQ Dual Specifications
Model | Mobiistar XQ Dual |
Display | 5.5-inch FHD (1920X1080) IPS LCD panel, protected by 2.5D glass |
Processor | 1.4Ghz Snapdragon 430 chipset, Adreno 505 GPU |
RAM | 3GB |
Internal Storage | 32GB, expandable up to 128GB |
Software | Android 7.1.2 Nougat |
Primary Camera | 13MP, f/2.0 and dual-LED flash |
Secondary Camera | 13MP+8MP, 120-degree wide angle lens, LED flash |
Battery | 3000mAh |
Others | 4G VoLTE, WiFi, Bluetooth, Fingerprint sensor, micro USB, 3.5mm headphone jack |
Price | Rs. 7499 |
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Mobiistar XQ Dual: What’s inside the box?
- Mobiistar XQ Dual Handset
- Transparent TPU Case
- SIM-ejector tool
- Charger (5V) and MicroUSB cable
- Paperwork
Mobiistar XQ Dual Review: Design and Display
- Mundane Design – broad bezels and no 18:9 aspect ration
- Good Display for the price – FHD (1980X1080)
The Mobiistar XQ Dual doesn’t sport the new glass-age design, and neither does it have any of the 18:9 or 19:9 aspect ratio panel on the front. The XD Dual features an old-school 5.5-inch 16:9 aspect ratio FHD display, which means you have to deal with the thick-broad bezels both at the top and bottom.
However, the bezels are not entirely a waste of space. The chin of Mobiistar XQ Dual has capacitative navigational buttons, whereas the top bezel sports dual-selfie camera and earpiece, sensors, and LED flash. At a time when OEMs are trying to make phone’s fascia nothing but all-display, Mobiistar XQ Dual kind of stands out.
The flipside of the Mobiistar XQ Dual is also quite customary. It has the same metal-plastic unibody with a fingerprint sensor and back camera that awkwardly juts out of the frame. The only thing that catches your attention is the gold color accents that’s also present on the physical buttons.
All in all, we find the Mobiistar XQ Dual a little mundane at design front. Some of you, however, might appreciate the familiar feel of the off-screen keys. The phone feels a tad broad to us, even with a big hand we had trouble reaching to the far corners of the phone. The display is good at a price budget it is being offered, and we had no trouble operating it even in a bright environment.
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Mobiistar XQ Dual Review: Processor and Software
- Snapdragon 430 SoC is a decent chipset
- Run on dated Android Nougat
At the performance front, the Mobiistar XQ Dual does a decent job of keeping things nice and smooth. It is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 430 SoC, paired with 3GB of RAM and 32GB internal storage. The chipset isn’t a powerhouse but it’s still reliable and even acceptable at this price point.
During our review period, the phone didn’t show any kind of slowness or lags in our day-to-day usage. Even when we tested the phone with high-end games like Asphalt 8, it barely heated or froze in between. This is, however, subject to change in the long run.
The Mobiistar XQ Dual supports VoLTE services on both SIM slots, which means you can use two Jio SIMs simultaneously. But, it hurts to tell you that the phone has a hybrid-SIM slot, which means you have to sacrifice the second SIM to expand the storage up to 128GB.
The Mobiistar XQ Dual runs on Android 7.1.2 Nougat-based custom UI out-of-the-box. The UI is there to add nifty features to the stock-Android, and there aren’t many pre-loaded apps, which is a good thing. Having said that, the Android version is dated.
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Mobiistar XQ Dual Benchmark Scores
Benchmark standard | Score |
AnTuTu | Not compatible |
Geekbench 4 | 656, 2522 |
3D Mark Sling Shot Extreme – Open GL ES 3.1 | Not compatible |
3D Mark Sling Shot Extreme – Vulkan | Not compatible |
Mobiistar XQ Dual Review: Camera and Battery
- Dual 13MP+8MP sensors on the front
- Battery backup is up to the par
The USP of Mobiistar XQ Dual is its front-selfie camera. The handset boasts dual-camera setup of a 13-megapixel sensor and 8-megapixel sensor on the front. The additional sensor should not be confused with a depth sensor for portrait mode. Instead, it has a 120-degree wide angle lens to make shooting group selfies simpler.
As for the quality, the sensors will give you workable shots in ambience with good lighting. The images take a beating when clicked in areas with low lights even though it has LED flash.
The same is the case with Mobiistar XQ Dual 13-megapixel primary camera. The images were not good, especially in low light. They were grainy and lacked sharpness.
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The Mobiistar XQ Dual houses a 3000mAh battery that lasted close to a day on most days. There is no fast charging on the phone so it may take a couple of hours to recharge the phone from 0-100 percent.
Mobiistar XQ Dual Review: Verdict
The Mobiistar XQ is a very generic phone that also shuns modern trends and even modern software. That’s not what makes sense on an online offering considering the stiff competition, but then again, perhaps the affordable price exonerates it to an extent.
There aren’t many phones in this budget that come with dual selfie cameras and that should play to XQ Dual’s advantage. The phone covers all the basics and should make sense to light users who are looking for a workable selfie camera phone and who’d rather prefer the convenience of a hardware navigation bar.
Pros
- Display quality is good
- Dual-selfie camera with wide angle lens
- Decent battery back-up
Cons
- Old-fashioned design
- Dated Android Nougat