MyPhone MyX8 Review: Pinoy Pride At Its Best?

MyPhone MyX8 Review: Pinoy Pride At Its Best?

Can this phone be MyPhone’s comeback?

Despite being of the biggest local brands a few years ago, MyPhone has been relatively quiet the past few months. The Pinoy brand hasn’t been as active as they once were in the tech scene, releasing only a few, relatively low-profile devices the past few months.

The company is looking to pick up steam once again in the second half of 2018 with their new MyX8 budget phone. It has many of the features that are in vogue nowadays – a large battery and 18:9 display – while still retaining that trademark Filipino pride styling that propelled them to the top of the sales charts all those years ago.

But the marketplace has changed drastically, and the company has to do battle with other local brands as well as top-tier, international manufacturers. Does the MyX8 have something to offer to Filipinos that its competition doesn’t? Let’s find out in our review.

What is it?

The MyX8 is MyPhone’s shot in making itself relevant in the Philippine market again. It has many of the popular features that customers look for in a phone: a sleek, curvy body, 18:9 aspect ratio as well as a relatively large 4000mAh battery. It looks similar to last year’s MyX1, but the MyX8 has better specs compared to its predecessor.

 

Does it feel like a budget phone?

It does a little bit. The phone is primarily made out of plastic to keep costs low, and the phone is a bit heftier and bigger compared to the MyX1 because of its large 4000mAh battery. The phone has curved sides which makes it easier to hold in the hands, and the removable back panel (a rarity nowadays) sports the same Philippine map that’s present on their other devices.

Despite trying to make the back look like metal, it’s very obviously plastic. Surprisingly enough, the back panel is easily scratched despite being plastic, so you’ll have to be careful when handling the phone since the scratches are very easy to see because of the panel’s coloration.

Like any budget phones in this price range, the two SIM card slots and MicroSD card are found when you remove the back panel.

The port and control layouts are found in the usual places: volume and power buttons on the right, and the headphone jack and microUSB port on top. The latter is typical of most budget phones released this year.

Making it stand out in the sub-Php 5k segment is an 18:9 IPS display with an HD+ resolution. The display itself is a rare find for a budget phone: color reproduction is at par with more expensive phones, and viewing angles are decent even on direct sunlight. One thing we did notice is while the phone does have a screen protector, the sides of the display still got scratched up with use. MyPhone did not disclose the glass used, so we recommend to either retain the screen protector or get a more durable one.

 

Are the internals up to par?

While it has a typical 2GB RAM and 16GB internal storage configuration, the MyX8 has the advantage of using a newer MediaTek MT6739 processor. The 2018 budget processor has a higher clock speed at 1.5Ghz compared to the MT6737’s 1.35Ghz clock speed—the processor of choice of most, if not all, budget phones.

The higher clock speed means that social media, web browsing, and emails are smoother on the MyX8, compared to other phones with the more common MT6737 chipset. This translates to better performance when playing games compared to other budget phones, but performance is still sub-par.

On our tests, we averaged 15FPS for Marvel Future Fight, while we managed 11FPS on Asphalt 8.

Asphalt 8: Low Average FPS translates to laggy gameplay.
Future Fight: Higher average FPS, but laggy and unstable.
PUBG Mobile Lite: Decent stats, but…

What puzzles us, however, is the touch response lag that occurs in playing games—of which was very evident with PUBG Mobile Lite. While Gamebench stats report that it is playable at a median FPS of 15, our own experience was frustrating: our on-screen inputs (from moving the character to shooting the enemy) were delayed. Software optimization is the possible cause for the issue, which we will discuss in the next part.

How is the rest of the phone?

Having Android 8.1 Oreo out of the box means that the MyX8 is up-to-date in terms of security updates. You also enjoy all of Android Oreo’s key features like picture-in-picture, better battery optimization, and more organized notifications.

As usual, MyPhone added their own touches to this Android build with pre-installed apps and a drawer-less layout. Fortunately, you can disable pop-ups generated by these pre-installed apps, saving you from annoyance.

Because of the custom overlay, the MyX8’s Android build is not smooth: aside from games, we encountered a few glitches along the way. Given MyPhone’s plans to upgrade the MyX8 to Android Pie, we hope they smooth out the kinks first.

The MyX8 does not have a fingerprint scanner or face unlock security method, you’ll have to deal with old-school pattern and PIN secure unlock methods. The back-firing speaker has a tinny sound and exhibits distortion at high volume levels.

 

Are the cameras any good?

Unfortunately, they are not. While you get a newer processor and a trendier 18:9 display, MyPhone scrimped on the MyX8’s cameras by using a five-year-old Sony sensor. Image quality is not up to par with the cameras found on 2018 budget phones.

In the sample photos we took, images have a flat dynamic range even in daylight conditions.  Image quality dips further in indoor and low light conditions, as we end up getting blotchy images in the process.

All is not lost, however: MyPhone promises to roll out updates to the MyX8, and it is possible that a software update can help optimize its cameras.

 

Can it last me the whole day?

The MyX8’s 4000mAh battery is the phone’s biggest advantage, and it shows in both synthetic and real-life tests. On PCMark, we scored a little over 11 hours of battery life, and using it as a daily driver, the MyX8 lasted for more than one day before we have to juice it up.

In spite of having a large battery, don’t expect quick charging on the MyX8 as its internals does not natively support the feature. It takes around two and a half hours to fully charge the MyX8’s large battery via its MicroUSB port.

 

Is it a strong budget offering?

For a brand that has been inactive in producing smartphones for a while, the MyX8 is MyPhone’s best effort to date. While it has to contend against similarly-priced phones from both local and foreign brands, the MyX8 has a few features that will help it stand out: namely, the 4000mAh battery and HD+ display.

Despite being MyPhone’s best effort, the MyX8 has serious shortcomings: while it uses Android 8.1, the software is not fully optimized, resulting in occasional bugs and glitches especially in games. Its cameras are also woefully outdated; MyPhone scrimped quite a bit by using an old Sony sensor.

For its Php 4,999 asking price, the MyX8 will be facing tough competition in the face of both local and foreign brands. Xiaomi‘s Redmi 5A is a cheaper option and has a better processor, though it is not slated for an Android Oreo upgrade as of this writing. If MyPhone wants to be taken seriously, they need a far stronger phone to put them back on the map.

 MyPhone MyX8 specs

  •       MediaTek MT6739 quad-core processor
  •       2GB RAM
  •       5.45-inch HD+ IPS display
  •       16GB Internal Storage, expandable via MicroSD
  •       8-megapixel f/2.0 Sony IMX134 rear camera with AF, LED flash
  •       5-megapixel f/2.8 front camera with LED flash
  •       Dual SIM
  •       3G, LTE
  •       WiFI, Bluetooth, GPS, A-GPS
  •       4000mAh battery
  •       Android Oreo 8.1

 

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