Bluboo S8 Unboxing, Quick Review: More Than Just A S8 Knockoff?

We take a look at the Bluboo S8!

It’s no secret that many up and coming Chinese brands take a lot of, well, heavy inspiration from more well known flagships of more established companies to make a statement. That’s the case for Bluboo and their S8 smartphone, which is heavily influenced by the design by Samsung’s Galaxy S8.

Despite that obvious comparison though, the S8 looks to give more budget-minded consumers better bang for their buck while still giving the semblance of a premium-looking phone.

Bluboo S8 specs

1.5GHz octa-core Mediatek MT6750T processor
Mali-T860 GPU
3GB RAM
5.7-inch 18:9 HD+ IPS display, 2.5D Curved Gorilla Glass 4 protection, 1440 x 720 resolution
32GB internal storage, expandable via microSD up to 256GB
16-megapixel rear camera with AF, LED flash, 3-megapixel secondary
8-megapixel front camera
Dual SIM
3G, LTE
WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, A-GPS, Fingerprint scanner, fast charging
Android 7.0 Nougat, 360 OS
3450mAh battery

Packaging and contents:

Bluboo isn’t just taking inspiration off of the design of the Galaxy S8 on their phones, they’ve also tried their hardest to emulate the same premium look of the flagship in the S8’s packaging. The phone comes in a black box with the words S8 in the same typeface as the more premium flagship, just enlarged and in gold all around the front.

Take out the phone, and you’ll see the freebie screen protector (which will have to be installed by you), softcase as well as the USB charger (that qualifies as a fast charger thanks to the 5V/2A output) USB Type-C cable and USB Type-C audio jack (more on this later).

Alongside the standard documentation you’ll also see a letter from Sky Lee, the company’s CEO, thanking you for your purchase.

Initial impressions: a more affordable, and phatter version of the Galaxy S8

Bluboo wasn’t exactly subtle in the design cues of the S8. Looking at the phone straight on you’ll easily mistake it for the real McCoy if it wasn’t for the slim side bezels (the Galaxy S8 is obviously curved on the side).

The frame of the phone is metal, with the rear gently curving into it just like the Galaxy S8. Unlike the S8 though, the phone’s rear isn’t made out of glass – instead it’s plastic, treated to reflect and refract light much like an old-school CD would. It’s an interesting design choice, but the back is a bit of a fingerprint magnet even though Bluboo claims on its website that there’s anti-fingerprint coating applied.

Speaking of the rear, Bluboo did something better than the device that they’re taking inspiration from, arranging the dual-camera module vertically instead of horizontally, and putting the fingerprint scanner right below the dual camera module.

The S8 has a dual-camera setup: 16-megapixel rear camera paired with a 3-megapixel secondary camera.

The phone’s a little thicker and heftier than the device it took its inspiration from, which isn’t surprising.

What is surprising though is that the S8 doesn’t have a 3.5mm jack anywhere in its body. That’s a little weird, considering the phone’s overall thickness. Usually manufacturers omit the 3.5mm jack because of space constraints – that’s obviously not the issue here. They do give you the option of using a USB Type-C headphone jack adapter, but that’s never the ideal solution.

The screen is just HD+, coming in at 5.7-inches. The bezels are small enough for what you’re paying for but are nowhere near being bezel-less.

Inside the phone is MediaTek’s MT6750T octa-core processor, which is fast becoming the choice for budget devices. With it is 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage which can further be expanded up to 256GB.

The phone runs a highly skinned version of Android Nougat, dubbed the 360 OS. Chinese brands have this habit of trying to differentiate their phones from the competition by adding their own twist to Android.

The phone has 3450mAh battery inside of it which can be quickly topped up using the accompanying fast charger.