We unboxed the Starmobile Play Max, an affordable 5-inch smartphone that comes with a Smart Prepaid SIM. I have to say, this device delivers optimum value due to the Super Pack 600, which means 600 MB FREE data every month for a year. Not only that, but it brings a stylish outer build, decent internal specs, and a reasonable price point in one package.
The Starmobile PLAY Max pack includes the following:
- Starmobile PLAY Max (1 pc.)
- Smart Prepaid SIM (1 pc.)
- Clear Phone Case (1 pc.)
- Screen Protector (1 pc.)
- Travel Charger (1 pc.)
- Micro USB Cable (1 pc.)
- 4,000 mAh Li-ion Battery (1 pc.)
- Headset (earphones) (1 pc.)
- Quick Start Card (1 pc.)
- Warranty Card (1 pc.)
Starmobile PLAY Max Review – Design, Display and Multimedia
A rich look and design, for less. The beautiful Rose Gold, shimmering metallic finish certainly gave it a slick, clean feel. I cannot stress enough how good this phone looks, and in fact, you could mistake it for a high-end Android phone. The white front bezels look clean, orderly, and smooth, adding to the ‘premium’ impression of the Play Max.
Solid outer layout. Speaking of the front, we’re looking at relatively thin side bezels with simple buttons on the bottom. There’s your usual Back, Home, and another button that lets you scroll through the apps and rearrange them. The top bezel, as with other phones, features the front-facing camera. On the other hand, the speakers are found on the bottom on the phone, as opposed to the actual back part. Inversely, the micro USB charging port is at the top of the phone alongside the port for the audio jack. You’ll find the volume and lock buttons on the right side, while the back part showcases the 8-megapixel rear cam and its flash.
Satisfactory HD screen quality. In terms of the screen, the HD IPS screen and 720 x 1280 resolution of the phone felt appropriate for the price point. There’s enough clarity, brightness and quality to satisfy the casual smartphone user. The only kind of crowd I can imagine being disappointed would be the kind who are big on full HD or 4k.
This phone feels good to hold. The Starmobile Play Max doesn’t feel heavy, either, weighing at a middling 159 grams. Besides that, the texture of the phone itself is nice to the touch, and if you use the clear phone case that comes with the Play Max, it’s even better.
Starmobile PLAY Max Review – UI, Performance and Battery Life
It might actually be good for some gaming! For specs, we’re looking at a Spreadtrum 7731G chipset with a 1.3GHz Quad Core ARM Cortex-A7 processor. In addition, there’s 1GB RAM and 8GB ROM, expandable to 32GB. How does this translate to actual performance? Well, our gaming benchmark for this one is Dead Trigger 2, and we can proudly say that it ran with barely any lag. You can feasibly play a wide array of mobile games, whether high-end or low-end in terms of graphics and system requirements.
The cameras are mostly okay. The eight-megapixel main camera of the Play Max notably employs the Google Camera app to take your photos. That means that by default, it’s set to trigger focus and shoot via touch. As for the product, not bad at all. The focused part of the image is relatively sharp (so be mindful of which part of the photo you focus), and the camera seems to work best in settings with decent lighting.
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Decent battery life, long charging times. A hefty 4,000 mAh Li-ion Battery powers the Starmobile Play Max, and it really shows. Using it for an entire week, I only really needed to charge the Play Max about four times. Also, at that point I regularly downloaded benchmark apps and games to test out the system. A word of warning for the recharge time, however. It took me about 4 hours to charge the battery to full, from empty, although it should be noted that the Play Max charger does not provide Fast Charging features.
Barely any bloatware. We can also proudly say that the PLAY Max has little bloatware out of the box. There are the standard apps for any smartphone (Email, Gallery, Camera, Browser) and the pre-installed Google Apps (Play Music, Play Store, etc). I only counted about three unnecessary applications (Clean Master, Starmobile Care, and the Starmobile App Store).
Starmobile PLAY Max Review – Conclusion
Definitely a great deal at around 3k. As per the Starmobile official website, the Play Max retails at PHP 3,290. And honestly, that’s quite a bargain for what you’re getting! The phone feels great to hold, it comes with a free SIM card and mobile data at purchase, the specs aren’t too shabby, and the battery life should keep most consumers happy. I would recommend it to someone who wants a quality device for a low, low price.
Starmobile PLAY Max Specs
OS | Android Marshmallow 6.0 |
Processor | Spreadtrum 7731G, 1.3GHz Quad Core ARM Cortex-A7, Mali 400MP2 @ 400MHz GPU |
Memory | 1GB RAM |
Display | 5-inch HD IPS, 720x1280 |
Storage | 8GB, MicroSD up to 32GB |
Camera | 8MP with flash/ 5MP, 1080p @ 15fps video recording |
SIM | Micro + Micro, Dual 3G Standby |
Battery | 4,000 mAh Li-ion |
Dimensions | 143.9mm x 71.5mm x 9.9mm |
Weight | 159g |
Sensor | Gravity, Accelerometer, Light, Proximity |