Oukitel U18 64 GB / 4 GB

Modern smartphone without regard to price

The U18 is an interesting device both in terms of software and hardware, with decent cameras, a powerful battery and a large screen in a relatively compact package.

Oukitel U18 is powered by a 1.5GHz MediaTek MTK6750T octa-core processor, Mali-T860 MP2 GPU, 4GB RAM and 64GB internal memory, which can be expanded with a MicroSD card. On the one hand, the processor is not the most powerful and, in terms of performance, is slightly behind its competitor in the face of the Snapdragon 625. On the other hand, its performance is enough for everyday tasks and not too demanding games.

High-quality IPS screen with unusual proportions

On the front is a curved 5.85-inch 2.5D IPS display. It has a custom resolution of 1512x720, so most apps will be downsized rather than stretched to display in 21:9. This results in black bars appearing at the edges of the display in some games and applications, making it difficult to use the phone comfortably.

Sturdy and modern smartphone

Otherwise, the U18 looks like a solid and modern smartphone: it has USB-C, a surprisingly fast fingerprint scanner, a 4000 mAh battery, high-quality Bluetooth that instantly picks up other devices and does not lose connection with them, a useful System Manager utility for setting up autorun, cleaning cache, etc. Plus, it has a dual camera with modules from Sony, which is good by the standards of low-cost smartphones, and a zinc alloy frame surrounds the body, which gives it rigidity.

Dangerous waters of competition

Perhaps the main controversial point of the smartphone is its price tag of $150. Usually, Chinese "no-names" take their low price and compete with each other in the ultra-low-cost segment, but in the $150-200 segment, Oukitel U18 has many strong and much more famous competitors like Xiaomi Redmi 6 or Huawei Y6 2019.