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NO.1 S7 Pro Review – MT6582 720p 1GB/16GB

Written by

Damian Parsons

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NO.1 S7 Pro review specifications

The NO.1 S7 Pro is an MT6582 SoC mobile with 1GB of RAM and 16GB storage. The display is 5.0″@720p giving it a ppi of 293. The phone is single-SIM, has quad-band GSM and 850/2100 WCDMA 3G.

NO.1 S7 Pro review display LCD

The screen on the NO.1 S7 Pro can be classified as very good. There is no light bleed around the edges or in the corners as is the case with some mobiles. From extreme angles looking at the bottom of the display will show a line of light where the backlight resides, but it’s not visible when looking at the phone from normal angles.no1-s7-review-IMG_0754

It’s an IPS display and the color and contrast remain true from all angles. The phone’s auto-brightness worked fine and in sunlight the display can still easily be seen.

NO.1 S7 Pro review physical build quality

The build quality of the NO.1 S7 Pro can be classified as good. It’s physically a solid phone and doesn’t at all feel like something that will fall apart with a few months use.

no1-s7-review-IMG_0755
This phone came from http://www.001mobilephone.com/. They have a good selection of budget / mid-range and top-range mobiles such as the One-Plus-One, TCL Idol-X, Lenovo S960, Huawei Honor 3X and Xiaomi Mi4.
NO.1 S7 Pro review OS and touchscreen

I found the NO.1 S7 Pro is very responsive, with no issues regarding ghost touches or lack of sensitivity. The MT6582 SoC offers plenty of juice to move 720p. Speed tap typing went off without a hitch.

There is a glaring negative regarding the touchscreen though. As it is out of the box, it’s only 1-point touch. On very rare occasions I could get it to sense 2, but not nearly reliable enough for real world use. What this means is that rotating maps won’t be possible, and expanding and zooming images can be a chore. Some apps allow you to tap twice and drag with one finger to expand and contract images, but not all.

no1-s7-review-IMG_0757

It’s worth mentioning here however that I have not updated to the latest firmware available for the NO.1 S7 Pro. Doing so may fix this problem, but as it is out of the box, it’s functionally 1-point touch.

NO.1 S7 Pro review MIC, earpiece and external speaker

Phone conversations were no problem with the NO.1 S7 Pro. I could be heard without issue and the person on the other end said I sounded clear.

The external speaker is beyond adequate for hands-free calling as well as listening to video and music.

NO.1 S7 Pro review GPS

The GPS on the NO.1 S7 Pro can be classified as mediocre. Warm locks took less than 10 seconds and the first cold lock took less than a minute. The overall signal strength once locked was about average for MTK SoC. No glaring issues here, but the NO.1 S7 Pro isn’t going to impress with GPS signal strength either.

The image here is of the GPS after about 10 seconds under thick clouds. After about a minute, accuracy improved to 13ft.no.1-s7-2014_09_10_12.51.07

NO.1 S7 Pro review WiFi

The NO.1 S7 WiFi can be classified as mediocre. From 200ft away from the router the phone could not stay connected, and I had to step within 150ft to get a stable internet connection. Phones such as the iNew V8, Doogee DG550, Doogee DG310 and THL 5000 all stayed stable at 200ft and some of these phones would likely be fine at 225ft+.

NO.1 S7 Pro review camera

The camera in the NO. S7 pro is average considering all modern mobiles. It can focus with tap, and focus both indoors and outdoors functioned fine. See the gallery below for NO.1 S7 Pro pictures. In daylight it took passable pictures which would be fine for digital / social sharing.

NO.1 S7 Pro review app compatibility

Most apps seem to run fine with the NO.1 S7 Pro. Facebook, Skype and Play all ready to rock, though at one point I had a problem with YouTube and Maps force closing upon opening. A reboot of the phone fixed the issue.

NO.1 S7 Pro review battery

Now we get into the most glaring issue with the NO.1 S7 Pro — It’s battery. The phone is deep sleeping fine, but regardless of that, the battery life with the S7 leaves a lot to be desired and does worse than even the battery challenged iNew V3. At least the V3 had an excuse as it was an issue with the hardware not being able to fully charge the battery.no1-s7-review-2014_09_11_16.37.10

In the image above, you see about 3.2 hours onscreen over 13 hours. It’s enough most people through the day, but it’s quite low when comparing it to other current phones on the market in similar price range.

This phone came from http://www.001mobilephone.com/. They have a good selection of budget / mid-range and top-range mobiles such as the One-Plus-One, TCL Idol-X, Lenovo S960, Huawei Honor 3X and Xiaomi Mi4.

Note this test was done without a SIM in, WiFi internet and generally low brightness. The phone is listed by NO.1 as being 2800mA, however it’s real capacity seems to be about half that.

NO.1 S7 Pro review conclusion

Most of the phones I review can be recommended, as I normally am quite selective about which phones I spend my time testing. Every once in a while though, there’s a doozy and the NO.1 S7 Pro can be placed in that category.

Single-SIM, 1-point touch, weakish WiFi and the sad battery life make this phone a loser. While the S7 generally was a fine phone to use, the battery life should take this phone off the short list for anyone who’s looking in the $150 range and needs more than a couple hours onscreen between charges. It’s a shame, as the LCD is very nice and general functionality of the phone is fine.

In the price range of the NO.1 S7 Pro, there are far more solid phones such as the Doogee DG550.

If you absolutely must have a phone in the Samsung style, and if short battery life isn’t a factor for you, the phone could still be considered, as the world of Samsung copycats holds far worse phones than the NO.1 S7 Pro.

Keep in mind that as of the time of this review I have not yet upgraded the phone to the latest version firmware. NO.1 has released several updates for this phone. However, I normally first review phones as they are out of the box.

NO.1 can be commended for at least releasing regular firmware updates, and the guys at www.001mobilephone.com have been very pleasant and easy to deal with. Communication was excellent. I will have a followup to this review within the next several days after updating to the latest firmware.

Comments

5 responses to “NO.1 S7 Pro Review – MT6582 720p 1GB/16GB”

  1. Paul Avatar
    Paul

    have to agree with the batery as its not worth it, less than 10 minutes gaming and 25 minutes web browsing and battery is at least on 50% should i shame

    Reply
  2. TheDude Avatar
    TheDude

    Have any firmware updates been done yet for a followup review??

    Contrarian thoughts below.

    Due to the battery being 100% compatible with a Samsung s5 battery I think is a strength, not a weakness. Batteries are the weakness of most China phones because if you don’t get enough when you buy them, they may never be available again. Same goes for cases, chargers, and battery cases. Some of us need these things. I can get 3 or more of these phones with cases and everything else for the price of one real unlocked one. If it goes bad, I can toss it and not cry.

    Most of us only use 1 sim, so most dont care.

    For WIFI, 150ft is more than enough for normal use and the oversized samsung battery plus backup case I would slap on it more than offset this in the normal world. I run out of battery way more than worry about an extra 50ft inside a starbucks or my home.

    Dont care about GPS speed, but understand this is important for some of the more directionally challenged people in the world.

    I do care about the camera! It seems no matter who makes phones in this price range, all the cameras work like crap under low light conditions and in general. China phones all seem to stink in either the software, the hardware, or both when it comes to cameras. This needs to be fixed, reviewed, and encouraged!

    Thanks for the review and keep up the good work

    Reply
    1. Damian Parsons Avatar
      Damian Parsons

      Thanks for your points here TheDude.

      You can try a Samsung S5 battery in this phone. Not sure it will charge fully though, this will depend on the strength of the charging system in the phone.

      GPS has nothing to do with directionally challenged or not. It has to do with easily navigating and locating your position in areas that you don’t know. The GPS in my test unit was one of the weakest I’ve seen in a China phone. Sure if you prefer to look up your directions and write them down ahead of time, or continually ask strangers where you are or how to get somewhere, or use a paper map, then that’s your prerogative. I think most people in 2014 would prefer not to have to do that if there’s an easy alternative.

      150ft is fine. Unless you’re located more than 150ft from the signal, for example at a hotel, or public WAN, then you’ll find it’s not adequate at all. Compared to other recent phones I’ve reviewed, it’s quite weak.

      Regarding the SIM, perhaps in USA this is the case, but in many countries it’s not the case at all. I would be quite hampered without dual SIM. While it may not be of concern to you personally, in comparison to most other China phones and many users, it’s a significant weakness.

      The cameras in many China phones are up to speed with major brand phones (Samsung etc..) in their price range. I actually found the camera in the Goophone S5 to be quite good, but not so with the No.1 S7. The main reason cameras in phones generally aren’t good in low light is due to sensor size. Some phones are beginning to have 1/2.3″ sensors which is the same as what’s in consumer compact cameras, but these are generally in flagship and pricier models.

      This is what the review is for. To point out weaknesses and strengths to help you make a purchasing decision.

      The ratings are more or less in comparison to other relatively modern phones. If it was 2012, perhaps it would be a different story, but we are in 2014 and I can’t recommend this phone as it is out of the box to the general consumer, as there are far better phones for the same price or cheaper.

      Of course, if you find the points I’ve mentioned to not be of concern to you, by all means go ahead and give the No. 1 S7 a go.

      Reply
  3. TheDude Avatar
    TheDude

    Thanks for the thoughtful response!

    Do you believe that the firmware update fixes or minimizes some of those issues? Or is it pretty cut and dried?

    After checking extensively, it will indeed charge even up to a Samsung oversized battery with oversized battery cover replacement, which would make this a great cheap travel backup phone to a real S5 that takes the same cases, batteries, chargers, and TF card. Beyond that use, I think you are spot on that the phone is severely lacking for a full time device.

    Reply
  4. batery Avatar
    batery

    Did anyone try to change the batery?

    Reply

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