Blackview is a new brand. I’m a fan of the name, which for me conjures images of stealth and class, of high-dollar mercenary ninjas and assassins.
Included in the box with the Blackview Omega is a shell case, a hard plastic protector for the rear and for the front, a wet wipe and a dry wipe to clean the glass prior to applying the plastic, headphones, USB cable, OTG cable, a 2 Amp charger and an English quick-start guide. There was already a screen protector on the front of the phone.
All in all Blackview put together a very full package — Fuller than most brands supply and in a classy black box.
Blackview Omega review style and build
After recently reviewing the excellent looking Kingzone Z1, I thought it would be a while before I’d be impressed by the style of another phone. In that I was wrong. The Blackview Omega, while not as bold as the Kingzone, is equally as impressive in terms of style, but with a more relaxed, matured look.
the back piece is made of glass, which adds an extra level of slick
The sides appear to be CNC machined. If it’s plastic, it’s impossible to tell and my wager would be on aluminum. I know that may sound a bit funny to some, but truly upon even the closest inspection, it’s not possible to tell. Whatever the case, it’s very well done and looks very classy.
Another interesting point regarding the design of the phone is that the back piece is made of glass, which adds an extra level of slick factor. According to Blackview marketing, both the front and the back are Gorilla Glass 3.
Also of note, the back piece does not snap off, thus the battery is not removable by conventional means and the SIMs and SD expansion card are inserted from the side.
The capacitive buttons are very evenly lit, and not oppressively bright. I like fairly dim capacitive lights, as they don’t blind you in the dark, and these are laid back and classy.
Blackview Omega review external speaker / mic / earphone
The external speaker on the Omega is quite good. Sounds are clear and crisp and beyond adequate for hands-free / music / movies. The mic and earpiece work great. No issues hearing or being heard in a conversation near a busy road.
Blackview Omega review RAM, SOC & Antutu
The Omega carries 2GB RAM. This should be enough for even power users. The SoC is [email protected]. While many people are clamoring over the new 64-bit MT6732 and MT6752 phones, the MT6592 still holds its own and pushes the 1080P Omega without issue.
Blackview Omega review display
One of the highlights of the Omega is it’s 1080P display. On a 5.0″ LCD, this gives us a PPI of 440 and is truly retina. Even the tiniest of text remains easily discernible and crisp.
I’m more than happy with 720P and indeed most people will have very difficult time telling the difference between 720P and 1080P on a 5.0″ phone, but with 1080P there is an extra layer of smoothness which can be discerned at the threshold level. While I think it’s overkill on 5.0″ devices, some people appreciate it.
The viewing angles are excellent. There is a smidgen of light bleed in the lower-right corner. Colors are great. Whites are pure. A topnotch display on the Omega.
Blackview Omega review camera
The camera Blackview fitted the Omega with is quite good, with healthy dynamic range and colors.
The 100% crops from 5MP images are very usable. We can see by the crops that there’s some fairly heavy sharpening going on, but this isn’t obvious until making big crops. While noticeable in big crops, it’s not overdone and only presents noticeable artifacting in the bokeh (blurred portions of the photo) when cropping in close.
I’ve also included a couple of 100% crops from the full 18MP at the end of the gallery. They look fine, though are likely interpolated to some degree.
[flickr_set id=”72157649384070523″]
Blackview Omega review OS
The OS on the Blackview Omega is a smooth and responsive Kitkat 4.4.2. Google Play came preinstalled and it downloads and updates apps without issue, including the newest version of Google Play Services.
The keyboard snaps to attention when called and disappears as quickly. Fast typing is quick and accurate. No double taps or ghost touches were experienced.
The internal storage is set to 3GB and the external storage set to 11GB. This should be more than enough for most users, as the install location can be set to phone storage and many apps can be moved over to SD as well.
My standard array of test apps and popular apps such as Skype, Facebook, Line app, Chrome and Gmail all worked without issue.
Blackview Omega review WiFi
The WiFi on the Omega can be rated as mediocre, reaching about 105ft/32m before becoming unstable. When I say mediocre, this is in comparison to phones which I deem excellent when reaching 225ft/69m. The Omega WiFi should be more than adequate for most home and business situations.
Blackview Omega review GPS
The GPS, as with the WiFi, can also be rated as mediocre, with SNR mostly hovering in the mid-20’s, both indoors and out. The cold lock happened within a minute and subsequent warm locks within seconds.
Blackview Omega review other components
I tested a gamepad, keyboard, mouse and USB SD with the Omega’s OTG connection and all worked flawlessly.
Auto-brightness is working great, with the sensor sensing multiple levels of brightness and the OS adjusting levels accordingly.
Bluetooth is detecting, being detected and pairing with devices no problem.
Blackview Omega review battery
The battery charged from 10%-100% in about 2 houra.minutes playing 720P video with low brightness.
With my standard use test, the Omega achieved 4.5 hours onscreen.
While these results seem somewhat low, they’re about what I expected from MT6592 pushing 1080p.
Blackview Omega review frequency support
Excellent news that the Omega supports 850/1900/2100. This makes it compatible with the Americas (North / Central / South), as well as all of the UK and Asia, and the vast majority of Europe. As always, check your carrier’s frequency support prior to purchasing a mobile.
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Blackview Omega closing words
I love what Blackview has done with the Omega’s style. A great camera, and classy and modern looking. From appearances, it’s using CNC machined aluminum, and a black glass back which really sets it apart from the pack.
They’ve been thoughtful enough to give us a whole package — earbuds, hard plastic protection for the front and rear, OTG cable, a shell case, a key to open the SIM door, even wipes to clean the glass prior to applying the screen protectors.
They’ve also had the forethought to include WCDMA 1900 which opens this phone up to being used in all of the Americas.
The battery life of 3 hours 720P video and 4.5 hours onscreen standard use isn’t great, but should get most users through the day. Also to consider is the fairly hefty cost of the phone.
Based on my review copy of the Omega, I can recommend this phone. It’s not perfect as we see in the summary above, but it excels with its camera and style.
I’m very much looking forward to what Blackview brings us in the future. Take a few minutes and peruse Blackview’s official site.
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