First Impressions: as the BQ has reinvented itself with the Aquaris U – Leak

For the first time in its history, the HRC launched on the same day, in Lisbon and Madrid, as their new equipment BQ Aquaris U. Rodrigo del Prado gave the motto: the purpose of the brand continues to be to democratize the access to technology.

in This sense, the range Aquaris U don’t reposition the brand, but renews the segment of the input range where the Aquaris M and And already gave evidence of fatigue, aesthetic and technological.

it Is an effort in the front that can help the BQ to recover ground in the face of Chinese competitors whose aggressiveness in the European market is growing. So the three BQ Aquaris U are a true leap generational, compared with the previous devices of the brand, punctuated by design more modern and benefits promising.

The Leak had the opportunity to get to know a little better the three devices.

technical Characteristics

THE BQ Aquaris U Plus features a sensor. Fingerprint.

All three of the BQ Aquaris U arrive with screens of 5 inches HD, and base models with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage.

The big difference is in the processors, with the BQ Aquaris U Lite to bring a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 425, and the models Aquaris U and U Plus the come equipped with slightly more powerful Snapdragon 425 with a more interesting Adreno 505.

Differences also in the chambers, with the Plus to bring a camera of 16MP Samsung, with the BQ Aquaris U get with a sensor Omnivision 13MP. Both have autofocus detection phases. Finally, the BQ Aquaris U Lite comes with an 8MP camera Omnivision, which seems to have only focus by contrast.

In the three models, the front camera is of 5MP.

Also common to the three models is the traditional LED notifications BQ.

THE BQ Aquaris U Plus distinguishes itself from other by the presence of the fingerprint reader, while the Aquaris U is the only of the three with NFC.

All three models are dual SIM is have a battery of 3,080 mAh. Rodrigo del Prado, justified the absence of batteries with fast charging: the lower efficiency would mean a smaller capacity. The option was then for a greater capacity, which in theory void the area the need for fast charging in any way.

Design

The design of Aquaris U is rounded and elegant.

The design of the BQ Aquaris U is the most obvious difference compared to the previous Aquaris. In general, the finishes of the three devices seemed to be very well made.

The Aquaris U Plus receive the big highlight in terms of design, with the rear entirely in metal with the obvious exception of the extremities in plastic for network effects to the antennas.

Although the rounding of the back is something consistent with the price of the device, at least the finishes are quite positive and the aesthetics of the camera with the finger print sensor just below it is decidedly modern.

The two Aquaris U and U Lite swap the metal for plastic and what you lose in touch, gain in homogeneity of traits. The sides merge into the curvature of the back to a phone that knows well in the hand and without interruptions or abrupt angles that cut the sensation.

a Detail interesting: the switch to not muffle the sound.

In the three models, the speaker moves to the rear, after many years at the base, and one of these details that evil note, but that make all the difference, there is a tiny high, which prevents that the sound mutes when can the Aquaris to a surface. Taking into account the bulge of the camera, this small high also gives greater stability to the device, once landed.

ahead, the focus is very obviously for the keys capacitativas at the base of the screen. Replicating the five fingers logo of the BQ, they release space on the screen, although they may confuse some users by the absence of the square and the triangle. If the positions of the sides of the keys are so well enshrined that the discomfort will inevitably be minimum.

The screen is an IPS LCD with HD resolution and, in principle, 400 nits, will be very meritorious in daily use.

Finally, the BQ Aquaris U Plus is the first Aquaris is available in “golden” version. The white of the front, in this case, received a worked something metallic to play better with the tom champagne of the rear end.

Usage

The camera of 16MP BQ Aquaris U Plus surprises positively.

The BQ Aquaris U mark the final divorce between the BQ and the MediaTek, after several issues that prevented the update of previous devices for Android versions more recent.

Thus, the three devices come with Android Marshmallow with a planned update to the Nougat. The processors, this time, are Qualcomm. In the case of the Aquaris U Lite, we have a Snapdragon 425, and a Snapdragon 430 for the Aquaris U Plus and the U.

once More, Rodrigo del Prado, justified the option by the need to keep the price reasonable without compromising on the benefits. In fact, there are presently on the market devices with older processors.

In the short experience that we had with the devices, they all work with relative fluidity. The BQ Aquaris U Plus, in particular, responded well to requests, but it will be necessary to see how the processor behaves with higher loads.

A major highlight goes to the app photographic renewed and that, according to del Prado, you will be part of the future BQ. The app is simple and complete, with full manual mode and good responsiveness. The focus promises to work well in all but extreme conditions, and the image quality with good light is excellent: good shades and textures to spare.

Conclusion

The BQ Aquaris U are a hard-hitting letter of the BQ in a segment of fierce competition. Their prices, starting at €149,90 for the Aquaris U Lite, going for €179,90 the Aquaris U, and arriving at €209,90 for the version of 2GB BQ Aquaris U Plus may be an excellent differentiator.

The devices are available for purchase as early as next Friday, the 30th of September, from the site of the BQ. The physical stores may take something more to dispose of Aquaris. The only confirmed date was the day October 06, for the Average Markt.