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CUBOT A20 – The SUPER FASHION smartphone that costs very little

The CUBOT company wanted to take a decidedly user-friendly path, that is, to present a smartphone that is absolutely cheap, but equipped with a feature that is not usually seen in this price range, promising an unmatched quality / price ratio. We have thoroughly tested the new CUBOT A20 and now we can tell you how it goes and whether it is worth focusing on it in the entry-level segment of the market.

[Worldwide] Cubot A20 Smartphone Android 14 12GB (4GB + 8GB Extension) + 128GB 90Hz 6,745" HD + Display Face ID 5100mAh Mobile Phone

140,34
88,41
 available
AliExpress
to January 30, 2025 5:33

unboxing

The unboxing experience is quite satisfying as it is complete to start using your purchase from the first minute. Going beyond these statements, inside the sales box we find the following equipment:

  • CUBOT A20;
  • Plastic film pre-applied to the display;
  • Tempered glass film to protect the display;
  • Wall power supply, with European socket and 5V - 2A / 10W max output;
  • Type-C charging and data transfer cable;
  • Pin for removing the SIM tray;
  • Transparent soft TPU cover with reinforced edges;
  • Quick Start Guide and Warranty Manual.

CONSTRUCTION AND AUTONOMY

CUBOT A20 is a budget smartphone even if it partly tries to hide it by offering a body made of polycarbonate with glass inserts, but above all by looking at the bump camera you realize you have in your hands a device that is decidedly unique in its genre and range. In fact, on the back to accompany the double optics and LED flash we find a small 1.83″ display, resolution 240 x 284 pixels, which will allow you to use the rear camera for selfie shots at the highest quality, but we can also manage music, view the battery charge status and read notifications as well as being able to answer incoming calls. Without infamy and without praise the oleophobic treatment of the body which partly guarantees an anti-fingerprint effect, even if in reality these are still impressed, while the profiles have a smooth and opaque workmanship. In any case, the grip is guaranteed even when used with a single hand, counting on dimensions of 169,35 x 77,8 x 9,55 mm for a weight of 214 grams, this justified by the presence of a large 5100 mAh battery, which supports 10W charging. Available in 3 colors: Black, Pink, Blue.

I have already mentioned it and therefore I will speak directly to you about autonomy, which is always guaranteed for more than a day. Personally, I managed to get to over 7 hours of active screen and still have a good percentage of battery available. This is certainly a point in favor of CUBOT A20 which could prove to be the best choice for all those who are not used to using the smartphone, taking home entire days without having to recharge. Using the supplied power supply, full charging occurs in about 2 hours.

Returning to the rear, the fingerprint sensor is missing, as has become the habit for some time now and therefore one would expect this to be housed below the power button that we find on the right edge of the smartphone, below the volume rocker. This is not the case, a serious shortcoming that makes the smartphone unsafe in the eventual use of banking apps and that will probably discourage any users from purchasing it. We can therefore unlock the device only with the classic PIN/Pattern or via Unlock Face, a technology that however is greatly affected by ambient lighting, losing efficiency in unfavorable situations.

On the left side instead we find the SIM tray, which can accommodate 2 nano-sized SIMs with 4G connection on both slots or a SIM card and a micro SD to expand the internal memory (maximum support 1TB), giving up the Dual SIM functionality. Furthermore, there is no eSIM. As for connectivity, I have never managed to connect to the 4G+ signal but only the traditional LTE, with peak speeds that do not exceed 60 Mbps, more than satisfactory in any case for internet browsing, downloads and more.

On the upper frame we find nothing, neither a second microphone for noise reduction during calls nor a 3,5 mm jack for headphones, while on the other side we find the main microphone, the Type-C input with OTG support but no video output and the mono speaker. No stereo sound, but overall the listening experience of TV series, videos and music in general was not disappointing, net of low frequencies not particularly present and a fairly generous maximum listening volume.

Unfortunately, the company has not invested much in attention to detail and in fact a plastic strip is clearly visible that separates the display from the back cover, which runs along the entire perimeter of the smartphone, but above all the plastic protective film on the display, pre-applied by the company, turned out to be of little value, but fortunately we can replace it with the glass one already supplied.

DISPLAY

Moving on to the front of the device, we find ourselves in front of a 6,745-inch IPS screen with HD + resolution (720 x 1600 pixels), 270 ppi, protected by a Panda Glass and a 90 Hz refresh rate. CUBOT A20 offers the possibility at software level to calibrate contrast and color temperature, but also to use dark mode, reading mode and night mode and a specific function for improving video viewing. We are not talking about a display that amazes, but from the point of view of color rendering, I can not complain, with a guaranteed and satisfying immersion of vision. Unfortunately, the certification of DRM Widevine L1 is missing, which would allow us to view HD content on streaming platforms, such as Netflix, in addition to the lack of support for HDR content. The screen cannot be turned on by double tapping but by lifting the phone itself. There is no notification LED.

In any case, the touch screen has always been quite fluid, while in the upper frame we find the ear capsule and the proximity and brightness sensors, the latter result perhaps a little too conservative, while below we have the presence of a drop notch that incorporates the selfie camera. Even the vision in direct light conditions is good, after all we are talking about an IPS whose defect is that of suffering from chromatic smudges with strong inclinations of the display. The proximity sensor, on the other hand, is physical and not virtual, making school to the many devices branded Redmi, Xiaomi and POCO, thus avoiding that when listening to voice notes and/or calls our cheek involuntarily touches random commands.

HARDWARE AND PERFORMANCE

Instead, to our great surprise, we do not find any kind of flaw on the CUBOT A20 when we delve into the topic of performance, guaranteed (for better or for worse) by a UNISOC T616 processor, an octacore solution with an ARM Cortex-A75 x 2 core and ARM Cortex-A55 x 6 core structure with a maximum clock of 1.95 GHz and a 12nm production process, alongside the ARM Mali-G57 GPU. The RAM uses the only available cut of 4 GB of the LPDDR4X type, expandable virtually by a further 8 GB, the minimum that can now be questioned even on entry-level devices, while the storage in our case is 128 GB of the UFS 2.1 type. A hardware combination that allows this entry-level device to reach a score of 308541 points on the well-known AnTuTu benchmark.

A hardware combination that might turn up your nose on paper, but that in everyday life convinces with full marks, indeed it goes well beyond being able to also manage gaming, with latest generation titles, giving up some graphic details but with a constant frame rate and above all without incurring slowdowns or overheating. CUBOT A20 is therefore not suitable for those who are used to using the smartphone in a frenetic way, but it must be said that this CUBOT A20 does not notice lag or hitches, offering a good user experience in all circumstances.

SOFTWARE AND CONNECTIVITY

We could make the same considerations for the software, updated to Android 14 with the July 2024 patch, but this situation will probably be forever. You have to take into account that the phone will most likely never be updated, except for some rare exceptions in the release of patches, if you are lucky. Apart from that, what did not convince me is the presence of the request for permissions in the use of the telephone dialer by the native camera app. In any case, we do not find replicated applications and the interface is practically stock, therefore easy to use for anyone. Another oddity to report is that the Instagram app from the Play Store is incompatible with the phone, therefore you will have to proceed with the installation of the app via APK, downloadable from third-party sources.

As for connectivity, CUBOT A20 uses a dual band WiFi module, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS with Galileo satellite connection but lacks FM radio and above all the presence of the NFC sensor which would have really made the difference.

PHOTO AND VIDEO

One aspect where you will certainly not be surprised but not too disappointed is the photographic sector and its relative performance also in the video field. We are talking about 2 optics on the rear, of which the main one with a 48 MP sensor with aperture f / 1.79 that uses 4 in 1 Pixel Binning and equipped with PDAF autofocus, while the other sensor is more of a marketing move than real utility, as it is a 0.3 MP module that performs the function of an auxiliary sensor for collecting and calculating the depth of field.

Videos can be shot at a maximum resolution of 1080p 30fps, but the lack of any form of stabilization, whether optical or digital, is particularly noticeable, considering the result is noticeably blurry. Even for photos, for a good result, you need to have a fairly steady hand, but overall the color management is convincing at least for daytime shots. In low light conditions, we have a strong dominant of digital noise with colors mixed together. Unfortunately, an ultrawide lens is missing, which would have at least offered a little something, but I must instead promote the bokeh effect, much better than many other smartphones on the market. Therefore, the presence of a night mode and automatic HDR do not save from insufficient or barely sufficient results.

The same considerations apply to the selfie camera, a 16 MP unit with f/2.45 aperture, which cannot go beyond shots that can be shared on social media, but forget about posting night selfies, as the virtual LED flash on the screen will be of no use.

[Worldwide] Cubot A20 Smartphone Android 14 12GB (4GB + 8GB Extension) + 128GB 90Hz 6,745" HD + Display Face ID 5100mAh Mobile Phone

140,34
88,41
 available
AliExpress
to January 30, 2025 5:33

PROJECTED IMPACT

CUBOT A20 has a decidedly attractive price, under 100 euros, ideal not only as a second phone, the so-called mule, but also for those people looking for an "all-purpose" smartphone, reliable in performance and rather fluid, without having gaming phone pretensions. Of course, the lack of security linked to unlocking via fingerprints weighs heavily in the final judgment, but overall we are talking about an entry-level smartphone that offers exaggerated autonomy and as a distinctive sign that of having a secondary display with many accompanying functions.

7.5 Total score
CUBOT A20

Let's face it, the CUBOT A20 is probably one of those smartphones that you don't feel the need for, but considering a very attractive selling price, we can certainly overlook some shortcomings.

CONFEZIONE
8.7
DESIGN AND MATERIALS
7.8
DISPLAY
7.5
HARDWARE
7.4
AUDIO AND RECEPTION
7
SOFTWARE
6.5
CAMERA
6
AUTONOMY
8.2
ERGONOMICS
6.6
USER EXPERIENCE
7.8
PRICE
9.1
PROS
  • BATTERY DURATION
  • SECONDARY DISPLAY
  • CONSTRUCTION OK
  • EXCELLENT PERFORMANCE
CONS
  • INCOMPLETE CONNECTIVITY
  • NO BIOMETRIC SENSOR
  • SOFTWARE THAT WILL PROBABLY NEVER BE UPDATED
Add your review
Emanuele Iafulla
Emanuele Iafulla

Nerd, Geek, Netizen, terms that do not belong to me. Simply myself, technology lover and provocative as Xiaomi does with his products. High quality at fair prices, a real provocation for the other most famous brands.

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