InFocus, the US-based company, recently launched EPIC 1 smartphone for Rs 12,999. It has a 16MP rear camera and is powered by a deca-core MediaTek Helio X20 processor. Let’s find out whether it’s worth the price or not.
But first, let’s have a look at the specs of the device –
| OS | Android 6.0 |
| RAM | 3 GB |
| Item Weight | 159 g |
| Product Dimensions | 15.3 x 0.8 x 7.6 cm |
| Item model number | Epic 1 |
| Connectivity | GSM,(850/900/1800/1900 MHz),3G,WCDMA,(2100/1900/850/900Â MHz),4G LTE,FDD,(B1/B3/B7/B5/B8),TD-LTE,(B38/B39/B40/B41),GPRS,EDGE,WiFi |
| Other Features | Dual SIM, GPS, Music Player, Video Player, FM Radio, A-GPS, G-sensor, Light sensor, Glonass, eCompass, Gyroscope, Hall sensor, E-mail |
| Camera features | 16 MP primary camera with PDAF, AIS, Object Tracking, Dynamic Auto Focus, Dual Tone Flash, Slow Motion Video recording;
8 MP Front Facing camera with f/1.8 aperture and Adaptive De-noise technology for low light |
| Form factor | Touchscreen Phone |
| Colour | Gold |
| Battery Power Rating | 3000 |
| Phone Talk Time | 14 Hours |
| Phone Standby Time (with data) | 300 Hours |
IN THE BOX
- Infocus Epic 1 handset
- Earphones
- Charger
- USB Cable 2.0 Type C
- User Manual and Warranty
DESIGN AND DISPLAY
The design of the InFocus EPIC 1 is quite aesthetic and ergonomic. The phone has a brushed metallic unibody, and the golden and white contrast gives it a premium touch. However, the phone is prone to slipping, and we recommend you to use a cover. The phone has a curved design which adds to the slim factor.
The side bezels are minimalistic and make the display look good. At the back, we have a 16MP rear camera along with Dual LED flash and fingerprint sensor.
There are USB Type-C port, primary microphone and the speaker grille at the bottom. A 3.5mm audio jack and the IR blaster resides at the top.
The power button and volume rockers are provided on the right side and on the left side there’s a hybrid slot that can house Micro/Nano SIM and/or MicroSD card.
The display is a 5.5” Full HD LTPS display with Corning Gorilla Glass protection. The display offers excellent viewing angles and brightness level. The sunlight legibility is average. The bezels around the display are very thin which makes the screen look bigger and better.
It also offers a Bluelight Filter option which lets you control it by 10%, 30%, 50% and 75% which can reduce the stress caused due to bluelight.
HARDWARE
- MediaTek Helio X20 processor
- Mali-T880MP4
- 3GB RAM
- 32GB of internal memory expandable up to 128GB
- 3,000 mAh battery
InFocus EPIC 1 comes with a Deca-core MediaTek Helio X20 processor with Mali-T880MP4 GPU and 3GB RAM. The processor might not be the most powerful processor’s out there but still manages to play most of the high-end games like Asphalt 8, Modern Combat 5 with minor frame drops. Though we noticed some major lags while the game was loading or while jumping from one app to another.
The internal storage provided is 32GB out of which 24GB is what you get for use. You can also extend the memory externally through a MicroSD card up to 128GB. There’s a fingerprint sensor located below the rear camera and is not the quickest out there. Most of the times it required 2-3 tries to unlock the device and the unlocking also takes approx 1 second which is too slow.
You get a 3,000 mAh battery which has a good backup and can easily power the phone for 1 full day. There’s a USB Type-C charging port given which supports fast charging as well.
It is a dual SIM (GSM and GSM) smartphone that accepts Nano-SIM. Connectivity options include GPS, WiFi, Bluetooth, Infrared, 3G and 4G (with support for Band 40 used by some LTE networks in India). Sensors on the phone include Compass Magnetometer, Proximity sensor, Gyroscope, Ambient light sensor and Accelerometer.
SOFTWARE
- Android 6.0 (Marshmallow)
- InLife UI 2.0 skin
The EPIC 1 runs on Android 6.0 Marshmallow with InLife UI 2.0 skin. InFocus has removed the app drawer, and all the icons are now present on the homescreen. The UI is not that attractive rather it looks boring and too simple.There’s a notification panel which is given as a dropdown menu and has all the usual shortcuts.
The phone has a lot of bloatware which cannot be uninstalled. Some of the pre-installed apps are Facebook, Flipkart, Amazon, Xploree, etc.
CAMERA
- 16MP rear camera with f/2.0 aperture
- 8MP front camera with f/1.8 aperture
- Supports PDAF and has modes like PIP
In camera department you get a 16MP rear shooter with a dual tone LED Flash and an 8MP front facing camera. The camera supports PDAF and the front camera has a f/1.8 aperture while the rear camera has f/2.0 aperture. The Camera has an interesting feature of PIP (Photo In Photo) mode in which you get a small frame of the image by front camera and a bigger one for rear camera which you can adjust accordingly.
Other features include AIS, Object Tracking, Dynamic Auto, Slow motion video recording, etc.
We noticed that the images look clear and sharp while holding the camera towards an object but as soon as the image is captured it becomes blurred and cloudy. This might be a bug in the phone, and we hope that it can be solved with a future software update. The same goes for the front camera as well.
THE UNBIASED VERDICT
The InFocus Epic 1 offers some decent hardware at a price of Rs 12,999. The MediaTek processor however lags while multitasking and the camera of the device are also not up to the level of competition the device has. The fingerprint sensor is also not the quickest, and there are better options in the market.
Though it has an aesthetic and ergonomic design and the display is also very good. It gets a tough competition from the Chinese brands like Honor, Huawei, LeEco, Lenovo, Moto, etc both in terms of the hardware and performance.
Disclaimer: The InFocus Epic 1 was a review device given to us in November 2016. For this review, we used this device for over a month as our secondary device with an active Vodafone 4G sim. Like most of our reviews, it’s a long term usage review.
