Umi Iron Pro smartphone

Rating: 5/5

Review:
A very good phone

I was sent this phone for review and, like its predecessor the Umi Iron, I like it very much. I have now tried several different Umi phones and I am impressed with their quality and the very good specifications for the price.  This Umi Iron Pro is actually very similar in build and specs to the Umi Iron (so there is a good deal of overlap between my review of the Iron and this one) but it has a few extra features – most notably in security and USB type-C.  It is only marginally more expensive than the Iron, so it's probably a better choice, although both are very good phones.

When reading this review, do bear in mind that I am in late middle age and that my use may not reflect yours. I don't game or tweet, for example, and I don't use data; I use the phone for calls and texts, music, checking email sometimes, some catch-up TV, occasional photos and occasional web browsing. This means that I cannot advise on comparisons, lots of technical specification and so on, but my take on the Iron Pro is this:

The packaging is very stylish and you get a charger, USB type-C lead for charging and data transfer, and a neat OTG lead. I think the phone itself is very attractive: it's slim, stylish and has a very nice, robust aluminium case with a rounded back which is very comfortable in the hand. The screen is excellent to my eyes; it's a generous 5.5" and a pleasure to use: bright, true colours and very tolerant of viewing angle. Video, TV catch-up and so on look great and everything works very nicely for me. It runs Android version 5.1, and with 3GB RAM everything seems very quick, smooth and pretty intuitive. The internal memory is 16GB and you can expand with a micro-SD card of up to 64GB capacity (I use a 32 GB and it works fine). Set-up was very easy, but there is no manual available. The quick-start manual is OK, access to SIM and micro-SD card slots is very easy and if you're familiar with Android the lack of a manual may not bother you, but for the more timid user like me it might be a drawback.

This is a dual-SIM phone, which can be a very handy feature, but note that the memory card and second SIM share a slot, so you can't have two SIM cards and a memory card installed at the same time.  The phone is 4G enabled, but doesn't support all bands, so if 4G data is important to you, ensure that it's compatible with your network.

Security is a big feature of the Iron Pro, with fingerprint and eye-scan unlocking, which work reasonably well for me.  Personally I'm pretty happy with the old PIN security, but I know a lot of users will like the biometrics.

Plenty of apps are pre-installed, including Google Play and new apps install very quickly and simply.  In use, everything I want works very well. Wi-fi connection was very straightforward as was syncing with my account. The battery lasts for several days with my use.  (It's not replaceable, by the way, which may be a drawback). The speakers aren't bad for smartphone speakers (which isn't saying much) and through headphones or an external speaker - both wired and via Bluetooth 4.0 - the sound is excellent. There's no NFC, but normal Bluetooth pairing is very quick and simple, and stable up to a decent range. The rear camera has a very good 13mp resolution and the front camera has a pretty impressive 8mp. I have found both to be fine, and other functions also seem very good.

I have been using the Umi Iron as my main phone for a few months now, and  I think it is a very stylish phone which does everything I want very well. This is very similar, with a few enhancements: it is simple to use, seems robust, it works well and has very good specs for this price.  I can recommend it warmly, certainly to fellow non-techies who want a decent smartphone which just does the job.