It appears that Elephone has started the new year in style with its marvelous flagships release known as Elephone U & U Pro. Considering their price tags, the two flagships appear to be flawless regarding the features, design, and performance. Elephone U is priced at $349.99. Meanwhile, Elephone U PRO is a bit expensive for a price of $419.99. However, the price difference is worth as U PRO performance is way better than Elephone U.

Also Read: Xiaomi Mi Box 4 & Mi Box 4C Released – Everything You Need To Know

Let’s get into the details of the two flagships to know them better:

Elephone U & U PRO – Is it Worth The Price?

Design & Appearance

Starting with the design, these two flagships have the same design and appearance despite the price difference. The design can be considered Elephone best till date. It’s the Samsung Infinity Display layout, and Elephone U & U PRO appears to master it.

Looking at the front, the phone is a perfect copy of Samsung Galaxy Note 8 and S8. Rather than using the 2.5D glass arc to save process cost, Elephone goes pure dual curved display. That is what makes these flagships special and somewhat expensive. The unique LED notification from the side curves are a must try for the people thinking of purchasing it.

Elephone U & U PRO are a hybrid of metal, glass, and plastic, similar to Vernee MIX 2. The rear reflects the glossy glassy surface which glitters in the eyes is a bit slippery but a premium holding experience. The surrounding frame is of pure metal and the rear underneath the glass is plastic. However, appearance wise it is great and reminds us of Elephone S7.

 

The dual cameras are aligned vertically at the top center along with Fingerprint reader and Dual LED at the back similar to Elephone S7. The rear is non-removable, and Elephone has kept it simple as we can only see the Elephone logo on the back, which acts as a notifying light and blinks.

Since we have the Type-C port, the 3.5mm audio jack has been canceled. Thankfully, the manufacturer provides the Type-C to 3.5mm audio with the accessories.

Elephone S7 was a great success because of its design. Elephone U & U PRO inherits the similar appearance which is the four-sided curved layout. However, it’s the trending 18:9 body ratio now as well as the full-screen layout.

Screen & Hardware

Like Samsung Galaxy S curved series lineup, Elephone U & U PRO uses a 5.99-inch FHD+ curved AMOLED flexible display. Sadly, we can’t test that bend and twist as the screen itself is covered with hard glass from back and front. So, the only good thing is that it’s edged from sides. I really hoped if they come up with the idea similar to LG G Flex or ReFlex. The only way to test the flexibility of the screen is to break the glass and then bend it.

As said before, the ratio is 18:9. Since the screen is AMOLED, we can expect a wide color gamut, high contrast, stunning details, and maximum viewing angles. It should be noted that the screen is coated with Gorilla Glass Protection 5 and supports maximum 10 Points Touch.

Moving to the performance, this is where we can easily differentiate the two flagships. Elephone U appears to be a low mid-end smartphone as the heart of the flagship is MediaTek 6763T (octa-core, 2.0GHz) or in other words, it’s MediaTek Helio P23. It’s an energy efficient SoC rather than high-performance SoC. So, we can’t expect a great performance, especially on FHD + display but a better battery life than U PRO.

Meanwhile, Elephone U PRO’s performance is totally on the next level. Thanks to the latest Snapdragon 660 SoC under the hood. The performance is almost twice that of Helio P23 covering mid-high-end section. Moreover, apart from this the PRO version also enjoys the wireless charging featuring added to it. Apart from these and battery, everything is same in both flagships, which also includes Face ID Unlock.

Both phones are available in two versions:

• 4GB + 64GB
• 6GB + 128GB

Expected AnTuTu Benchmark Result

• Elephone U (6GB version): 65,000 + points
• Elephone U PRO (6GB version): 100,000 + points

The only downside we found was that the flagship with powerful SoC has less battery capacity than the energy-efficient SoC one. Which means, Elephone U has 3620mAh battery. Meanwhile, U PRO has only 3550mAh. Thankfully, both phones support 15W Fast Charging, Elephone U (Fast Charge) and U PRO (Quick Charge). The phones reach 100% in only 1.5 hours.

Camera & Connectivity

Elephone U & U PRO features a dual 13MP rear camera (color + mono lens combination) with PDAF technology. The sensor isn’t mentioned, but from the samples, we can judge that its one of the latest Sony IMX sensors. Typically, Chinese smartphones don’t have a great night time camera pictures, but this one has a Super Night image mode which yields some great low light images, thanks to the ArcSoft algorithm.

Apart from this, the most stunning aspect of the camera is the Bokeh effect which adds a professional level blur to the background and a sharp focus on the object. Don’t believe us? Take a look at the camera samples.

Meanwhile, the front camera is 8MP featuring so-called AI funny effects. To be honest, the camera has some great effects but we can’t call them AI as the SoC and OS both aren’t AI support.

Regarding connectivity, the phone supports Dual SIM (Nano) as well as the Micro-SD card at the same time. The slot has three sections to use two SIMs and a TF card altogether. The 4G LTE is supported but sadly we have the typical Chinese bands (B1, 3, 5, 7, 8), so we suggest that you should check if the phone supports your carrier’s frequency and band. Moreover, we have the traditional WiFi 802.11 Dual Band as well as the advance Bluetooth 4.0. It also has NFC connectivity as well.

The phone has the following sensors:

• Gravity Sensor
• Fingerprint Sensor
• Hall Sensor
• Gyroscope
• E-Compass
• Proximity Sensor
• Ambient Light Sensor

As far as the Face ID is concerned, it’s not that much accurate as in iPhone X. Instead, it’s an entry-level one in Elephone U & U PRO.

Operating System

Luckily, Elephone software updates aren’t that much worse as other Chinese phone software updates.  Elephone U & U PRO are already running on the latest Android 8.0.

Like we said that the OS isn’t AI, so there’s no AI features as advertised (Funny AI effects). However, the OS is similar to that of stock Android which is light and fast. The sidebar at the left side is really incredible. Moreover, there are no Chinese or additional apps in the OS.

Specification Sheet

Model	U	U PRO
Dimensions	15.40 x 7.25 x 0.84 cm	15.40 x 7.25 x 0.84 cm
Weight	160 grams	166 grams
Material	Metal (Frame), plastic, rear glass	Metal (Frame), plastic, rear glass
Screen	5.99-inch, FHD+ 2160 x 1080p, 18:9	5.99-inch, FHD+2160 x 1080p, 18:9
Display	AMOLED, Capacitive (10-Points),Corning Gorilla Glass 5	AMOLED, Capacitive (10-Points),Corning Gorilla Glass 5
SoC	MediaTek MTK6763T, Octa Core, 2.0GHz	Snapdragon 660, Octa Core, 2.2GHz
RAM	4/6GB	4/6GB
ROM	64GB/128GB	64GB/128GB
MicroSD	Yes	Yes
Camera	13.0 MP + 13.0 MP rear 8MP front Features:PDAF, Dual LED flash, Funny effects, Professional level Blur, Bokeh mode	13.0 MP + 13.0 MP rear 8MP front Features:PDAF, Dual LED flash, Funny effects, Professional level Blur, Bokeh mode
Interface	2 x Nano SIM Slot,Micophone,Speaker,TF/Micro SD Card Slot,Type-C	2 x Nano SIM Slot,Micophone,Speaker,TF/Micro SD Card Slot,Type-C
Connectivity	2G, 3G, 4G, GPS, FM radio, Bluetooth 4.0, WiFi Dual Band	2G, 3G, 4G, GPS, FM radio, Bluetooth 4.0, WiFi Dual Band
Sensors	Ambient Light Sensor,E-Compass,Gravity Sensor,Gyroscope,Hall Sensor,Proximity Sensor	Ambient Light Sensor,E-Compass,Gravity Sensor,Gyroscope,Hall Sensor,Proximity Sensor
OS	Android 8.0	Android 8.0
Network	2G: GSM 1800MHz,GSM 1900MHz,GSM 850MHz,GSM 900MHz 3G: WCDMA B1 2100MHz,WCDMA B5 850MHz,WCDMA B8 900MHz 4G LTE: FDD B1 2100MHz,FDD B20 800MHz,FDD B3 1800MHz,FDD B5 850MHz,FDD B7 2600MHz,FDD B8 900MHz	2G: GSM 1800MHz,GSM 1900MHz,GSM 850MHz,GSM 900MHz 3G: WCDMA B1 2100MHz,WCDMA B5 850MHz,WCDMA B8 900MHz 4G LTE: FDD B1 2100MHz,FDD B20 800MHz,FDD B3 1800MHz,FDD B5 850MHz,FDD B7 2600MHz,FDD B8 900MHz
Battery	3620mAh, non-removable	3550mAh, non-removable
Features	Face ID, Fast Charge, NFC	Face ID, Fast Charge, Wireless Charging, NFC
Contents	Cell Phone: 1 Earphones Adapter: 1 Leather Case: 1 Power Adapter: 1 Screen Protector: 1 SIM Needle: 1 USB Cable: 1	Cell Phone: 1 Earphones Adapter: 1 Leather Case: 1 Power Adapter: 1 Screen Protector: 1 SIM Needle: 1 USB Cable: 1

Pros &  Cons

Pros

• Flexible Screen
• Full-Screen + Dual curved
• Curved AMOLED FHD Display
• Great Camera Effects and Samples
• SD 660 + 6GB RAM + 128GB ROM Combination
• Quick Charge + Wireless Charging (U PRO only)
• Android 8.0

Cons

• No 3.5mm audio jack
• No practical demonstration of the flex at all as the phone is covered with glass from front and back.
• Battery capacity distribution in both flagships (Elephone U 3620mAh battery, U PRO 3550mAh)
• Somewhat similar to the old Elephone S7

Our Verdict

Both phones certainly have some attractive features and cover a great price tag. However, the design is similar to the old Elephone S7 but Elephone seems to have mastered in it with the addition of the unique 18:9 ratio and full-screen display. We prefer U PRO because of the latest SD 660 SoC. However, both phones are a perfect balance of design, features, and hardware. However, the only downsides are the absence of 3.5mm audio jack and the price itself.

Sadly, we can’t test that bend and twist as the screen itself is covered with hard glass from back and front. So, the only good thing is that it’s edged from sides. I really hoped if they come up with the idea similar to LG G Flex or ReFlex. The only way to test the flexibility of the screen is to break the glass and then bend it.

Price & Availability

Right now there’s a promo going on of the product, you can buy Elephone U & U Pro for a discounted price of $349.99 and $419.99, respectively. Both phones are available in black and blue colors. Here’s the link to the store: