Cubot KINGKONG Mini 4G Review – Reviving The 4-inch Rugged Category

Affordable and as strong as a gorilla, this is how Cubot introduces its new rugged mobile, the Cubot Kingkong Mini 4G. With 3GB of RAM and a quad-core processor, this mobile has some input range specifications, but its real appeal is in the high resistance that gives its thick waterproof and shockproof external housing, which allows using this Smart phone under any condition. Today we want to share with you a Cubot Kingkong Mini 4G Review, showing the features of this device, so that you know what this rugged mobile offers.

Next, we are going to talk about all the features and specifications found inside this smartphone.

Cubot KINGKONG Mini 4G Review – Reviving The 4-inch Rugged Category

Cubot KINGKONG Mini 4G Review – Design & Display

Talking about the design of the device, in its front part there is a protective film, where you can easily read the internal specifications that this smartphone has. The upper and lower bezels are thick, but the left and right bezels are narrow and elongated, so there is no stagnation. As shown in the image, the upper bezel has an 8-megapixel front camera on the left and sensors on the right. Also, the bottom is closed and has a speaker.

The back of this phone has a great look that is able to fully represent the appearance of a rugged smartphone. There is a part of the camera at the top, which is a dual lens and flash light configuration. In addition to that, there is a maintenance gate located at the bottom that can be easily extended by removing the two screws with the “+” shaped screwdriver included in the package. In the middle, there is a plate marked “CUBOT”, and in general, the surface is a bit rough and the texture is very good.

Continuing with its design, there are three spaces where both SIM cards and microSD cards can be inserted, since an entry for nano SIM / microSD / nano SIM cards is located on the left side of the device. The assembly method is easy, although the difficulty is that it takes a little time to access this specific place. I think it is good because it is not a part that is accessed frequently, but it is an impression that it is in trouble at the moment.

A USB Type-C port is positioned at the bottom of the main unit, which has a rubber cover that protects it from dust and water. The part that connects the body and the lid is made with incredible firmness, and it seems that it will not break unless you use it by force. In addition, it is difficult to remove the part where the terminal and the lid come into contact with a fairly tight construction, but it is a fortress that gives a sense of security that it is difficult to get water and dust drops.

On the other hand, the screen of this Cubot smartphone is equipped with a 4.0 inches IPS liquid crystal, and a resolution that is QHD + (1,080 x 540 pixels). The aspect ratio of this screen is 18: 9, and although it has a size of only 4 inches, the images and words look great, without blurring. Also, this screen is very clear and the viewing angle is wide and comfortable because it is IPS, and while there is no screen calibration function, there are no unnatural parts such as colors that are unnecessary. The touch reaction is not bad either and there was no delay, although I think it is better to take off the protective film if you are worried about this.

Cubot KINGKONG Mini 4G Review – Hardware & Performance

In relation to its hardware, the CPU that this smartphone has is equipped with Helio A22 quad-core MediaTek. The RAM that is inside is 3GB and the internal storage is 32GB, so you do not have the ability to install so many games or applications in general, but you do have the ability to worry about basic use, like text, browser, calls, etc. With regard to storage, if you think it is not enough, it supports expansion with microSD.

In relation to its operation, its score obtained by this MediaTek CPU was 74,165. It was lower than the upper Helio P22 model and taller than the Snapdragon 430. Helio A22 has few adoption examples, but since it is a specification close to Snapdragon 435, I think the result is reasonable. The games may feel heavy since the GPU performance is not high. On top of that, switching between pages was a bit slow.

Cubot KINGKONG Mini 4G Review – Camera & Samples

As for the camera, the rear camera can take some photos of satisfactory quality, but the front camera is not enough to enjoy a selfie. First, there is only one shooting mode, “Standard”; before opening the camera, I thought it was a model that focused on the camera even in the input class because it has a dual lens, but the configuration elements and others are the minimum. However, if HDR is activated, I think it will be possible to take relatively beautiful pictures.

The setting items are only the self-timer, the screen size, the shutter sound on / off and the flicker prevention function, plus HDR on / off is in shooting mode. Also, the focus was on the building sign (in the picture, “TOKYO MIDTOWN HIBIYA”), but the other parts were blurry. Especially, portrait mode is not used, but it may be due to the dual lens.

At night, there is no night mode, but I turned on HDR and shot. I tried to focus on the contact lens sign in the center of the image, but it was difficult to adjust and was blurry. Naturally, I couldn’t shoot very well without the surrounding light. The close-ups are of good quality. It is not very high quality, but captures the focus without blurring. Even the closest ones have some suspicious parts, but there is no shortage.

There is no prominent part of the camera, but there are few parts where the quality is clearly low, so if you take it out and leave the situation there, there should be no problem.

Cubot KINGKONG Mini 4G Review – Internal Features

This Smartphone comes with some pre-installed applications. Some setting items are installed as an app, such as an update app and face authentication unlock like a Chinese terminal. Other than that, basic Google apps such as Google Play were installed. Gestures cannot be turned on by all operations because this phone works with Android 9.0, but it is compatible with switching apps by swiping the home key. You can also change the position and add a key to pull out the notification panel. The launcher application “Quickstep” is installed, and it seems to be no different from the usual “Launcher3“.

In the face unlock application, you can register face information and set whether to vibrate if it fails. I think that it is unnecessary in the application because it can be accessed from the setting item, but depending on the OS version it does not exist in the item, so I think that it should be increased in other products. The accuracy of face recognition installed in this product is not very high, so I think that it is good to use it only with the assistance of PIN and password. The time it takes for the home screen to appear is very short and not noticeable.

Cubot KINGKONG Mini 4G Review – Speaker

Talking about the speaker, it is provided at the lower back. In simple terms, it is a speaker that is easy to hear. The overall quality is not very high, and I think it’s good to have a speaker function, but the voice of the video is easy to hear. Other background music and sound effects were sparse, and I had the impression that it was somewhere far away.

Cubot KINGKONG Mini 4G Review – Battery Life

As for the time of activity, I never felt short in my use. However, this time, the size was small, so I didn’t use it as a main phone, but when I came out, I used it just to check the weather and received notifications. It provides approximately 2 days of use, even if it is not charged, although I believe that the actual use time is approximately 4-5 hours, but the departure time was long. Since it does not decrease significantly during standby mode, it is the impression that if you only wait, it will keep it for 3 days.

However, I tried to use Twitter for about an hour, but since its battery was reduced by almost 10%, I think if you use it as a main phone, it may not reach the day of use. Regarding the charging time, it seems that it supports a fast charge, but it could be charged in a short time because this battery is only 2000mAh.

Pros

• Tough and durable
• Good screen
• Affordable
• Good autonomy
• Face unlock

Cons

• It does not support fast charging

Our Verdict

As the name implies, the KINGKONG Mini has a more than resistant case and a small size. Having said that, although it does not have a prominent feature because it is an entry phone, it feels very easy to use, since it is easy to store in your pocket and have it as a secondary phone. Although the size of its screen is 4 inches, which is unusual among smartphones that are getting bigger, it is a bit confusing, but you can say that the ease of handling small things is a model that can be recommended.

Price & Availability

Concerning their market price, this phone is available in the AliExpress and Amazon online stores next to an incredible price of around $98 to $110, and by clicking on the next purchase button you can purchase it immediately.

Cubot KINGKONG Mini 4G Review – Reviving The 4-inch Rugged Category

Summary

As the name implies, the KINGKONG Mini has a more than resistant case and a small size. Having said that, although it does not have a prominent feature because it is an entry phone, it feels very easy to use, since it is easy to store in your pocket and have it as a secondary phone. Although the size of its screen is 4 inches, which is unusual among smartphones that are getting bigger, it is a bit confusing, but you can say that the ease of handling small things is a model that can be recommended.

Design & Display

Hardware & Performance

Camera & Samples

Internal Features

Speaker

Battery Life

Reader Rating93 Votes

Pros

Tough and durable

Good screen

Affordable

Good autonomy

Face unlock

Cons

It does not support fast charging

4

Total Rating

Where to buy?

Gearbest (Best Price)