Early this year, Mione, a phone manufacturer, with an assembling plant in the Ugandan city of Mbale unveiled the first-ever locally-assembled smartphone branded U1.
So, you’ve probably already heard quite a bit about the Mione U1. You know of its design, of its media tek Helio G85 processor, 12GB RAM with 256GB storage, 108MP AI-rear Camera camera, and its 50MP main camera. I’m also sure you know of its 32MP selfie camera and its 5000mAh battery that fast charges at 18W.
In this review, I will be letting you know my thoughts on the device in general, and trying to show you what you can expect from the device. I am going to keep it as short and straight to the point as possible.
Design:
A good phone must feel nice on the hand. Whether it is light or heavy, the important bit is that it feels nice. Mione has gone with this leather look and feel, and it feels nice. Different from many phones out there right now. It is not the first leather-feeling phone, obviously, but it is Mione’s first in the first assembled phone in Uganda, and you will love it. The problem is that you will most likely slap a case on the device. Now I just wish they made the case also leather-like. But it’s a good free addition to the box, can’t complain.
A good phone must also have a good display. This has a 90Hz 6.82 HD puch Hole display. It is a good display. But my advice is to remove that plastic screen protector included and get something better since it scratches very easily.
Mione went for a side fingerprint and it is fine. Speedy, and accurate. But other manufacturers have already moved to in-display fingerprint scanners. The next edition should do better.
Overall in terms of looks, I believe we can agree that Mione did a good job. And that this is a good-looking rectangular slab phone.
Power:
The other thing that makes a good device worth it, is power. And power is something that can be talked about when discussing every bit of a phone. From the cameras to the looks, to the performance. But in this section, I’ll only be touching on power performance and the battery.
Mione’s 5000mAh battery with 18W fast charging is just apt. It’s not very crazy fast charging, but neither is it annoyingly slow. However, they should consider moving it to 25W support charging in the next edition. Manufacturers like Tecno have already upgraded to 45W charging speed. With its, 5000mAh, you can expect more than 16 hours of battery life, if you’re heavier social media scroller with some YouTube and some music throughout the day. Abasic users can expect one day of battery life.
Its processor is good. You will be impressed with the smoothness of switching between apps (of course when not very demanding apps are being used), and the way things scroll and animate, with much thanks to the very smooth 90Hz display.
Mione has done good work to have work to make the display feel and look better, with both the refresh rate and the software.
Software:
This is the main thing that makes a phone a hit or a miss. Mione banks on HiOS to power its Ugandan assembled U1 phone. Expect to get some annoying notifications, and a shelf on the home screen full of stuff you don’t ever need. The phone has a lot of unnecessary builtin apps that are of less importance. Please, consider deleting or disabling every app you don’t know or never plan on using.
Once you remove the unnecessary apps, and customize the phone with a new selection of wallpapers, fonts, and theme options, you will get quite a good experience with the device.
Mione should provide users with software updates.
Cameras:
Among other features, the U1 boasts of 108MP+VGA AI Dual Rear camera and a 6.82 HD +MH Punch Hole Display that gives the user breathtaking visuals.
The device is powered by a 90Hz refresh rate, ensuring swift multitasking and smooth performance in various applications. Mione U1 is perfect for photography enthusiasts and users seeking a combination of modern camera capabilities and durability. The output is quite okay, and you will like many of the pictures taken using this phone.
You can actually, shoot slow-mo videos and HDR and ultra-steady videos capped at 1080p.
Even though I believe there’s work that needs to be done with the processing, since the hardware is really good, I think this is a better camera setup on a U1 device. With its AI-powered capabilities and a few tricks, this is a very capable camera system.
Conclusion
Generally, if you are moving from a lower-end device – whichever the brand – this will be a positive upward shift. You will be able to do more with the phone. However, if you’ve used a higher-end or upper-mid-range phone, you will find some things to complain about with the user interface. And only the user interface, because the hardware, the feel, and the performance will be just as you’ve experienced with other phones, if not better.
