Mobiistar is a new smartphone brand that recently entered the Indian smartphone market and the first smartphone from the brand is the Mobiistar XQ Dual. The USP of the phone is that it comes with a dual camera setup on the front, and is priced very aggressively at Rs. 7,999. At this price, there are very few options, and at present, the ZTE Blade A3 (who knows about this?) is something that can somehow compete with the Mobiistar XQ Dual as per the specs. But, is this pricing justified by the features and specifications? Does the phone really click nice selfies or it’s built upon the ‘dual camera’ hype? Let’s find out in our MObiistar XQ Dual review.
Mobiistar XQ Dual Smartphone Review
Display and Design
The Mobiistar XQ Dual sports a 5.5 in Full HD IPS display having a resolution of 1920×1080 pixels. The aspect ratio is 16:9 and the color reproduction is great for full-screen video playback or gaming. The display is bright enough and produces vivid colors. The viewing angles are good and it is good enough under direct sunlight.
In terms of design, the Mobiistar XQ Dual comes with a metallic back build. It has a dual camera setup consisting of a 13MP+8MP sensor, just above the display, next to the earpiece along with a LED flash and just beside it there is the ambient light sensor and the notification LED.
Below the display, the capacitive navigation buttons are placed. On the left edge, there are the volume rockers and on the right, the hybrid SIM and microSD tray is placed. At the bottom, there is the loudspeaker grill, MicroUSB port, and microphone, while on the top, there is a 3.5mm headphone jack is placed on top. The 13-megapixel camera is on the back with dual-tone LED flash and the fingerprint scanner is placed just below the camera module. The phone is quite smooth and comfortable to hold, but sometimes it may feel a bit slippery, so using the case provided in the box is recommended.
Performance
The Mobiistar XQ Dual is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 processor, coupled with Adreno 505 GPU and 3GB of RAM. There is 32GB storage onboard, which can be expanded up to 128GB using a microSD card. When it comes to real life performance, there were no issues with multitasking that includes switching between Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, checking emails, using some payment apps like Tez and PhonePe, streaming apps like Amazon Music and watching videos on YouTube. However, in terms of gaming, the smartphone lagged a bit during Asphalt 8 and PUBG sessions which is fine as it’s purely a budget smartphone. However, casual games like Ludo King, 8 Ball Pool were running smoothly without lags.
Camera
The Mobiistar XQ Dual comes with a 13MP camera with f/2.0 aperture as primary, and on the front, there is a dual camera setup consisting of two different sensors – one 13MP primary camera with f/2.0 aperture and a secondary 8-megapixel 120-degree wide-angle lens with f/2.2 aperture.
In terms of shots taken using the rear camera in daylight, the photos were good and with a proper focus, the macro shots were actually quite better than expected. Here are some camera samples:
However, in terms of selfies, the Mobiistar XQ Dual is the best smartphone you can get at this price. Under good lighting conditions, the selfies are crisp. Mobiistar has gone for a secondary 8MP wide-angle lens, instead of a depth sensor so there is no bokeh effect, but the benefit of such a setup is that it allows you to fit more people into the frame and you don’t need a selfie stick anymore. Under very low lighting conditions also, selfies are good enough for posting on social media.
Software
The Mobiistar XQ Dual runs Android 7.1.2 Nougat out of the box with their own custom UI on top. The UI is quite similar to stock, no skins and the OS itself is stock and the launcher is itself easy to use for anyone. Since it has a “Star Launcher” inbuilt, not that I have any complaints with that, to get “Google Now” working on left swipe, I installed the “Google Now Launcher” which worked perfectly.
Also, I tested the navigation thoroughly, and it worked great. There is a battery charging protection feature, which prevents the overcharging of the phone. There isn’t much bloat on the device, and the phone has a Freezer app which lets users freeze apps and save power while speeding up the phone.
Other features: Fingerprint scanner, connectivity, and Audio
The fingerprint scanner is placed on the back at a position where a user will usually put his index finger. The scanner works fast and up to 5 fingerprints can be added. In terms of connectivity, the Mobiistar XQ Dual comes with 4G VoLTE support and both the SIM slots support 4G, however, at any instance, only one SIM will work on 4G while the other one will be on 3G. Other connectivity options include Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.1, GPS and USB OTG support. In terms of audio, the loudspeaker output is quite good and there is no distortion at full volume.
Battery
Mobiistar XQ Dual packs a 3000 mAh battery. With casual usage, it can easily last for more than a day and even with heavy usage, it survives a day. However, the Smart Power Saving and Ultra Power Saving battery modes can help the battery last through the end of the day.
Final Verdict
Mobiistar XQ Dual is a really good selfie-focused smartphone, priced at just Rs. 7,999, which indeed proves itself as a value for money device. The device offers smooth multitasking experience, quite good selfies and more. If wide angle selfies, decent performance, and battery life are the priorities, you can surely pick it up. It also qualifies as a good gift option for any gender because of its good looks and near to perfect display size.
