First looks: TP-Link Neffos C5 Max smartphone
First looks: TP-Link Neffos C5 Max smartphone
Overview
When someone mentions the TP-Link brand, you are likely to associate them with routers, modems and range extenders. Did you know that the company ventured into the smartphone market earlier this year with not one, but three smartphone models?
The motivation behind this is to establish an ecosystem of smart, connected devices and they mean serious business as TP-Link recently opened its first showroom and service center in Singapore.
We had the opportunity to test out one of the smartphone models, the C5 Max which happens to be the model with the best specs. Here's our first impressions of the C5 Max smartphone:
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Design & Handling
Despite its 5.5-inch form factor, the C5 Max actually feels quite light in usage thanks to the plastic chassis. Although it's not the thinnest or lightest, TP-Link made the C5 Max comparable to other devices in its class. For example, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 is a hair shorter (150mm vs 152mm) and thinner (8.65mm vs 9.95mm) than the C5 Max.
The matte plastic rear cover gives the C5 Max a grippy feel, which makes it unlikely to slip out of your hands. It's removable too, allowing you to access the dual-SIM card slots and microSD memory card slot. Both SIM card slots support the micro-SIM standard and 2G/3G/4G networks. Having said that, the C5 Max is only able to support LTE Cat 4 download speeds of up to 150Mbps.
You can access the volume controls and power buttons on the right side of the device, and the metallic buttons provide decent tactile feedback. The 3.5mm headphone jack is found on the top left side while the micro-USB port is situated at the bottom. Unlike ASUS, Elephone and Xiaomi, TP-Link opted for on-screen navigation buttons on the C5 Max.
Software
The C5 Max runs on Android 5.1 Lollipop with a very light customized interface . Unlike the conventional Android home screen, there is no app drawer on the C5 Max which means that you can view and access your apps by swiping between the different home screens. There are some surprisingly neat features you can find on the C5 Max such as:
Accessing different folders with a swipe
Instead of exiting one folder to return to the home screen and tapping on another folder, you can simply swipe left or right in the folder view. This may be a minor feature, but it saves you that few seconds of scrolling and finding the other folders you want to access.
Turbo Download
To help you download big files (at least 20MB or more), TP-Link has a feature called Turbo Download which enables the C5 Max to utilize both Wi-Fi and mobile networks at the same time. A similare feature, Download Booster, can also be found on some Samsung's flagship mobile devices.
System Management
Users who like to have full control over their devices will love this feature - System Management. It consists of 6 options which are Apps Manager, Boost, Battery Saver, Data Saver, Permissions and Notifications.
Apps Manager will let you know which apps have not been used for a period of time and you may want to remove them to free up more storage space. Boost will clean up memory space so that your phone can run smoother. Battery and Data saver features are pretty self-explanatory while Permissions and Notifications give you finer control over how apps function on the C5 Max.
Imaging, Storage and Other Specs
The C5 Max has a 13-megapixel rear camera with f/2.0 aperture and dual-LED flash. On the front is a 5-megapixel camera with an 85° wide-angle lens. On the software aspect of imaging, you can find several options such as an Intelligent mode which adjusts contrast, colors and lightning for 8 different scenes and 8 filters.
In terms of storage, the C5 Max only comes with 16GB internal storage space although you can boost that to 48GB with a microSD card (32GB max supported). After installing the app updates, you are likely to get about 8.16GB of available storage space out of the box.
Due to cost considerations, the C5 Max is equipped with the MediaTek MT6573 octa-core 1.3GHz processor and 2GB RAM. This is sufficient for basic day to day usage. Interface navigation seemed smooth during the period of our testing.
Price and availability
The C5 Max is available at all major phone resellers at a retail price of S$249. At this price point, it's in a difficult spot as there are better options like the ASUS ZenFone Max and the better equipped Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 for just a little more. Unless you're a hardcore TP-Link fan or willing to give the new entrant a try, it's tough to recommend TP-Link Neffos C5 Max on its own over the competition.