ZUK Z1 Review

ZUK, pronounced as Zee-You-Kay, has entered the country with the Z1 as its initial offering. Equipped with a Snapdragon 801 processor, 3GB of RAM, and a 4100mAh battery with Cyanogen in tow, it is now in the running against a lot of smartphones that offer similar specs at the same price range. Is it Juan’s next bang-for-the-buck smartphone? Let’s find out.

Parts of our Hands-on and First Impressions were integrated into the review.

Design and Construction

The handset reminds us of a hybrid mix of Samsung Galaxy (with the front button layout) with the iPhone’s metal frame, which is common in some phones nowadays.

There are also two capacitive keys that emit a dot of light when pressed, a multicolored LED notification light, and the home key which has the U-Touch fingerprint scanner. The volume and lock rocker keys are at the right, while the SIM card tray can be ejected from the top-left.

The Z1 is equipped with a USB-C port at the bottom. Also found here are antenna strips that feed signals into the phone. At the top sits the 3.5mm audio port, and the speaker grill and the USB-C port are at the bottom.

Even at 5.5 inches, it’s not that hard to hold and navigate even with just one hand due to its slightly arched non-removable back. The front panel has thin side bezels and present a good screen-to-body ratio. Given its unique software, it’s also easier to navigate around, which we’ll explain later in the article.

The Z1 doesn’t offer anything fancy when it comes to design. Our unit, donning a pure white hue, looks simple and clean, which might look elegant for some but a bit generic for others. It’s not a standout, but it’s not something you’d pass for either.

The only gripes that we encountered are during the times when we opt to take screenshots and swipe our fingers in the sensor, which sometimes require two hands to do the job done. It’s also noteworthy that the white version of this handset is covered entirely in glossy polycarbonate, save for the metal frame and the glass front. As a result, the handsets gets a lot of fingerprint smudges, which might need a lot of cleaning especially when you hold the phone a lot.

Next Page: Display and Multimedia, Camera, OS, UI, and Apps