The Umidigi A7 Pro is a mid-level Android smartphone by what’s now a popular Chinese brand Umidigi. It features an exciting blend of premium design and mid-level specifications at a drop-dead affordable price. Premium design, affordability, and an above-average spec-sheet are the dream of the typical budget smartphone shopper. But what corners did Umidigi cut to achieve this holy grail of smartphone making. Read on, I’ll tell you in a bit:
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Umidigi A7 Pro – Performance and spec-sheet
The Umidigi A7 Pro was designed with the average smartphone user in mind, and nowhere is that fact more apparent than in the hardware department. This phone is powered by a capable (but outdated) Mediatek Helio P23 octa-core processor with a max clock speed of 2.0GHz. This works in tandem with an ARM Mali-G71 MP2 GPU, and everything feeds off 4GB of LPDDR4x RAM. On the storage front, you can either get the Umidigi A7 Pro in the 64GB or 128GB format.
These are all moderately large numbers for a sub 50,000 Naira phone, and it goes without saying that it’s the right recipe to handle routine Android tasks without so much as a hint of lag. Light gaming, routine multitasking, internet browsing, social media usage; everything that falls under the usage habits of the typical smartphone user, should run on this phone without any issue.
It should also take on the beefier applications if they’re at low to mid settings, but if you crank it too hard with HD settings on games like PUBG and Fortnite, then the performance dip will show.
AnTuTu benchmark
On the AnTuTu benchmark, the phone registers a healthy 112,000 points. That’s above both the Xiaomi Redmi 9C and the Realme C11 for context.
Umidigi A7 Pro – Design and build quality
The looks department is where the Umidigi A7 Pro really stands out as a budget smartphone. Unlike competitor offerings from brands like Tecno and Infinix, the Umidigi A7 Pro features an all-glass back and a metal frame.
The finish is, in simple terms, lustrous and sophisticated (for the price). There’s a camera bump at the back. On the sides, you’ll find a solid clicking volume rocker, power button, and a sim tray. Down at the bottom, there’s a speaker grille, a USB 3.0 port (yes, the Umidigi A7 comes out of the box with USB 3.0), and a 3.5 mm headphone jack.
Umidigi’s trademark styling
At the front of the Umidigi A7 Pro is a teardrop notch that headlines what’s all in all, a very standard looking display. Edges are quite visible, and there’s a chin too. It’s not the sleekest phone from the front, but there’s no arguing the fact that it feels very well built and sturdy. Part of that feeling is down to the sheer weight of this device. Without any protective casing, the Umidigi A7 Pro weighs a hefty 212 grams. You’re going to feel it in your jean pockets, but with some getting used to, this shouldn’t be a problem.
If you want the Umdigi A7 Pro, you can get it in either the Cosmic Black or Ocean Blue colour variants.
Umidigi A7 Pro – Display quality
The Umidigi A7 Pro display is a Full HD Plus display with a resolution of 2340 x 1080 pixels and a pixel density of 403 PPI. Again, this is well above what most competitors in the budget phone category are offering. It’s especially impressive when you consider the fact that the phone is still cheaper than these competitors. The Tecno Camon 15, for instance, only has a 1600 x 720 pixels HD display with a pixel density of 266 PPI despite costing about 15,000 Naira more.
Display panel
The display on the Umidigi A7 Pro is an IPS panel, so pictures are more of real than they’re vibrant. Still, it’s fun and pleasant to look at. Viewing angles are also decent. It’s not the brightest screen out there, but you won’t have too many problems using it under direct sunlight.
Umidigi A7 Pro – Camera
The camera department is where the Umidigi A7 Pro sort of lags behind its competitors. At the back, you get a quad-camera setup with a 16MP primary camera, an 8MP Macro lens, a 5MP depth sensor, and another 5MP macro lens.
The 16MP main camera sensor falls behind competitors like the Camon 15, which has a 48MP sensor. The aperture size of f/1.8 is, however, very good and on par with what you’ll get for most smartphones at this price point. Overall, it’s not a shabby camera setup. While you do lack top-of-the-line features like optical image stabilization (you still get digital image stabilization), images come out pretty neat and crispy.
On the front, the Umidigi A7 Pro has a single 16MP f/2.0 shooter. Again, not the best out there but certainly capable of taking clear and sharp looking selfies.
Video quality
You don’t get 4K video recording from this device. At full throttle, the Umidigi A7 camera puts out 1080p videos at 30fps. With the slow-mo mode fps bump to 120fps to provide for richer video playback.
Umidigi A7 pro – Battery life
4150 mAh, that’s what you get if you decide to buy the Umidigi A7 Pro. And while it’s not the best out there in terms of sheer capacity, it is still a sizable battery to have in a phone. With moderate usage, the phone should be scrape through a whole day.
No fast charging
Umidigi bundles a 10W charger in the box. Although the phone comes with a USB C port, there’s surprisingly no support for fast charging. Still, charging the phone to 100% shouldn’t take that long with the 10W charger – probably no more than 2 hours.
What’s not to like about the Umidigi A7 Pro
If you’ve read through the lines of this review, you’d have spotted the corners Umidigi cut to keep the A7 Pro at a sub 50,000 Naira price point. But, to emphasize for those who’ve missed it – it’s in the camera and battery department.
It’s still better than the rest
Compared to the competition from Tecno, Infinix, and the likes, Umidigi has managed to tone down the numbers in those areas a bit. The Tecno Camon 15, for instance, comes with a 5000 mAh battery compared to the 4150 mAh on the Umidigi A7 Pro. However, given that the A7 Pro is a massive upgrade over these other phones in many other areas, it still stands out as the better deal. You get a better screen, better build quality, and an overall more modern phone – to put that into context, the Umidigi A7 Pro ships with USB-C as standard.
So overall, the only noteworthy drawback with the Umidigi A7 Pro is the lack of support for fast charging. Spec-wise it is a more rounded and modern option than its competitors, and design-wise it features a build that mimics what you’d find in the 100k plus smartphone range.
Conclusion
The A7 Pro is all shades of value for money. If you’re willing to give up fast charging, it really is one of the best-built budget Android smartphones available on the market.
