A few years ago it would have been impossible to find too many true blue Indian companies on top of the mobile sales charts. Those were the days when Nokia held sway in the ‘feature’ phone market and brands like Sony had a sizeable market share. Intex is among a new band of Indian brands like Micromax and Lava who have made a serious impact, especially in the sub Rs 10,000 segment, where there’s more action than a ‘Kung Fu’ film. The Aqua Ace sits at the top of the Intex smartphone tree and is a key device as the brand tests the Rs 10,000 plus segment. But does it bring enough to the party?
The first thing you will notice about the Aqua Ace is its feather light form factor. The device weighs just 121g and is incredibly thin – 6.7 mm. The Gorilla Glass back lends the device a premium touch but also makes it a tad difficult to grip. Intex has opted for a plastic rim while the grille at the bottom is reminiscent of the iPhone 6 design. It’s not path breaking design but the lightweight form is a positive. There’s also a flip case bundled in the box. It’s certainly not pretty but the transparent window on the front of the cover allows you to use your device without flipping open the cover.
The 5-inch display is one of the disappointing aspects of the device. 1080x720 pixels with 294 ppi is underwhelming at a time when quite a few budget devices have switched to HD displays with 400 plus ppi. A screen to body ratio of 66.5% also means there is quite a bit of wasted real estate. We’re a little torn about the 13MP camera – outdoor shots in ambient light look good until you zoom in, revealing slightly grainy results. It’s the same
with indoor shots where images are grainy. While the primary shooter might just cut it (given the price point) we were not impressed with the selfie cam even on HDR mode.
The Intex Aqua Ace is powered by a Mediatek MT6735 1.3GHz quad-core processor – the same chipset in the Gionee F103 that we just tested. The key difference is that the Aqua Ace boasts 3GB of RAM under the hood (the F103 has 2GB). The device delivers acceptable results for routine tasks but might not be your ‘go to’ device for intense gaming. The Aqua Ace clocked 3478 on our PCMark score, in the same league as the ASUS ZenFone 2 Laser (ZE500KL) and the Xiaomi Mi4i, which are also coincidentally in the same price band. The corresponding AnTuTu benchmark score was 27200.
There are two 4G SIM slots on the left spine, a Micro SD slot that is located just above the power key, and a volume rocker on the right spine of the device. The Aqua Ace comes with 16GB onboard memory that can be expanded up to 128GB. Battery life is clearly one of the device’s strengths. The 2300mAh battery comfortably lasted us more than a whole day at work with a mix of 4G and Wi-Fi, WhatsApp usage, camera and videos for about 30 minutes, and close to two hours of talk time.
AT A GLANCE
What we liked
- Lightweight form factor
- Decent battery
What we didn't like
- Subpar selfie camera
- Average display
Key Specs
- Processor: Mediatek MT 6735 (1.3 GHz) Quad-core
- Memory: 3GB RAM , 16GB internal memory (Expandable up to 128 GB)
- Camera: 13 MP primary with l LED Flash, 5MP front-facing
- Connectivity: 4G Dual SIM
- OS: Android Lollipop 5.1
- Price: Rs 12,999
It’s not just the display, the device’s lone speaker doesn’t belt out booming sound. The presence of two grilles at the bottom of the device might suggest that the device features two speakers but it’s merely a design touch; the only speaker is located under the right grille. The Aqua Ace is propelled by Android 5.1 (KitKat); we like how the interface is clutter-free, sans any bloatware or pre-installed apps, allowing you to experience pure-play Android. The Intex Aqua Ace is a mixed bag – we dig the lightweight form and the battery life but were not blown away by the display or the disappointing selfie cam. It’s certainly not the best device at its price point but does it have enough to keep it in the game? We’ll find out soon enough.
