Elephone P9000 Review

Elephone P9000 is the latest model from the P series of the Chinese manufacturer, which aims to provide devices with mid- to high-end specification at affordable prices. The older models from the series managed to tempt the interest of fans with their price tags, but actually did not manage to live up to the marketing image that has been created for each. It seems that Elephone P9000 is about to change this. It is also the first device by the company, which hits the market very soon after its announcement, which is a great progress.

Specifications

Elephone P9000 features a 5.5-inch OGS LTPS IPS display by LG, which covers 93% of the NTSC color gamut. It has a resolution of 1080 x 1920 pixels and is protected by a Corning Gorilla Glass 3. The screen graces a high-quality plastic body with a metal frame, made of aluminum alloy and a back with sandstone finish. Under the hood ticks a MediaTek Helio P10 MT6755 chipset with a 2GHz octa-core CPU and a 700MHz Mali-T860 MP2 GPU. They are coupled with 4GB of single-channel LPDDR3 RAM clocked at 933MHz. The internal memory measures 32GB and can be expanded with up to 256GB. The microSD card slot is actually the second SIM card slot of the hybrid SIM tray. On-board the device, there is a 3000-3080 mAh Li-Pol, non-removable battery coupled with MediaTek's Pump Express Plus technology and a wireless charging capability. The standard Elephone charging adapter, which is not included in the package, provides output of 5V/2.5A, 7V, 9V/1.67A and 12V/1.25A. MediaTek's technology offers a theoretical output power of 24W (12V/2A) and higher. The battery is said to provide 17 hours of talk time and 750 hours of standby time in 2G and 3G networks. The camera department of the model includes a 13-megapixel Sony Exmor RS IMX258 sensor (4160 x 3120) combined with laser AF, dual-LED flash, and an f/2.0 lens. The front-facing PureCel shooter is equipped with an 8-megapixel OmniVision OV8858 sensor (3264 x 2448) and an 84-degree, wide-angle lens with an f/2.4 aperture. The model has a dual-SIM card tray. The first slot is for a micro-SIM card and the second is either for a micro-SIM card, or for a memory card. The device supports quad-band 2G GSM (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz), penta-band 3G W-CDMA (850, 900, 1700, 1900, 2100 MHz), and octa-band 4G LTE (700, 800, 1700/2100, 1800, 1900, 2100, 2600, 2300 MHz) networks. The rest of its connectivity options include dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n and 802.11n 5GHz, Wi-Fi HotSpot, Bluetooth 4.0, USB OTG, Computer sync, OTA sync, Tethering, NFC, GPS/A-GPS, Glonass. The smartphone also has a fingerprint scanner on its back, a pedometer, a proximity, light, and Hall sensor, accelerometer, compass, and gyroscope. It runs Android 6.0 Marshmallow. Here are the full Elephone P9000 specifications.

What's in the box

The Elephone P9000 arrives in a stylish, white plastic box, which is rectangular and has rounded edges. However, the contents is not very generous. Of course, inside you see the smartphone and underneath are placed a USB Type-C cable, a SIM tray pin, a transparent silicone protector, and a short user manual in English. Note that a charge adapter is not included as per standard. If, you want an original Elephone quick charge adapter (5V/2.5A, 7V, 9V/1.67A; 12V/1.25A), this will cost you additional $15. There are other accessories as well such as a second USB cable, screen protector, cleaning cloth, and a PU leather flip cover. All this, together with the charger, is available as an accessories bundle that costs $30.

Design and build

Elephone P9000 is a beautifully designed smartphone, indeed. It uses an optimum combination of metal and high-quality plastic, so it can achieve an elegant appearance. The metal frame's bezels are extremely thin and together with the screen's bezel they form a border that is only 1.6 mm! Unlike other manufacturers, Elephone really does offer thin bezels. The whole frontal surface of the device is glass (Corning Gorilla 3), which perfectly meets the frame across all edges and the rounded corners. The frame has delicate, 33-degree chamfers towards the display and an R curve towards the back. More impressively, the screen takes up 82% of the total frontal surface of the device. The frame and chassis are made of aircraft-grade, 7075 anodized aluminum alloy. This type of material is lightweight, but also harder and more resilient to scratches and corrosion, compared to standard aluminum alloys. It is also crafted for 34 hours using the 220 CNC cutting process. The non-removable back has a fine sandstone finish, very much like the one found on OnePlus smartphones, but it is prone to being easily stained and fingerprints cannot be cleaned easily. It provides a steady grip though, and according to Elephone the upgraded sandstone paint is laid in three layers and polished three times, so it is more wear-resistant. The transparent silicone case, included in the package, fits flawlessly and makes the smartphone really easy to work with. All parts seem to blend perfectly. Neither the lid, nor the screen flexes under pressure. The physical buttons on the sides have a good response, the SIM tray opens up and closes easily. All in all, the build is excellent. The Elephone P9000 is very lightweight and pleasantly thin. It weighs 145 grams and has a waistline of 7.3 mm. It is also not very wide - 73.2 mm, which makes it very comfortable for one-hand operation, despite the large 5.5-inch screen. The device is available in white and black colors. We are reviewing a black unit. Elephone have made a very informative and interesting video of their P9000 production process:

Controls

Probably the most prominent feature of the controls is that the Elephone P9000 has only one capacitive button placed centrally below the display. When tapped once, it leads back. When tapped twice, it leads to the home screen. When pressed and hold, it opens up the task manager. There is an option to activate standard on-screen buttons, which can be hidden and called back up when needed. Using only one button turned out to be quite convenient, but this is subjective, the more important thing is that you have a choice. Working with the on-screen buttons, disables the functions of the capacitive button described above, and it starts working as a standard one. In addition, it houses a notification LED light. From the Settings menu you can choose the LED light to flicker, when it has to notify you about an event, but no other options are present. There is also an interesting thing about it - when you start declining the phone as if you want to look at the USB Type-C port, the light gradually fades away. This happens only at this angle. We cannot say whether this is a defect or an effect without special purpose. On the top above the screen are the light/gesture sensor, the earpiece and the selfie camera. On the back of the smartphone are placed a dual-LED flash (the warm light is below the cold one), the primary camera, and the laser for auto-focusing. Below them is a round fingerprint scanner and below it - Elephone's logo. On the right hand side are positioned a large button for the volume and below it - centrally along the frame is the power button. This position is very convenient and it comes only naturally to operate with it. Symmetrically, on the left hand side is positioned another physical button of the same size as the power one. However, it can only be used as a shortcut to an app of your choice. If long-pressed, it also puts the device into silent mode, but nothing more. It has a potential of becoming a convenient tool for operating the device, so Elephone should seriously think about changing this. Above this button on the left is the hybrid, dual-SIM card tray, which can house either two micro-SIM cards or a micro-SIM card and a microSD card for additional storage. On top of the smartphone you'll find a 3.5 mm jack with plastic antenna bands on both sides, while at the bottom there is a centrally positioned reversible USB Type-C port. To the left of it there is a grille, which is empty. To the right there is a single hole for the mic and a second grille, which houses the single speaker.

Display

Elephone P9000 is built around a 5.5-inch IPS display by LG. According to the manufacturer, this is the narrowest and thinnest LG display panel for 2016. It is made by using two technologies - LTPS (low-temperature poly-silicone) and OGS (one-glass solution). The first one allows manufacturers to achieve lower power consumption, higher resolutions and pixel densities on much thinner panels, while the second makes panels more transparent and sensitive to the touch as it combines the touch layer and the cover glass into one. In this case, protection is ensured by a Corning Gorilla Glass 3. The 5-point multi-touch panel has an FHD resolution (1080 x 1920) and covers 93% of the NTSC colour space. In case you need to tweak any of the display's parameters such as brightness, contrast, colours and so on, you can take advantage of the MiraVision tech by MediaTek. It arrives pre-installed as one of the Display's options in the Settings menu. As long as it concerns the display's measurements, its white luminance value of the brightness set at 100% is 327.5 cd/sq.m. The black luminance value here is 0.218 cd/sq.m., which equals in a static contrast ratio of 1502:1. This ratio is fairly preserved in the 1400-1500:1 boundaries with the brightness set at 75%, 50%, and 25%. However, it drastically drops at the brightness set 0% and measures 837:1, while the white and black luminance values are 14.22 cd/sq.m. and 0.017 cd/sq.m., respectively. The color temperature is higher than average and falls in the range of a little below 7700K and a little above 7800K, which is normal for a smartphone screen. For a conclusion, the display of Elephone P9000 is a pleasure to look at and operate. Texts appear crisp and are comfortable for reading, though there are no extras such as Reading Mode, for example. Typically for an IPS display, color reproduction is good. Viewing angles are correct, but the display looks significantly darker when looked from a side. For the display tests we use the X-Rite i1Display Pro colorimeter.

Brightness	White luminance	Black luminance	Contrast	Color temperature
100 %	327.50 cd/m2	0.218 cd/m2	1502 : 1	7714 K
75 %	253.17 cd/m2	0.182 cd/m2	1391 : 1	7673 K
50 %	175.45 cd/m2	0.119 cd/m2	1474 : 1	7691 K
25 %	103.73 cd/m2	0.066 cd/m2	1572 : 1	7707 K
0 %	14.22 cd/m2	0.017 cd/m2	837 : 1	7829 K

OS, UI and software

Elephone P9000 runs Android 6.0 Marshmallow. When we received it, it got an OTA update, so we installed it immediately and all testing has been made afterwards. The OS is almost in stock variant and has all typical software features for Marshmallow: Google Now On Tap, Turbo Download, Doze mode for battery-saving, etc. The home screen can be scrolled to the sides and there are several fixed apps on the bottom. On the lowest row of fixed apps at the center is the app drawer. It opens up the list of apps, which can be scrolled to the sides as well. When you adjust the volume from the buttons, the menu allows you to also adjust the volume of system sounds, music and pre-set alarms. The Quick Settings menu allows the adjustment of the display's brightness, the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connection, the Airplane mode, Audio profiles and Do Not Disturb mode. There are shortcuts to Auto-rotate, Flashlight, Location and Cast screen. A long press on the home button opens up the task manager. A long press on an empty space on the home screen opens up the wallpaper and widgets menu. The Settings menu is extensive and with a standard layout. It has the typical Wireless & Networks, Device, Personal, Smart Assistant, and System options. Besides the standard options under the Wireless & Networks you'll find the Turbo download feature and the NFC. Under the Device sub-menu you can adjust the Display, Sound, Apps, Storage, Battery, Memory and the Harlequin LED Notification embedded in the home button. The Display options include the MiraVision feature, the Daydream, the Cast screen function, adjustment of the phone's behaviour when used with the S View Cover as well as options for calibrating the G- and Proximity sensor. The Sound & notification menu is standard for Android 6.0 Marshmallow, including the four- pre-set sound profiles (general, outdoor, meeting, and silent) as well as the Do Not Disturb mode settings along with the Sound Enhancement ones. The adjustment of the Harlequin LED Notification behaviour allows you to choose the LED working time and whether it should pulse or not to indicate a new notification. The Personal area has a handy function called Prevent pocket dial, which is pretty self-explanatory. Here is also placed the massive Security section, which among everything includes adjustment of the fingerprint(s), phone encryption, mobile anti-theft, etc. There is also a Smart Lock function, which allows you to add a trusted device, place, face, voice or make an on-body detection, which will keep the phone unlocked when nearby. The Smart Assistant features a handful of useful options, including adjustment of the off-screen gestures, system motion, the physical shortcut button, the volume rocker, laser focus (on/off), and the on-screen navigation bar. The System is the last main menu, which includes the standard set with Scheduled power on and off, Accessibility, About phone, etc. When you start working with every app for the first time, you will be prompted to allow the app to access the standard information it needs to function properly. This should not happen as this is the old permission framework from Lollipop and is most probably a 'leftovers' issue. This prompting is a one-time event, but some might find it bothering. Regarding the on-board apps, Google's pre-installed suite includes Play Store, Gmail, Voice Search and Maps. There is also an (Elephone) Service app. The rest includes a default browser, a file and download manager, clock, flashlight, FM radio, calendar, sound recorder, music, and camera. Interestingly enough there is also a pedometer on board, which functions properly.

Networks, calls and connectivity

Elephone P9000 supports a wide range of networks, so it should be operable in most parts of the world. The unit we have received supports Chinese and Europe 3G and 4G bands, which are as follows: 2G GSM (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz), 3G W-CDMA (850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz), FDD-LTE (800, 900, 1800, 2100, 2600MHz) and TDD-LTE (2300, 2500, 2600 MHz) networks. On its official website Elephone promises that soon they will launch a US-bands version. In our local network 4G connection has been stable at all times with strong signal and no problems whatsoever regarding making phone calls or browsing the internet. Call quality has been excellent as well. The smartphone also supports Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n within the 2.4GHz spectrum and Wi-Fi 802.11n within the 5GHz range. Other connectivity options include Wi-Fi HotSpot, Bluetooth 4.0 and USB OTG, all of which function flawlessly. Another feature that has almost become a standard for Marshmallow devices is the Turbo Download, which allows the device to use 3G/4G and Wi-Fi networks simultaneously in order to download faster files larger than 20MB. An interesting feature for a MediaTek powered device is the full NFC support. NFC is a technology developed by Qualcomm, while MediaTek has its own equivalent called HotKnot. However, Elephone P9000 supports full NFC despite being based on a Helio P10 chipset. This tech allows the device to exchange data quickly, easily and securely with other devices at a distance of around 10 cm. It can be used in public transport, for contactless payments, transmitting data, etc. Another useful feature is the Cast Screen one, which allows you to transfer content from the smartphone onto a larger display such as TV or monitor. In addition, the reversible USB Type-C port allows safe charging and data transmission at the same time coupled with the convenience of inserting the USB cable either way. In terms of satellite navigation, the model supports GPS/A-GPS and Glonass. It managed to detect available satellites quickly and to display navigation data accurately.

Performance

In terms of performance Elephone P9000 relies on a MediaTek MT6755 chipset also known as Helio P10. This is an overclocked variant of the classic MT6753 chipset as it features the same eight Cortex-A53 cores, which are clocked at 2GHz, instead of 1.3GHz. However, AnTuTu's benchmark result (around the 47000-48000 mark) does not show a result that is significantly higher compared to the one of devices based on MT6753 (around the 36000-38000 mark). Moreover, the smartphone is equipped with 4GB of single-channel LPDDR3 RAM clocked at 933MHz. This really helps it to run smoothly. You can have a multitude of apps in the backgrounds and still not experience a single hiccup, while working with yet another application. We played the Asphalt 8 for a while. The device does have difficulty in rendering the graphics and running the game smoothly, when it is set at the highest graphics level, but with the other levels there have been no problems. Geekbench3 also reports pretty good results, specially on the multi-core test. The on-board storage measures 32GB and can be expanded with up to 256GB. Sequential and random read/write speeds from/to the memory are of average speed. Elephone P9000 arrives with several handy sensors on board. The fingerprint scanner is placed on the back and has a round form. Storing a fingerprint ID is very quick and the sensor itself is very responsive, unlocking is almost instant. The device can store up to 5 fingerprint IDs. There is also a fully functional pedometer with a step detector and counter on board along with a proximity, light, orientation, gravity, rotation vector, and linear acceleration sensor as well as a magnetometer, gyroscope, and accelerometer.

Cameras

Elephone P9000 features a decent camera department. The primary shooter on the rear is equipped with a 13-megapixel Sony Exmor RS IMX258 sensor (4160 x 3120) with a size of 1/3.06". This back-side illuminated and stacked CMOS supports HDR with raw data output and has 1.12 Ојm size pixels. It is coupled with phase-detection auto-focus and a laser for improved focusing while shooting objects at close range. The lens has an f/2.0 aperture for capturing more light even when it is scarce and its work is aided by a dual-tone LED flash. The camera app has all the standard settings, which allow you a certain level of control over the end result. The shooter itself makes good photos when light conditions are perfect. However, it tends to create a violet tint all over the photo if you just point and shoot, so in order to achieve a better result, you must choose a suitable setting from the White Balance menu prior to taking the photo. In addition, the camera does a good job at focusing and shooting specific objects at close range, which is due to the laser AF on board. It also has an object tracking function and supports HDR. The latter goes a bit overboard when there is excessive light, so perhaps more work with the settings will be needed. Keen photographers might appreciate the fact that the camera can store photos in RAW format. However, on several instances, we had problems opening some of the files. The front-facing PureCel shooter packs an 8-megapixel OmniVision OV8858 sensor (3264 x 2448) with a 1/4" size and 1.12 Вµm sized pixels. It works together with an 84-degree, wide-angle lens with an f/2.4 aperture. As seen from the samples, it does operate pretty well for a front-facing camera.

Primary camera

Secondary camera

Audio

We test the audio of the devices we review by using the RightMark Audio Analyzer software and the TASCAM US-2x2 audio interface. The result of the Elephone P9000 is "Very good" on almost every aspect of the test, which is a nice surprise. For sure, you will enjoy listening to music via headphones, for example. As usual, the speakerphone is the weak part of the system. It does not provide the best sound possible, but it is there, if you need it. It utilizes a single speaker, hidden under the grille, which is placed to the right of the USB Type-C port at the bottom of the smartphone. The left grille is empty, it is placed there for symmetry.

Test	Value	RMAA rating
Frequency response (from 40 Hz to 15 kHz), dB	+0.01, -0.11	Excellent
Noise level, dB (A)	-94.1	Very good
Dynamic range, dB (A)	94.1	Very good
THD, %	0.0070	Very good
THD + Noise, dB (A)	-80.0	Good
IMD + Noise, %	0.0096	Very good
Stereo crosstalk, dB	-80.9	Very good
IMD at 10 kHz, %	0.017	Very good
General performance		Very good

Battery

Elephone P9000 is powered by a 3000-3080 mAh Li-Pol battery, which is non-removable. Interestingly enough, it supports wireless charging. Any type of a Qi charge will work, though bear in mind that wireless charging is significantly slower than the conventional one, when the device is plugged in to the electric circuit. The battery also arrives with MediaTek's Pump Express technology, which is similar to the Quick Charge 2.0 by Qualcomm. It offers a theoretical output power of 24W (12V/2A) and higher. According to its specifications, it should charge the battery in full for 70 minutes and a 10-minute charge should provide 3 hours of talking. The smartphone arrives without a charging adapter. An original Elephone one costs $15 and can be bought separately or bundled up with an accessories package for $30. We used a standard Samsung charging adapter and with it, the battery needed 1 hour and 27 minutes, or 87 minutes in total, to charge from 0 to 100%. Draining is with a normal rate for a 3000 mAh accumulator on a 5.5-inch device, but when the battery reaches 1% of its charge, while draining, it maintains this 1% for quite some time, which makes us think that the remaining charge is actually a higher percentage. PCMark's battery test revealed a pretty good result of 5 hours and 55 minutes for an accumulator of such capacity. As usual, it has been performed with the display brightness level calibrated at 200 cd/sq.m. following Futuremark's recommendations. The battery utilizes several ways of saving battery life. The first is the Standby intelligent power saving mode, which is switched on by default. The Doze mode is a built-in Marshmallow feature, which cannot be edited. It activates automatically, when the device is idle. This means that not only all processes should be killed, but also that the device should not be moved around as this activates its sensors. Finally, there is a Battery Saver option, which is switched off by default. If the option is switched on, the Battery Saver will become active, when the battery reaches 15% of its charge. At that point the mode starts reducing the device's performance, limits vibration, location services and background data. If you plug-in the smartphone, the Battery Saver modern turns off automatically.

Final thoughts

Elephone P9000 can easily become one of your favourite smartphones. It is visually appealing, well-built, lightweight and has an excellent display, significant battery life and enough power for your daily tasks and entertainment. All this coupled with several handy software features and a very appealing price, makes it one of the most sought after smartphones in the $200-250 price range.