Cubot X18 Review

Design, build and controls

Cubot X18 compiles a sturdy aluminium alloy frame, a 2.5D curved glass for the front and a plastic back plate into an elegant and slim body that one can hold comfortably with one hand. The display does take a large portion of the front but not as high as 83%. Simple calculations unveil that the screen takes up 71.22% of the total front surface of the handset. The back has a glossy finish that can be very easily scratched. It can be easily removed but beware not to scratch the paint off the edge of the plate. The top and bottom sides of the backplate are sloping towards the edges very gently, creating a visually pleasing profile. The vertical sides are also slightly curved, which improves handling experience. The model is available in dark blue and gold colours. We are reviewing a dark blue unit. There have been around 140 (and counting) smartphones with 5.7-inch displays for the past 4 years. Cubot X18 is 74 mm wide in a segment where the average width is 77 mm. It is also 159.6 mm high, which makes it one of tallest smartphones with 5.7-inch screens. If we add to the equation the battery capacity, of those more than 140 devices, only 32 remain. Comparing the Cubot X18 to them, it is obvious that it has an average waistline of 8.5 mm, the thinnest one being 7.4 mm and the biggest one measuring 9.4 mm (except for a single case of 10.16 mm in depth). The weight of the model is also average, measuring 175 grammes. On the front, above the display, the following elements are positioned from left to right: blue LED notification light, 0.5A LED flash, earpiece, light and proximity sensor, front camera. The chin below the screen is bare. The navigation is on-screen only and you can customise it from the corresponding menu in the Settings. The top frame houses the 3.5 mm jack and a microphone hole, while the bottom one is where the Micro-USB port sits with a single bottom-firing speaker placed to its right. On the back of the device, centrally along the vertical, you will see the camera module, which protrudes only very little, a 1A LED flash below it, followed by a round fingerprint sensor. Further down, towards the bottom, the Cubot logo and RoHS data are imprinted. The back is removable, so is the battery. Under the hood, two Micro-SIM card slots are provided along with a third slot for a microSD card. The left frame is bare and on the right one, the volume and power buttons are positioned. They are made of metal and offer excellent tactile experience.