Cubot KingKong X Review

OS, UI and software

Cubot KingKong X runs on almost stock Android 14 and the whole user interface is quite standard and familiar to people using Android smartphones. The Lock Screen contains a huge Clock widget, a small Date widget, and status bar indicators. The Home Screen includes the usual Google search bar with embedded voice search and Lens, a Clock / Date widget, a row of favorite apps, and a row of docked ones. Desktop shortcuts are supported and the Volume settings are in their stock layout. Google Discover is on by default as is the App Drawer. Both can be changed from the Home Settings. The Task Manager tiles the app previews horizontally with the option to access the app info and/or enter split-screen mode. You can also lock/unlock the app, meaning it won't be cleared from the background when locked and vice versa. The "Manage" option opens a White List of applications, from where you can lock/unlock apps. Once you access the Customization Picker, you get a selection of wallpapers and themes, widgets, and Home Settings. The latter allows you to switch on/off the notification dots, enable the At A Glance features, show/hide Google Discover, change the launcher style, etc. The Notifications shade is accessed after a swipe down from the top of the display. The Quick Settings are accessed after a second swipe down. The toggles are six per screen on four screens with options to add more or remove existing ones. Cubot KingKong X arrives with a very basic set of pre-installed apps. They include Assistant, Calculator, Calendar, Camera, Child Mode, Chrome, Clock, Contacts, Drive, Files, Find Device, Game Mode, Gmail, Google Discover, Keep Notes, Maps, Meet, Messages, Pedometer, Phone, Photos, Play Store, Safety, Settings, Sound Recorder, System Manager, ToolBag, Torch, YouTube, and YT Music. The Child mode allows you to create a password-protected space that's child-safe and you have control over which apps and what content the child has access to. The Game mode app creates a space that ensures uninterrupted gameplay. The Pedometer app is usually a part of the ToolBag app, but in this case, it has been taken out as a separate one. The Torch is also separated from the ToolBag. The latter contains a compass, sound meter, leveler, magnifier, height measuring tool, gradienter, protractor, plumb bob, alarm bell, and a mirror (using the front camera). Finally, the System Manager contains a shortcut to the Battery settings (Power Manager), a shortcut to managing your storage, a Freezing room, where you can put apps that annoy you but don't want to uninstall, and an App Lock for apps to which you want to have a password-protected access. The Settings app lists the various menus in groups and each group is separated from the other by a thick gray line. For each menu, there's a color icon in front of it. The settings search bar is on top of the list. The first group is about connectivity with various options available on the first level such as the Airplane mode toggle. The second group contains five menus. The first is about managing the Notifications settings, including the usual app-specific options, notification history, conversations, bubbles, device and app notifications privacy, lock screen settings, DND, wireless emergency alerts, etc. The second is about managing the Display with a choice of themes, a brightness level bar, an adaptive brightness toggle, screen timeout, display size and text, wallpaper & styles, auto-rotate screen, display refresh rate, screen saver, notch style, LED notification light, etc. The Sound & vibration is third in the second group and contains the four standard slide bars for media, calls, rings & notifications, and alarm volume. You can also choose a ringtone, alarm, and notification sound, manage the Live Caption options, the vibration and haptics one, as well as the DND mode. The usual toggles for screen lock, touch, etc. are also present along with the sound enhancement features. The Security & Privacy menu is fourth and comprises the main difference between the settings in Android 14 and the previous OS versions. For starters, the security and privacy options are combined in one menu. Secondly, the various sub-menus are renamed. For example, Google Play Protect is now called App Security, Find My Device is Device Finders and includes the Find My Device option plus Unknown Tracker Alerts, and Google Play System Update is System & Updates including Google Play update, Security update, and Backup. Moreover, the system issues a security warning, if you don't have a screen lock setup. This is done from the Device Unlock option. When you set up a screen lock and manage the Lock Screen settings to your preference, you can also set a fingerprint ID. There's no option to set up a face unlock. Account Security is the option that contains the Google Account security checkup and the Password Checkup. These options are in a way doubled in the Passwords & Accounts menu which follows the Security & Privacy one. The Privacy Menu is now listed under the Security one. It contains the usual permission manager, privacy dashboard, ads management, health connect, and activity controls. The More Security & Privacy options include Lock Screen Notifications, App Content, Android System Intelligence, Autofill Service from Google, Extend Unlock, and others. Extend Unlock is the Smart Unlock feature renamed. The third group of settings is the largest one. It begins with the Apps menu, from where you can manage the app permissions, battery optimization, screen time, etc. It is followed by the Battery and Storage menus. The Accessibility menu is fourth and allows you to adjust your screen reader, interaction controls, system controls, Live Caption, audio aid, and accessibility shortcuts. The Location menu is next followed by the Safety & Emergency one, Digital Wellbeing, Fingerprint, Google settings, DuraSpeed, Memory Expansion, Side Key Functions, MiniScreen, and Smart Assist. The Fingerprint menu lets you add more features and enhance the way you interact with the device once you set up one or more fingerprint IDs. You can set it to return to the Home Screen or a screen back, open the Task Manager, snap a photo or video, and/or answer a call. DuraSpeed can be used to restrict background running apps in favor of the foreground ones. When an app is included in the DuraSpeed list, it won't be restricted when running in the background. Memory Expansion enables virtual RAM expansion with 16GB. For the changes to take effect, you have to restart the device. The Side Key Function allows you to assign an action or app to the physical button placed on the left frame. MiniScreen is the name of the menu that manages the rear display of the device. From here, you can select from several clock plate designs, set the screen timeout and the backlight level, check the pedometer data, select the music app, and activate the option to snap photos with the front and/or rear camera by using your voice. Smart Assist includes several smart features that will enrich your mobile experience. One of those is the Smart Touch floating dot which is fully customizable and can be used as an alternative means for navigation and quick access to apps and features. Gesture Motion is second containing four toggles such as a three-point screenshot, for example. Night Light is fourth and allows you to set the intensity of this feature and schedule it to meet your personal preferences. Finally, there's a toggle for the Mistouch Prevention function. The last group of menus contains the standard System and About Phone menus. The "System" one lets you set your language and keyboard preferences and in Android 14 these are now two separate sub-menus. You can also set the date and time, backup and reset, check for system updates and enable various useful gestures. This "Gestures" menu contains options for quick camera access, settings for what happens when you press and hold the power button, and system navigation settings. From the latter, you can select either virtual buttons or onscreen gestures, each with its customization options. The "System" menu also contains the Scheduled Power On & Off option. The About phone menu provides the standard device information such as model name, basic specifications, the software build version, etc.