Bonjour! Newcomer French smarphone brand, WIKO, is taking a shot in the highly saturated Philippine market. Its latest poster boy to the entry-level department, the WIKO 10, is getting a much deserved attention these past few weeks. The company is pushing this shiny new device for it to make a cut in the pie graph, and from the looks of it, WIKO, is in the right direction.
WIKO 10 Review
The WIKO 10 is a straightforward smartphone without the bells and whistles of skinned interface, flashy design, and gimmicks. For a minimalist like me, the smartphone is very promising; but how would it fare in different aspects of performance and efficiency? Let's find out in this review.
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One word that can describe the WIKO 10's design is "Functional." We have the silver colorway for our review unit; and I am amused by how simple yet elegant the phone can get. There's no flashy laser prints or reflection design stamped in the back panel - just the plain monochrome silver-gray tone. This is a good thing for me since I value simplicity more than anything else.
We have a curved back with round edges which makes the phone easier to hold. Due to its size, the phone is intended to be used with both hands but the added curved backing adds value to its ergonomics. The WIKO branding is placed neatly at the bottom part of the back; while the camera module is framed in a raised rectangular section.
The back negates fingerprints effectively with its smooth finish. On the other hand, the railings comes in a different tone of silver. It is plastic but it mimics a metallic appeal.
The ports and buttons are in their no-nonsense placements. The right side is a home to the volume rocker and the power button (which doubles as fingerprint scanner, by the way); the bottom side has the 3.5-mm audio jack, microphone, USB-C port, and the speaker grille. The left side has the SIM tray, and the top comes with the secondary microphone.
Display
WIKO 10 is very generous with the 6.74-inch HD+ display which is quite rare in this price segment. This is an LCD panel with 60Hz refresh rate. Though some may think that the bezels are quite thick, I honestly think they're tolerable. The waterdrop notch gives provision to the selfie camera.
Despite being an LCD panel, the WIKO 10 offers vibrant images with enough detail and color saturation. With this, the phone is ideal for streaming content, reading e-books, and playing casual games. However, the single-firing speaker could use some reinforcement due to lacking some bass and mids.
The viewing angle is great with no yellow tint forming in oblique angles. The panel is also bright enough to be used outdoors, but I'd still not use it under direct sunlight.
Performance
There's an aging MediaTek Hello G37 chipset inside the WIKO 10. Our unit comes with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. While the hardware may seem underwhelming, I'm quite surprised that the phone has a lot smoother interface compared to its contemporaries. It picks up taps and swipe faster; and app crashes are not prevalent. On a day-to-day use, I think the phone could keep up with your basic tasks.
The phone is also great in casual gaming. Mobile Legends: Bang Bang defaults in Low refresh rate and Smooth graphics; cracking the settings above that will result to overclocking. Genshin Impact is playable but it tends to develop heat as the processor is strained with heavy graphics.
The phone is also great for social media browsing due to its wide display. Calls are clear even when using Bluetooth headphones.
Camera
The WIKO 10 supports a triple camera system which is top billed by the 50MP ISOCELL JN1 sensor with f/1.8 aperture. This is coupled by two 2MP sensors for macro and depth. The main sensor is quite popular in this segment due to the quality of photos that it delivers.
With that being said, the WIKO 10 produces desirable photos in most conditions. Photos have good amount of detail with enough color saturation, brightness, and dynamic range. The device is also capable of shooting bokeh and macro shots due to the added sensors. I find both modes to be useful especially for someone who likes to shoot macro shots; although you need to have patience in getting the right shot.
The 8MP selfie shooter is also something to be lauded about. It produces clear selfies with just the right amount of detail for social media posting. The camera app supports beauty mode with toggles for skin tone, whitening, and more. Apart from that, there are also fun filters to choose from.
Check our sample photos below:
Software and Battery Life
The WIKO 10 boots with Android 12. I'm quite delighted to know that the company is not using any Android skin; this means the software is close to pure Android experience. This explains why the interface is much smoother, and there are no annoying bloatwares for you to uninstall. The overall software experience is quite good.
Nowadays, most entry-level smartphones have 5000 mAh battery, and WIKO 10 is not an exception. The phone could easily last a day of use due to software and hardware optimizations, and the fact that it only has an LCD panel allows you to get away with charging frequently. There's also a 22.5-watt fast charging capability via USB-C which is noteworthy since a small number of phones have this feature in this space.
The WIKO 10 is quite an interesting smartphone. It tries to capture attention by being simple yet deliberately functional. I love its straightforward design and clean software which could be rare gems in this segment. Plus, its capable camera that won't let you down in most situations is quite amusing. Let it be known that WIKO is not messing around. Competitors beware!
Key Specifications:
- 6.74-inch HD+ IPS LCD display
- MediaTek Helio G37 SoC
- 2.3GHz Octa-core CPU
- IMG PowerVR GE8320 GPU
- 4GB/6GB RAM + 128GB ROM
- microSD support, up to 512GB
- 50MP triple rear cameras
- 8MP front camera
- 4G LTE
- Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS, USB Type-C
- 3.5mm jack
- Android 12 OS
- 5000 mAh battery w/ 22.5W fast charging
- 168.3 x 77.6 x 8.98 mm, 199 grams
- Black, Silver, Klein Blue
