iVoomi i2 Lite review: Premium aesthetics for the budget conscious

The entry-level smartphone segment is crowded with great options from various manufacturers. A majority of these handsets primarily focus on long battery life along with modern 18:9 large displays. You walk into a shop and you are bound to get tempted by the variety of choices fulfilling these two criteria. However, in pursuit of offering a great value-for-money proposition without offending most of its target consumers, they often seem to sport dull and unexciting aesthetics, which is one of the primary considerations for a consumer while purchasing a smartphone. iVoomi’s latest budget entrant seems to keep that in mind and is aiming to fix that in the budget segment.

Called the iVoomi i2 Lite, this is a budget smartphone that brings a drop of fresh aesthetics to the sea of similar looking alternatives. Packed with all the features that are considered standard in today’s budget smartphones, the i2 Lite is priced at Rs 6,499, which makes it go head-to-head with some extremely capable alternatives such as Xiaomi’s Redmi 5, 10.or (Tenor) D and Samsung’s Galaxy J2. But does it have enough muscle to exchange blows with the established ones?

Build, Design:

As stated, the iVoomi i2 Lite is presently one of the best-looking smartphones you can buy in the entry-level segment. The i2 Lite takes immense inspiration from smartphones sitting on the other end of the price spectrum, especially from one that sports an Apple logo at the rear (you must have guessed it). The front has a narrow and taller 18:9 display, which makes the overall form factor of the device easy to hold (a boon for those with smaller palms). There’s also an LED flash assisting the selfie camera. The display sports a 2.5D glass without any specified protection.

The rear is where things get interesting. Like most rivals, the i2 Lite sports an all plastic build. However, unlike them, the i2 Lite isn’t a unibody design, even though it looks like one. The rear panel is removable and houses a hybrid dual SIM card slot with support for dual VoLTE SIM cards (good luck though protecting your fingernails while removing the panel). However, the battery is non-removable. The rear panel adorns a highly glossy finish, resembling the glass builds of modern flagship phones, which also is a fingerprint magnet. The vertically mounted dual camera assemble also adds to the ‘premiumness’ of the i2 Lite.

The curved edges ensure a snug fit in the palm. Despite sporting a plastic build, the i2 Lite is well built and doesn’t feel like the usual entry-level "Chinese" smartphone.

Display:

The i2 Lite sports a 5.45-inch IPS LCD display with an aspect ratio of 18:9. The display renders images at a resolution of 1440x720 pixels. The display isn’t one of the best ones we have seen in the segment — despite having more than adequate brightness, the colours and contrasts appear to be washed out. However, the viewing angles are wide and sunlight legibility is on par with what the competition offers.

Specifications, Performance:

The i2 Lite isn’t meant to be a powerhouse when it comes to its internals. Underneath, there’s a 1.5GHz MediaTek MTK6739 quad-core SoC paired with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of onboard storage, which can be expanded up to 128GB. A mildly customised iteration of stock Android Oreo 8.1 is there to look after the errands.

The spec sheet isn’t going to appease to the geeks, considering the low-end internals. However, the i2 Lite is meant to do basic smartphone tasks such as making calls, texting, shooting photos and social media browsing. For these tasks, the i2 Lite is more than happy to flex its muscles. Apps open reasonably fast, but the meagre 2GB of RAM limits the multitasking capabilities. iVoomi has given a mildly customised launcher, which isn’t optimised too well, thereby resulting in occasional lags and stutters. Casual games such as Temple Run 2 and Candy Crush can be played without any major issues though.

Camera:

Apart from the aesthetics, the iVoomi i2 Lite also puts a decent show in the camera department. The 13MP+2MP dual rear camera setup uses a Sony sensor whereas the selfie camera uses an 8MP sensor assisted with an LED flash. Photos from the rear camera turn out to be good under sunlight. They consist of vibrant colours and decent contrasts. However, the camera struggles with details. Low lighting also takes a toll on all the parameters, making them at best usable as a proof of an event. The portrait mode works only with a lesser busy background, with the camera not able to distinguish well enough between the foreground and the background.

Battery:

With a large 4000mAh battery, the i2 Lite has an impressive amount of stamina. Under moderate usage scenarios including incessant texting, social media browsing, substantial music streaming and light selfie sessions, the smartphone easily manages to last for a day and a half. The inclusion of 10W fast charging adds brownie points to the i2 Lite’s value.

Conclusion:

As stated, the budget smartphone market is continuously getting flooded with options and iVoomi’s i2 Lite brings a dash of style to a segment that offers plain-jane smartphone designs. It’s one of the best-looking smartphones you can buy in the entry-level segment. However, look past the aesthetics and the i2 Lite is essentially an average budget smartphone with features that are standard in the segment. The performance isn’t eager day-to-day — thanks to a limited amount of RAM and a weak processor. The lack of a fingerprint scanner is also a bummer, but at this price, we can't complain. However, the long stamina and decent rear cameras make up for the missing elements. And when you consider the price of Rs 6,499 you can justify its shortcomings.

To sum it up, if you are seeking a good looking budget smartphone with healthy stamina to last you more than a day, then the i2 Lite is a worthy option to the established alternatives.

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