BLU Pure View Launch Review

Adam Matlock

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Jul 24, 2015
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Unboxing Video:
https://youtu.be/oG6fRrRlG18

Full Review:
https://youtu.be/7kv90rjbpxk

Being completely honest, when I first got the box and specs on this phone I wasn’t very excited (but I quickly changed my mind). The processor has already been used, BLU has used larger batteries, more RAM and storage space, and a few extra bells and whistles here and there. However, this phone is like a tale of two cities. Whereas the box and the spec sheet look a little droll in the year 2018, the performance and form factor of this device are a very pleasant surprise. BLU isn’t the only company that has rehashed a processor and thrown average specs at us before, and it won’t be the last; but the thing that makes this device a treat, and garners my recommendation is the extra legwork that went into the presentation and experience. The OS is tailored to the specs well, the screen is a real treat with the 18:9 aspect ratio, and the straight-line speed is seemingly tapped into much better than its predecessors. On top of that, this fantastic little unlocked device comes in at a paltry $199.99 (not like this is a negligble amount of money, but this phone very easily competes with phones in the $200-300 range. However, Amazon is currently running a limited time sale for $129.99, which is $70 off the MSRP, making this an even sweeter deal).

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Here's the rundown on the specs:

Specs:
- An Octa-core MediaTek 6753 processor (and Mali T720 GPU), clocked at a top end speed of 1.3ghz
- 3GB of memory
- a 5.7” curved display, with 720x1440 HD+ resolution, with 18:9 aspect ratio, and made with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 (282ppi)
- A 3,000 mAh battery
- 32GB of internal storage (expandable; supports up to 64GB SD card)
- A 13MP f/2.2 aperture main camera with LED flash – records video at 1080p @30fps
- Dual 8MP front-facing cameras with LED flash
- Runs Android 7.0 Nougat out of the box
- Dual Sim & GSM Unlocked 4G LTE for use with ATT/TMO, and other MVNOs
- Bonus --- it also comes with earphones, a clear TPU style case, and a screen protector (installation required)

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Overview: I think the greatest consideration for this phone (other than the value for the price), is the design and form factor. BLU, which stands for Bold Like Us, just hasn’t felt like it’s been as bold with some of it’s phone designs lately. However, things changed in a hurry when I first got a glance at this device. Straight out of the box, it looks like a Galaxy S8 (or S9). The form factor is sleek, the curved glass display has been refined from the 2017 iterations, and the overall form factor has been slimmed down significantly. If it weren’t for the fact that I knew better, I would swear that this isn’t a BLU phone (major kudos to BLU in this area). The specs are mid-range for what we’ve seen from BLU in the last calendar year, but it feels so much more refined and slightly more snappy. In the past I have tried testing the limits of the MediaTek processor, and a few apps/games have fallen short, but I threw my old tried and true apps and a few more at the Pure View and it scored much better marks, at least in my opinion. Boom Beach kept up as well as my Snapdragon 625 and 4GB of RAM in my BlackBerry Motion, and Alto, Tetris Blitz and even the new Dragonball Z game kept up well enough that the playing experience wasn’t compromised. I don’t know if it’s because my expectations were lower going into it, but the performance was a real surprise (and I use a Galaxy S9+ for a daily driver – not that it’s comparable, but for my daily use apps, they were enjoyable and weren’t laggy). All in all, this refresh is a welcome change to the BLU landscape and I think you’ll be genuinely surprised with what you get for the price, especially at the introductory price of $129.99.

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Performance: As much as I just gave a glowing overview of the new Pure View, the root of it’s power and performance is the MediaTek 6753, which features 8-cores, clocked at 1.3ghz. Typically, I have not had great experiences with processors that are clocked so low, but the power/performance balance seems to be much improved in this iteration by BLU, which I’m guessing mainly has to do with nailing the software and optimization for the hardware this go-round. An unrefined product versus 8-10 months to perfect exploiting the architecture of this CPU seems to have paid off, and this phone is a step ahead of it’s predecessors. All in all, the phone offers a smooth experience, and has even incorporated split-screen, which is auspicious for a power-economy chip. There are times where you will notice a shutter or a chop in the interface, but it’s typically momentary, and happens as RAM is filled up. The Pure View has 3GB of RAM, which compliments the chipset well, but becomes noticeable in performance slowdown as you start to stack up the apps that are running in the background. Active memory management is a must to get the full-bore experience of this device.

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Display: The display is another area where BLU swung big with the Pure View. The screen is made out of the tried-and-true Corning Gorilla Glass 3, and rocks a HD+ resolution measured at 720x1440p, which is a modified 720p resolution, which is anchored with the 18:9 resolution (the same bag of tricks that the GS8/9 and LG G6 use for the elongated/widescreen enhanced look). The bezels on the Pure View are also slimmed down and the dedicated capacitive buttons have been nixed in favor of hidden buttons that are activated by swiping up from the bottom of the screen, much like many other phones now days. Aside from these particulars, the screen itself isn’t wholly remarkable. The color spectrum and resolution are crisp and have a natural saturation to them, which is refreshing if you’re used to the oversaturation of Samsung devices; however, it’s no AMOLED, and it’s definitely not ground-breaking… but it is solid and matches well with the phone’s specs and performance.

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Sound: The sound in the Pure View is a bit of a disappointment. The speaker has been mounted on the bottom of the phone, much like the Galaxy devices that it emulates. However, the sound quality is not so great when it comes to depth or volume. The driver seems to be a bit underpowered when it comes to anything but vocals, which it excels at. So… what does this mean? If you’re an audiophile, the sound quality won’t be appealing to your ears, at all. But if you’re a casual user that loves to watch video and binge TV shows on Netflix, then the sound is more than capable and won’t let you down. When you’re listening to music or playing games, the highs come in a bit tinny and will crack occasionally, and the bass really isn’t there. On the plus side, the reliable ole 3.5mm headphone jack is alive and well, and well-placed on the bottom-left underside of the phone.

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Camera: The camera is one of the areas where BLU has really shined in the last year, doubling down on the software suite and finding well-balanced cameras to help you get your social media game on. After snapping some pictures with the Pure View and getting a feel for it, I started to get comfortable with the camera's performance - mostly after I turned off the auto-flash feature and got into some better lighting. When I was in a room with mixed lighting, the camera was a little slow on auto-focus and snapping pictures, but in normal lighting or minus the flash, the shutter speed is much quicker. In addition to the primary shooter, the dual front-facing cameras really shine, especially with the super cool wide-lens pictures! The software suite and enhancements are probably the best I’ve seen in a BLU phone to-date. The Pure View uses a f/2.2 aperture, which isn’t anything to write home about, but with the 13MP main shooter and dual 8MP front-facing cameras, BLU pulls out all of the rabbits in the hat to help give you a worthwhile photo experience. The BLU Final Touch software is the real deal, and allows you to do anything you could possibly want while taking pictures/editing them, to include a dedicated wide-shot mode for the selfie camera (which is really nice). Additionally, the Pure View still brings HDR mode to the table, along with face beautification options, panoramic mode and a whole host of manual mode options to help you take much better shots than the auto features. Point-and-Click pics are “meh”, but the potential is there to help you produce some much better shots, which really helps redeem the camera in this phone.

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Biometrics: This is the first BLU phone that I've actually taken the time to sound off on the different security options that are available. Normally it's just "ok, this phone has a FPS", and call it a day. Not this day! I had to take a bit of a double-take when I first read that the Pure View has facial recognition as an option for unlocking the phone. Seriously... especially at the introductory price of $129.99, this is pretty fantastic; and it's not nearly as annoying as I thought it would be (this is a snub at FaceID). The fingerprint sensor is not as quick as previous iterations and it feels a little laggy, but it works. All in all, it's really nice having the flexibility to use a PIN, facial recognition or the tried-and-true fingerprint sensor, all on the same device without having to compromise. Well done, BLU!

Software: The Pure View comes with Android 7.0 straight out of the box, which is expected, and is the norm for almost all BLU phones at this point. However, that’s not a bad thing. The Pure View offers a solid, near-naked version of Nougat that really performs well on this device. Thankfully, BLU seems to have scrapped the alternative user-interface (UI) that it has been tossing back and forth between devices over the last year and decided to settle in on the normal variant where the swipe-down from the top brings down the notification shade and quick-settings menu. Swiping up from the bottom brings up the soft-buttons (home, back and menu), and a swipe to the right will get you over to the built in Google Assistant (also accessible by saying “Ok Google”, if you choose to set it up). Another cool feature is split-screen mode, which allows you to utilize the extra screen real-estate to multi-task! And last but not least, the Pure View reaches into uncharted territory and offers facial recognition as a biometrics option. SO… not only do you have the typical PIN/Password capability, but you also have a fancy fingerprint sensor, and now you can even unlock your device with facial recognition! I can’t say that it’s overly intuitive, but I think it really says a lot about BLU and the effort that they are putting into trying to provide user-driver features, as well as trying to maintain competitive with their products. If you want to use the facial recognition feature, all you have to do is hit the power button or wake-from-life feature and give the front-facing camera a good stare and the little unlocked icon will show at the bottom of the screen – Voila! I went ahead and set it up on the phone and tested it out and it works well. Last but not least, I want to go ahead and mention the security updates. The Pure View is currently running a March 5th, 2018 security patch. While this isn’t terrible, it’s definitely not great, which means that if you’re a stickler for security patches then this may not be the device for you. Otherwise, it should be fine. I don’t have too many hang ups over security patches, so it doesn’t bother me.

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Conclusion: All in all, I have to say that I have been pleasantly surprised and impressed with the BLU Pure View. I think that BLU has done a great job of expounding on their device successes over the past year and started listening to feedback and learning from what works and what hasn’t worked, to provide a solid experience with a capable feature-set this time around. While the Pure View doesn’t hit a homerun in every category, it definitely hits a couple of solid doubles, and maybe even a RBI or two to help drive in a few runs. The phone experience is solid, and the new features such as facial recognition and the best-yet Final Touch software for taking/editing photos, really helps create a competitive edge for BLU in the budget sector, as well as encroaching on the mid-range territory. The Pure View is a solid phone that won’t let you down, especially at the introductory sale price of $129.99 (Regular MSRP $199.99)

If you’re interested in picking up one of the fancy new BLU Pure View phones, you can find them Amazon – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078X5MGL7?tag=hawk-future-20&ascsubtag=UUacUvbUpU6254819, available today, May 31st, 2018, for the low price of $129.99 - MSRP $199.99, but Amazon is running a limited time $70 discount! The Pure View is only available in Black. If you are interested in picking one up, or have any questions or comments please feel free to leave them down in the comments section.
 
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pkcable

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Nice review! Great pictures from the Blu too! I was surprised they were as good as they were! Not quite Pixel or Samsung level, BUT at this price point, VERY acceptable, and even good!
 

Adam Matlock

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Jul 24, 2015
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Yeah, it's not too bad at all (especially considering the price point). Those are normal tap the screen for auto-focus and shoot pictures. I didn't do anything fancy.
 

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