Coolpad has been targeting the budget segment lately and has launched yet another device – Coolpad Cool 5. I have been using this device for the past couple of weeks and here is my review.
Cool 5 Specifications:
- 6.22-inch [19:9] IPS LCD display [water drop notch]
- 4 GB RAM | 64GB ROM expandable up to 128 GB
- Hybrid SIM Slot [4G LTE / VoLTE + 4G LTE/VoLTE / MicroSD]
- Powered by MediaTek Helio P22 [12nm]
- PowerVR GE8320 GPU
- Android v9.0 Pie
- A 13MP Rear camera with AF + 2MP Depth Sensor
- 16MP front-facing camera for selfies
- 4,000mAh Li-Po battery
- 3.5mm headphone jack
Cool 5 Build and Display:
Coolpad Cool 5 falls in the budget segment and so has a plastic build similar to other devices in this range. The back panel looks great but is a fingerprint magnet which can be annoying if not used without a case. On the front, there is a 6.22 inches IPS LCD display with a 720 x 1520 pixels resolution which does not come with any screen protection like Gorilla Glass. The screen is a dot notch display which is good for watching videos given the size of it.
On the left, we have the dual sim slot whereas the right houses the power/lock key and volume rocker. There are speaker grille and microphone at the bottom along with a Type-C port which is a rare option in budget phones. Overall, the build quality is what you can expect from a budget phone from this price range.
Performance and Battery:
Coolpad Cool 5 comes with a MediaTek Helio P22 Chipset which is an Octa-core processor clocked at 2.0 GHz. This is a mid-range chipset from MediaTek and performs well in normal daily tasks. But, once you start using some intensive apps or play games, you will notice a substantial lag. The UI does not help here as well since Cool 5 has its own skin Coolpad UI over Android and it cannot be changed at all. If you are looking at a device for just calling, messaging, some multimedia and light games, then Cool 5 doesn’t disappoint with the performance.
Cool 5 comes with a massive 4000mAh battery which keeps the phone up and running for more than a day even with heavy usage. There is also a power manager application that allows extending the battery life by optimizing the performance.
Camera:
The camera is one department where Coolpad has to put more effort in order to gain the budget segment market. The devices struggle in the camera performance when it comes to both photos and videos. Cool 5 has a 13MP + 2MP dual-camera setup at the back with the latter acting as a depth sensor. The camera is very slow in taking pictures and also fails to capture details with noise being introduced in every picture. The low light shots are also full of noise. On the front, there is a 16MP selfie camera which is slightly better but has problems in white balance.
Verdict:
Coolpad Cool 5 has been launched to compete in the budget segment against competitors like Realme and Redmi. The phone comes close to the competition in aspects like battery, screen and build quality but fails in important areas like UI and camera performance.
