Oukitel C17 Pro
The Chinese brand Oukitel continues its little journey. Its reputation is still not as good as that of Huawei or Xiaomi, but there are still many smartphones that are selling in our territory. Users buy their models from reseller sites (Amazon, Cdiscount) or major fonts via specialized sites (Aliexpress, Gearbest). This time we are interested in the Oukitel C17 Pro model. This phone adopts a design and technologies in the spirit of the times with a low selling price. There are more and more low-end smartphones on the market. Let's find out together if the C17 Pro can stand up to the competition.
Positive Points
- Design / Conception
- Correct performance
- 4 GB RAM / 64 GB ROM
- Own Android 9.0 system
Negative points
- No headphone jack
- No LED notification LEDs
- Photo quality
Oukitel C17 Pro review
The Oukitel C17 Pro phone is delivered in a standard cardboard box. Once opened you get the smartphone, a transparent protective cover, paperwork, the needle to open the SIM card slot, a power adapter, a USB Type C to 3.5 mm jack adapter and a USB-C cable to charge the battery. The packaging is classic, but rather complete. All that's missing are in-ear headphones.
Design
In terms of design, the Oukitel C17 Pro is based on what is currently available on the market. It is 158 x 75 x 8 mm in size and 178 grams on the scale. It is a lightweight smartphone once in hand. The frame is made of metal, the back part of the phone also looks like metal, but in fact it's plastic. It is the use of this material that makes it possible to lighten the whole. There is nothing to criticize about the quality of the materials used for its design or its finishes. Everything is clean and neat. The manufacturer has rounded the edges to ensure a pleasant grip. Our red version also looks great. Please note that the C17 Pro is also available in black and in green/blue gradient. You can continue to enjoy the pretty colored look even when using the protective shell, since it is transparent. However, it will not protect it much from shocks or falls.
At the front is a 6.4 inch screen with a punch placed at the top left side as on the Honor View 20. For the moment, this type of notch is rare on low-end models. Otherwise the black edges surrounding the slab are rather thin, except for the chin. At the back is the photo module that integrates three sensors and the flash. It is placed in the upper left corner. The photo module protrudes a little more than 1 mm, so the smartphone will be wobbly when you place it on a table. You can compensate for this problem by using the silicone protective shell. There is also the fingerprint sensor which is easy to reach with your finger. You can also see the Oukitel logo on the bottom part. It is not metal, but you will still enjoy the pretty reflections of the sun if you choose it in green/blue red.
On the left side is the slot for inserting the SIM card. It is a hybrid slot, so you can insert two nano SIMs or one nano SIM and one micro SD card to expand the memory. On the right side is the power and volume button. The two buttons are made of metal and react perfectly when you interact. On the bottom edge are the microphone, multimedia speaker and USB-C port for charging the battery. We are happy to see that low-budget smartphone manufacturers are ending up with the Micro USB port. However, we regret that there is no 3.5 mm jack. You will need to use the USB-C to 3.5 mm jack adapter in the box to listen to your music in wired mode.
Screen
As we mentioned above, the Oukitel C17 Pro is equipped with a screen drilled in the left corner. On the Samsung Galaxy S10, it is on the right side. The hole or punch (according to your preferences) is 6 mm in diameter. It is rather discreet, and you can hide it by using wallpapers. In any case, it is the first smartphone sold under the 200 euros bar that includes a punch for the front camera. The black surrounding edges are 3 mm thick, only the chin is a little wider: 6 mm.
The C17 Pro has a.35 inch diagonal IPS display, but the resolution is only 1560 x 720 pixels (HD). As for the resolution, it is 271 pixels per inch. The pixels are not visible to the naked eye. The touch screen recognizes 5 simultaneous contact points. The manufacturer has specified that the smartphone's display is protected by a glass, but not a Gorilla Glass. Oukitel called on the Japanese company Asahi Glass, which is active in the glass industry. We didn't know, but in any case their lenses are resistant. It was not scratched during our test. We always pass car keys on it to check the resistance.
Otherwise, at the display level, the color rendering is neutral. The contrast is good, but not at the level of an Amoled screen. What we regret is that it is not possible to adjust the color temperature (colder or warmer). With a maximum brightness of 466 lux, the screen offers a correct bright display, but not perfect. Sometimes it will be difficult to distinguish the information displayed in bright sunlight. Navigation is done via the touch buttons at the bottom of the screen.
Performance and System
The Oukitel C17 Pro is equipped with the MT6763 processor, also known as the Helio P23. The Mediatek Helio P23 MT6763T is a consumer ARM SoC. It is manufactured using a 16 nm FinFET+ process, and is composed of 8 ARM Cortex-A53 physical cores. The cores are divided into two clusters, one for performance and rising to 2.3 GHz and one energy-efficient cluster rising to 1.65 GHz. The Helio P23 is as good as the SD625 performance levels. The processor comes with a Mali-G71 chip, 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of ROM to store your various data (read speed: 196 MB/s, write speed 273 MB/s). If this is not enough, you can add a micro SD card. On the other hand, you will do without the dual nano SIM function.
The Antutu score of the C17 Pro is 95,348 points. It is placed between the Redmi 7 and the GOME U9. We had no performance problems during our test. The smartphone is powerful enough to perform all everyday tasks (sms, video, social networks, web browsing, etc.) You can even play the 3D game. Aspahlt 9 turned out perfectly and so did PUBG Mobil. Good on the other hand the graphics will not be able to be high. Anyway, it stays fluid and the games are detailed enough for the games to be enjoyable. It is gratifying to see that a smartphone sold for just over 100 euros is doing well in terms of performance.
The Oukitel C17 Pro runs on Android 9.0. The security patch is dated August 2019. It is unlikely that updates will be made for the past on Android 10. Otherwise the system has hardly been modified, the user experience is similar to what Android Stock offers. We take advantage of all the usual options and parameters. As a result, Android lovers will not be lost. Of course all Google applications are present (Gmail, Drive, Maps, etc.) We have not detected any third-party applications, except Dura Speed Tool, but it can be disabled. The system is fluid and clean, no viruses or malware detected. Moreover, we did not experience any bugs or problems during our use. It's just that you won't be able to enjoy videos in Full HD with Netflix and company (Widevine 3).
Photo
Most of the time one of the features that differentiate a low-end smartphone from a high-end smartphone is the camera. The models sold at low prices are still not satisfactory in terms of photography. This is unfortunately the case with the Oukitel C17 Pro.
Yesterday smartphones still stands out thanks to two photo sensors on the back, but today we go to three. Here the first sensor is a Sony 13 megapixel model with f/2.0 aperture, the second a 2 megapixel depth sensor and the third is a 5 megapixel wide-angle sensor. The front camera integrated in the punch is also 5 megapixels.
On paper the photo sensors are interesting, unfortunately we were extremely disappointed when we realized that the two sensors below the main one were all just fictional! As a result, the bokeh and wide-angle mode are realized by the software. The least that can be said is that it is extremely bad. No picture can be used with these two modes, so only the photo sensor can be used.
If there are good light conditions, we can exploit some photos with the 13 megapixel sensor. The colours are clear, but we notice that there is not enough detail. There are some blurred elements in the picture. It will be even worse when there is less light. So don't bother taking the phone out of your pocket if the sky is cloudy or if it is dark. The noise is too present to get a good rendering. It is also worth noting that autofocus is very difficult to do when there is a light source (lamps, car headlights, etc.) The result is also bad with the 5 megapixel front camera. There is a yellowing effect when you take selfies. You will have understood it the photo part is simply bad with the Oukitel C17 Pro. You can record videos in Full HD (1920 x 1080) at 30 fps, however the quality is poor. The electronic stabilizer compensates for tremors, but there is not enough detail to get something right.
Connectivity and Sound
The Oukitel C17 Pro is compatible with many 2G, 3G and 4G frequencies. We remind you that it includes a hybrid slot. You can insert two nano SIM cards or one Nano SIM card and one micro SD card to expand the memory.
Supported frequencies:
- 2G: B2 (1900), B3 (1800), B5 (850), B8 (900)
- 3G: B1 (2100), B2 (1900), B5 (850), B8 (900)
- 4G: B1 (2100), B2 (1900), B3 (1800), B4 (1700/2100 AWS 1), B5 (850), B7 (2600), B8 (900), B12 (700), B17 (700), B18 (800), B19 (800), B20 (800), B25 (1900+), B26 (850), B28 (700), B40 (TDD 2300)
As with all other smartphones currently on the market, the C17 Pro can be connected via Wifi (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac). It is also compatible with Bluetooth 4.2 and OTG technology. On the other hand, no NFC. It is compatible with GPS, A-GPS and Glonass. Navigation is perfect on foot or by car. The smartphone includes an acceleration, brightness and proximity sensor. It also has a gyroscope and a Hall effect sensor. As for the fingerprint sensor on the back, it works reliably. Detection is fast and smooth (10 out of 10 successful attempts). If you wish, you can unlock the smartphone with your face. The Unlock Face is reliable, it takes 1.3 seconds to get to the home screen.
Autonomy
The Oukitel C17 Pro is equipped with a 3900 mAh battery. Our autonomy test with PCMark announces a little over 13 hours. It does better than the Umidigi A5 Pro and the Xiaomi Redmi 7. You will get 1 full day of autonomy in intensive use. It takes about two hours to fully recharge the battery with the AC adapter supplied in the box.
Conclusion
The Oukitel C17 Pro is a low-end smartphone that offers a neat design and conception. A clean Android system and correct performance for everyday use. On the other hand, the photo part is missed.
Oukitel C17 Pro Smartphone
