[Review] Wiko U Feel Lite – Does Wiko’s Workhorse Wonder Walk the Talk?

Performance and Camera
In terms of hardware, the U Feel Lite has specs that do the job. Running the show on the phone is Android Marshmallow 6.0.1 on a MediaTek MT6735 1.3GHz quad-core processor that pairs up a quartet of Cortex-A7 processors to handle the grunt work. Paired with this is 2GB RAM and 16GB of expandable storage via a dedicated microSD card slot. As mentioned earlier, the phone also has dual microSIM card slots.

The firmware overlaying Marshmallow is Wiko’s own home brewed variant dubbed Wiko UI that has an array of rather gaudily done icons and wallpaper. It also has several apps that help with general housekeeping, saving power and the like including a one-tap shortcut to use the rear flash as an ersatz torchlight.

For added security, Wiko’s UI overlay also has a couple of interesting features in the form of a Files Lock and Apps Lock shortcut. Both are able to encrypt and partition off certain files or apps for privacy or security concerns which can only be unlocked via a PIN or pattern based password. Files Lock lets you lock off videos, music, pictures and certain files from casual prying, which comes in handy if you’re passing your phone over to someone for a few minutes to see a picture or two in order to deter more inquisitive users. The Apps Lock function does the same thing and also allows you to lock out third party apps on top of the stock ones that come with the phone. It’s unexpected, but a nice touch for a phone at this price point.
The provided fingerprint reader was able to read a fingerprint from almost any angle though it had difficulty registering your digits if they were damp on top of needing a good second or two for it to activate. You’re able to register up to five fingerprints and assign each print to a particular function so you’re able to not only unlock the phone but also immediately access important stuff like your camera by using the appropriate digit. It’s a pleasant bonus for a phone that’s under RM600.

In use, the U Feel Lite ran relatively smoothly and the UI isn’t overly crammed with bloatware barring the addition of basics like a ‘One Clean’ function that cleans up your RAM with one press of a button and a Phone Assist shortcut that gets you into a hardwired app that lets you manage power, notifications, bootable apps and a phone number black list. It also has a novel shortcut mode that lets you doodle symbols onscreen to act as a quick shortcut to apps like the camera and the like. You’re also able to add your own gestures to create additional shortcuts to other apps as well.

The display itself was serviceable with decent clarity under daylight when dialed to maximum with options for larger fonts and colour adjustment for the colour blind. In the field, the U Feel Lite made for a serviceable phone bearing in mind its price tag. Call quality was clear with relatively good audio clarity on both sides. Audio from the single mono speaker was likewise loud and serviceable for general YouTubing and music.

In Geekbench, the phone managed a single core score of 500 and a multicore score of 1432. It didn’t handle all too well on the graphics front, managing a score of 129 using 3D Mark’s SlingShot ES 3.1 demo. In practical use, it will handle simple games like Angry Birds and the like in a competent fashion though Warhammer 40,000: Freeblade  and Dead Trigger 2 had loading times measured in several seconds in between levels even on medium settings.

The rear camera is perfunctory at best. If you keep your expectations modest, the rear shooter will let you take 8-MP snaps in a 4:3 aspect ratio with some decent clarity under good lighting conditions though you’ll need steady hands to get good shots out of this. Low light shots are somewhat viewable if you fire up the flash though with they end up rather grainy. The camera has a decent array of modes including a HDR and a manual mode that lets you tweak ISO, white balance, colour saturation, sharpness and exposure though with an 8-MP sensor you’ll have to manage your expectations.

The front facing selfie camera has a Wide selfie mode for group selfie shots and a Face Beauty mode where you can dial the level of face smoothing, eye enlargement and image sharpness from none to Hollywood-like levels of beautification. Again, like the rear camera you’ll need steady hands to get good shots. If you need to take shots for Facebook or Instagram, this phone does the job. Videos on both the front and rear cameras are taken at 1080p though there’s no image stabilisation so you’ll need a tripod to render usable footage. With some preparation beforehand, you can get some usable footage that is sufficient for short snippets.