Emerging markets mean that buyers don’t seem to be worried about much more than specifications and after-sales (apart from the price, that is). Which is why, vendors can easily get away with re-branding devices and selling them at a premium.
The fact that buyers seem happy to purchase these devices shows that it (read: rebranding) isn’t something that’s bad or illegitimate. It’s just that we (including our readers) at GizChina tend to stay on top of our tech!
So, iberry, an Asian smartphone vendor launched the Auxus Beast in India for 13,990 INR or US$225. The device is certainly a beast, not only for its name but also for the fact that it packs the MediaTek MT6752 chipset, one that’s been quite a favourite lately.
The Auxus Beast, apart from the SoC, packs a wholesome 3GB of RAM; the company doesn’t shy from mentioning in bold in the press release that the Auxus Beast is the cheapest (most affordable would’ve been a better choice of words) 3GB RAM phone in the country. Besides that, there’s a 5.5-inch 1280 x 720p display, a 13 mega-pixel rear camera, 8 mega-pixel front camera and 16GB on-board ROM.
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ALSO SEE: Mlais M52 Red Note Review
The phone runs Android 5.0 Lollipop out of the box and is powered by a 3050mAh battery. The phone looks a LOT like the Xiaomi Redmi Note, which in fact is cheaper than this one. Another phone that looks like the Redmi Note is the Mlais M52 Red Note; in fact, it appears to us like the iberry Auxus Beast and the Mlais M52 Red Note come from the same facilities in China. At around $60 extra, the Auxus packs a gig of extra RAM over the 2GB offered by the Mlais Red Note.
An interesting conclusion drawn:
- Original: Xiaomi Redmi Note
- Copied design, but more powerful: Mlais Red Note
- Again copied, but even more powerful: iberry Auxus Beast
Sometime we did a a feature on rebranded Chinese phones. Do let us know if you would like another one of those lists!