Elephone P7000 Review : All the gear and no idea


elephone p7000 review

“All the gear and no idea” is a term we use for someone who has the best of everything but isn’t sure how to use it. That sort of sums up our impression of the Elephone P7000. Find out more in our full review.

The Elephone P7000 was/is a phone that was reported on a lot, and looking at the specifications it is easy to say why. The phone has everything you could possibly wan’t from a Chinese phone. 3GB RAM, IMX214 camera (claimed), 5.5-inch 1080 display, large battery, LTE, MT6752 processor and Android Lollipop. Really you can’t want for more, well you couldn’t have asked for more when the P7000 was originally announced (back in December) since then there have been a lot of changes in phone design and there are new Mediatek chipsets to choose.

Elephone P7000: Unboxing and first impressions

Elephone P7000 Review: Design

Just looking at the design of the Elephone P7000, it is clear where the majority of the budget went in this phone. The P7000 is a very good reminder that we simply cannot have everything at such a low price (yet). In this case the phone has all the hardware right, but the design couldn’t be further off the mark. Imagine if FSO (Google them they were/are a car maker) had decided to build a car with Ferrari engine. Sure it would be fast but it would look like sh$t and handle like a soggy biscuit.

elephone p7000 review

The first thing you will notice is the bezels around the display. Elephone have tried to hide them by making them black (the same as the screen when off) and just showing a narrow white bezel on either side. It’s not a narrow black border either but a huge black void all around the screen. It looks ugly and make the 5.5-inch phone significantly large than other 5.5-inch phones, in fact the 5.7-inch Xiaomi Mi Note is only very slightly larger than the Elephone.

This is a huge deal. If you were someone who looked at 5.7-inch or 6-inch phones and thought there were too big, well you are going to feel the same about the 5.5-inch Elephone. On the other hand the 5.5-inch LeTV and even the Mlias M7 are much more compact and easy to handle.

elephone p7000 review

I like cars so I am going to liken the Elephone P7000 to car design once again. How often have you seen a concept car and thought ‘wow’ only for the production model to look bloated and ‘meh’? (if you can’t think of one take a look at the Chinese MG3). The Elephone P7000 is the same. Renders of the phone looked good, and the final device is obviously based on those renders, but it’s gotten fatter and and longer in the process. It’s not good.

So it isn’t a great looking phone, but neither is the Asus Zenfone 2 really isn’t? And I really like that phone. perhaps the P7000 is a gem in other areas?

Elephone P7000 Review: Build

How often do you feel the urge to bend your phone? That’s right you don’t but there are times that your phone is put under similar stress. For example if you put a large phone in your back pocket as it won’t fit in your side pockets (remember the P7000 is bigger than most 5.5-inch devices). What would happen then if you sat down?

elephone p7000 bend

To test how the phone would survive under these stresses I gave it a go and low and behold the Elephone P7000 bent and has stayed bent. I’m not the only reviewer to test this out as you can see here. Out of fariness I also performed the same with the Elephone P7000’s nearest rivals aka the Ulefone Be Touch and Mlais M7, and neither deformed. In fact the Ulefone has one hell of a sturdy chassis!

Elephone P7000 Review: Performance and System

We have established that Elephone have blown the budget on the hardware side of the Elephone P7000 so just how well does it perform? Well if you take a look at the benchmarks you will see that the performance is pretty good. For a phone with 3GB RAM and an octacore Mediatek MT6752 chipset the benchmarks are about right, but benchmarks don’t really mean anything in real world terms.

elephone p7000 bend

In actual usage the Elephone P7000 suffers from not having the greatest ROM in the world. The poor optimisation of Android 5.0 Lollipop on the device means the system doesn’t feel as smooth as it should and suffers from bugs. The good news is that Elephone are bring OTA updates to the phone and with each one the P7000 gets smoother and more stable. Just how long it will take for Elephone to get it all sorted and running to a point we are making the most of the hardware is another question. Also keep in mind that MiraVision is missing from the ROM. Not a feature I personally use but something to keep in my for those who do make use of it.

One option that Elephone P7000 owners can try for better performance is the Vibe UI ROM available from the Elephone Forum. I haven’t tried it myself but Chris over at Gizchina.de claims that the performance is much improved and the system offers a better camera app too. The only issue is that there is no fingerprint scanner support.

Elephone P7000 benchmarks

Benchmarks from my Elephone P7000 are:

  • Antutu: 43,914
  • Geekbench Single-core score: 798
  • Geekbench Multi-core score: 3948
  • Quadrant: 20,733
  • Ice Storm Extreme: 6306
  • GFX Manhattan: 372.9
  • GFX Manhattan Offscreen: 372.9
  • GFX T-Rex: 752.9
  • GFX T-Rex Offscreen: 736.2
  • Nenamark 2: 55.0 fps
  • Vellamo Metal: 1373
  • Vellamo Multicore: 1834
  • Vellamo Browser: 3091

Elephone P7000 Review: Screen

So the good bits. The screen on the Elephone P7000 is a good one. If you don’t get distracted by the huge black bezels then you can enjoy a 1920 x 1080 FHD display. It’s not the brightest screen in the world, Elephone seem to have limited the brightness to improve battery life, but we hope this will be addressed with updates. When opening up the P7000 packaging ensure you turn off the battery saving mode (some are shipping like this) as this will prevent the screen from going to full brightness.

elephone p7000 review

Viewing angles are good and touch response is as fast as the sluggish ROM will allow. Other reviewers have mentioned white spots on the screen. Our review phone has one, and I believe they only appear after bending the phone and get worse the more it is bent.

Elephone P7000 Review: Camera

elephone p7000 review

Let’s get things in to perspective. The Elephone P7000 is a $200 phone (RRP) and for the money it offers a Sony IMX214 13 mega-pixel main camera and 5 mega-pixel front camera. Although it is a IMX214 the photographic performance of the Elephone P7000 isn’t on par with the Le 1 or the Xiaomi Mi Note, but compared to other $200 phones the results are pretty good and a nice leap forward for Elephone.

What is odd about the camera on the p7000 is that under certain lighting conditions there is a red tint to photos. This has been present since the phone arrived and persisted through the various updates. I belive it is due to the optics and probably will remain with the phone. A huge shame as the camera can produce some nice photos, just not all the time!

Elephone P7000 Photo samples Slight Red Tint

Elephone P7000 Photo samples normal

Elephone P7000 Photo samples low-light

Elephone P7000 Review: Connectivity

You might be surprised to learn that there really isn’t much to complain about in this area. 3G and 4G worked well through out the review from the first day and through various updates. Call quality is good and updates have improved clarity. WIFI strength is also above average and GPS is good too, better in the latest updates.

Elephone P7000 Review: Battery

Elephone say that the battery in the Elephone P7000 is a 3450mAh battery. That’s a good size and should give enough juice to the FHD display and octacore processor to get you through the day without issue.

elephone p7000 review

With the poor ROM optimisation though we aren’t getting the most from the battery yet, but as OTA updates have been coming out frequently we can hope that the ROM will be optimised correclty and we will eventually get more than 6 hours (or there abouts) of screen on time. Like all phones though your milage will vary depending on how you use your device.

Elephone P7000 Review: Audio

elephone p7000 review

Audio on the P7000 is loud and clear, but I wouldn’t say the sound through the external speakers in enjoyable. It’s a little tinny and struggles at higher volumes. You could easily fill small room with music from the phone, but it is highly unlikely you will enjoy what you hear. Coming from phones like the Le 1 and Xiaomi Mi Note the audio is well off the mark, even the Ulefone Be Touch has better audio.

Elephone P7000 Review: Conclusion

Is the Elephone P7000 a bad phone? Well it isn’t the best looking phone, or the most solid phone or the best optimised phone that’s for sure. What the phone does offer is a large battery and impressive hardware for the money. I would also like to add the camera to the P700’s pros as it can take some very nice photos, but that intermitent red tint is extremely annoying!

elephone p7000 review

Was the P7000 worth the hype? If it had launched 6 weeks earlier then the P7000 would have been the first and only phone of this calibre which you could buy, but with such a delay Ulefone, Mlais, Zeaplus, and other phone makers all have their own equivalents and some of them are better all round packages than the P7000.

Thanks to Coolicool who sent us our review Elephone P7000.

Disclaimer: We may be compensated by some of the companies whose products we talk about, but our articles and reviews are always our honest opinions. For more details, you can check out our editorial guidelines and learn about how we use affiliate links.

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148 Comments

  1. mf1gt3r
    June 14, 2015

    Emmm. 99% of pictures taken shows F2.8 aperture. Is that an error? I thought it had F2.0. The phone is indeed a leap forward. Its a shame am ditching this for the Mlais M7.

    • June 14, 2015

      Specs say F2.0, photos say F2.8. The camera is good in low light so I assume the issue is software related.

  2. Sprime
    June 14, 2015

    so, in all seriousness, when was the last time we were anything close to “being satisfied” with an Elephone device? :O I hear fairly good things about the P6000, but that’s basically all I can recall.

  3. Bailey
    June 14, 2015

    Elephone renders always look great in fact they have some of the best looking renders. They just cant seem to make it for real.

  4. balcobomber25
    June 14, 2015

    Seems like a fair review, as a fellow car enthusiast the FSO reference was a great way to open!

  5. PedroL
    June 14, 2015

    Andi, would you recommend the Asus zenfone 2 over the P7000?

    • Sprime
      June 14, 2015

      probably, but you have oh so many options nowadays in that exact category

      • PedroL
        June 14, 2015

        I am divided between the P7000, Zenfone 2 or Jiayu S3 advanced. Not sure which to pick.

        • balcobomber25
          June 14, 2015

          Zenfone 2 is the best of those 3, but for me personally it is the ugliest. You can’t go wrong with the Zenfone 2 or S3 they are both very good phones, go with which one you like better.

      • hichaam
        June 15, 2015

        What are the best options under 300$? having dual SIM, 4G and 32Gb minimum or sdcard support. I’m also thinking about Asus Zenfone 2, but I want to know if there is a better alternative.

    • June 14, 2015

      Yes, for sure. The Zenfone 2 is really great. My wife is using it now and loves it.

      • Neda
        July 27, 2015

        hi andi. i want to buy p7000. you think is a bad phone for me?

    • Xalis
      June 15, 2015

      Right now for the price, I would suggest the Xiaomi M4 3GB with no LTE, it cost $250 and is better than both Asus and Ele, but it’s a 5″ not a 5.5″.

  6. Muhammad Yasir
    June 14, 2015

    wow… this was an EPIC FAIL from ELephone…
    i guess if they took their time , like Apple and optimised hardware… they’d be in a league of their own

    • June 15, 2015

      You cannot put Elephone and Apple in the same sentence unless that sentence contains the word “clone” or “copy”. Apple has a world-class design studio with almost limitless budget and a no compromise mentality. Elephone? Well, they’re just trying to find their way in the cut-throat Chinese market and it seems they spent most of their budget on 3D CAD modellers ;).

      • Muhammad Yasir
        June 15, 2015

        ahaha! spot on mate !

        all i really wanted to say was… that most of us here kinda loathe apple for being so pricey and so on… what we don’t see is the guile and clever planning behind their rise to fiscal supremacy. If chinese companies (not elephone :P) , especially those that are well established and have a deeper understanding of Hand-Held electronics , spent a BIT moar time trying to copy Apple’s style of being patient and persevere with their releases , they might hit the jackpot for some absolutely and TRULY killer budget phones !

        its all in the mind… if chinese OEMs can use it , that is 🙂

        • June 16, 2015

          I think a big part of the equation is the supply chain. Apple dominates this because of their scale and good track record: every time they come to the negotiation table they have so much leverage because they can move so many units. This translates into cheaper parts for Apple, which means bigger profits per iPhone sold. The smaller players, including the local Chinese outfits, cannot get the same cheap contracts in supply chain, so they either have to go with cheaper (i.e., lower quality) parts or cut costs elsewhere, like the software development and QA departments. Apple is also known to buy out a particular part just so that it won’t be available to be used in competing products, or at least prevent their competitors from manufactoring enough devices to become a threat. It’s a tough game, but with enough money you can win it with brute force and cunning scheming, a game which Apple has mastered over the years.

          The only realistic way that the Chinese companies can compete is to try and collude with Chinese contract manufacturers to get better rates, but contrary to popular belief the largest contract manufacturers Foxconn and Flextronics are not Chinese companies (they are Taiwanese and American, respectively), so there goes that plan.

          Of course the Chinese companies can also compete by innovating, but when was the last time something truly innovative was first seen on a Chinese phone? Innovation is not something that can just be pulled out of a magic hat — you first have to spend billions of dollars on R&D for many fruitless years and hope that something innovative will come out of the labs in a couple years, often longer. This is something that most Chinese companies simply cannot afford to do. The two Chinese companies that I think come closest to having the maverick think-outside-the-box spirit are Oppo and Xiaomi. All the other Chinese companies either have boring play-it-safe leaders or don’t produce enough volume to make much of a dent. This is my opinion anyway.

        • June 16, 2015

          I think a big part of the equation is the supply chain. Apple dominates this because of their scale and good track record: every time they come to the negotiation table they have so much leverage because they can move so many units. This translates into cheaper parts for Apple, which means bigger profits per iPhone sold. The smaller players, including the local Chinese outfits, cannot get the same cheap contracts in supply chain, so they either have to go with cheaper (i.e., lower quality) parts or cut costs elsewhere, like the software development and QA departments. Apple is also known to buy out a particular part just so that it won’t be available to be used in competing products, or at least prevent their competitors from manufactoring enough devices to become a threat. It’s a tough game, but with enough money you can win it with brute force and cunning scheming, a game which Apple has mastered over the years.

          The only realistic way that the Chinese companies can compete is to try and collude with Chinese contract manufacturers to get better rates, but contrary to popular belief the largest contract manufacturers Foxconn and Flextronics are not Chinese companies (they are Taiwanese and American, respectively), so there goes that plan.

          Of course the Chinese companies can also compete by innovating, but when was the last time something truly innovative was first seen on a Chinese phone? Innovation is not something that can just be pulled out of a magic hat — you first have to spend billions of dollars on R&D for many fruitless years and hope that something innovative will come out of the labs in a couple years, often longer. This is something that most Chinese companies simply cannot afford to do. The two Chinese companies that I think come closest to having the maverick think-outside-the-box spirit are Oppo and Xiaomi. All the other Chinese companies either have boring play-it-safe leaders or don’t produce enough volume to make much of a dent. This is my opinion anyway.

          • Muhammad Yasir
            June 16, 2015

            its actually a very good read for curious and inquisitive people like me…
            thanks for putting this out… it really explains all the drawbacks of the chinese smartphones and their market in general.
            i believe if the chinese think like this and try to be a bit bold and daring, they MIGHT just hit the jackpot but like u said , its a hit or miss and can take a good deal of time…

            still , its worth a shot if the chinese think about it.

          • amirexpressir
            June 21, 2015

            I remember vivo xplay 3s which was really great that time(fingerprint, QuadHD, sd801 2.3ghz) and HiFi

  7. PaulBV
    June 14, 2015

    Andi, you scare the sh.. out of me with this review 🙁 I was still waiting for my P7000 from Gearbest but now I am thinking of canceling my order and asking for a refund. I really really don’t know what to do 🙁 P7000 seemed a fantastic bargain for $159 but the bending really worries me. Give me an advice, pretty please 🙁

    • June 14, 2015

      I feel that now you know what to expect and you know to be careful about bending it you won’t be all that disapointed. I suppose it depends on what phone you are coming from, and if you have the budget to spend a little more?

      • PaulBV
        June 14, 2015

        I had only Samsungs until now (Galaxy S1, S young duos, S3, S4). Last year I bought an OPO for my ex for our anniversary…well we are not together anymore but still miss that phone, and perhapps her. My Galaxy S4 is really OK but wanted something new, a beautiful phone, a bargain (a 3 GB RAM, MTK octa core…perhaps White color); P7000 seemed perfect. I am sorry I didn’t order LeTV One for ~ 299 or less. Should I wait for the One Plus 2, Redmi Note 2…or choose smth similar to P7000 (Be Touch 2, Mlais M7, Zeaplus?, Jyaiu S3, Ecoo E03 etc.)…it is a hard choice…

        • June 14, 2015

          Go for a Le 1 or the Op2 perhaps?

          • PaulBV
            June 14, 2015

            Thank you so much! Great work, great articles, great guy!

          • kdokma
            June 15, 2015

            Regards, Andi, can you add to Jyaiu S3 review numerical marks for certain areas of the test. This would help to compare this still popular mobile phone with a newer competitors. Tnx.

        • slartiblart
          June 15, 2015

          I’ve had many of them. I finally settled with the Honor Plus 6. Best of everything.

  8. Rob
    June 14, 2015

    Well did anyone expect anything different? Releasing this many phones it’s obvious there would be problems with things like software and build quality. Definitely one to avoid!

  9. Don Rogers
    June 14, 2015

    So even though I was able to get the P7000 phone at $159.99 I have cancelled my order and will buy a Jiayu S3 instead. I was really hoping the Jiayu S4 would be available by now but I guess it will go on sale the day after I get the S3 delivered.

  10. mf1gt3r
    June 14, 2015

    Emmm. 99% of pictures taken shows F2.8 aperture. Is that an error? I thought it had F2.0. The phone is indeed a leap forward. Its a shame am ditching this for the Mlais M7.

    • Andi Sykes
      June 14, 2015

      Specs say F2.0, photos say F2.8. The camera is good in low light so I assume the issue is software related.

  11. peters
    June 14, 2015

    photos in benidorm? 🙂

  12. Sprime
    June 14, 2015

    so, in all seriousness, when was the last time we were anything close to “being satisfied” with an Elephone device? :O I hear fairly good things about the P6000, but that’s basically all I can recall.

  13. Bailey
    June 14, 2015

    Elephone renders always look great in fact they have some of the best looking renders. They just cant seem to make it for real.

  14. balcobomber25
    June 14, 2015

    Seems like a fair review, as a fellow car enthusiast the FSO reference was a great way to open!

  15. Guest
    June 14, 2015

    Andi, would you recommend the Asus zenfone 2 over the P7000?

    • Sprime
      June 14, 2015

      probably, but you have oh so many options nowadays in that exact category

    • Guest
      June 14, 2015

      I am divided between the P7000, Zenfone 2 or Jiayu S3 advanced. Not sure which to pick.

    • balcobomber25
      June 14, 2015

      Zenfone 2 is the best of those 3, but for me personally it is the ugliest. You can’t go wrong with the Zenfone 2 or S3 they are both very good phones, go with which one you like better.

    • Andi Sykes
      June 14, 2015

      Yes, for sure. The Zenfone 2 is really great. My wife is using it now and loves it.

    • Guest
      June 15, 2015

      Right now for the price, I would suggest the Xiaomi M4 3GB with no LTE, it cost $250 and is better than both Asus and Ele, but it’s a 5″ not a 5.5″.

    • hichaam
      June 15, 2015

      What are the best options under 300$? having dual SIM, 4G and 32Gb minimum or sdcard support. I’m also thinking about Asus Zenfone 2, but I want to know if there is a better alternative.

    • Guest
      July 27, 2015

      hi andi. i want to buy p7000. you think is a bad phone for me?

  16. Guest
    June 14, 2015

    wow… this was an EPIC FAIL from ELephone…
    i guess if they took their time , like Apple and optimised hardware… they’d be in a league of their own

    • 10basetom
      June 15, 2015

      You cannot put Elephone and Apple in the same sentence unless that sentence contains the word “clone” or “copy”. Apple has a world-class design studio with almost limitless budget and a no compromise mentality. Elephone? Well, they’re just trying to find their way in the cut-throat Chinese market and it seems they spent most of their budget on 3D CAD modellers ;).

    • Guest
      June 15, 2015

      ahaha! spot on mate !

      all i really wanted to say was… that most of us here kinda loathe apple for being so pricey and so on… what we don’t see is the guile and clever planning behind their rise to fiscal supremacy. If chinese companies (not elephone :P) , especially those that are well established and have a deeper understanding of Hand-Held electronics , spent a BIT moar time trying to copy Apple’s style of being patient and persevere with their releases , they might hit the jackpot for some absolutely and TRULY killer budget phones !

      its all in the mind… if chinese OEMs can use it , that is 🙂

    • 10basetom
      June 16, 2015

      I think a big part of the equation is the supply chain. Apple dominates this because of their scale and good track record: every time they come to the negotiation table they have so much leverage because they can move so many units. This translates into cheaper parts for Apple, which means bigger profits per iPhone sold. The smaller players, including the local Chinese outfits, cannot get the same cheap contracts in supply chain, so they either have to go with cheaper (i.e., lower quality) parts or cut costs elsewhere, like the software development and QA departments. Apple is also known to buy out a particular part just so that it won’t be available to be used in competing products, or at least prevent their competitors from manufactoring enough devices to become a threat. It’s a tough game, but with enough money you can win it with brute force and cunning scheming, a game which Apple has mastered over the years.

      The only realistic way that the Chinese companies can compete is to try and collude with Chinese contract manufacturers to get better rates, but contrary to popular belief the largest contract manufacturers Foxconn and Flextronics are not Chinese companies (they are Taiwanese and American, respectively), so there goes that plan.

      Of course the Chinese companies can also compete by innovating, but when was the last time something truly innovative was first seen on a Chinese phone? Innovation is not something that can just be pulled out of a magic hat — you first have to spend billions of dollars on R&D for many fruitless years and hope that something innovative will come out of the labs in a couple years, often longer. This is something that most Chinese companies simply cannot afford to do. The two Chinese companies that I think come closest to having the maverick think-outside-the-box spirit are Oppo and Xiaomi. All the other Chinese companies either have boring play-it-safe leaders or don’t produce enough volume to make much of a dent. This is my opinion anyway.

    • Guest
      June 16, 2015

      its actually a very good read for curious and inquisitive people like me…
      thanks for putting this out… it really explains all the drawbacks of the chinese smartphones and their market in general.
      i believe if the chinese think like this and try to be a bit bold and daring, they MIGHT just hit the jackpot but like u said , its a hit or miss and can take a good deal of time…

      still , its worth a shot if the chinese think about it.

    • amirexpressir
      June 21, 2015

      I remember vivo xplay 3s which was really great that time(fingerprint, QuadHD, sd801 2.3ghz) and HiFi

  17. hichaam
    June 14, 2015

    Andi, I was able to catch the P7000 at the 159$ price, but after seeing the reviews I cancelled my order, and now I’m trying to find my next phone. I’m actually thinking of Asus Zenfone 2 or the other chinese alternatives (Ulefone Be Touch 2, Mlais M7 or Jiayu s3 advanced). What do you think about this? Do you have a better option under 300$, having dual sim, 4g and a minimum of 32gb or sdcard support.
    Thanks,

    • tiba
      June 15, 2015

      lenovo k3 note

    • amirexpressir
      June 21, 2015

      huawei honor 6
      zenfone 2 4gb/32gb
      Letv s1
      and lenovo vibe shot too

  18. Yeti hand
    June 14, 2015

    FAILURE
    and I’m not even surprised

  19. PaulBV
    June 14, 2015

    Andi, you scare the sh.. out of me with this review 🙁 I was still waiting for my P7000 from Gearbest but now I am thinking of canceling my order and asking for a refund. I really really don’t know what to do 🙁 P7000 seemed a fantastic bargain for $159 but the bending really worries me. Give me an advice, pretty please 🙁

    • Andi Sykes
      June 14, 2015

      I feel that now you know what to expect and you know to be careful about bending it you won’t be all that disapointed. I suppose it depends on what phone you are coming from, and if you have the budget to spend a little more?

    • PaulBV
      June 14, 2015

      I had only Samsungs until now (Galaxy S1, S young duos, S3, S4). Last year I bought an OPO for my ex for our anniversary…well we are not together anymore but still miss that phone, and perhapps her. My Galaxy S4 is really OK but wanted something new, a beautiful phone, a bargain (a 3 GB RAM, MTK octa core…perhaps White color); P7000 seemed perfect. I am sorry I didn’t order LeTV One for ~ 299 or less. Should I wait for the One Plus 2, Redmi Note 2…or choose smth similar to P7000 (Be Touch 2, Mlais M7, Zeaplus?, Jyaiu S3, Ecoo E03 etc.)…it is a hard choice…

    • Andi Sykes
      June 14, 2015

      Go for a Le 1 or the Op2 perhaps?

    • PaulBV
      June 14, 2015

      Thank you so much! Great work, great articles, great guy!

    • kdokma
      June 15, 2015

      Regards, Andi, can you add to Jyaiu S3 review numerical marks for certain areas of the test. This would help to compare this still popular mobile phone with a newer competitors. Tnx.

    • slartiblart
      June 15, 2015

      I’ve had many of them. I finally settled with the Honor Plus 6. Best of everything.

  20. Noname1919
    June 14, 2015

    I also cancelled my p7000 159usd. Tired of waiting for bad phone. P3000s 64 3gb was also bad. Will return it when my two umi emax comes. Andy. How is ecoo e04 compare to p7000?

  21. Rob
    June 14, 2015

    Well did anyone expect anything different? Releasing this many phones it’s obvious there would be problems with things like software and build quality. Definitely one to avoid!

  22. Don Rogers
    June 14, 2015

    So even though I was able to get the P7000 phone at $159.99 I have cancelled my order and will buy a Jiayu S3 instead. I was really hoping the Jiayu S4 would be available by now but I guess it will go on sale the day after I get the S3 delivered.

  23. peters
    June 14, 2015

    photos in benidorm? 🙂

  24. Chickens
    June 14, 2015

    Was hoping for an UMI eMax review, unfortunately it seems no one sent you one.

    • June 15, 2015

      No, I have one 😀

      • Chickens
        June 15, 2015

        Good to hear, since a local brand just recently rebranded Ulefone Be Touch for local consumption for around $177 (although it seems there’s more software bugs than the one you reviewed) and I was thinking if I made the impulse buy on my UMI eMax ($118.98+Customs tax) a mistake.

          • Chickens
            June 15, 2015

            Yes, I’ve watched that. I’ve also watched/read other reviews. Like Adri_L saying the camera is interpolated 8MP to Gizchina.it saying the camera is Sony IMX135. From ITXTutor saying speaker is bad to ColonelZap saying “Speaker is fine”.

            Nothing wrong with asking another guy’s opinion, especially since his site is my primary go to site for phone news.

            • June 16, 2015

              Hi, been playing with my eMax (first impressions will be up today) so far I can tell you the rear camrea is not a Sony it is from OV (checking if its an 8mp interploted or not). Speaker on my is clear, good for movies and spoken word. A bit tinny for music, but much better than most other phones at the price. I find 3/4 volume is max otherwise it begins to distort.

            • Chickens
              June 16, 2015

              Looking forward to the review. It’s nice reading about other people’s experience with regard to the phone since mine has not yet arrived.

      • Jimothy
        June 16, 2015

        Still waiting for a review 🙂

      • Jimothy
        June 16, 2015

        Still waiting for a review 🙂

  25. hichaam
    June 14, 2015

    Andi, I was able to catch the P7000 at the 159$ price, but after seeing the reviews I cancelled my order, and now I’m trying to find my next phone. I’m actually thinking of Asus Zenfone 2 or the other chinese alternatives (Ulefone Be Touch 2, Mlais M7 or Jiayu s3 advanced). What do you think about this? Do you have a better option under 300$, having dual sim, 4g and a minimum of 32gb or sdcard support.
    Thanks,

    • Guest
      June 15, 2015

      lenovo k3 note

    • amirexpressir
      June 21, 2015

      huawei honor 6
      zenfone 2 4gb/32gb
      Letv s1
      and lenovo vibe shot too

  26. Yeti hand
    June 14, 2015

    FAILURE
    and I’m not even surprised

  27. Suskind
    June 14, 2015

    White spots on screen??????

    • Xalis
      June 15, 2015

      Yup, if you apply pressure to the screen permanent white spots are formed, I have seen that in several low budget 5.5″ screens, even ones coming from LG (maybe all of them are LG and it’s a LG design flaw)

      • balcobomber25
        June 15, 2015

        It happens to low budget Sammy’s too. Think it’s just what you get from a budget display. Personally I think Sharp/JDI makes the best displays for phones and LG makes the best for TV;s.

  28. Chickens
    June 15, 2015

    Was hoping for an UMI eMax review, unfortunately it seems no one sent you one.

    • Andi Sykes
      June 15, 2015

      No, I have one 😀

    • Chickens
      June 15, 2015

      Good to hear, since a local brand just recently rebranded Ulefone Be Touch for local consumption for around $177 (although it seems there’s more software bugs than the one you reviewed) and I was thinking if I made the impulse buy on my UMI eMax ($118.98+Customs tax) a mistake.

    • iKosh
      June 15, 2015
    • Chickens
      June 15, 2015

      Yes, I’ve watched that. I’ve also watched/read other reviews. Like Adri_L saying the camera is interpolated 8MP to Gizchina.it saying the camera is Sony IMX135. From ITXTutor saying speaker is bad to ColonelZap saying “Speaker is fine”.

      Nothing wrong with asking another guy’s opinion, especially since his site is my primary go to site for phone news.

    • Guest
      June 16, 2015

      Still waiting for a review 🙂

    • Andi Sykes
      June 16, 2015

      Hi, been playing with my eMax (first impressions will be up today) so far I can tell you the rear camrea is not a Sony it is from OV (checking if its an 8mp interploted or not). Speaker on my is clear, good for movies and spoken word. A bit tinny for music, but much better than most other phones at the price. I find 3/4 volume is max otherwise it begins to distort.

    • Chickens
      June 17, 2015

      Looking forward to the review. It’s nice reading about other people’s experience with regard to the phone since mine has not yet arrived.

  29. Kieslowski
    June 15, 2015

    White spots on screen??????

    • Guest
      June 15, 2015

      Yup, if you apply pressure to the screen permanent white spots are formed, I have seen that in several low budget 5.5″ screens, even ones coming from LG (maybe all of them are LG and it’s a LG design flaw)

    • balcobomber25
      June 15, 2015

      It happens to low budget Sammy’s too. Think it’s just what you get from a budget display. Personally I think Sharp/JDI makes the best displays for phones and LG makes the best for TV;s.

  30. Manish
    June 15, 2015

    still waiting for a review of the Jiayu S3…

    • Rob
      June 15, 2015

      Andi reviewed the S3 back in february i believe, do a search and u wil find it.

    • Sirshrimp 007
      September 18, 2015

      Here here

      • Sirshrimp 007
        September 18, 2015

        How does the S3 stand up to the elephone?

  31. JB
    June 15, 2015

    Gidday Andi, thanks for the review. I’ve had a grey P7000 on preorder for well over a month now. I was quite excited but now a few reviews have come out I’m considering cancelling my order. Have read multiple reviewers slam the buggy firmware and while it is great to hear some OTA updates are coming out my past experience does not give me great faith in continued ROM development… especially when they are also about to release the P8000 and who knows what else. Build quality sounds okay if you don’t bend it. I’m after phone with good build finish, good camera and a ROM that is not full of bugs. Do you think I might be better to wait for Ulefone Be Touch 2?

  32. Fly agaric
    June 15, 2015

    Good review. The conclusion is no surprise to me, as the hype created and the tempo that Elephone set, just to be on the market before the competition, was just a bit too much already. Obviously there was not enough time, to master the product (software and hardware wise). In a stiuation like that the producer takes huge risk and seems like in here it didn’t pay.

    One thing that really surprise me is, how the hell are you guys aware of the existance of such a car producer as FSO ? 🙂 They don’t exist since year 2000 – Daewoo bougth them, then in the 2006 AvtoZAZ did. I doubt they produce anything now. They were one of the commie moloch, that never had a chance to develop
    (because of the dictate of the big brother in the East) and didn’t use
    their chance to prosper well in the post-commie times. Yet FSO 1500 used to be a dream of most people in the eastern block thirty something years ago 😀

    • June 15, 2015

      Glad you enjoyed the review 🙂

      As for FSO, well my hobbies are Mountain biking and cars. I have a Autobianchi A112 at the moment, which is a distant relative of the Yugo 45 and Fiat 127. FSO didn’t actually make bad cars really, just everyone thought they were bad. Same story for pre VW Skoda too.

      • Fly agaric
        June 15, 2015

        FSO 1500 (30 years ago it was licensed Fiat 125, has become FSO1500 after license expired) was my first car – 20 years ago 🙂 and it was very old model already. One on the picture is a Polonez, of course, not 1500.
        They weren’t bad, only initially, then they become being just old … Reliable and very easy to fix tho.

  33. Manish
    June 15, 2015

    still waiting for a review of the Jiayu S3…

    • Rob
      June 15, 2015

      Andi reviewed the S3 back in february i believe, do a search and u wil find it.

    • Sirshrimp 007
      September 18, 2015

      Here here

    • Sirshrimp 007
      September 18, 2015

      How does the S3 stand up to the elephone?

  34. JB
    June 15, 2015

    Gidday Andi, thanks for the review. I’ve had a grey P7000 on preorder for well over a month now. I was quite excited but now a few reviews have come out I’m considering cancelling my order. Have read multiple reviewers slam the buggy firmware and while it is great to hear some OTA updates are coming out my past experience does not give me great faith in continued ROM development… especially when they are also about to release the P8000 and who knows what else. Build quality sounds okay if you don’t bend it. I’m after phone with good build finish, good camera and a ROM that is not full of bugs. Do you think I might be better to wait for Ulefone Be Touch 2?

  35. PaulBV
    June 15, 2015

    Do you think the P8000 will be better in quality or still the same… ? 🙁

  36. Fly agaric
    June 15, 2015

    Good review. The conclusion is no surprise to me, as the hype created and the tempo that Elephone set, just to be on the market before the competition, was just a bit too much already. Obviously there was not enough time, to master the product (software and hardware wise). In a stiuation like that the producer takes huge risk and seems like in here it didn’t pay.

    One thing that really surprise me is, how the hell are you guys aware of the existance of such a car producer as FSO ? 🙂 They don’t exist since year 2000 – Daewoo bougth them, then in the 2006 AvtoZAZ did. I doubt they produce anything now. They were one of the commie moloch, that never had a chance to develop
    (because of the dictate of the big brother in the East) and didn’t use
    their chance to prosper well in the post-commie times. Yet FSO 1500 used to be a dream of most people in the eastern block thirty something years ago 😀

    • Andi Sykes
      June 15, 2015

      Glad you enjoyed the review 🙂

      As for FSO, well my hobbies are Mountain biking and cars. I have a Autobianchi A112 at the moment, which is a distant relative of the Yugo 45 and Fiat 127. FSO didn’t actually make bad cars really, just everyone thought they were bad. Same story for pre VW Skoda too.

    • Fly agaric
      June 15, 2015

      FSO 1500 (30 years ago it was licensed Fiat 125, has become FSO1500 after license expired) was my first car – 20 years ago 🙂 and it was very old model already. One on the picture is a Polonez, of course, not 1500.
      They weren’t bad, only initially, then they become being just old … Reliable and very easy to fix tho.

  37. Jidda
    June 15, 2015

    I cancel p7000 pre-order and will buy zeaplus m7, $149 Europe warehouse without customs duty

    • Paul B
      June 15, 2015

      No 4g for the UK unfortunately though

  38. PaulBV
    June 15, 2015

    Do you think the P8000 will be better in quality or still the same… ? 🙁

  39. Chinaphonarena
    June 15, 2015

    Good review Andi. I like the format ;). We came up with basically the same conclusion. I didn’t even finish the review, it seemed like more of a prototype than a production model.

  40. Chinaphonarena
    June 15, 2015

    Good review Andi. I like the format ;). We came up with basically the same conclusion. Great marketing and hype build up. The end product didn’t deliver.

  41. Guest
    June 15, 2015

    I cancel p7000 pre-order and will buy zeaplus m7, $149 Europe warehouse without customs duty

    • Paul B
      June 15, 2015

      No 4g for the UK unfortunately though

  42. Chinaphonarena
    June 15, 2015

    Good review Andi. I like the format ;). We came up with basically the same conclusion. Great marketing and hype build up. The end product didn’t deliver.

  43. Noname1919
    June 16, 2015

    Dont buy any elephone! P3000s 3gb was very poor quality too. P7000 is insane bad with that horrible screen and video recording. Im glad i cancelled it and bought umi e max instead

  44. Sergio López Sánchez
    June 17, 2015
  45. kzm
    June 17, 2015

    Lack of certain sensor that make me not buying P7000 eg gyro sensor..all gyro based apps cannot be use..even google cardboard is useless without gyro

  46. Sergio López Sánchez
    June 17, 2015
  47. kzm
    June 17, 2015

    Lack of certain sensor that make me not buying P7000 eg gyro sensor..all gyro based apps cannot be use..even google cardboard is useless without gyro

  48. Mr.Flying Zoom3rz
    June 17, 2015

    And that’s your answer Andi to all the trolls who were asking you why always posting a Elephone news here and talking only good for them. Nice job.

  49. yudhir
    June 17, 2015

    What are the alternatives then?

  50. Mr.Flying Zoom3rz
    June 17, 2015

    And that’s your answer Andi to all the trolls who were asking you why always posting a Elephone news here and talking only good for them. Nice job.

  51. yudhir
    June 17, 2015

    What are the alternatives then?

  52. Fais Khan
    June 21, 2015

    The Red Tint ISSUE is something thats puzzled me a lot

    I ordered 2 Ulefone be touch phones and they both have the same exact issue, ONLY when using flash to take a picture..

    I cant understand why that would happen and nOW elephone is suffering from the same issue

    could the issue be with the sony sensor being used

    • wackenroader
      June 22, 2015

      The Red Tint ISSUE is a reflection of the flash light in your finger,

      try not to let your fingers on the back when you take a picture.

      • Fais Khan
        June 22, 2015

        I dont know you so I will keep my response as polite as I can but that last reply is the most ridiculous thing I have ever read

        REFLECTION OF MY FINGER HAHAHAHAHAHAHHA You think in my entire lifetime of owning smartfones I would know how to take a picture

        gee the fault cant possibly be with the actual hard ware

        its my finger

        WHY DIDNT I THINK OF THIS

        • wackenroader
          June 22, 2015

          Dear Friend , I’m not kidding you , I have this problem in kingzone Z1 , was the light reflecting on my fingers . It was enough to change the way of holding the smarthpone that the photos were not red . ever I had dozens of smartphones and the kingzone Z1 was the only one to have this problem ( I believe it is the lens ) .

          • Fais Khan
            June 22, 2015

            Dear ‘Friend’

            I assure you the fingers or lack of arent the issue

            • wackenroader
              June 22, 2015

              Maybe your problem is another , see what happens in kingzone Z1 . Even with the fingers away from the flash :

            • wackenroader
              June 22, 2015

              Maybe your problem is another , see what happens in kingzone Z1 . Even with the fingers away from the flash :

          • Fais Khan
            June 22, 2015

            Dear ‘Friend’

            I assure you the fingers or lack of arent the issue

          • Fais Khan
            July 4, 2015

            ulefone seem to finally paid attention to the emails I had been sending them, They have released an OTA that fixerd a lot of things
            keyboard errors, the pink flash etc etc

        • wackenroader
          June 22, 2015

          Dear Friend , I’m not kidding you , I have this problem in kingzone Z1 , was the light reflecting on my fingers . It was enough to change the way of holding the smarthpone that the photos were not red . ever I had dozens of smartphones and the kingzone Z1 was the only one to have this problem ( I believe it is the lens ) .

    • wackenroader
      June 22, 2015

      The Red Tint ISSUE is a reflection of the flash light in your finger,

      try not to let your fingers on the back when you take a picture.

  53. Fais Khan
    June 21, 2015

    The Red Tint ISSUE is something thats puzzled me a lot

    I ordered 2 Ulefone be touch phones and they both have the same exact issue, ONLY when using flash to take a picture..

    I cant understand why that would happen and nOW elephone is suffering from the same issue

    could the issue be with the sony sensor being used

    • wackenroader
      June 23, 2015

      The Red Tint ISSUE is a reflection of the flash light in your finger,

      try not to let your fingers on the back when you take a picture.

    • Fais Khan
      June 23, 2015

      I dont know you so I will keep my response as polite as I can but that last reply is the most ridiculous thing I have ever read

      REFLECTION OF MY FINGER HAHAHAHAHAHAHHA You think in my entire lifetime of owning smartfones I would know how to take a picture

      gee the fault cant possibly be with the actual hard ware

      its my finger

      WHY DIDNT I THINK OF THIS

    • wackenroader
      June 23, 2015

      Dear Friend , I’m not kidding you , I have this problem in kingzone Z1 , was the light reflecting on my fingers . It was enough to change the way of holding the smarthpone that the photos were not red . ever I had dozens of smartphones and the kingzone Z1 was the only one to have this problem ( I believe it is the lens ) .

    • Fais Khan
      June 23, 2015

      Dear ‘Friend’

      I assure you the fingers or lack of arent the issue

    • wackenroader
      June 23, 2015

      Maybe your problem is another , see what happens in kingzone Z1 . Even with the fingers away from the flash :

    • wackenroader
      June 23, 2015
    • Fais Khan
      July 4, 2015

      ulefone seem to finally paid attention to the emails I had been sending them, They have released an OTA that fixerd a lot of things
      keyboard errors, the pink flash etc etc

  54. Joel Adames
    October 31, 2015

    Andi do you still keep your P7000 ?
    Is it any good?
    Have the updates changed anything on it in your opinion as there have been some after this review…??? Still is one of the better suited phones for my needs and the bands are the ones I need. I mean no use for a nice phone as the meizu mx5 some xiaomi and others if they won’t put the silly 3g 850 band it scapes of my mind why.
    So if you have anything to say I’ll be listening.

  55. Joel Adames
    October 31, 2015

    Andi do you still keep your P7000 ?
    Is it any good?
    Have the updates changed anything on it in your opinion as there have been some after this review…??? Still is one of the better suited phones for my needs and the bands are the ones I need. I mean no use for a nice phone as the meizu mx5 some xiaomi and others if they won’t put the silly 3g 850 band it scapes of my mind why.
    So if you have anything to say I’ll be listening.

  56. Lennald
    May 20, 2016

    From the comparison, we will know more about the phone. Elephone P7000 vs UMI Touch vs Bluboo Xtouch vs Doogee F5: https:// http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDtA1MoIYGw

  57. Lennald
    May 20, 2016

    From the comparison, we will know more about the phone. Elephone P7000 vs UMI Touch vs Bluboo Xtouch vs Doogee F5: https://