The Smartisan U1 is a $140 pep phone


Like some movies, there are products that sometimes get talked about more than they’re sold (and vice versa). Smartisan’s T1 may not have landed in every Chinese household, but the phone certainly made waves with its thoughtful OS design and a fresh new look.

But the T1 was a little too expensive in the age of ‘mid-range flagships’. Smartisan seem smart enough to have realized that, and have put together the new U1, which costs a mere US$140 and also gives the colour-hungry a much needed kick.

Considering that the T1 was kind of expensive for what it brought on the table, the U1 is actually a very decently priced product. For starters, it comes with a 5.5-inch full HD display (it hasn’t been too long since the Ecoo E01 Focus was the cheapest full HD phone at US$150), a Snapdragon 615 octa-core processor, 2GB RAM, a 2900mAh battery, a 13 mega-pixel rear camera, a 5 mega-pixel front facing camera and either 16 or 32GB of storage.

smartisan-u1-back

As was the case with the T1, the U1 comes with up/down buttons on both sides of the phone. Which is a great idea, because as Engadget notes, right- and left-handers can switch between using the buttons for brightness and volume control. There’ll be seven different rear cover options to choose from (besides limited edition specials on occasions). The software on the phone will also allow you to colour coordinate the phone’s rear and its theme.

If you’re in China, you’ll be able to shell out 899 Yuan/US$140 for the 16GB version or 999 Yuan (US$160) for the 32GB version of the Smartisan U1 starting 1st September.

[Source]
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38 Comments

  1. a
    August 26, 2015

    It is better if you’d stop with this lame elephone advertising

  2. Dante
    August 26, 2015

    Fab phone for the american market – if the same price will be made for the us that would be nice… the t1 was a very solid phone

  3. french harp
    August 26, 2015

    phone looks nice, actually. tho the os reminds me of a hybrid between an old iphone and a chinese mp4 player’s os.

  4. quodvadis
    August 26, 2015

    Feel sorry for all these phone manufacturers post redmi note 2, or not really lol. And they wonder why Chinese phone market is saturated when they release billions of these generic craps.

  5. Airyl
    August 26, 2015

    Smartisan’s devices are really something else.

    • Muhammad Yasir
      August 26, 2015

      care to tell me more about them ?

      • Airyl
        August 27, 2015

        I borrowed a friend’s T1 for a week once, and the phone is super polished. The software is fantastic, so many options and ways to do things, and the phone itself was solid and comfortable to use.

        • Muhammad Yasir
          August 27, 2015

          cam?

          • Airyl
            August 28, 2015

            The camera took pictures quickly and the results were really good in daylight. Low light pictures weren’t bad either, though I’ve seen better.

            • Muhammad Yasir
              August 28, 2015

              for a phone that cheap … i bet the low light didn’t disappoint u , did they ?

            • AbdulB1
              September 4, 2015

              bootloader is unlocked?

  6. R. Tina
    August 26, 2015

    it is better if the phone has a 4100mAh battery like Vowney

    • Guest
      August 26, 2015

      It is better if you’d stop with this lame elephone advertising

  7. Dante
    August 26, 2015

    Fab phone for the american market – if the same price will be made for the us that would be nice… the t1 was a very solid phone

  8. french harp
    August 26, 2015

    phone looks nice, actually. tho the os reminds me of a hybrid between an old iphone and a chinese mp4 player’s os.

  9. quodvadis
    August 26, 2015

    Feel sorry for all these phone manufacturers post redmi note 2, or not really lol. And they wonder why Chinese phone market is saturated when they release billions of these generic craps.

  10. Muhammad Yasir
    August 26, 2015

    oh boyyeee !!!

    if this comes to Pakistan !

  11. Airyl
    August 26, 2015

    Smartisan’s devices are really something else.

    • Guest
      August 26, 2015

      care to tell me more about them ?

    • Airyl
      August 27, 2015

      I borrowed a friend’s T1 for a week once, and the phone is super polished. The software is fantastic, so many options and ways to do things, and the phone itself was solid and comfortable to use.

    • Guest
      August 27, 2015

      cam?

    • Airyl
      August 28, 2015

      The camera took pictures quickly and the results were really good in daylight. Low light pictures weren’t bad either, though I’ve seen better.

    • Guest
      August 28, 2015

      for a phone that cheap … i bet the low light didn’t disappoint u , did they ?

    • Guest
      August 28, 2015

      for a phone that cheap … i bet the low light didn’t disappoint u , did they ?

    • AbdulB1
      September 4, 2015

      bootloader is unlocked?

  12. Guest
    August 26, 2015

    oh boyyeee !!!

    if this comes to Pakistan !

  13. Alex
    August 27, 2015

    Nice device!
    How can I buy it?

  14. Alex
    August 27, 2015

    Nice device!
    How can I buy it?

  15. Steven Fox
    August 27, 2015

    Ah, not SD615 again! Why???

  16. Steven Fox
    August 27, 2015

    Ah, not SD615 again! Why???

  17. Steven Fox
    August 27, 2015

    Ah, not SD615 again! Why???

  18. SIMON
    August 28, 2015

    The idea with the colored plastic is good, but the device looks really cheap at the front. They should make the phone 10$ more expensive and use an aluminium frame or at lease another color.

    http://i.imgur.com/QsyPanG.jpg
    http://i.imgur.com/t6RF8S5.png
    http://i.imgur.com/hFTjKDH.png

  19. SIMON
    August 28, 2015

    The idea with the colored plastic is good, but the device looks really cheap at the front. They should make the phone 10$ more expensive and use an aluminium frame or at lease another color.

  20. SIMON
    August 28, 2015
  21. SIMON
    August 28, 2015
  22. Gao Qi
    September 4, 2015

    the Smartisan CEO said their devices will be sold in Japan and USA.

  23. Gao Qi
    September 4, 2015

    the Smartisan CEO said their devices will be sold in Japan and USA.

  24. Gao Qi
    September 4, 2015