Infocus M2 was the first smartphone from Infocus targeted at budget conscious consumers in India. After that they launched many models such as Infocus M535, M370, M810 and their flagship M82 (Review Here) after from few others. Today we will be reviewing one of their latest mid range smartphone i.e Infocus M680. It was launched a month back exclusively at Snapdeal. We have used Infocus M680 as our primary smartphone for almost a week along with an Airtel 4G sim with data. This review is based on that experience.
Technical Specs:
- Display : 5.5-inch full HD IPS display with tempered glass
- CPU : 1.5 GHz Octa-Core 64-bit MediaTek MT6753 processor
- GPU : Mali-T720 MP2
- RAM : 2 GB
- Storage : 16 GB internal, Support for expandable memory via microSD
- Hybrid Dual SIM (nano + nano / microSD)
- OS : Android 5.1 (Lollipop), upgradable to Android 6.0 (Marshmallow)
- Camera : Both front and rear cameras of 13 MP auto focus, f/2.2 aperture, Samsung 3M2 sensor, 1080p video recording with LED flash only at main rear camera
- Dimensions – 156 mm × 76.8 mm x 7.25 mm,
- Wight: 158 grams
- Connectivity : 4G LTE / 3G, Wi-Fi 802.11 ac (2.4/5 GHz), Bluetooth 4.0, GPS, USB OTG
- Battery : 2600 mAh (non-removable)
Infocus M680 Gallery
[flickr_set id=”72157660580129274″]
Design, Hardware and Build Quality
In terms of design and build quality, it gives look and feel of a premium smartphone with full metal body. The back cover cannot be opened and hence you cannot access the battery also. We got the gold variant of the device. The back cover is golden in color with white at the front.The main rear 13 MP camera with LED flash is located on the top left corner and the same 13 MP at the front top but without the LED flash. The power button along with SIM card tray is at right side and Volume rocker buttons on the other side of the smartphone.
It comes with the hybrid SIM slot which can be used for either two SIMs cards or one SIM with and other Micro SD card. We often wonder how much space is saved or how this small compromise results in better design, because if you want to use the smartphone with Dual SIM and a SD card at the same time then you are out of luck.
The device feels sleek, slim but not much heavy with just 158 gms The size of the device may feel a bit big for many users who are not used to big screens on smartphones. It also slips out of hands sometime as the metallic build and the finish at the back doesn’t really help much to hold it. A bit of texture finish could have helped for sure in holding it up.
The speakers are at the right bottom along with the micro USB port and the 3.5 mm audio jack is at the top. THe position of speaker even though is great in most situations, but while gaming it is not good as the fingers holding it while game playing blocks the speakers sound.
The InFocus M680 sports a 5.5-inch full HD IPS display with tempered glass and is powered by 1.5 GHz Octa-Core 64-bit MediaTek MT6753 processor with Mali-T720 MP2 GPU with 2 GB of RAM. In terms of storage, it comes with 16 GB of internal memory along with micro SD card support. It supports 4G LTE, FM Radio and USB OTG. It comes with sensors such as proximity, accelerometer, compass, magnetic sensor and gyroscope.
The display appeared crisp and clear with good Color reproduction in normal lighting conditions and but not so good with full sunlight with auto brightness enabled. The viewing angles on the display was good and we didn’t face any issues in viewing the display under normal usage.
Performance, Gaming and Benchmarks
The device did not fare as good as we expected. We played some graphics intensive games such as Asphalt 8 continuously for 15-30 minutes. The game played almost perfectly, but we did encounter some random frame drops and lags but we think that a normal consumer wont notice that. The graphics and color reproduction during the game play was fine but not as good as the Infocus M810 which is the Infocus flagship device.
We also checked out if the device heats up or not during prolonged game play. We did find a temperature increase of about 8-12 degree Celsius after playing Asphalt 8 for about 15-20 minutes, but then it stabilized at that. There was no further heating even if we played for much more time.
The performance of phone during the normal usage is good and we didn’t face any problems while using it even with a bit of multitasking. It performed well without any lag issues. The call quality and network reception including that of 4G was good.
Coming to benchmarks, it gave us a Antutu benchmark score of 37,600+. Considering the price, it is a good enough score but we know there are other competing devices in same price range which perform better.
Camera
It comes with two 13 MP cameras i.e same capacity both at the front and rear. Both cameras are equipped with Samsung 3M2 sensor & come with f/2.2 aperture and 1080p video recording. The LED flash though is only for main rear camera.
We used the camera to click pictures in different lighting conditions. The camera did perform well under good lighting conditions with some good images. The pictures turned out to be good with good color reproduction & no noise in them. But under low light conditions, noise creeps in pictures and the color reproduction gets bad. But still the images taken under low light are better than many smartphones under same price range.
The front camera sensor is same as the main rear one and hence shoots great selfies. Apart from selfies, you can click anything else too and it will produce some great images. It can shoot some great selfies, groufies with wide viewing angles. If you are obsessed with taking selfies and want good front camera, then this one is for you.
The camera app comes with different modes for shooting for different conditions. But most of the time, the default mode works best instead of choosing a different mode.
Check out some of the camera samples below under different conditions.
Infocus M680 Camera Samples
[flickr_set id=”72157662830431366″]
Operating System and UI
It operates on Android 5.1 lollipop operating system with Infocus own InLife UI running on top of it. In terms of customizations, it is quite similar to some of the ROMs available and you can customise too many options quite easily. It also comes with some motion features which lets you do many things like rejecting calls just by turning over the phone or answering a call directly when you move the phone near your ear.
But we still prefer a stock Android without any bloat that often comes with every OEM device. Even Infocus M680 came with some of the usual bloat, but one of the pre-installed apps that we loved is Power Detective. It gave detailed information about the smartphone battery and its usage over the time. It can help you find the battery hogging apps easily. Apart from this, it came pre-installed with WPS Office, Safebox etc.
Infocus is promising an Android 6.0 Marshmallow update to the device and hence users looking for future Android updates for their smartphones will have one more reason to buy this.
Infocus M680 Screenshots
[flickr_set id=”72157660598921613″]
Battery
The InFocus M680 is powered by 2600 mAh battery and it did perform well. The best thing though is the battery consumption during idle hours and battery graph almost stays flat with negligible battery loss even after hours.Under normal usage or even a bit of moderate usage, it lasted for more than a day. Under heavy usage, it was able to last till evening quite easily and you can charge it before sleep.
Conclusion
The InFocus M680 is priced at Rs 10,999 which puts it in the competitive mid range category and hence faces stiff competition from other OEMs. If you are looking for a design similar to iPhone, a metallic build , a decent battery life and above all good cameras both at front & back, then this one is a great smartphone to buy. ALso, if Infocus can fix some of the drawback as mentioned in the review like Dual SIM / SD card issue (Hybrid SIM slot), offer better performance, then the device has the potential to beat others in the mid range category of smartphones in India.
