Nextbit Robin Review the smartphone with 100 GB of Storage

Nextbit Robin Review the smartphone with 100 GB of Storage

Nextbit Robin Release date and price

At first, the smartphone could be preordered through Kickstarter. The backers (who supports the project) can pre-order this smartphone for $ 299 as primary adopter, or 349 or $ 399, depending on the offers. The campaign was quickly completed and the company has greatly exceeded the target of 500,000 dollars by getting $ 1.3 million, ie more than double. 3611 people supported the project, which enabled the successful startup. They received the device in February 2016. Those who missed the Kickstarter project still have the opportunity to buy a smartphone Nextbit Robin. February 18, 2016, Nextbit open his own shop on its web page, you can buy the Robin to 399 dollars, which is about 360 euros.

Nextbit Robin Design and finishing

In general, a smartphone has four sides, two cameras and a large screen which covers 60 to 80% of the front panel. Yet Nextbit wants his smartphone is different. While manufacturers such as Samsung, LG and HTC always give a more rounded look to their smartphones, Croyle Scott, chief designer of Nextbit and former chief designer of HTC, gives edges and angular corners well at Robin. This is not disturbing to the use because these angles are a little rounded, which makes them comfortable to touch.

At the front, we find, of course, the screen on the majority of the surface, as defined above and below by bands. In the top band we find the front camera of 5 megapixels, the proximity sensor and one of the two speakers. The creator of Nextbit Robin Scott Croyle, was responsible for the range of HTC One smartphones, so he built a second speaker under the screen of Robin as under that of HTC.

The rear of Robin is composed of two colors. At the top, we find the camera of 13 megapixels and flash color LED. In this device, we can see a little cloud with four LEDs. These diodes are activated when Robin downloading applications, photos or other data.

Obviously, Robin has a power button and volume keys. The power button is located on the right side and should act as a fingerprint reader on the final version, as seen on the Sony Xperia Z5. Directly below, we find the slot for the SIM card. There is no slot for a microSD card since Nextbit Robin already offers 100GB cloud.

You can connect your headphones or headphones into the jack of 3.5 mm, available on the top of the phone. The 2680 mAh battery charges via USB Cable Type C. Unlike OnePlus 2, this is a true USB 3.0 port.

Nextbit Robin Screen

The large screen of 5.2 inches Robin is an IPS using a Full-HD definition. At a time when we see qHD screens with edge borders and using AMOLED technology, the screen Nextbit Robin made a little outdated. However, despite the definition 1920 x 1080 pixels, the display is excellent even under several viewing angles.

Unfortunately, around the screen we can see a black frame. We can see that when the screen is on and we have to admit it's pretty ugly. We would have preferred that Robin uses the entire surface of the screen instead of allocating a portion to those black borders.

Note also that the screen is protected from scratches with a protective Gorilla Glass 4. The glass also protects a little too well, the sun's rays make it difficult to use.

Nextbit Robin Other Features

In addition to the large storage space in the cloud, ie no less than 100GB, and intelligent management of internal memory, Nextbit Robin also offers a fingerprint reader on the power button situté to the right. The Sony Xperia Z5 proceeds in the same way.

It is possilbe to unlock the smartphone by having pressed the first button. It is only after the sensor is activated and reads the fingerprint. As the button is located on the edge, it is difficult to simply recognize the touch, which obviously has an impact on the time required to unlock the smartphone. At the beginning of the test, I had to watch regularly where the key is, but with time I got used. The real feature of this smartphone yet not within the fingerprint reader but in the software interface.

Nextbit Robin Software Interface

Nextbit uses his Robin a modified version of Android 6.0 Marshmallow. At first sight, there is no drawer applications but Scott Croyle has explained us that just happens on the home screen. The widget-like view can be started by keeping pressed the right virtual button. Optionally, the widget view can also be activated by zooming out on the main screen, ie using two fingers.

Robin Nextbit strength is neither the hardware nor in design, but in the software interface that automatically records the applications and photos to the cloud. The user does not do much because the device itself decides whether an application is no longer used for a long time. When that decision is made, APK application is moved to the cloud, but not your data. When an application is no longer stored in the internal memory, the app icon is grayed out.

If you want to use the application, simply click on the gray icon and the smartphone connects to the cloud to download the APK. Once this application on the device, the data is again associated with the application. If the application is heavy and / or if your connection speed is limited, you will of course allow more time for download. You can see the status of downloading visually through a small loading bar, and the icon is again displayed in color when the application is downloaded and installed.

If consumption data worries you, you can reassure you that the synchronization is done only WiFi. Reinstalling an application can also make mobile data but the software will ask you first if you agree. It is also possible to preserve certain applications on your smartphone even if you use them infrequently. To do this, you can go through the settings for the pin.

Photos can also take up much space on your smartphone. Not surprisingly, the software version can automatically send them to the cloud and leaves on the smartphone a glimpse. If the user wants to open the photo, it must be downloaded from the Cloud. As for applications, this process is done automatically via WiFi but you can also use mobile data, a confirmation is necessary. We asked Nextbit it is possible that a third party has access to the photos, the brand has confirmed that it's impossible.

Since it is possible to record video on the smartphone, so I guess it is also possible to put them on the cloud. Maybe can we put in the cloud a complete backup system?

Nextbit Robin Performance

The hardware Robin is similar to the LG G4, the Nexus 5X or BlackBerry Priv. We find the hexacoeur Snapdragon processor 808, accompanied by a RAM of 3GB RAM. The internal memory is 32 GB plus the memory of the cloud is 100 GB. Therefore, there is no slot for a micro SD card. As indicated in the software version, applications and photos can be synchronized with the cloud from the time the smartphone has access to the Internet, thereby saving space in internal memory. It is also possible to configure synchronization so that it only works in Wi-Fi. So that you do an idea of ​​the potential, we performed various tests benchmarks on the phone. We use the Nexus 5X reference.

As you can see in the table above, the Robin Nextbit is slightly larger than the Nexus 5X on most tests. In addition, during intensive use under high temperatures, the performance is acceptable, unlike the Nexus 5X. If you want a smartphone with a Snapdragon 808, the Nextbit Robin is a much better choice than 5X.

In everyday life, the benefit of Robin on the Nexus 5X not obvious. Applications and the home screen are displayed in a very fluid and use is very pleasant.

Nextbit Robin Sound quality

Regarding audio quality, Robin is fairly well equipped. At the front, we find stereo speakers and a 3.5mm jack and Bluetooth 4.0 LE. Call quality is good, we were able to understand us without problems. Even in a noisy environment, we have had no problem understanding. Today a smartphone is not only used to make calls. In terms of volume, Robin is pretty good but things go wrong at the quality of the speakers. The bass have little volume, treble quickly become shrill, but if we compare it with the Nexus or 5X the LG G4 sound is more pleasant thanks to the stereo speakers. By cons, if you compare the sound quality with a Nexus 6P, Robin must bow.

Nextbit Robin Camera

At the rear, the Robin's camera is 13 megapixels. It also has a phase auto-focus and a LED flash bicolor supposed to enhance photos in poor light. For selfies, there is a 5 megapixel camera at the front. On paper, it seems to be fine but we had some problems with our unit. On the one hand, there is a delay between the trigger and the physical optical representation on the screen. It is also frustrating to see that only the last image is displayed when we open the gallery from the camera. If you want to see all your photos and all your screenshots, you have to open the gallery directly from the home screen. Nextbit confirmed that these bugs are known and the developers are working on a solution. A patch should arrive quickly to resolve problems.

Otherwise, the application of the camera is simple and intuitive. Images can be taken sequentially when the camera button is kept pressed. We can also find there various modes like HDR and automatic. Photography enthusiasts will be delighted to find a manual mode on the smartphone: they will be able to set the ISO, exposure compensation, white balance or the manually turn the focus. RAW mode is unfortunately missing, which may displease some.

Regarding the image quality, the results are pretty average: photos of 13 megapixels in 4: 3 are acceptable but nothing more. If you zoom in on the pictures, you see quickly appear some pixels. For normal use, the camera does not pose a big problem, both front and rear. If you want to see more images, you can go to this link, you will find all the photos we have taken.

Nextbit Robin Battery Life

You might think that Robin Nextbit the battery is not removable ... And you're right. But Nextbit Robin is far from alone in this case, unfortunately. Regarding the battery, the capacity is 2680 mAh. For comparison, the battery of the Galaxy S6 has a capacity of 2550 mAh. However, in testing the battery benchmarks, the Nextbit Robin does not score the Galaxy S6. Every day, the phone takes a full day of intensive use. Its battery is empty earlier than expected, it is possible to recharge completely in 100 minutes with fast recharging QuickCharge 2.0. It is unfortunate that this power supply has to be purchased separately.

Final verdict

Nextbit created a good smartphone happens to differentiate itself from its competitors thanks to its design. What makes the real difference is not the hardware but the software: the use of the cloud is an interesting idea which is operated by any other manufacturer. Automatic notification of APK in the cloud works without problems, and it is a good idea to keep an overview of the images on the smartphone while the image itself is on the cloud. This is somewhat reminiscent of iOS which also uses surveys and sends the real picture on iCloud.

Autonomy and the image quality has not really impressed me, Nextbit still work on that. Ideally Nextbit would share its software version so others can enjoy the cloud sync, but it is unlikely that this scenario occurs. Nextbit boss, Tom Moss, is closely linked to CyanogenMod, it is also part of Cyanogen Inc. board if his system was available for download, it would compete with Cyanogen Inc. It should therefore not be possible to find a Nextbit system and install it on a Galaxy S5, LG G4 or any other smartphone.