Design of Centric L3
Obviously, the Centric L3 is a budget smartphone. It has a plastic body. The build quality is not very good and the phone does not look premium at all considering the price. We also did not like the glossy finish of its back. The back starts getting stains when you hold the phone. Talking about the front, the phone has a 5-inch display, which has an 18:9 aspect ratio. Earphones, selfie camera and notification light are given above the display. The fingerprint sensor is given below the display. The fingerprint scanner is not that smooth and does not give good results in one go.
At first glance, the phone looks like a unibody but its back cover can be put on/removed. The phone’s SIM and microSD slots are not in the tray but in the back, so that users will be able to use them easily. Talking about the battery, the Centric L3 has a 3050 mAh non-removable battery, which comes with a charge of 7.5 watts. Along with this Centric smartphone, the user is also being given an in-ear headphone.
Centric L3 specifications and software
Centric L3 has a 5-inch IPS display. There is also a 2.5D curved glass at the top of the display. This panel cannot be called good at this price. We could easily see the pixel lines. Viewing angles are not good. The display is also not bright enough to be easily visible to the user in direct sunlight. During the review, our team also faced the problem of backlight on the bottom left side of the display. Centric later sent another phone, in which no such problem was faced.
Centric has used MediaTek 6737 quad-core processor in the handset, which has a maximum clock speed of 1.3 GHz. All the phones around this range (Oppo A83, iVoomi i1, Tecno Camon IThe same processor works in the Centric L3. The Centric L3 has 2 GB RAM and 16 GB internal storage. Storage can be increased up to 256 GB with the help of a micro SD card. L3 is a dual SIM phone, which has slots for 2 micro SIMs. It supports 4G and VoLTE. Talking about connectivity, the handset is equipped with Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi b / g / n /, GPS and FM radio.
Talking about the software, the phone works on Android Nougat with some changes. Users will also be able to use motion gestures with the help of proximity sensor. Apart from this, users will be able to take calls, change music and also click photos by waving hands in the air. Also, the feature of changing wallpaper through gesture is also present in it. To launch the app, the user is also given the option to create letters by double tapping the screen. However, the phone takes time to recognize the gesture. This feature is not that useful for everyone. Looking at the interface, it seems that it has been brought to English from some other language. Making language related mistakes and not understanding the instructions properly point towards its shortcomings.
Centric has pre-installed some apps in the phone. These include Centric Care, Centric Store and Swiftkey Keyboard. It also has a Doctors Online app through which users will be able to chat with doctors if needed. This is a paid service and the user is charged Rs 29 per question asked to the doctor. Also, Rs 49 is charged from the user for live chat. Through the app, users will be able to take direct appointments with doctors and pathology.
Centric L3 performance, camera and battery
After using many smartphones in this range, we had a fair idea about the performance of the Centril L3. Actually, the MediaTek MT6737 is an entry-level processor, which is good for basic tasks. Due to 2 GB RAM or a ‘weak’ processor, the phone becomes slow at times. Multitasking is still fine but it involves the compulsion to close the first app to use the second app.
We also played games like Missiles and Shadow Fight 3 on the phone. Since Missiles is a basic game, we did not face any issues while playing it. Shadowfight took a lot of time to load and the phone started lagging at times while playing.
The Centric L3 is powered by a 3050mAh non-removable battery. The battery lasts for a full day with normal usage. In our HD video loop test, the phone lasted for 9 hours and 29 minutes. The handset also features an Intelligent Power Saving Mode, which helps keep the phone running when the battery runs out.
Talking about the camera, the Centric L3 has a 13-megapixel camera at the rear, which supports autofocus feature. The camera felt quite sluggish when used. The camera takes time to focus and we had to tap repeatedly to get the right picture. The camera also takes a lot of time to go into auto scene mode. We found that the color coordination in the pictures during the day is average.
Landscape shots are good and clear but the image becomes blurry when zoomed in. The phone’s camera is capable of taking macro shots but takes time to focus. In low light, the phone reduces the shutter speed and increases the iOS value. During this, the user’s hand movement can spoil the picture. At night, the pictures become blurry. While taking macro shots in low light, the camera loses control over the coordination of focus and shutter speed.
The pictures taken with the selfie camera are average. Here too, there is a possibility of spoiling the work due to the user’s hand shaking. The video quality is average and it goes up to a maximum of 720 pixels for both the cameras.
Decision
Centric L3 has entered a race where there are already a lot of competitors. There is nothing in it that can make it stand out from others. At the same time, there is nothing wrong with this phone that makes it unrecommended to buy. If you do not care about the brand and need a basic phone, then buying Centric L3 can be a better option. At the same time, in the 18: 9 aspect category, you can also turn to InFocus Vision 3, which has a bigger battery at the same price.