Centric L3 Review
Centric L3 Design
Obviously, the Centric L3 is a budget smartphone. It has a plastic body. The build quality isn’t great and the phone doesn’t look premium at all considering the price. We also did not like the glossy finish of its back that much. While holding the phone, stains start appearing on the back side. Talking further, the phone has a 5-inch display, which has 18:9 aspect ratio. Earphones, selfie camera and notification light are provided 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 a cursory glance the phone appears to be unibody but its back cover can be inserted/removed. The SIM and microSD slots of the phone are not in the tray but are given in the back, so that the user will be able to use them easily. Talking about the battery, Centric L3 has a non-removable battery of 3050 mAh, 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. The top of the display also has 2.5D curved glass. This panel cannot be called better at this price. We could easily see the lines of pixels. 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 encountered a problem with the backlight on the bottom left side of the display. Centric later sent another phone, which did not face any such problem.
Centric has used MediaTek 6737 quad-core processor in the handset, whose highest clock speed is 1.3 GHz. All the phones around this range (Oppo A83, iVoomi i1, techno camon i) this processor works in. Centric L3 has 2 GB RAM and 16 GB internal storage. Storage can be expanded up to 256 GB with the help of 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 software, the phone works on Android Nougat with some changes. With the help of proximity sensor, users will also be able to use motion gestures. Apart from this, by waving hands in the air, users will be able to take calls, change music and even click photos. Apart from this, the feature of changing wallpaper through gesture is also present in it. To launch the app, the user has also been 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 into English from some other language. Making language mistakes and not understanding instructions properly indicates its deficiency.
Centric has provided some apps pre-installed on 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 the doctor if needed. This is a paid service and charges the user Rs 29 per query made with the doctor. Also, Rs 49 is charged from the user for live chat. Through the app, users will be able to book appointments directly with doctors and pathology.
Centric L3 performance, camera and battery
After using all the smartphones in this range, we had a lot of idea about the performance of Centril L3. Actually, MediaTek MT6737 is an entry-level processor, which is better for basic tasks. Due to 2 GB RAM or ‘weak’ processor, the phone becomes slow at times. Multitasking is still fine but it involves the compulsion to close the first app to use another app.
We also used games like Missiles and Shadow Fight 3 on the phone. Since Missiles is a basic game, we did not face any problems while playing it. Shadowfight took a long time to load and the phone started lagging intermittently while playing.
Centric L3 has a 3050 mAh battery, which cannot be taken out. In normal use this battery lasts for a full day. The phone stayed alive for 9 hours and 29 minutes in our HD video loop test. Intelligent power saving mode is also provided in the handset, which helps in keeping the mobile running when the battery drains.
Talking about the camera, a 13-megapixel camera has been provided in the rear of Centric L3, which supports autofocus feature. The camera felt quite sluggish when used. The camera took time to focus and we had to tap repeatedly to get the right picture. The camera is also taking a lot of time to go into auto scene mode. We found that color coordination in daytime photos was average.
Landscape shots are better and clear but the picture is getting distorted when zooming. The phone’s camera is capable of taking macro shots but is taking time to focus. In low light, the phone increases the ISO value by reducing the shutter speed. During this time, movement of the user’s hand can spoil the picture. Pictures become blurry at night. When taking macro shots in low light, the camera loses control over the coordination of focus and shutter speed.
The pictures taken from the selfie camera are average. Here too, there is every possibility of the work getting spoiled due to movement of the user’s hands. Video quality is average and goes up to a maximum of 720 pixels for both cameras.
Decision
The Centric L3 joins a race that already has a good number of competitors. There is nothing in it that can make it stand apart from others. At the same time, there is nothing wrong with this phone on the basis of which it should not be advised to buy it. If you don’t care about the brand and just need a basic phone, then buying the Centric L3 might be a better option. At the same time, in the category of 18:9 aspect, you can also go for InFocus Vision 3, which has a bigger battery at the same price.
