The Acer Liquid Jade Primo reviewed

Published by at

Never let it be said that we don't link to competitors(!) Especially when, as in this case, they've managed to source a handset that we're unlikely to see here anytime soon. The Acer Liquid Jade Primo is notable as the first third party device to support Windows 10 Mobile's Continuum. We reported on its announcement here, but there's now a full review up at GSM Arena.

A reminder of the core specs of the Jade Primo:

  • Windows 10 Mobile with Continuum support (requires the Acer D01 dock)
  • 5.5" Full HD AMOLED display with 401ppi; Gorilla Glass 3
  • Snapdragon 808: hexa-core processor with 2x 1.82GHz Cortex-A57 and 4x 1.44GHz Cortex -A53, Adreno 418 GPU, 3GB of RAM
  • 32GB of built-in storage; expandable via a microSD slot
  • 21MP primary camera with f/2.2 aperture, dual-LED flash; 2160p video recording @30 fps, 1080p video recording @ 30 fps
  • 8MP front-facing camera with f/2.2 aperture, 1080p@30fps video recording
  • Cat. 6 LTE (300/50Mbps); Dual SIM; Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac; Bluetooth 4.0; GPS; USB Type-C port
  • Active noise cancellation via dedicated mic
  • 2,800mAh battery

From the GSM Arena review:

Jade Primo

Acer Liquid Jade Primo key test findings

  • The polycarbonate body is well-built, handles well and is quite smudge-proof. The design aesthetics may be debatable, but the circular accents do a good job at expressing the brand identity.
  • The 5.5-inch AMOLED Full HD display has reasonably accurate colors, about average maximum brightness, and good visibility in the sun.
  • The extraordinarily bright minimum brightness level means your eyes may hurt when you use it in the dark.
  • Battery life is better than the capacity would suggest but no more than average in absolute terms. It does last a commendable 13 hours in video playback, though.
  • The interface tends to be a bit slow, not a deal-breaker, but enough to annoy you at times while waiting for a pointless transition to take place.
  • Continuum has its uses, but we're yet to be convinced it's all that Microsoft is hyping it up to be.
  • Audio quality is great with an external amplifier but performs poorly with headphones plugged in.
  • The 21MP camera produces excellent daytime images though it has some focus issues. Low light photography is not its forte (to put it mildly).
  • Daylight 4K video quality is perhaps the best we've seen, the level of detail is unrivaled by today's flagships. 1080p videos are good too, but not quite as spectacular.
  • 8MP selfie camera resolves a lot of detail but struggles with achieving the correct white balance.

You can read the full review here.

That 1080p resolution with a pentile display at 5.5" will prove the Jade Primo's biggest stumbling block, I predict, in the hands of reviewers generally. Which is why it got highlighted in the review here. 

It also sounds, from reading the review, as if Acer hasn't fully integrated all the various components in the same way that Nokia - and then Microsoft - tends to do. We saw this with the Yezz Billy range last year, it's simply not enough to pack all the components into a phone shell and hope everything hangs together - there needs to be a programe of optimisation - seeing a Snapdragon 808-powered, 1080p-screened phone being described as having a 'slow interface' reeks of lack of attention. Ditto the poor headphone audio quality. Ditto the poor camera performance.

Acer, if you read this, how about keeping us informed as to system updates and then, once early issues have been stamped on, send over a review unit?

Source / Credit: GSM Arena