Umi Touch Review: All specs, no polish

[Scorpus]

You probably haven’t heard of the company Umi. They’re a relatively unknown Chinese manufacturer with a mission to make affordable devices with compelling feature sets. And they’re not alone in pursuing that formula: there are tons of companies throughout Asia trying their hardest to grab a share of the entry-level market.

OnePlus, another Chinese startup founded by former Oppo employees, succeeded in competing with other electronics giants by selling well rounded and affordable Android phones, however they tend to be the exception rather than the rule. Historically I've taken issue with smaller OEMs and the devices they produce as they rarely live up to their advertised claims, making quality a big hit or a huge miss seemingly at random.

However, I am willing to give any company a chance to impress, which is why I have the Umi Touch in the office to review. Priced at $160, the Touch carries a respectable list of specs including a 5.5-inch 1080p display, 13-megapixel Sony IMX328 camera, a huge 4,000 mAh battery, a metal design, and even a fingerprint sensor. It’s running the latest version of Android as well, without much bloatware or customization.

Read the complete review.

 

[Heatshiver]

Says the man with a HP laptop...

 

[Stretch7]

The MI Touch is a piece of junk. Dont buy it. I say this after my own purchase and 2month trial and observing similar experoences of others wasting their money on a Touch.
The first thing that makes the device unusable is the 'Touch'screen ( ironic eh !) The lower section of the screen does`nt register letters typed from a keyborad. Extremely frustrating and off putting.
Next, all Touch`s I`ve seen have the return button placed askew in its housing. It not only looks cheap, its diconcerting...and amazing that the factory QA would let it pass. Apparently, the Touch`s successor the Super, has the power button placed askew.
The bezel is not consistent and has a wider margin left compared to right.
The Touch, like UMI Super, does`nt have NFC.
No use reporting the failures to UMI. Their agent JoJo simply fails to comprehend the complaint and refers you to the reseller. Very poor service where evidently, the failure is with design, manufacture and quality assurance.
Dont buy a UMI Touch.

 

[David1953]

The MI Touch is a piece of junk. Dont buy it. I say this after my own purchase and 2month trial and observing similar experoences of others wasting their money on a Touch.
The first thing that makes the device unusable is the 'Touch'screen ( ironic eh !) The lower section of the screen does`nt register letters typed from a keyborad. Extremely frustrating and off putting.
Next, all Touch`s I`ve seen have the return button placed askew in its housing. It not only looks cheap, its diconcerting...and amazing that the factory QA would let it pass. Apparently, the Touch`s successor the Super, has the power button placed askew.
The bezel is not consistent and has a wider margin left compared to right.
The Touch, like UMI Super, does`nt have NFC.
No use reporting the failures to UMI. Their agent JoJo simply fails to comprehend the complaint and refers you to the reseller. Very poor service where evidently, the failure is with design, manufacture and quality assurance.
Dont buy a UMI Touch.

I have experiences verging on the existential of the Umi Touch,when compared with the observations from the chap here.
Mine is superb, and my pals, and his sisters, reliable, silky smooth and an awesome battery life. A mere £100 includes delivery and warranty and Uk based seller (British pounds) latest Android, no bloatware, can even try other operating systems ! Perhaps some expect the Earth from what is a cheap and powerful bit of kit? Another pal has an Iphone, paid a Kings' ransom, and it appears mine/ours is a better all round phone .He cannot see the hundreds of pounds invested as buying any significant premium aspects over the humble Umi.
I once owned an HP laptop too,what a terrifying admission eh?

 

[Malcolm N]

The MI Touch is a piece of junk. Dont buy it. I say this after my own purchase and 2month trial and observing similar experoences of others wasting their money on a Touch.
The first thing that makes the device unusable is the 'Touch'screen ( ironic eh !) The lower section of the screen does`nt register letters typed from a keyborad. Extremely frustrating and off putting.
Next, all Touch`s I`ve seen have the return button placed askew in its housing. It not only looks cheap, its diconcerting...and amazing that the factory QA would let it pass. Apparently, the Touch`s successor the Super, has the power button placed askew.
The bezel is not consistent and has a wider margin left compared to right.
The Touch, like UMI Super, does`nt have NFC.
No use reporting the failures to UMI. Their agent JoJo simply fails to comprehend the complaint and refers you to the reseller. Very poor service where evidently, the failure is with design, manufacture and quality assurance.
Dont buy a UMI Touch.

I have experiences verging on the existential of the Umi Touch,when compared with the observations from the chap here.
Mine is superb, and my pals, and his sisters, reliable, silky smooth and an awesome battery life. A mere £100 includes delivery and warranty and Uk based seller (British pounds) latest Android, no bloatware, can even try other operating systems ! Perhaps some expect the Earth from what is a cheap and powerful bit of kit? Another pal has an Iphone, paid a Kings' ransom, and it appears mine/ours is a better all round phone .He cannot see the hundreds of pounds invested as buying any significant premium aspects over the humble Umi.
I once owned an HP laptop too,what a terrifying admission eh?

Thank goodness for a positive comment. I bought 2 of these phones and they have been excellent and now our daughter wants one. Have had them for 1 year now and can't fault them.