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Cubot Note 20 Tutorial - The Cost-Effective Phone

Cubot Note 20 Tutorial - The Cost-Effective Phone

Strong chipset, large display and showy exterior for less than 35 thousand forints. We find few better deals these days.

Cubot Note 20 Tutorial - The Cost-Effective Phone

From time to time, phones appear in the best buy category. These are the devices that give an excellent user experience at a low price. Of course, the tightest budget doesn’t usually fit the latest of all hardware, so manufacturers are forced to make concessions.

In the case of the Cubot Note 20, the chipset has become the modern and fresh Helio A20, developed by the manufacturer specifically for modern entry-level phones.

CUBOT NOTE 20 4G Smartphone - Black

The performance of the MediaTek Helio A20 has increased by 27% in CPU-intensive tasks and by 123% in games compared to the previous generation. This is made possible by pairing a fast quad-core ARM Cortex-A1,8 CPU operating up to 53 GHz with the IMG PowerVR GE-class GPU as well as high-speed LPDDR4 memory. The use of the highly efficient 12nm manufacturing process - a major upgrade over the previous generation - results in higher performance and battery life for A20 smartphone users.

The A20 allows manufacturers to showcase mobiles with large screens, even HD + (1600 x 720) resolutions and a 20: 9 aspect ratio display.

MediaTek CorePilot technology provides energy-conscious scheduling, heat management and UX monitoring; assigning the right workload to the CPU cores at a given frequency and voltage, and perfectly aligning the desired performance with the best energy efficiency. It provides a durable, high-performance and consistently reliable user experience.

CUBOT NOTE 20 4G Smartphone - Black

The ultra-low-power sensor hub saves significant energy and is ideal for applications that require sensors that are constantly on, such as fitness pedometers or voice assistants.

The A20 also offers AI capabilities with basic features such as Face ID (Face Unlock), Smart Photo Album and single-camera advanced depth-of-field effects previously lacking on incoming smartphones.

MediaTek NeuroPilot for developers and device manufacturers is fully compliant with the Android Neural Networks API (Android NNAPI) and can integrate applications and OS developments into a number of common AI frameworks.

The MediaTek Helio A20 now allows you to incorporate a larger 16MP camera or 13 + 5MP dual camera system into smartphones, and enhances the user experience with portrait sharpness (Bokeh) effects.

CUBOT NOTE 20 4G Smartphone - Black

The MediaTek Helio A20 improves low-light performance over the previous generation by providing multi-layer noise reduction and clear image-zoom technology. In addition, automatic image correction minimizes graininess and automatically corrects for errors and distortions caused by the lens system.

The MediaTek 4G LTE Cat-6 modem supports carriers worldwide and provides dual 4G SIM capacity via VoLTE / ViLTE. MediaTek's TAS 2.0 intelligent antenna technology uses the best antenna combination to ensure optimal signal quality with the lowest power consumption.

Location services are multi-GNSS capabilities enhanced over the previous generation, improving Hot TTFF by 57%, improving performance by 10% and using up to 24% less energy.

CUBOT NOTE 20 4G Smartphone - Black

As you can see, the chipset, although not the strongest, can serve the entry level, as its abilities are ample.

Let’s see now where we had to pull the pant strap to make our mobile so cheap!

First of all, we can mention the display, which, although it has a huge 6,5-inch screen, its resolution is "only" HD+. Of course, there will be people who will complain about this, but let's face it, the resolution of 1600 x 720 pixels is not bad either, especially since the gyatra LCD is really out of the range these days, and the IPS display is standard even in the cheaper category, which provides adequate contrast, wide viewing angles and great colors.

CUBOT NOTE 20 4G Smartphone - Black

Savings can also be achieved with cameras. Although we see four units on the back cover, it is good to know that several of them function as an auxiliary camera, that is, to understand them, their role is only to provide the software with additional information that can be used to improve the image. They can be used to create more dynamic images with better background blur.

The main camera in this case works with a 12 megapixel Sony IMX486 sensor. While 12 megapixels may seem small with today’s high-resolution sensors, they really aren’t. If the sensor is good, we can take great pictures anyway. The Cubot Note 20 is a well-chosen one, with the Sony IMX486 lifted off the shelf of cheaper sensors to suit the purpose.

Honestly, the roles of the other cameras aren’t entirely clear to me. The depth sensor is still okay, we know what it's for. Interestingly, its physical resolution is even higher than the main camera, with the 20-megapixel Sony IMX350 chip working behind the lenses. However, we have a 0,3 mega VGA cameo and a 2 megapixel unit that is written photo-sensitive. This camera is not even mentioned in the specification description of the web store, although it is apparently there on the back cover.

CUBOT NOTE 20 4G Smartphone - Black

The self-timer camera isn’t too steely with its 8-megapixel resolution, and here we don’t even know where the sensor is coming from. Let's just say it doesn't matter.

So much for saving because you like what we get in every other way!

The exterior is beautiful. The phone is available in black, blue and green. The interesting thing about the back cover is that it is not the usual glossy fingerprint magnet, but a finely rubberized surface, which ensures comfortable, non-slip use. From the front, the display occupies almost the entire front panel, making up exactly 85,3 percent of the front panel, meaning we get pretty thin coffees.

There is no fingerprint reader, instead we get a face-based unlock, instead, as you can read at the central unit, the Helio A20 chipset provides an opportunity, which also uses artificial intelligence in this area.

CUBOT NOTE 20 4G Smartphone - Black

In addition to the above, the phone also has a large 4200 mAh battery, 3 GB of memory and 64 GB of built-in storage. Interestingly, despite the entry level, it provides mobile NFC support, which in many cases is only the case with much more expensive phones than larger brands.

What can we say as a summary?

The Cubot Note 20 is a true cost-effective device. With a modern chipset, a usable back camera, a large battery, ample memory and storage, and NFC.

If you don't want to spend a lot, then at the current price of 33 forints, it's worth thinking about buying. The duty-free Priority Line delivery costs only HUF 877.

Buy here:

Cubot Note 20, 3/64 GB

 

About the Author

s3nki

Owner of the HOC.hu website. He is the author of hundreds of articles and thousands of news. In addition to various online interfaces, he has written for Chip Magazine and also for the PC Guru. For a time, he ran his own PC shop, working for years as a store manager, service manager, system administrator in addition to journalism.