Galaxy-inspired
Prior to this review, I’ve never really had any experience with Wiko smartphones. Early day Wiko devices didn’t grab my attention, and the design was not my cup of tea. With the Wiko View2 Plus, the phone maker is cashing in on the gradient colour-trend. Wiko is calls the glossy addition the “Supernova” effect – an aesthetic that’s popular more premium devices. While the galaxy-inspired colours are a feast for the eyes, it’s a major fingerprint and dust magnet. Have a microfibre cloth on hand at all times.
Ultrawide aspect ratio
One of the USPs of the View2 Plus is its ultra-widescreen format. Common aspect ratios are 16:9, 18:9 or 21:9. The device’s 19:9 format is quite odd. If you’re playing ultrawide 4K 21:9 videos on YouTube, the video will have a letterbox – not truly immersive if you ask me. The best aspect ratio, for me personally, is 18:9. You can “pinch” the video to active the zoom to fill function.
Long-lasting Battery
The View2 Plus comes with a big capacity 4,000 mAH battery. For everyday use, I get quite good mileage on the smartphone without having to charge it mid-day. Of course, if you’re going to be playing games on the device, the battery won’t last 24 hours on a full charge. Depending how heavy of a user you are, I’d say it lasted about 15 hours of me using social media and messaging apps throughout the day.
Oh snap!
Colour me surprised, the View2 Plus actually has a decent camera! The View2 Plus comes with an AI-powered 12-megapixels dual rear camera, which speaks volume for the phone’s value for money. For RM559, you have features that are often found on more expensive devices. It has all the usual modes one expects to find, along with a few surprises. Both the rear and front camera has a Live blur to highlight your subject at the forefront. This “portrait mode” feature has been gaining popularity. It does falter a little for low-light situations, but I’ve gotten pretty crisp images during the day.
Up a notch
The View2 Plus is also one of the first Wiko devices to feature the new “T-shape design”, the other being its sibling, the View2 Go. Simply put, this new T-shape is essentially a notch bar at the top of the display. Personally, I prefer the “circular” notch on its big brother – the View2 – as it doesn’t take away much from the actual display. I feel like this new elongated bar, in addition to its thick bezels design, gets in the way of a truly immersive display experience. If you’re not keen, you can turn the notch off within the setting. Bear in mind that you’ll inadvertently disable the 19:9 ultra-widescreen aspect ratio as well.
Specifications
Price: RM559
Display: 5.93-inch HD+ display
Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 450, Octa-Core 1.8 GHz, Cortex-A53
GPU: Adreno 506 GPU
Storage: 32GB of internal storage, 3GB of RAM
Battery: 4,000 mAh Li-Po
Camera: Rear – dual 12 Megapixels, 1.25 µm pixel size. Front – 8 Megapixels
Benchmarks
AnTuTu – 71,333
3DMark Sling Shot Extreme – 447
3DMark Sling Shot Extreme Vulkan – 391
PCMark Work 2.0 – 4,614
