The year 2016 has been a year of flagships. We started from the Apple iPhone 7, the Google Pixel, OnePlus 3 and subsequent 3T, and now we have the Hyve Pryme, a new entrant to the smartphone space from our very own Indian based mobility startup called Hyve Mobility.
Launched in November 2016, the phone has a 5.7-inch capacitive touchscreen with full-HD display. In terms of display features and screen resolution, the images look particularly sharp.
The Phone
The Hyve Pryme is a full-fledged flagship which has 4 gigs of RAM and 32 gigs of internal storage which can be expanded up to 200GB via a microSD card. Swiping is smooth with no noticeable lag. We did a bit of heavy gaming (Real racing 3/Nova 3) with ease.
The Pryme comes packed with a 2.3GHz Deca-core MediaTek Helio X20 processor. The mobile processor essentially has ten cores and employs one of the world’s first Tri-Cluster CPU architecture. This means the clusters are used as and when required. This meant simple tasks like web browsing, messaging, calls, and social apps would have lower number of cores employed, while heavy usage like gaming would employ all of the cores which means super smooth performance while optimising battery life.
The phone runs on stock android which means quicker upgrades, zero bloatware, enhanced security, and better stability. Hyve optimised the OS to keep maximum of the RAM free.
The Architecture
The Tri-Cluster architecture is one of the first architectural designs ever, employed by the MediaTek Helio X-series processors. The clusters are differentiated into a 2-4-4 format. The dual-core cortex spins at 2.3GHz – 2.5GHz, the Quad-Core Cortex at 2.0GHz, and another quad-core cortex at 1.4GHz.
The result of this enormous setting is now the processor has 30 per cent better power consumption and supports download speeds of over 300mbps.
Camera
The camera quality is surprisingly decent given fact that it is one of the first ventures into the flagship segment. Photos could have been more dynamic color-wise. The primary camera is a 13MP with dual flash and the front camera is an 8MP with single flash. The camera is capable of HD video recording at 30fps. The quality is crisp but it comes with some issues which Hyve will be expected to cover in the long run. The issues being problems in autofocus, noticeable lag in clicking pictures (sometimes), freezing of the interface.
Build Quality
For a new entrant, the phone packs in an impressive all-metal unibody with the camera protruding at the back. The fingerprint sensor is placed under the camera. The stereo speakers are placed at the bottom with the USB-C port in the middle. The top houses the 3.5-mm headphone jack and an IR blaster. The build quality is however above average with issues like a noticeable gap between the top, bottom and back panel. The display
Verdict
The phone definitely ticks almost all of the right boxes with its price of sub ₹18,000 which is lesser than all the flagship phones in the market right now. The major part is that Hyve will have to work on its build quality and make better quality phones. This is not a very difficult scenario considering the features offered are better than its counterparts in other established brands in the smartphone arena.
