We bring to your attention a review of the new Russian Android smartphone Highscreen Tasty - a real workhorse that looks more expensive than it costs.
This is a mid-range image, a smartphone with sufficient performance for everyday tasks and most games, dressed in a premium shell. Highscreen is a Russian brand and offers devices with a full official warranty, support and service in the Russian Federation.
It's not hard to guess where the designers drew inspiration from when creating Tasty. Even the color scheme seems to shout to us: “Look, I’m like a new iPhone, only for 13 thousand!”
The smartphone pleasantly surprised me even before I turned it on for the first time. The kit, in addition to the standard adapter and USB cable, contained earphones with a sound that is quite acceptable for the untrained ear, as well as a silicone bumper case, transparent at the edges and matte at the back.
The Highscreen Tasty case has dimensions of 144.2 × 71.5 × 8.1 millimeters and is a solid recess made of aluminum alloy, and therefore there are no creaks, backlashes or deformations when squeezing the device in your hands. The total weight of the smartphone is 137 grams.
The upper and lower parts of the rear panel are made of plastic, under which the antennas are hidden. The inserts are fitted with sufficient precision; the boundary between them and the main part of the body is practically not felt.
On the top edge there is a jack for connecting headphones.
On the left there is a slot for SIM cards (Nano + Micro) and memory cards.
You can use either two SIM cards or one SIM card and an SD card at the same time. When connecting two SIM cards, 4G supports both the first and the second.
The volume and power buttons are located on the right.
On the bottom edge there is a microUSB connector and a microphone.
Where's the speaker? In this case, unlike the classic layout, it has moved to the lower part of the rear panel. This made it possible to make it larger and, characteristically, more powerful: at first, when creating screenshots of the interface, we were frankly frightened by such loud clicks.
Highscreen Tasty is equipped with an undistinguished 5-inch HD (720 × 1,280 pixels) IPS display. This type of matrix is distinguished by the reliability and clarity of transmission, as well as the absence of overly toxic colors and shades characteristic of OLED.
On top, the display is protected not by the no-name glass typical of budget devices, but by the fairly well-known Dragontrail, made in the so-called 2.5D format.
The term "2.5D" means that the glass is flat on the inside and rounded at the edges on the outside. Due to this shape, the smartphone becomes even more streamlined, and the transition between the side and front panels almost ceases to be felt. We have already seen similar technology in the Samsung Galaxy S7, and now it is being built into much more affordable devices.
Durable glass is usually associated with Gorilla Glass, but Corning no longer has a monopoly on the production of protective materials for mobile devices. Dragontrail is a development of the Japanese company Asahi Glass (part of the Mitsubishi group), which appeared later than Gorilla Glass, but is already used by more than 40 manufacturers. With a minimal lag behind Gorilla Glass in terms of overall strength indicators, Dragontrail is much cheaper, which allows it to be used in budget smartphones and tablets.
The main camera of the Highscreen Tasty has a resolution of 8 megapixels, is equipped with autofocus, a flash and is capable of producing good pictures out of the box, that is, in automatic mode, without any additional settings or corrections.
The native camera application allows you to use HDR, shoot in Pro mode (fine manual adjustment of parameters), night mode (noise reduction in low light), create panoramas and series of images (multi-shot), add filters and highlight text content in photos (Note mode) ).
The “Retouch” mode is worthy of special attention, which is best used when shooting with the front 5-megapixel camera. Selfies are still in fashion, and manufacturers are trying to maximize not only the camera module itself (5 MP is clearly unnecessary even for HD video calls), but also the software component.
The “Retouch” mode allows you to remove defects and lighten the skin, enlarge the eyes and make the face thinner. The trick is that this does not happen as post-processing of already taken selfies, but in real time, that is, directly when transferring the image from the camera to the smartphone screen. It turns out to be such beauty.
Inside the Highscreen there is a 4-core 64-bit MediaTek MT6735, which has been tested with Snapdragon 420, and Mali T-720 graphics. Together with an HD screen (no need to render in Full HD) and 3 gigabytes of RAM, the power is more than enough for not too demanding games and the simultaneous operation of several frequently used applications.
The onboard storage is 16GB (about 10GB free) and can be expanded via microSD card.
The AnTuTu test showed the following results:
Inside the Highscreen there is a non-removable 2,400 mAh battery, which is enough for a day of moderate work with applications. In continuous video streaming mode, the battery is completely discharged in 5.5 hours. A heavy game consumed the entire charge in 3.5 hours.
By default, Highscreen runs on almost pure Android 5.1 Lollipop. Roughly speaking, this is stock Android with the addition of several must-have applications that you would have installed yourself anyway (file manager, voice recorder), an optimized settings menu and additional useful functions (gesture control, waking up the smartphone by double tapping on the screen, and also adaptive brightness, which can detect when the user is looking at the screen).
Minimal intervention in the system and a small set of additional applications also have a positive effect on the performance of the smartphone.
Replace Highscreen with any popular manufacturer and imagine how much a thin metal smartphone with a 5-inch IPS display, 2.5D Asahi Dragontrail glass, a selfie front camera, a current quad-core processor, 3 GB of RAM, and a microSD slot would cost. -cards, support 5 GHz Wi-Fi and LTE? Highscreen Tasty works better and looks more expensive than it costs. This is a clear demonstration of how much we actually overpay for brands.
The shelf of metal smartphones has arrived. Highscreen Tasty (translated as “tasty”) offers a pretty tasty cocktail for RUB 12,990. 5-inch IPS display with HD resolution, LTE support, 3 GB of RAM and a decent package. Let's try.
Inside the box is the smartphone itself, a flexible plastic protective case, a USB cable and a charger. There is a headset, a “clip”, a user manual and a warranty card, brochures with a quick user guide and data on the manufacturer’s social networks.
The front panel is covered with 2.5D glass, although the transition does not seem as soft as some competitors. It was possible to “drown” it a little deeper. There is an oleophobic coating and it does the job well. The front side includes a 5-inch, touch keys at the bottom, no backlight. Another nuance is that the “Back” key is located on the right, which is confusing at first. Matter of habit. At the top there is a speaker, front camera, light and proximity sensor, and at the same time a notification indicator. The main camera lens and flash are located on the back, and the speaker is located at the bottom. The camera protrudes, but just a little; the metal frame rises slightly above the glass, which will allow it to be better protected in the event of a fall.
The bottom edge includes a microUSB connector, the top – a 3.5 mm headset port. On the left there is a compartment for two SIM cards (Micro-SIM and Nano-SIM), one of which can be replaced with a microSD memory card with a capacity of up to 32 GB. On the right are the volume and power keys. Made of metal, they look neat, but they tilt if you press off-center. To a greater extent, this problem relates to the volume buttons.
The smartphone is pleasant to hold in your hand, the quality of the materials is pleasing, but without frills. The device looks good in the included protective case; the sides of the case are transparent, the back is matte. There are cutouts for the necessary connectors, the key block is completely closed, and it is interesting to note that when pressed, the play of the keys is not felt at all and, accordingly, is not annoying. The case fits tightly and rises slightly above the glass, providing additional protection.
The maximum measured brightness level was 460 cd/m2, the minimum value was 10 cd/m2, so it won’t hurt your eyes in the dark. As a result, we have a good indicator, taking into account the segment. In normal light the image is readable, but in bright sunshine problems will arise.
The main headache of the display is calibration. The level of blue color is off scale (more than 180%), green, on the contrary, is below normal (approximately 90%), and only red color is at the proper level (almost 100%). As a result, distorted colors compared to the reference white balance of 6500K. In standard mode, Tasty produces more than 12,000K, in warm mode – about 10,000K, and in cold mode, even under 15,000K. Editing photos will be problematic, and other people's photo masterpieces on Instagram will not look too natural.
In addition to the ability to change the color temperature of the screen, there is an adaptive backlight control function and an economical backlight mode. The latter is designed to lower the brightness to save more battery power.
The touch layer supports up to five touches simultaneously.
The complete headset looks beautiful, but the same cannot be said about the sound. We recommend replacing it with your own version and then the smartphone will sound at a very decent level. It is possible to choose one of the prepared profiles or create your own using technologies from dts. You can also choose one of the sound modes or adjust the equalizer yourself. All this is done in a proprietary application, the selected parameters apply to all applications.
At medium and close distances there is enough detail, but complex textures like small stones, water and grass are more difficult at medium and long distances. White balance is usually determined correctly, the dynamic range of the matrix is quite narrow, bright objects noticeably lose detail.
I was pleased with the presence of the Pro mode, where you can manually set ISO, white balance, focus operation and adjust exposure. There is no DNG support. In general, the camera takes relatively dark pictures by default, so the ability to change the exposure is very useful. The modes available are “Retouch”, “Series”, “Filter”, HDR, etc. The flash is standard and has enough power for any situation.
The front camera uses a 5 MP sensor and f/2.2 aperture, video is recorded at 720p. You shouldn't expect miracles, it's suitable for selfies without complaints and chats. There is no additional flash provided.
The video quality is quite low, the bitrate is low, and this is understandable, given the support for the 3GP format.
RAM 3 GB and it pleases. Built-in memory is 16 GB, you won’t be able to install many, many games. You will have to use a memory card, sacrificing the second SIM card.
The smartphone is capable of operating in LTE networks (channels 3/7/8/20), as well as 3G and 2G. The quality of communication is good. Among the wireless communication interfaces, Wi-Fi (b/g/n) and Bluetooth 4.0 are supported. Wi-Fi is reliable even through concrete walls.
GPS (A-GPS) and GLONASS support is provided for navigation. Sensors include an accelerometer, light sensor and proximity sensor. Among other things, there is an FM radio.
In the settings you can enable gesture recognition, a virtual button, configure the operation of the light indicator, etc.
Although Asphalt 8 offers play at maximum settings, there is no sense of frame stability; things are much more confident with medium settings. Traffic Rider feels great even at maximum.
N.O.V.A. 3 is not very confident, you can play, but the discomfort is noticeable. Modern Combat 5 runs decently at medium settings, but the maximum is beyond your budget.
Performance is sufficient for modern applications and games, but with the latter it is better to stick to medium graphics settings. The cameras produce normal pictures for their class, there are a lot of shooting modes, including Pro for the main one. But it’s better to forget about the video.
The battery life is average, it could have been longer.
At a cost of 12,990 rubles. Highscreen Tasty has enough competitors; in Chinese stores, devices with similar performance characteristics are cheaper, and for that price you can choose more productive options. Our retail also has plenty of interesting alternatives from the same Xiaomi and Meizu. If Tasty's price drops over time, it could well be considered an option.
Pros:
The Tasty's speakerphone is honest - loud, but without a hint of low/mid frequencies at all. But the smartphone handles high frequencies correctly - the sound is clear and soft, like the polyphony on expensive clamshells of yesteryear. The speakers of Meizu M3s Mini, Honor 4C/5C, if you want comparisons, sound cheap and poor in comparison with our hero. Xiaomi Redmi 3 sounds a little less clear, but overall similar.
Tasty headphones are surprisingly good. Of course, there is no dedicated DAC here, but there is a DTS Audio software enhancer, and for once it has benefited the smartphone under its care. Access to the audio manager is only possible through a standard audio player, but the program reforms the sound throughout the entire system.
In the standard version, the setting is not optimal, but there are plenty of equalizer presets, and no one bothers you to turn it manually. In general, there is an opportunity to thoroughly improve the sound and make it better than most competitors. The only caveat is that in monitor headphones (60 Ohm) the volume is just right for modern tracks and is slightly insufficient for archival audio recordings. You might want to hear Utesov’s song a little louder than usual in the subway, but you won’t be able to.
And still - Highscreen Tasty sounds very good. Among its classmates, only the Samsung Galaxy A3 2016, worth 19 thousand rubles, can offer something similar (minus specialized smartphones).
The filling of Highscreen Tasty contains a minimum of technological achievements. Quad-core processor with 4G support. Not the worst option, because a number of manufacturers are still not shy about releasing models with “castrated” MT6735P/6735M (1.0 GHz) so that life doesn’t seem like honey. And three gigabytes of RAM in a model for 13 thousand is unprecedented generosity by Euroset standards.
Width Width information - refers to the horizontal side of the device in its standard orientation during use. | 71.5 mm (millimeters) 7.15 cm (centimeters) 0.23 ft (feet) 2.81 in (inches) |
Height Height information - refers to the vertical side of the device in its standard orientation during use. | 144.2 mm (millimeters) 14.42 cm (centimeters) 0.47 ft (feet) 5.68 in (inches) |
Thickness Information about the thickness of the device in different units of measurement. | 8.1 mm (millimeters) 0.81 cm (centimeters) 0.03 ft (feet) 0.32 in (inches) |
Weight Information about the weight of the device in different units of measurement. | 137 g (grams) 0.3 lbs (pounds) 4.83 oz (ounces) |
Volume The approximate volume of the device, calculated based on the dimensions provided by the manufacturer. Refers to devices with the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped. | 83.51 cm³ (cubic centimeters) 5.07 in³ (cubic inches) |
Colors Information about the colors in which this device is offered for sale. | Pink gold Golden Grey |
Materials for making the case Materials used to make the device body. | Aluminium alloy |
GSM GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) is designed to replace the analogue mobile network (1G). For this reason, GSM is often called a 2G mobile network. It is improved by the addition of GPRS (General Packet Radio Services), and later EDGE (Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution) technologies. | GSM 850 MHz GSM 900 MHz GSM 1800 MHz GSM 1900 MHz |
UMTS UMTS is an abbreviation for Universal Mobile Telecommunications System. It is based on the GSM standard and belongs to 3G mobile networks. Developed by 3GPP and its biggest advantage is providing greater speed and spectral efficiency thanks to W-CDMA technology. | UMTS 900 MHz UMTS 2100 MHz |
LTE LTE (Long Term Evolution) is defined as a fourth generation (4G) technology. It is developed by 3GPP based on GSM/EDGE and UMTS/HSPA to increase the capacity and speed of wireless mobile networks. The subsequent technology development is called LTE Advanced. | LTE 800 MHz LTE 900 MHz LTE 1800 MHz LTE 2600 MHz |
SoC (System on Chip) A system on a chip (SoC) integrates various hardware components, such as a processor, graphics processor, memory, peripherals, interfaces, etc., as well as the software necessary for their operation. | MediaTek MT6735 |
Technological process Information about the technological process by which the chip is manufactured. Nanometers measure half the distance between elements in the processor. | 28 nm (nanometers) |
Processor (CPU) The primary function of a mobile device's processor (CPU) is to interpret and execute instructions contained in software applications. | ARM Cortex-A53 |
Processor size The size (in bits) of a processor is determined by the size (in bits) of the registers, address buses, and data buses. 64-bit processors have higher performance compared to 32-bit processors, which in turn are more powerful than 16-bit processors. | 64 bit |
Instruction Set Architecture Instructions are commands with which the software sets/controls the operation of the processor. Information about the instruction set (ISA) that the processor can execute. | ARMv8-A |
Level 1 cache (L1) Cache memory is used by the processor to reduce access time to more frequently used data and instructions. L1 (level 1) cache is small in size and works much faster than both system memory and other cache levels. If the processor does not find the requested data in L1, it continues to look for it in the L2 cache. On some processors, this search is performed simultaneously in L1 and L2. | 32 kB + 32 kB (kilobytes) |
Level 2 cache (L2) L2 (level 2) cache is slower than L1 cache, but in return it has a higher capacity, allowing it to cache more data. It, like L1, is much faster than system memory (RAM). If the processor does not find the requested data in L2, it continues to look for it in the L3 cache (if available) or in RAM memory. | 512 kB (kilobytes) 0.5 MB (megabytes) |
Number of processor cores The processor core executes software instructions. There are processors with one, two or more cores. Having more cores increases performance by allowing multiple instructions to be executed in parallel. | 4 |
CPU clock speed The clock speed of a processor describes its speed in terms of cycles per second. It is measured in megahertz (MHz) or gigahertz (GHz). | 1300 MHz (megahertz) |
Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) The Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) handles calculations for various 2D/3D graphics applications. In mobile devices, it is most often used by games, consumer interfaces, video applications, etc. | ARM Mali-T720 MP1 |
Number of GPU cores Like a CPU, a GPU is made up of several working parts called cores. They handle graphics calculations for various applications. | 1 |
GPU clock speed Running speed is the clock speed of the GPU, measured in megahertz (MHz) or gigahertz (GHz). | 600 MHz (megahertz) |
Amount of random access memory (RAM) Random access memory (RAM) is used by the operating system and all installed applications. Data stored in RAM is lost after the device is turned off or restarted. | 3 GB (gigabytes) |
Type of random access memory (RAM) Information about the type of random access memory (RAM) used by the device. | LPDDR3 |
Number of RAM channels Information about the number of RAM channels that are integrated into the SoC. More channels mean higher data rates. | Single channel |
RAM frequency The frequency of RAM determines its operating speed, more specifically, the speed of reading/writing data. | 640 MHz (megahertz) |
Type/technology One of the main characteristics of the screen is the technology by which it is made and on which the quality of the information image directly depends. | IPS |
Diagonal For mobile devices, screen size is expressed by the length of its diagonal, measured in inches. | 5 in (inches) 127 mm (millimeters) 12.7 cm (centimeters) |
Width Approximate screen width | 2.45 in (inches) 62.26 mm (millimeters) 6.23 cm (centimeters) |
Height Approximate screen height | 4.36 in (inches) 110.69 mm (millimeters) 11.07 cm (centimeters) |
Aspect Ratio The ratio of the dimensions of the long side of the screen to its short side | 1.778:1 16:9 |
Permission Screen resolution shows the number of pixels vertically and horizontally on the screen. Higher resolution means clearer image detail. | 720 x 1280 pixels |
Pixel Density Information about the number of pixels per centimeter or inch of the screen. Higher density allows information to be displayed on the screen with clearer detail. | 294 ppi (pixels per inch) 115 ppcm (pixels per centimeter) |
Color depth Screen color depth reflects the total number of bits used for color components in one pixel. Information about the maximum number of colors that the screen can display. | 24 bit 16777216 flowers |
Screen area Approximate percentage of screen area occupied by the screen on the front of the device. | 67.06% (percent) |
Other characteristics Information about other screen features and characteristics. | Capacitive Multi-touch Scratch resistance |
2.5D curved glass screen |
Sensor type Information about the camera sensor type. Some of the most widely used types of sensors in mobile device cameras are CMOS, BSI, ISOCELL, etc. | CMOS (complementary metal-oxide semiconductor) |
Svetlosila | f/2.4 |
Focal length | 2.92 mm (millimeters) |
Flash type The rear (rear) cameras of mobile devices mainly use LED flashes. They can be configured with one, two or more light sources and vary in shape. | LED |
Image Resolution | 3264 x 2448 pixels 7.99 MP (megapixels) |
Video resolution Information about the maximum video resolution that the camera can record. | 1920 x 1080 pixels 2.07 MP (megapixels) |
Video recording speed (frame rate) Information about the maximum recording speed (frames per second, fps) supported by the camera at maximum resolution. Some of the most basic video recording speeds are 24 fps, 25 fps, 30 fps, 60 fps. | 25 fps (frames per second) |
Characteristics Information about additional software and hardware features of the rear (rear) camera. | Autofocus Continuous shooting Digital zoom Geographical tags Panoramic photography HDR shooting Touch Focus Face recognition White Balance Adjustment ISO Setting Exposure compensation Self-timer Scene Selection Mode |
Svetlosila F-stop (also known as aperture, aperture, or f-number) is a measure of the size of a lens's aperture, which determines the amount of light entering the sensor. The lower the f-number, the larger the aperture and the more light reaches the sensor. Typically the f-number is specified to correspond to the maximum possible aperture of the aperture. | f/2.2 |
Focal length Focal length indicates the distance in millimeters from the sensor to the optical center of the lens. Equivalent focal length (35mm) is the focal length of a mobile device camera equal to the focal length of a 35mm full-frame sensor, which will achieve the same viewing angle. It is calculated by multiplying the actual focal length of a mobile device's camera by the crop factor of its sensor. Crop factor can be defined as the ratio between the diagonals of a 35 mm full-frame sensor and the sensor of a mobile device. | 1.9 mm (millimeters) |
Image Resolution One of the main characteristics of cameras is resolution. It represents the number of horizontal and vertical pixels in an image. For convenience, smartphone manufacturers often list resolution in megapixels, indicating the approximate number of pixels in millions. | 2560 x 1920 pixels 4.92 MP (megapixels) |
Browser Information about some of the main characteristics and standards supported by the device's browser. | HTML HTML5 CSS 3 |
A modern person cannot imagine his life without a smartphone, which not only provides communication, but also serves as a center for entertainment. However, not everyone is ready, both morally and financially, to buy an expensive A-brand device. Most people prefer to buy a reliable "mid-range" car. The new Russian smartphone Highscreen Tasty is just such a gadget.
Specifications and performance
As you can see, the hardware installed in Highscreen Tasty is above average by modern standards. Thanks to the HD resolution screen, the performance level is more than sufficient for everyday tasks. There are no problems with the interface and video playback. You can also play some 3D games on your smartphone.
Design
The Highscreen Tasty body is made of metal and covered on both sides with 2.5D glass. The thickness of the case is 8.1 millimeters, but due to the rounded shape of the edges it looks thinner. The back cover is matte and completely non-slip. Three body colors are offered: gray, gold and golden pink.
The device is assembled perfectly, operating it with one hand is not difficult. The glass has a high-quality oleophobic coating that leaves no marks. All buttons are located as usual.
Screen
The five-inch IPS screen is made using OnCell technology and has HD resolution. The picture is clear and contrasty. Color rendition is correct out of the box, but can be adjusted to suit your taste if desired. The viewing angles are also pleasing.
The minimum backlight level is comfortable for working at night, and the maximum level is enough to use the device on a sunny day. Auto-brightness also works correctly. Multi-touch easily understands five simultaneous touches.
Camera
The main 8-megapixel camera has autofocus and LED flash. The camera comes with a pre-autofocus system enabled by default, which speeds up aiming. In good lighting, focusing is instantaneous. The flash works correctly, including when you need to take a close-up shot of an object. The quality of the images can be called average, they are not impressive, but at the same time they cannot be called bad. The most pleasing thing is the application, in which you can find a huge variety of settings and filters.
The front camera with a resolution of 5 megapixels produces selfies with high detail and correct color reproduction. Of course, it also does a great job with video calls.
Results
This is a well-built device made from quality materials. It looks reliable and has good hardware. The new product can be recommended to those who value quality and do not want to overpay for the logo of a well-known manufacturer on the back panel. You can buy Highscreen Tasty for $180.
Video review of Highscreen Tasty
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