After being the subject of much speculation, the Xolo Black was finally launched today for Rs 12999 and will be sold exclusively through Flipkart. Current Xolo customers can register for the sale from July 10 to 11. Others will have to do with trying to grab the phone on July 13, the official release date.
A lot of attention was directed towards the dual-camera setup of the Xolo Black, a first for a handset in its market segment. It consists of two rear snappers with 13MP and 2MP resolution. The first takes the image, the other records the depth. This allows the user to change the focus of the photo even after it’s been clicked, in a feature dubbed Ubifocus. Additionally, the combination supposedly results in a focus speed of 0.15 seconds.
The main camera has two other features. ChromaFlash takes two pictures quickly, one with flash and one without, merging them together in one image. Optizoom minimizes pixelation while zooming by shooting 12 photos simultaneously in a burst capture, combining them to give a single photo. Xolo hasn’t skimped on the front facing camera either. It’s a 5MP wide angle lens with flash, ideal for selfies in low light conditions.
Also see: Xolo Black handsets arriving soon, will be online-only and come with 4G support
As far as specs go, the Xolo Black come across as above-par when with regards to mid-range phones for around Rs 13000. It has a 5.5-inch IPS OGS full HD screen. The device is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 3 on the front and back, layered with an oleophobic coating that is supposed to prevent stains and smudges. Its performance relies on a 64-bit octa core 2nd generation Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 processor, 1.5GHz Adreno 405 GPU and 2GB of RAM.
The 3200mAh battery in this smartphone is designed to give 20% more power when optimizing CPU and GPU processes. It has Quick Charge 1.0 to enable the device to charge up to 50% within 60 minutes. The Xolo phone has the company’s Hive atlas UI based on Android Lollipop 5.0, and holds 16GB of internal memory, expandable till 32GB via a special dual SIM slot. Users can choose if they want to have two SIM cards or one SIM and one microSD.
Specifications of the Xolo Black:
– OS: Android Lollipop 5.0 with Hive UI
– Screen: 5.5-inch IPS OGS, 1920 x 1080 pixels
– Processor: 64-bit octa core Qualcomm Snapdragon 615
– Storage: 16GB, expandable up to 32GB
– Battery: 3200mAh
– RAM: 2GB
– Camera: 13MP (with 2MP) rear, 5MP front
– Connectivity: dual-SIM, 4G, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi
The Xolo Black has been packed with great features and should do well in the competitive mid-range market. It has certainly gone out of its way to distinguish itself from others, especially with the twin rear cameras. More handsets in the series will be arriving gradually over the year and we’re definitely keeping an eye out for them, especially if they’re all as impressive as the first.