$100 For the Ulefone Mix 2 – Waste of Money or an Awesome Deal?

The Ulefone Mix 2 has been out for roughly a year now. When it was announced it raised a lot of interest. It made some fairly bold claims and was supposed to rock the mobile world. We’re here today to see how the Ulefone Mix 2 has held up and to see if it was worth the hype, one year later.

Personally, I really like the Mix 2. It is a unique blend of old and new and it packages it all in an affordable device. The Mix 2 was released in October 2017. It was supposed to take on the likes of the Galaxy S8 and other flagships that had come out earlier in the year. With the Mix 2, there were definitely some trade-offs when compared to the other more expensive devices, but those trade-offs don’t look so bad when you’re looking at the price tag of the Mix 2.

The Mix 2 comes with some decent specs. It comes with a 5.7-inch HD+ IPS LCD display with a resolution of 720×1440 and an 18:9 aspect ratio. Powering the device is a MediaTek Quadcore 1.3GHz MT6737H processor. It has 2GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage, dual SIM and microSD card support, and a 3,300 mAh removable battery.

So first off, let’s talk about what it is I like about the Mix 2.

The first and biggest thing is the removable battery. The Mix 2 comes with that 3,300 mAh battery that should be able to get you through most days with moderate usage. When you get into some really heavy usage or if you aren’t near a charger, it is super convenient that you can pop off the back of the phone, and throw a replacement battery in there. It also means that when you’ve had the phone for a while and your battery begins to go out, you don’t have to replace the whole thing. You just go online and order a replacement battery. Presto! Your phone is just like new!

The second thing, is the screen. Now full disclosure, you will not get the screen that Ulefone shows in all their advertising. Their advertising is quite misleading. It makes it look like the screen is almost completely to the edge on all sides. It comes close, but it is nowhere near what it was advertised as. That being said, I feel like the display is fairly sharp and does a really good job, despite the lower resolution and the awkward aspect ratio. The screen manages to look crisp and bright and thanks to the lower resolution, it gives you much better battery life than you would get otherwise.

The third thing I love about the Mix 2 is the price! The phone is currently selling for just over $100 on Banggood.com. And that’s brand new! Any decent budget phone is going to be anywhere from two to three times that price! Yes, the specs aren’t the best, and yes there are some definite trade-offs, but at that kind of price, I’m willing to make a few allowances.

Lastly, I liked the feel of the phone in the hand. It’s just the right weight where it sits comfortably, without being too heavy or too light. And the metal and plastic body fits very nicely in the hand and feels quite sturdy. It’s been a long time since I’ve had a phone that I would feel comfortable carrying around without a case on it. I feel like I can get away with that with the Ulefone Mix 2.

So now for the things I didn’t like. For the most part, the things I didn’t like were fairly minor things. It comes with micro-USB instead of USB-C, the screen protector that they put on it doesn’t actually cover the full screen, and a few other small things.

As far as big complaints? I really only had two. This phone is the fingerprint magnet king! Both the back and front of the device are extremely sensitive to fingerprints and you will find yourself constantly wiping the phone off on your shirt or pant leg. It’s a real shame too because if it weren’t for all the fingerprints, this is one good-looking device!

The second complaint is the lack of updates. The phone shipped with Android Nougat, and one year later it is still on Android Nougat. And the last security patch it got? January 5, 2018. Ulefone should be doing a much better job at keeping their devices up to date. At the very least, they should be keeping the security patches coming.

Now one quick caveat for our readers in the US. Please keep in mind that this phone was designed for use internationally. It does not come with the necessary band support to use it here in the US. If you do get it, you may get lucky and get some intermittent 2G and 3G connections, but you will rarely get any 4G connections. If you’re looking for a budget device that will work in the US, check out some of our other budget device reviews.

In closing, I would say that the Ulefone Mix 2 is a solid device, especially at a price point of $100. You’re getting some fairly good bang for your buck. Even after a year, it has held up pretty well and it can handle most everything you can throw at it.

Before we sign off, we just want to throw one more quick shout-out to our friends at Banggood. Thank you again for sponsoring this review and for providing us with the opportunity to try out the Mix 2 for ourselves!

Want to see more of the Ulefone Mix 2? Check out our video review down below.

If you’re interested in getting the Mix 2 for yourselves you can order it here: Banggood.com.