Known for making affordable phones, Miami-based manufacturer Blu unveiled the Energy XL, a phone that is huge in more ways than one.
Starting with the outside, the Energy XL seems to adopt an aluminum body that has become increasingly pervasive in the midrange sector of the market. A massive 6-inch, 1,920 x 1,080 resolution Super AMOLED display lies under a coating of Gorilla Glass 3, giving the display at least a modicum of resistance to scratches.
The phone itself might be too big for folks, but those who do not mind constantly using the Energy XL with two hands will be rewarded with impressive battery life. Thanks to a huge 5,000mAh battery, Blu insists the Energy XL will give you 72 hours of “standard usage” and 30 days of standby time, though the company did not specify what parameters it used to arrive at those numbers. Thankfully, you will not have to wait long for the battery to charge, since the phone features quick charging, which promises to give you one hour of talk time with a 10 minute charge.
Elsewhere, the Energy XL is powered by a 1.3GHz quad-core MediaTek M6753 chipset and 3GB RAM, with support for USB Type-C and a MicroSD card slot, the latter of which augments the 64GB of native storage. Featuring a home button that doubles as a fingerprint sensor, the Energy XL also features a 5-megapixel selfie camera and a 13MP main camera.
Finally, Blu’s latest phone seems to run a version of the company’s software skin atop the aging Android 5.1 Lollipop, with no mention as to whether the phone will be updated to Android Nougat or even Marshmallow.
If there is enough here to pique your interest, the Energy XL is available right now through Amazon for $300 unlocked in either silver or gold. However, keep in mind that the phone lacks support for several key U.S. network bands, such as band 12 for T-Mobile and band 17 for AT&T, which gives the Energy XL worse LTE coverage on both U.S. carriers than other competing phones, such as the Moto X Pure Edition and OnePlus 3.
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