CREO might have just done more than what one might have expected from them because to be fair, many of us expected the new brand to have complete focus on the software as that was being teased a lot, but the hardware is not something you’d throw away calling it weak or low on power. The CREO Mark 1 was introduced with the price tag of Rs. 19999, and the makers focus on the huge list of software inclusions and keeping it so interesting that there will be a new feature introduced every month.
The CREO Mark 1 packs a punch and if we talk about the specs, there is a 2K display under a 5.5-inch screen and the phone also has a glass back, which makes it quite similar to the Sony smartphones, or more precisely, the OnePlus X. But, the phone is larger and quite heavier.
It is powered by the Mediatek Helio X10 octa-core chipset along with 3GB of RAM, and there is 32GB internal storage given as well. The camera combination on the phone includes a good 21-megapixel Sony sensor with Phase detection autofocus and an 8-megapixel front-facing camera for selfies.
Design wise, even though the glass body seems fragile always, it feels good in the hand, and it has been a similar case with the Sony Xperia smartphones, and the OnePlus X that was recently launched. But at the same time, not many might feel very comfortable with the weight of the phone. It is heavier than most of the phones having the similar screen size, and it is thicker than the lot.
Keep the weight aside; you are looking at a beautiful phone that has a metallic rim on all the sides, with circular physical buttons on the side, and a bottom tray has the MicroUSB port and the speaker grill, which resembles a few flagships, including the Samsung Galaxy S6 and Apple iPhone 6.
The phone is slippery, and the glass makes it a fingerprint magnet, but just like I’d said about the Galaxy S6, you can be worry-free and know that the glass won’t be easily getting scratched after multiple cleanups regularly to remove those fingerprint marks. The back of the phone has the CREO branding as well as the rear camera with Dual LED flash and the secondary microphone as well.
The front of the device has a set of three earpiece holes and the front camera adjacent to it, and the touch navigation buttons are lit up all the time when the screen is active, and they disappear whenever the screen is turned off. The display seems sharp and good, and the viewing angles too seemed good.
Now, let’s get into the most interesting part – software. It isn’t Android Marshmallow if you were wondering, but two things to notice here – although CREO is calling it as Fuel OS, it is a lot similar to the stock Android, and thankfully, we are not looking at a lot of bloatware here. It is the stock Android modified to include the features that the company wanted to provide to the users, for a good experience.
In fact, ReFuel is the app under which you will find most of those features that the company had showcased at the launch, under one app – ReFuel. Echo, Sense, Notifications 2.0, Retriever, Clean Inbox, Smart Gestures, Dual Max, and Easy OTP are in the first set, and showcasing itself as a crowdsourcing platform, Fuel OS gives the user an option to suggest features if they want to see them included shortly. That’s a neat touch from CREO, by involving users in making the software better. It the same ReFuel app that will get the monthly OTA updates, the announcements, and the access to CREO forums.
I’ve used the camera for a few quick captures in both, daylight and low light conditions, and it seemed like a decent shooter if not a great one. Because the issue was with the colors but hey, it is too early to take a call, and you’ll have to wait for the camera review in the coming days, to learn more about the same.
So, for the early view, the CREO Mark 1 does make a mark, and it isn’t just another smartphone in the lot. It does hold a lot under the hood, and the efforts show in the software as well, and we know that if the company can continue with a good software support in the coming days, it will be a talk of the town for quite a good time. The reason for that is even though there were several powerful handsets from competitive brands, software let them down and the experience worsened only because of the software issues.
