Coolpad Cool Play 6 is among the powerful devices under affordable price range. The main highlights of the phone are its massive 6 GB RAM, dual 13 MP cameras with the Monochrome feature, and 4,060 mAh battery. On paper, it looks like it ticks all the right boxes, but how does it stand against the competition? Let’s get on to the review.
Coolpad Cool Play 6 Specifications
- Display: 5.5-inch IPS Display, Full HD resolution (1920 x 1080 pixels)
- Software: Android 7.1.1 Nougat JourneyUI, Android 8.0 update by December 2017
- Fingerprint Scanner: Yes, at the back
- CPU: Up to 2.0 GHz octa-core processor, Qualcomm Snapdragon 653 (MSM8976 Pro) SoC
- GPU: Adreno 510
- Memory: 6 GB RAM, LPDDR3
- Storage: 64 GB internal storage, no microSD support
- Rear Camera: Dual 13 MP + 13 MP, f/2.0, PDAF, dual-tone LED flash, 4K video @30fps, slow motion 720p video @120fps
- Front Camera: 8 MP, f/2.2, 1080p video @30 fps
- Cellular: 4G LTE, Dual nano-SIM (GSM), VoLTE
- Connectivity: USB Type-C port, 3.5 mm audio jack, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.1, A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS
- Battery: 4,060 mAh (non-removable)
- Power Supply: Output 5V, 2A
- Dimensions: 152 mm x 75.2 mm x 8.5 mm
- Weight: 175 grams
- Colors: Black, Gold
- Price: ₹14,999
- Availability: Available exclusively on Amazon India from September 4
Design, Build & Ergonomics
The name Cool Play 6 suggests that it is a device with huge 6 GB RAM. It looks similar to its predecessor Cool 1 Dual, it uses a metallic body, curved edges on the back, and dual rear cameras that takes Monochrome shots. It’s a smartphone packed with features.
If you have seen Coolpad Cool1 Dual, you won’t find any huge much differences. The design is derived from the Cool1 Dual, the build quality is very strong and feels not too heavy, the back doesn’t prone to fingerprints.
The bottom of the phone has backlit touch sensitive keys, a fingerprint scanner on the back, USB type-C on the bottom, while no IR blaster is found on the device.
There ample amount of RAM and storage, the 64 GB internal storage has no microSD support so, unfortunately, users who opt for microSD might be disappointed. The 6 GB RAM should be enough for multitasking and gaming on the phone.
It supports 4G connectivity with VoLTE calling, the SIM tray can hold two nano SIM cards. The bottom has a USB Type-C port, loudspeakers (right grill), microphone (left grill), the top has a 3.5 mm port for headphones, and no IR Blaster is found on the phone.
Display
Coolpad Cool Play 6 offers a 5.5-inch IPS display with full HD resolution (1920 x 1080 pixels), yet there are no refined curves on the front edges, i.e. no 2.5D curved glass as well and the scratch resistant glass is not a Corning Gorilla Glass. Anyways, the screen brightness is okay, the colors are not that great, looks washed out, the display is quite a mainstream level, not the best in class.
It does have an option to use Ambient Display feature which shows you notifications at a glance. You can find screen color modes, Normal, Vivid, Natural, and Eye care with a slider that controls cooler or warmer colors. We didn’t find any eye protection mode under the display settings.
Software & User Interface
Coolpad has moved to a new software called JourneyUI. Coolpad Cool Play 6 is shipped with a new skin on top based on Android 7.1.1 Nougat. The latest security patch on the phone is dated 1st July 2017. And most important thing, it is upgradeable to Android 8 Oreo in the coming months as told by the company.
Talking about the new user interface, the overall feel of the UI reminds me of the LeEco’s EUI on Cool1 Dual smartphone. There’s no app drawer, all apps reside on the homescreen. Swiping the notifications will require you to press the delete button after a swipe, that’s annoying for most people.
A system update released fixed a crash issue of Messaging app, AnTuTu Benchmark issue, and optimized system performance.
There are some apps come built-in such as UC News, NewsDog, UC Browser, and Prime Video by Amazon. You can uninstall them if required. you can find utility apps such as Phone Manager and App Freezer. Moreover, the Dual apps feature can be handy if you want to use two different accounts of WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook or any supported apps. The fingerprint scanner works okay, not the fastest we saw but above average. Setting up fingerprints is easy.
Hardware, Performance & Gaming
Coolpad Cool Play 6 uses a fast 1.95 GHz octa-core Snapdragon 653 CPU which is a more powerful version than the Snapdragon 625. On the hardware side, the CoolPad Cool Play 6 does not offer any revolutionary hardware, but it is still considered powerful for this price. Look at the Xiaomi Mi A1, Moto G5s Plus and others, they offer a power-efficient Snapdragon 625 CPU where as the Cool Play 6 is ahead in the game.
The performance compared to the midrange smartphones is a tad better. Coolpad Cool Play 6 boasts an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 653 SoC paired with a massive 6 GB RAM and a large 64 GB storage. The graphics are taken care by Adreno 510. The specifications are pretty much similar to the Coolpad Cool1 Dual having an octa-core Snapdragon 652 chip.
The 6 GB RAM sounds great, however, it’s an LPDDR3 type, not the LPDDR4 found on flagships. Smartphones like OnePlus 3 with 6 GB RAM will perform better in terms of speed. Anyways, the overall hardware performance on the Coolpad Cool Play 6 is way better than the ones employing the Snapdragon 625. Since the chip is 28 nm, it may not be as power-efficient as Snapdragon 625 which is a 14nm tech
We got some nice results in the benchmarks, it surpasses the popular mid-range SoC Snapdragon 625. AnTuTu records 89,766 points, Geekbench 4 scores 1,425 points (single CPU), 4,690 (multi-CPU), 4,058 points (GPU), and 24,090 points in Quadrant Standard Edition benchmark.
AnTuTu Benchmark
- 89,766 points
Geekbench 4
- 1,425 points (single-core CPU)
- 4,690 points (multi-core CPU)
- 4,058 (GPU)
Quadrant Standard Edition
- 24,090
Gaming on Cool Play 6 is awesome, thanks to the Adreno 510, most mainstream games can be played without any lags. It may even run some graphic hungry games well since the GPU has enough power to handle. Deadheads, Forces of Freedom, and TRANSFORMERS: Forged to Fight are the three games we played. Transformers was a bit laggy at times, especially on the menu page, other games run fine.
Games Tested on Coolpad Cool Play 6
- TRANSFORMERS: Forged to Fight
- Deadheads
- Forces of Freedom
Storage and RAM Performance
Coolpad Cool Play 6 has only one storage variant i.e. 64 GB with no microSD support. So all you have left is the 64 GB internal storage. There is a built-in file manager with a recycle bin feature.
The storage performance is also noteworthy. According to the benchmarks, the storage performance is very good, you get over 200 MB/s read write speeds (sequential) and decent random read write speeds. The RAM copy speed is 8,232.34 MB/s which is equivalent to the RAM performance some flagships.
A1 SD Bench
- 177.97 MB/s (Read)
- 106.58 MB/s (Write)
- 8,232.34 MB/s (RAM Copy)
AndroBench
- 266.27 MB/s (Sequential Read)
- 210.16 MB/s (Sequential Write)
- 47.87 MB/s (Random Read)
- 16.82 MB/s (Random Write)
Cameras
This is not the first time Coolpad has came up with the dual camera setup, Coolpad Cool 1 Dual is the first smartphone from the company with dual cameras. Coolpad has attempted to offer two cameras since the competition is rising in the midrange segment and not offering a dual camera could be one of the things that sound inferior.
On the rear side, the Coolpad Cool Play 6 offers dual 13 MP cameras (Sony IMX258) that take photos with bokeh effects and Monochrome shots. The front uses an 8 MP camera for selfies.
The dual camera on the Cool Play 6 consists of two sensors, one being a Monochrome and other RGB combining them both results a high-quality image with details. What separates Cool Play 6 is the Monochrome sensor which unlikely isn’t present on the similar priced dual camera smartphones. This dual camera implementation enables you to capture bright and detailed images.
For the daylight camera quality, the camera performs very well, the Monochrome shots look beautiful, low light is also acceptable. The SLR mode simply adds the bokeh effect which can be later adjusted. It works well on portraits.
The camera focusing is sometimes not accurate, the image processing is slow, takes time to process images in SLR mode. Some dual camera phones like Moto G5s Plus is a strong contender for Cool Play 6.
One thing that I am amazed at is its Moto video feature that records videos in Monochrome. The camera on the Cool Play 6 does offer 4K video recording which lacks on dual camera smartphones such as Lenovo K8 Note. It supports slow motion videos of 720p at 120fps. The 8 MP selfie camera is a little above average but do not expect any high-quality photos.
Coolpad Cool Play 6 Camera Samples
Battery Runtime & Charging
As far as the battery can go, it can keep the phone alive for up to two days on a single charge if used the phone below moderate and 1.5 days on moderate use with hotspot turned on frequently. The battery life is quite similar the Cool1 Dual and this is one of the features of the phone that we like. For charging, it takes about 2 hours 45 minutes to charge from 0% to 100%.
Coolpad Cool Play 6 Battery Test Results
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Verdict
Coolpad Cool Play 6 is a performance device for users who want a phone with a decent camera and battery life. This is the best hardware you can get at a price of ₹14,999. The dual camera has nifty features like Monochrome Photo and Video, Bokeh effects which make apart from the standard dual camera smartphones under this price range. The JourneyUI is new and things like the notification swipe can be annoying at times. Nevertheless, Cool Play 6 does offer a complete package and there’s nothing much to complain.
Strength
- Strong Build
- Fast Processing | Octa-core CPU
- Plenty of RAM (6 GB)
- Dual Cameras | Monochrome | Bokeh Effect Images
- Battery Life
- Upgradeable to Android 8 Oreo
Weakness
- Journey UI may not be a deal breaker
- No microSD
