The Nextbit Robin comes with an answer to one of the biggest problems with smartphones: storage. With decent hardware specifications and an intelligent cloud storage at hand, it's easily a handset that stands out in the market.
It recently hit the shelves with a $400 price tag, and plenty of early birds have gotten their hands on it. At any rate, to really get to know a device is to use it, so here's what they have to say about the Robin.
Performance And Display
Straight off the bat, it has a 5.2-inch display with a 1,080 x 1,920 resolution and Qualcomm's Snapdragon 808 under the hood along with 3 GB of RAM. To put it into perspective, it's comparable to the LG Nexus 5X, except that it has 1 GB more RAM to offer.
"In short, the Robin offers exactly what I'd expect from a $400 Android phone in 2016. It's not as fast as a flagship, like the Note 5 or Nexus 6P, nor is it frustratingly laggy or slow," Dan Seifert of The Verge says.
Storage Plus Intelligent Cloud Storage
It's loaded with a respectable 32 GB of internal storage, but what makes it notable in this department is its 100 GB worth of free cloud storage and intelligent function. Whenever the Robin is plugged into the charger with an Internet connection, it'll automatically back up every app and photo to the cloud. Also, when the storage is running low at about 2 GB remaining space, it'll transfer apps to make room, starting with the least used ones. The moved apps' icons will become gray, or as Nextbit calls it, they'll become "ghost" icons.
More to the point, it will replace the photos with an optimized version that's suited to the smartphone's resolution, saving even more space in the process.
"It took one of the two biggest smartphone pain points – storage space and battery life – and found a unique and elegant way to address it," Zach Epstein of BGR writes.
Battery
Packing in a 2,680 mAh battery, it can also last pretty long through a day, but it feels like it could've been a bit better.
"Given the demands of uploading and downloading data on the reg, I'd like to see a stronger battery life in the Robin – a 2,680 mAh battery will satisfy the regular user for a day, but heavy users will probably get more like 12 hours reasonably solid use out of it," Ben Woods of The Next Web says.
Software
Out of the box, it runs on Android 6.0 Marshmallow coupled with a custom app launcher. It has some changes here and there that make it unique in a way, but because of that, it brought up some minor problems.
"Nextbit's software is mostly stock Android 6.0 Marshmallow with a new color scheme and some blur effects, so there isn't a ton to talk about. Nearly all of it is 'change for change's sake' without new functionality. The OS is now even lighter than usual – the main colors are now white with a light blue highlight, which can sometimes bring up some contrast issues," Ron Amadeo of Ars Technica remarks.
Camera
For cameras, it has a 13 MP rear shooter with dual-LED flash and a 5 MP snapper on the front. Sure, that looks respectable on paper, but it didn't quite deliver what users expected.
"The Robin's camera was competent, but in an age when most Android phones – LG, Samsung, OnePlus and Sony and even Huawei – have great cameras, that's not good enough. In bright and dim lighting situations, colors came out slightly faded and the camera had trouble capturing motion. The camera app is also frustratingly slow, which resulted in me missing a few timely shots," Nathan Olivarez-Giles of The Wall Street Journal says, noting that even the native Gallery app is "wonky."
Audio
Going over the speakers, they are placed on the top and bottom portions of the handset's front. That sounds like a great idea for some good ol' Netflix binge-watching, but they unfortunately couldn't rise up to the occasion.
"Its speakers – denoted by a circular depression on the top and bottom of the phone's face – sound awful, even at half volume," Rachel Metz of MIT Technology Review says.
Design
Instead of the usual materials, Nextbit used matte plastic that makes it quite satisfying to touch, not to mention that the colors that it's available in are easy on the eyes, particularly the mint variant. The design does have its drawbacks, though.
"The phone feels well made, with very little flex or give, although I've noticed that the back isn't entirely flat, showing some indentation when shining light across it. The plastic design also makes it feel less premium than metal and glass rivals," Samuel Gibbs of The Guardian says.
The sharp corners also scores a ton of points from a designer viewpoint, but they somewhat make the phone uncomfortable to use during long sessions with it.
Other Features
The Robin sports a sleep and wake button on the right side, but it's a little difficult to press it.
"Damn is this thing unnecessarily tough to press. All of this would be fine if the device had a physical home button to wake it, but instead you have a bottom speaker that looks like a home button but just isn't one no matter how many times you accidentally press it wishing it was," Lucas Matney of TechCrunch notes.
That's likely because it was designed with a fingerprint scanner in mind, making it flatter than the usual power button. Matney also mentions that it "honestly doesn't work all that well," though. Nevertheless, it's remarkable how Nextbit equipped the reader considering the handset's 7mm side.
One quick word: it's unlocked and compatible with both AT&T and T-Mobile, with a CDMA for Verizon and Sprint are believed to roll out sometime this year.
Bottom Line
The Nextbit Robin definitely has something to bring to the table that other smartphones don't. It might have a few minor kinks, but they're not exactly deal breakers.
Despite needing a little bit more work, what makes it a great choice is how it solves the problem of most smartphone owners while delivering great performance and design.
"As an affordable flagship, the phone is great and with the right tweaks and improvements, it has the potential to be a truly remarkable smartphone," Nirave Gondhia of Android Authority writes, summing things up nicely.
Photo: Maurizio Pesce | Flickr
