At $216, the Revvl 2 Plus is one of the least costly telephones to be had via T-Mobile. It’s a modest replace from its predecessor, and gives some admirable features like lengthy battery lifestyles and a brilliant show. Unfortunately, its construct high-satisfactory, performance, and dated Android software program make it a difficult promote as compared with in addition priced telephones just like the Motorola Moto G7 Power and the Nokia 7.1.
Design and Display
Made through TCL, the Revvl 2 Plus looks as if your traditional finances telecellsmartphone. It measures 6.38 through 2.ninety five through zero.34 inches (HWD) and springs in at 6.17 ounces. The the front is ruled through a 6-inch LCD with chunky pinnacle and backside bezels.
Flip the telecellsmartphone over and you will discover a vivid black plastic backplate with distinguished T-Mobile and Revvl branding. A twin digital digicam stack and a fingerprint sensor take a seat down pinnacle and center. And even as it appears correct while you pull it out of the box, it draws fingerprints and scratches. It additionally simply feels reasonably-priced while you evaluate it with the Moto G7 Power.
The body itself is manufactured from robust matte plastic. On the pinnacle of the telecellsmartphone you will discover a headphone jack, even as the lowest is domestic to twin audio system and a USB-C charging port. The left aspect of the telecellsmartphone is bare, apart from the hybrid SIM/microSD slot, and at the right, you will discover a magenta strength button and extent rocker. Both offer a fulfilling click on whilst tapped, aleven though it is able to be hard to attain the pinnacle of the extent rocker when you have small hands.
If you pick smaller telephones, T-Mobile additionally gives the $168 Revvl 2, which has a smaller show and a extra achievable footprint average. But length is not all this is lacking from the Revvl 2: It has a smaller battery, much less RAM, and a slower processor.
The Revvl 2 Plus’ 6-inch LCD is right for the price. Resolution is available in at 2,one hundred sixty through 1,080, for 402 pixels in line with inch. While the Revvl 2 can not attain the overall shadeation gamut of extra costly telephones, we discovered colours to be correct in our lab exams. We additionally discovered the show to be pretty brilliant at 456 nits, so that you ought to don’t have any trouble the use of it in direct sunlight.
Durability is a blended bag. While the Revvl 2 Plus has a plastic frame that ought to take care of drops and dings higher than telephones with glass backs, TCL affords no records approximately the form of glass used withinside the show. It’s additionally now no longer water resistant, so an unintended drop withinside the sink will in all likelihood cause a useless telecellsmartphone. It’s an excellent concept to put money into a water-resistant case in case you plan to apply the telecellsmartphone round water.
Hardware and Performance
A MediaTek Helio P23 processor at the side of 3GB of RAM strength the Revvl 2 Plus. There’s 32GB of inner storage, with 26GB to be had out of the box. If you want extra space, you may upload as much as an extra 128GB through a microSD card.
Performance is poor, in particular as compared with the aforementioned Nokia 7.1 and Moto G7 Power. Apps open slowly and multitasking turns into bulky with extra than 1/2 of a dozen apps open. Gaming is likewise a no-go: When gambling Asphalt eight we encountered skipped frames and the sport iced over 3 instances throughout an hour of gameplay.
The telecellsmartphone additionally completed poorly in benchmarks. On PCMark 2.zero, a collection of exams that simulate traditional phone tasks, it scored 4,848, that’s a ways under the Moto G7 Power (6,107) and Nokia 7.1 (6,224).
On the plus aspect, the telecellsmartphone’s 4,000mAh battery is superb. In our battery drain check, which streams video over Wi-Fi at complete brightness, it took 14 hours and 32 mins for the battery to peter out. With extra conservative use, you ought to don’t have any trouble going days among charges. If you do want a bit greater charge, you could should wait awhile, for the reason that Revvl 2 Plus would not provide a brief charging alternative just like the Moto G7 Power.
Camera
On the lower back of the telecellsmartphone you will discover a twin-digital digicam array with 12MP and 2MP sensors. The selfie digital digicam at the the front is available in at 8MP.
In brilliant mild, each the rear and the front cameras carry out well. Test pics are crisp, with tremendous shadeation accuracy. We observed a small quantity of element loss withinside the heritage, however are nevertheless pleasantly amazed through the pics average.
Low-mild checking out is a chunk of a one-of-a-kind story. Test pictures at the rear digital digicam are acceptable, aleven though there is lack of heritage information and a bit little bit of noise. The the front-dealing with digital digicam fared poorly, however, with blurring withinside the foreground and heritage, and huge noise.
Overall, the picturegraph high-satisfactory at the Revvl 2 Plus is barely higher than that of the Moto G7 Power, however would not pretty compete with the Nokia 7.1. It’s first-rate for social media posts, however.
Network and Call Quality
As a T-Mobile exclusive, the Revvl 2 Plus is provider locked. It helps LTE bands 2/4/5/12/66/seventy one. The addition of band seventy one manner T-Mobile clients in rural regions ought to have stable statistics coverage. Data speeds had been stunning in checking out, at 73Mbps up and 16Mbps down regardless of congested community conditions.
Call high-satisfactory is right. Our check calls had been clean for the maximum part, aleven though some phrases had been chopped off on the cease, in all likelihood because of noise cancellation. That said, noise cancellation labored well (possibly too well), as we heard no heritage noise in our check calls.
With a top extent of 84dB, the earpiece is loud sufficient to listen conversations on congested streets. The speakerphone has a top extent of 64dB, so it can now no longer be exceptional for outside calls or loud meetings. Peak extent is available in at a hearty 89dB whilst streaming multimedia. The average sound is crisp and clean, aleven though bass notes are definitely absent.
Bluetooth 4.2 is constructed in for wi-fi headphones and wearables, however NFC is lacking for contactless payments. Wi-Fi is supported at the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands, and we linked resultseasily to each networks in checking out.
Software
The Revvl 2 Plus ships with Android eight.1 Oreo. There’s a custom UI that makes mild adjustments to the multitasking display and Settings menu. T-Mobile’s suite of apps is protected at the telecellsmartphone, as are Facebook and Amazon, which may be uninstalled.
We requested T-Mobile if an replace to Android 9.zero Pie is withinside the works, and a consultant showed the telecellsmartphone will now no longer get hold of any similarly OS updates. If you need to apply the contemporary model of Android, you will want to appearance elsewhere. The Motorola Moto G7 Power ships with a almost inventory model of Pie, and the Nokia 7.1 is an Android One telecellsmartphone that now no longer most effective ships with Pie, however will get hold of an Android Q replace later this year.
Conclusions
Over the beyond few years, the finances telecellsmartphone marketplace has evolved. It’s absolutely viable to discover a stable phone for much less than $300. Unfortunately, T-Mobile’s Revvl 2 Plus hasn’t stuck up with the instances. Its construct high-satisfactory screams finances, and its low-cease Mediatek processor gives laggy performance. Both the Motorola Moto G7 Power and Nokia 7.1 provide a far higher revel in at a comparable price.
