Walton NEXG N25 Review: A Budget-friendly Smartphone with Standard Features

February 05, 2024, 10:47 AM
by Shahriar Rabab

UNB News
Publish- February 05, 2024, 10:47 AM
Shahriar Rabab
Update- February 05, 2024, 11:01 AM

Walton NEXG N25

Walton is a widely renowned feature and smartphone manufacturer in Bangladesh. The brand has expanded its portfolio from home appliances to smartphones and has made its distinct mark as a local brand. Particularly, their NEXG series stands out for its design and durability for affordable price ranges. The brand recently launched the NEXG N25 on 21st January 2024. Let’s look at the Walton NEXG N25 phone's detailed review.

Key Specifications of Walton NEXG N25

Design and Build Quality: A match of aesthetics and durability

The NEXG N25 moves away from the traditional Walton design elements to embrace something new. The new design looks something reminiscent of the iPhone or the iQOO Neo series. The smartphone is made of plastic with a refracting frosted finish on the back and a brushed chrome look on the frame.

The dimension comes in at 164.5 mm by 76.1 mm by 8.65 mm with 196 g weight. There’s a sizable front chin on the N25 which might look out of place by 2024 standards. But considering the price range, it's an understandable tradeoff. On the positive end, there’s IP52 water and dust resistance on the N25.

Ports and buttons are placed in their usual location. There’s dual sim support on the N25 with a dedicated micro SDXC slot. There’s also a 3.5 mm headphone jack at the bottom along with the Type C port.

The Display: IPS LCD with 90 Hz refresh rate

There isn’t much to rave about the displays of budget-friendly smartphones. As usual, the N25 features an IPS INCELL LCD panel with a punch-hole camera on the front. The 6.6-inch panel has 720 by 1612 pixels for an HD+ resolution. In addition to the 90 Hz refresh rate, the panel boasts a 180 Hz touch sampling rate and 400 nits of peak brightness. The exact pixel count and screen-to-body ratio on the N25 couldn’t be confirmed.

For an LCD panel, the display has decent brightness, color reproduction, and viewing angles. The 90 Hz refresh rate and the color vividness alleviates the overall interaction with the display.

The Camera: 50 MP AI Triple Camera

Like most smartphones in the entry-level segment, the number of camera sensors is usually a marketing bait. The case is similar with the N25 as well. There’s a 50 MP f/1.8 main sensor with AF, and PDAF. Walton has also included basic features like BSI, Antibanding, and Touch Focus. But that’s about it when it comes to the back camera as the other two included sensors are a 2 MP macro and an unrated AI camera.

The front features a usable 8 MP f/2.0 sensor for decent enough selfies.

The camera performance, similar to other NEXG smartphones, is a hit-and-miss at times. The camera was able to produce decent results in good lighting with a slightly greenish tint. The details and dynamic range were also satisfactory. But under harsh lights, the camera fails to properly expose the subject and the background. The portrait mode also leaves much to be desired with edge detection errors here and there. Nighttime photos are riddled with grains and noises. The night mode however helps a bit with decent artificial lights.

The videography is limited to 1080P without any form of stabilization onboard the device.

Processor and Performance: Decent Daily Driver with Bloatware Issues

The processor on the N25 is a Unisoc Tiger T616 2.0 GHz octa-core one. It is coupled with Mali-G57 MP1 GPU. On paper, the T616 is a basic entry-level Octa-core processor that is best suited for casual day-to-day use. The N25 also comes with 4GB RAM and 128 GB of internal storage. There’s an additional 4 GB of virtual RAM that can be accessed from the storage.

Games on the N25 performed below par. Titles like Free Fire, PUBG, and Asphalt 9 had a lot of flickers and stutters to make it a smooth experience. On the other hand, 2D and less graphics-intensive games like Temple Run 2 ran smoothly.

The N25 is using Dido OS based on Android 13. It’s a third-party OS with its own set of bloatware, which thankfully, can be uninstalled. The OS has some useful features like quick navigation through Smart Touch and ring light notifications. There are three distinct ring lights blended into the three back cameras which act as a notification light.

The processor and the RAM would have been better on the N25 as competitors like Xiaomi offer Snapdragon equivalence at this budget-friendly range.

Battery and Charge Time

The NEXG N25 comes with a 5000 mAh battery. The low processing power allows for a good battery life which would comfortably last all day in a single charge. There’s a 10W charging brick included in the box. However, the device can support up to 18W charging.

Pros and Cons of Walton NEXG N25

Pros:

- Good Display
- Great Build Quality
- Ring light notification
- Great battery life
- IP52 protection.

Cons

- Subpar performance
- Average camera.

Price of Walton NEXG N25 in Bangladesh

The Walton NEXG N25 smartphone is available for 13,999 BDT in Bangladesh.

Verdict

The NEXG N25 offers a good package considering the competition in the budget-friendly segment. An inclusion of 6 GB RAM, a periscope sensor, and a slightly more powerful processor could make the device a strong competitor. However, the smartphone still shines in its display, design, and build quality. For what it is worth, the Walton NEXG N25 is best suited for those looking for a casual daily driver for processor-easy tasks.