Maze Alpha X Comprehensive Review

Maze mobile the maker of Maze Alpha is a newcomer when it comes to making mobile phones. The company was founded last year and since that time it had produced about 4 devices, one which is the Maze Alpha X.

The Maze Alpha X is a gorgeous looking device with a sturdy build and plenty of storage capacity. From design to display, performance to software, I was able to put the device to the test.

I got a review unit of the device from Gearbest, an e-commerce site, so in this article, I will be doing the unboxing and the full review. Stay tuned.

Get the Maze Alpha X on Gearbest for Just $169.99

Maze Alpha X Unboxing

The phone is neatly packed in a square black box. You will see the brand name at the top and the phone’s name at the box. Flipping the box to the other side reveals some key specs of the device.

Check out Unboxing Pictures

Maze Alpha X key Specs and Features

You are immediately greeted with the device when you open the box. Other things beneath the phone are

• A pair of wall adapter charger
• One USB type C cable
• A SIM ejector tool
• Maze Alpha X warranty Card
• One User Guide manual

Maze Alpha X Review: Design and Display

The Maze Alpha X is a follow up to the first Maze Alpha device that was released last year. Checking out the specs, it sports a Full View display with an 18:9 aspect ratio, meaning the device is taller and narrower compared to an ordinary phone. It has a 6.0-inch LG display with 2160*1080 pixels which translates into 401ppi.

It has an IPS screen and viewing angle is quite good. Colours are great too but not as colourful as what you get from an AMOLED Screen.

Sunlight legibility seems OK but colour reproduction is kind of average. The problem here is not that it’s not bright enough but it’s not as accurate compared to the competition. This is an area I think Maze should work on in their next devices.

The device has a got a nice build quality despite weighing around 210g and I am satisfied with the build quality of the Maze Alpha X.

I would have however preferred the Maze Alpha X to be a bit lighter than this because most of the devices I currently have are not as heavy as the Alpha X, hence it might take a while getting used to it.

The back of the phone is protected by corny Gorilla glass 5 and has a glossy feel which leaves some fingerprint marks on the back. You need to clean this occasionally and the corny glass 5 actually works in offering some form of protection against accidental scratches.

I am not saying you should smash the device on a hard surface, it will definitely get broken if you do. But the fact that the device comes with this high-quality build offers some form of relief. There is no protective back cover included which I feel should have been included.

The device is not completely Bezel-less, there are still small bezels around the top where you have the earpiece and the notification light. The same thing applies to the bottom that houses the fingerprint scanner and the 13MP front-facing camera.

Now you know the front CAMERA is not placed in the usual place you normally have it, it is at the bottom. You get an instruction to flip the phone upside down when you open the front camera to take a selfie

The Maze Alpha X still maintains the indistinguishable design of the original Alpha with the headphone jack place at the top, USB Type C port at the bottom together with the speaker.

The bottom has an integrated fingerprint reader that is similar to the button in Samsung phones of yesteryears but is not as fast as I would have loved it.

At the right side, you have the volume controllers closely followed by the power button while at the left side you have the SIM tray.

Maze Alpha X Review: Hardware and Software 

There are two variants of the Maze Alpha X, the standard version has 6GB of RAM and 64GB of storage while the unit I have here, comes with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of ROM.

The device is powered by a MediaTek Helio P25 chipset which is an Octa-core processor clocked at 2.6Ghz. The chipset is supported by a Mali T880 GPU and the device runs on Android 7.0 Nougat.

In terms of the software, you have a complete stock Android experience with no form of bloatware at all. This is evident in how smooth navigating from one app is. I do not experience any form of lag when using the device, all thanks to the abundant 6GB of RAM. I was able to put the device through some graphics demanding games and it held them beautifully well.

Therefore, on the performance side of things, the device performs more than our expectations, navigating through apps was smooth sailing and I didn’t experience any form of app closure as well.

There is a one-handed mode that can easily be accessed from the setting. Once you activate this, you can swipe to the left from the bottom of the screen to put it in one-handed mode. Swiping back to the right side takes it back to the normal mode.

In terms of pre-loaded apps, the Alpha comes fairly light. There’s an FM radio, sound recorder, backup app and file manager. The full suite of Google apps is included – such as Gmail, YouTube, Chrome, Google Maps and Play Music – although the phone does have the native Android browser, music player and gallery app installed, too.

Maze Alpha X Review– Benchmark

The Helio P25 chipset is a mid-range option that doesn’t deliver blistering results in benchmark tests, but for casual users, it will be more than adequate. AnTuTu returns a score of 64,376, while Geekbench rates the Alpha’s single-core performance at 823 and multi-core at 3945. Those figures are hardly mind-blowing, but the 1080p screen and 6GB of RAM help to keep things surprisingly brisk

Maze Alpha X Review: Sound and Multimedia

The speaker of the Alpha X is placed at the bottom. Although there are two speaker grilles at its posterior end, only the one at the right side actually serves the purpose. The second one is not different from what you see on a couple of devices these days. Once you see this, just know that it’s just there to complement the design except in rare cases when both actually work as speakers.

That apart, the audio quality from the Maze Alpha X is nothing to write home about. The bass is quite low and the sound gets distorted at maximum volume despite the fact that the audio is not loud and clear enough. If you must enjoy music on this device, you will need to plug in a quality headphone to overcome the low sound output.

Watching videos on the device is a pleasure, thanks to the gorgeous Bezel-less screen. But the low audio output is also a great cause for concern here as well.

The device doesn’t come with any video player, hence the gallery serves as one. I have MX Player installed and has since been my go-to app for video.

Telephone Functions and Voice Quality

The Maze Alpha X has optional dual-SIM if a microSD card is not used. The dialler app does not differ visually from the stock Android app.

The call quality is decent and delivers a solid transmission quality so that both conversation partners are easy to understand. The transmission works in both directions without static noise, but it sounds a bit dull.

Maze Alpha X Review-Camera

At the back of the Alpha X is a 16-Megapixel shooter which is aided by a single LED flash. If you are buying the Maze Alpha X because of its camera, believe me, you will be disappointed. Images from the camera are rather too grainy with poor colour production. However, you can still take decent photos where there is enough lighting. It is advisable you switch on the flashlight whenever you want to take photos in most conditions. This still helps in brightening up the scene and images look general shaper with the flash on.

The same thing applies to the selfie camera which is a 13-megapixel lens. I have seen 5-megapixel front-facing camera which performed better than the camera on the Maze Alpha X. This is an area Maze Mobile needs to work on if they intend to compete in this price range and below.

Sample picture from the rear camera

Videos can be recorded in Full HD (1920×1080 pixels, 16:9) at 30 FPS. The front camera supports 1280×720 pixels.

Maze Alpha X Review: Battery performance

The device is powered by a non-removable 3900mAh battery that supports fast charging. From my test, the battery can charge to its full capacity in about 2hrs.

Under heavy usage, the battery can survive up to 7hrs after which you will need to charge it again. If the brightness is kept high, the rate of the battery drains will be high as well. From my personal experience and comparison with other devices with similar battery capacity, the Maze Alpha maintains a middle position when it comes to how long the battery can last.

The device comes with a battery saver which can be turned on when the battery level is becoming very low. With this feature turned on, the battery life will be sustained for a longer period because of the phone reduced performance and activity at this state

Maze Alpha X price and Availability 

Maze Alpha X can be purchased online from Leading E-commerce websites. On Gearbest the device currently sells for around $169-$200 for the 4GB/64GB Variant and $200-$240 for the 6GB and 128GB version.

Pro-Advantages

• Great build quality
• Gorgeous Bezel-less display
• Great performance
• Stock Android Experience

Cons-Disadvantages

• Average camera
• Poor Audio quality
• Not so accurate fingerprint scanner
• No Phone cover
• No Earphone
• Feels Heavy in the Hands

Verdict

The Maze Alpha X is a well-built device with a great looking screen but is not a perfect just like other phones. It has its strengths and weaknesses but the good is far more than its weaknesses. It has a stellar performance and pleasurable browsing experience.

If you can overlook the not so great camera and below average audio quality, the Maze Alpha X is a fantastic phone that will get attention thanks to its near Bezel-less display. But if you care about good sound production and amazing camera, I will advise you look elsewhere