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Highscreen boost 3 se review. Bluetooth is a standard for secure wireless data transfer between various devices of different types over short distances

Case materials: metal, glass and plastic
Operating system: Google Android 5.1
Network: GSM/GPRS/EDGE, LTE CAT 4, two SIM cards
Processor: 8 cores, 64-bit, MediaTek MT6753
RAM: 2 GB
Data storage memory: 16 GB
Interfaces: Wi-Fi (b/g/n), Bluetooth 4.0, microUSB connector (USB 2.0) for charging/synchronization, 3.5 mm for headset
Screen: capacitive, IPS 5"" with a resolution of 1080x1920 pixels
Camera: 13/5 MP, flash
Navigation: GPS
Additionally: accelerometer, proximity and lighting sensors, FM radio
Batteries: removable, lithium-ion (Li-Ion) capacity 3000/6000 mAh
Dimensions: 141x71.4x9 mm (141x71.4x13.9 mm with 6000 mAh battery)
Weight: 140/200 g
Price: 20,000 rubles (Q4 2015)

Contents of delivery

Smartphone
Headset
Network adapter
USB cable
Two batteries
Two covers

Introduction

I think that many readers of our resource, and not only ours, have already heard about the music phone from the Highscreen company - Boost 3. Frankly speaking, I don’t like it when companies promote certain devices as music devices, since often there is nothing special about them , at best, a cheap music chip is used, installed in budget players. Before the presentation of Boost 3 began, the same thought was in my head: another marketing music device.

During the presentation, they explained to us that the new product actually has a separate music chip, ESS9018K2M, and the cost of it alone is more than 10,000 rubles. Also in “Boost” there is an ADA4897-2 amplifier. In addition, to transmit high-quality sound, a special player program was developed with direct output of the audio stream to the internal DAC, bypassing OS restrictions. The fact is that up to the current versions of Android 5.0/5.1, at the driver level, the system “out of the box” only accepts 16 bit / 44 kHz or 16 bit / 48 kHz, even including the standard resensor and DSP effects.

If you are interested in gadgets, you should remember that all Boosts were equipped with high-capacity batteries; the latest devices even had two batteries - a smaller one and a larger one. The Boost 3 smartphone is no exception: in the kit you will still find a 3000 mAh and a 6000 mAh battery.

That is, the new “Boost” has two main features: a DAC + amplifier and two capacious batteries.

Otherwise, we have an ordinary smartphone with a good IPS screen matrix, decent cameras and a not-so-fast processor from MediaTek. Price Highscreen Boost 3 at the end of November 2015 – 20,000 rubles.

Design, dimensions, control elements

I won’t dwell on this section for a long time, since outwardly Highscreen Boost 3 was “made,” it seems to me, in a hurry. The smartphone looks as if the manufacturer did not have time to come up with a design and released a mockup.

The device has a rectangular shape, dimensions – 141x71.4x9 mm when using a 3000 mAh battery and 141x71.4x13.9 mm with a 6000 mAh battery. The corners are sharp, the side edges are slightly sloping. The front panel is protected by glass (something like 2.5D, when the corners are slightly sloping) Corning Gorilla Glass 3. A thin glossy black frame runs along the perimeter. The rest of the body is gray semi-gloss plastic. As you understand, there are two design options for the back covers: for a “small” battery the socket is flat, for a “large” one – in voluminous rectangles and squares. Initially it was the other way around - the thin lid was embossed, which, it seems to me, was more appropriate.

During testing, no major scratches appeared on the glass. There is an oleophobic coating, it is of high quality: fingerprints are almost invisible, erased quickly, your finger glides over the surface like butter - a big plus. The case does not creak or play, despite my frequent changes of SIM cards and batteries. The materials are non-staining.

Oddly enough, Boost 3, even with a 6000 mAh battery, fits well in the hand, apparently due to the fact that the body itself is quite compact. In the cold season, there will definitely be no problems with placing the “Boost”, but in the summer you can’t just put a 200-gram “brick” in your shorts pocket.

At the top center are: an event indicator, light and proximity sensors, and a speaker. The speaker is loud, the interlocutor can be heard perfectly, intelligibility is good, there is no echo or other extraneous sounds. Below the screen are bright touch buttons of standard Android 5.0. The duration of the glow is adjustable.

At the bottom there is a microphone and microUSB, at the top there is a second microphone and a 3.5 mm audio output. In addition, on the top end there is now the inscription “highscreen” in gray on a red background. WITH reverse side– camera module, flash and speaker.

On the left side there is a volume rocker key, on the right there is a power button, highlighted in red, and a multifunction button (launch applications by double pressing).

The cover is relatively easy to remove. Below it is the battery, and above it are microSIM1/microSIM2 and a slot for a memory card.

Boost 3 and Apple iPhone 5

Boost 3 and Nexus 5

Display

This device uses a screen with a diagonal of 5 inches. Physical size – 62x110 mm, frame on top – 14 mm, bottom – 17.5 mm, on the right and left – approximately 4.5 mm. There is an anti-reflective coating, which is quite effective.

The display resolution of Boost 3 from Highscreen is FullHD, that is, 1080x1920 pixels, aspect ratio is 16:9, density is 440 pixels per inch. IPS OGS matrix without air gap. Below are the tests.

The maximum brightness of white color is 347 cd/m2, the maximum brightness of black color is 0.62 cd/m2, contrast is 560:1.

Brightness graph. The picture will look a little darker than normal.

Gamma. Floats a little, but overall within normal limits.

RGB levels. There is a lot of blue, especially at minimum and maximum brightness.

Temperature. It “jumps” a little from slightly warm to cold.

CIE diagram. The triangle is slightly shifted to the left, which is not normal. The shades of gray will also be unnatural.

Screen viewing angles are maximum. At angles, the image may appear slightly violet and yellow.

Viewing Angles

Light exposure

There is a MiraVision function in the screen settings. It easily adjusts brightness, contrast, saturation, sharpness, color temperature and dynamic range. In the “Gesture recognition” section there is an item “double tap to unlock”, gestures on the locked screen (for example, when you draw the letter “M” to launch messages).

Batteries

IN this device two replaceable batteries are used (lithium-polymer): 3000 mAh and 6000 mAh.

In my operating mode (infrequent calls and mostly Wi-Fi and 4G), Boost 3 with a 3000 mAh battery “lives” from about 9 am until late at night (up to an hour or two). In this mode, I listen to music for about 2 hours, the screen lights up for about 3-4 hours. Video playback is about 7-8 hours.

If you install a 6000 mAh battery, then feel free to multiply the test results obtained above by 2. That is, on average, the battery runs out in 2 days (active use of the device), video - 14 hours.

If we are talking about listening to music, then this can be neglected, since the 3000 mAh battery drains by about 3-5% per hour at medium volume: the battery will drain faster in standby mode.

Using a standard AC adapter, a battery with a smaller capacity is charged within 1.5 hours, with a larger capacity – within 3.5 hours.

When compared with Power Five, this model “lives” much longer - about 4 days, but it has other parameters and other purposes of use.

Communication capabilities

The device works not only in 2G/3G networks (GSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHz, WCDMA 900/1900/2100 MHz), but also in 4G CAT 4 Band 3/7/8/20 both SIM cards. There is only one radio module, so if one SIM card is in 4G, then the other will be in 2G.

There is no NFC chip, the rest is standard for any Android smartphone: GPS (no problems, satellites are detected quickly), Wi-Fi b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, USB 2.0 s OTG support.

Memory and memory card

There is 2 GB inside random access memory, usually about 1200 MB free. Built-in memory 16 GB, about 12 GB available. There is a card slot microSD memory, maximum volume – 128 GB (FAT32).

Cameras

Traditionally, there are two camera modules: 13 MP (Samsung ISOCELL, F2.0 aperture) and 5 MP (F2.8 aperture). There is one LED flash.

The first impression of the frames was somewhat negative, since the image on the screen when photographing does not quite correspond to the real situation: there is a lot of noise, very contrast, it seems as if the photo is of low quality. However, the frames look good in the gallery.

I liked the quality of photos with Highscreen Boost 3. I think it’s worth making allowances for the fact that the device is not “tailored” for taking photos. White balance is almost always perfect, there is no “soap” at the edges, detail is good, noise is uniform, noise reduction works correctly. Interestingly, the camera is not afraid to choose a shutter speed of 1/10-1/5 sec. It is advisable to wipe the camera eye.

The selfie camera is not bad. It takes pictures quite well: the white balance is correct, the exposure functions accurately. It is also important to wipe the peephole, otherwise you may end up with a cloudy picture.

The main camera can record video in FullHD resolution from 16 to 30 frames per second, depending on the lighting level. The quality is average, focusing is done “touch”, the sound is clear. The front camera records 720p video at 30 fps, digital stabilization is used.

There is a “super quality” mode in the settings. The device takes 6 frames and “sculpts” one of them. In theory, the quality should improve and the resolution increase, but the first condition is not met: the photographs are simply obtained artificially a high resolution– interpolation. Maybe this will be fixed in the firmware. Otherwise, everything is typical for any Android device.

Sample photos

Example of video on the front camera during the day (3GP, 11 MB) >>>
Example video on the front camera at night (3GP, 11 MB) >>>

Performance

The Highscreen Boost 3 model uses a chipset from the Taiwanese company MediaTek - MT6753: 8 cores, 64 bits, ARM Cortex-A53, process technology - 28 nm, core frequency - up to 1.5 GHz, graphics - MALI-T720. The main features of the chip are low cost and 4G anywhere in the world.

From the point of view of gaming performance, the device can handle everything modern games, but in many cases the settings will have to be set to average values. The MT6753 chip is found, for example, in the Meizu M2 mini. In the review of the device, we realized that it is slower than the MT6752 (its disadvantage is the reduced LTE frequencies).

As for the interface, it is lightning fast. Not a single stutter, no slowdown, no “freezes” of the shell or other unpleasant things. In this regard, the smartphone is very pleasant to use: fast, smooth and bug-free. The gadget does not overheat even under heavy CPU load.

Performance tests

Software platform

The Highscreen Boost 2 device runs on the Google Android operating system version 5.1. The branded shell is missing. On this moment Work is underway on the next firmware, which will correct some shortcomings in the system. Unfortunately, the review will be published before the test firmware is sent to me: the icons have been corrected and some work has been done on the camera software. The firmware will be released soon. A sixth “Android” was also promised.

Multimedia

This model uses a special player called Muz_On, which directly transfers the audio stream to the internal DAC, bypassing operating room restrictions Android systems, which downsamples any signal with a sampling frequency above 48 KHz. The player works under root.

Not long ago we tested a musical Meizu Pro 5. I don’t want to copy-paste the contents of the section about audio, I’ll say briefly: you need to listen to the sound with your own ears. Whatever I say here, it will all be a super-subjective opinion. However, in order not to upset you with such a brief conclusion on the sound in a musical device, I will provide a link to those who understand musical features in more detail.

There are discussions of the device and comparisons with the sound in players. I will add that the ESS9018K2M from the manufacturer ESS Technology is used as a DAC (in the DAC the signal-to-noise ratio is up to 114 dB, the dynamic range is up to 123 dB) and the ADA4897 amplifier. Briefly about the amplifier:

“This is a unity gain stable, fast response amplifier with feedback voltage, with low noise, rail-to-rail output voltage range (voltage swing to supply voltages) and an operating current of 3 mA. With a 1/f noise level of 2.4 nV/√Hz at 10 Hz and a spurious-free dynamic range of -80 dBc at 2 MHz, the ADA4897-2 is ideal solution for a variety of applications including ultrasonic frequency amplifiers, low noise preamplifiers and high-performance ADC drivers. These high-quality amplifiers are made possible by innovative architecture and Analog Devices' patented next-generation silicon germanium (SiGe) bipolar transistor technology.

The ADA4897-2 amplifier has a bandwidth of 230 MHz, a slew rate of 120 V/μs, and a settling time within 0.1% accuracy of 45 ns. The wide supply voltage range (3V to 10V) of the ADA4897-2/ADA4897-1 makes these amplifiers ideal candidates for systems that require high dynamic range, accuracy and high performance."

What I can definitely appreciate is the volume. She is very tall. All the “ears” that I have on the test “sway”. I am sure that such a volume/power reserve was made in order to “pump” high-impedance headphones. If we compare the sound quality of Boost 3 with Pro 5 from Meizu, the difference, it seemed to me, was small or comparable. However, Pro 5 costs 40,000 rubles, and Boost costs half as much.

The device is equipped with FM radio.

Conclusion

There are no complaints about the quality of communication; the strength of the vibration signal is average.

Let me remind you that Highscreen Boost 3 is already available for purchase, the price is 20,000 rubles. I can already see comments saying that such a piece of plastic is expensive! However, let's take a look at the prices: Meizu M2 Note with approximately similar parameters costs 16,000 rubles (PCT), but it does not have a music chip, which itself costs Highscreen almost 10,000 rubles, and there is no additional 6000 mAh battery! In this case, you should consider Boost 3 not as a pass-through smartphone with two batteries, but as a smartphone with a powerful music component. Don't forget about this.

Another example. gadget Highscreen Power Five will cost you 16,000 rubles, that is, only 4,000 rubles cheaper than Boost 3. Compare the options.

Therefore, the conclusions are very simple: if you understand sound and its quality, then take a closer look at Boost 3, since for this money it will be extremely difficult to find a smartphone + player combo. If you are not interested in dealing with sound, and the main thing is that there is just something making noise in your ears while traveling on the subway, then “Boost” is definitely not your companion. On the other hand, the model can be considered as a “survivable” device with a good screen and 4G.

pros

Sound!
Screen quality
Working hours
Smooth operation of the device

Minuses

Primitive appearance (subjective opinion)
Low chance of receiving updates

The most recognizable Highscreen line is undoubtedly Boost. From the very first model, which had an impressive 4160 mAh battery (those were the days!), it became the hallmark of the brand. It is not surprising that for the past five years, Highscreen has been regularly releasing new Boosts once a year. At the same time, the company alternates major updates (new design, new hardware, new chips, new number in the name) with small changes, which is reminiscent of the approach of one well-known American corporation. Starting with Boost 3 (review), the device stands out not only for its huge battery, but also for its high-quality audio components. It is these two points that we will pay special attention to in the review of the device, but, of course, we will not forget about everything else.

Technical Highscreen characteristics Boost 3 SE/SE Pro:

Network: GSM/GPRS/EDGE (850/900/1800/1900 MHz), HSPA+ (900/2100 MHz), LTE (Band 3, 7, 8, 20)
Platform: Android 6.0 Marshmallow
Display: 5", 1920x1080 pixels, 441 ppi, IPS, OGS, 5-point multi-touch
Camera: 13 MP, autofocus, f/2.0, ISOCELL sensor, LED flash, video recording 1080p@30fps
Front camera: 5 MP, f/2.8, video recording 480p@30fps
Processor: 8 cores, 1.3 GHz, 64 bits, MediaTek MT6753
Graphics chip: Mali-T720
RAM: 2/3 GB
Inner memory: 16/32 GB
Memory card: microSDHC
GPS, GLONASS
Bluetooth
Wi-Fi (802.11b/g/n)
3.5mm headphone jack
microUSB
Two SIM slots (not combined)
Led indicator
Batteries: removable, 3100 mAh (11.94 Wh) and 6900 mAh (26.22 Wh)
Dimensions: 141x71.4x9 mm with 3100 mAh, 141x71.4x13.9 mm with 6900 mAh
Weight: 168 g with 3100 mAh, 212 g with 6900 mAh

Video review

Equipment and design

Highscreen Boost 3 SE Pro comes in a fairly large box, all the contents of which are neatly laid out in cardboard boxes: a box with a second lid and a second battery, a box (more precisely, an envelope) with documentation, a box with a USB cable, a box with a charger (5 V, 2 A), box with battery. Well, the smartphone itself, without a separate box. Highscreen also promises to be included protective film, but the smartphone came to us for review without it.

Highscreen Boost 3 Pro SE is available in two colors: the most neutral black and eye-catching orange. I now mean the color of the cover of the 6900 mAh battery; the cover of the 3100 mAh battery is black in the first case, and dark blue in the second. The Boost 3 SE has the same colors. There are no external changes compared to the previous Boost; it is still the same rectangle with a red logo on the top end, backlit touch keys and a red stripe on the lock button. The cover of the large battery has a kind of protector, the cover of the small battery is flat. At the bottom of the right side there is an “Additional button”. You can assign it to launch any application double click(including from sleep mode), in addition, it plays the role of the shutter key in the camera.

As for ergonomics, with a 3100 mAh battery, Boost 3 SE is a convenient, compact, lightweight smartphone that is very comfortable to hold in your hands. With a 6900 mAh battery, the device becomes thick and heavy, but how could it be without it?

The Highscreen Boost 3 SE Pro has an excellent screen. This is a 5" IPS panel without an air gap (OGS), with a resolution of 1920x1080 pixels. The pixel density of 441 ppi provides excellent image clarity, and IPS technology provides the widest viewing angles and the absence of any noticeable inversions at any angle. In addition, the screen can boast high max and low minimum brightness. Five-point multi-touch. An oleophobic coating is applied to the glass, ensuring a pleasant sliding of your finger across the screen and ease of erasing fingerprints. The only complaint about the screen is that it turns red when tilted, like a simple Boost 3.

Software

Highscreen Boost 3 Pro SE is based on the Android 6.0 Marshmallow operating system. There is support for over-the-air updates; they are actually released by the manufacturer. As with most Highscreen smartphones, the platform is presented in almost pure form. Here, some icons have been changed, a button for clearing RAM has been added to the multitasking menu (it was somehow placed crookedly, not on the side or in the center), several applications have been added (File Manager, Software Update, FM radio and Zvooq, this is an online music service) and several functions in Settings (waking up the phone by drawing letters on the screen, MiraVision, RAM cleaner, battery percentage in the status bar). Nothing unusual, which is good - it's not often that small companies manage to do something good with the Android interface.

Camera

Highscreen Boost 3 SE Pro is equipped with a 13-megapixel ISOCELL camera with f/2.0 aperture. The camera is equipped with a single LED flash. It takes good photos, especially pleasing with its excellent detail and low noise. The camera is not prone to distorting colors (small errors can still happen), but due to the low dynamic range it often makes a gradient out of the sky. In conditions of lack of light, the quality of images becomes noticeably worse. Examples of photos:

Video is recorded at 1080p@30fps, the frame rate is maintained even in low light. There is high-quality digital stabilization. The sound is recorded quite quietly, you will have to either turn the volume up to maximum or speak loudly when shooting. The video footage during the day is decent, but in the dark the smartphone records extremely poorly - even what is visible in the photo is not visible. Focusing - touch only.

Highscreen saved money on the front camera. The 5-megapixel module has a low aperture (f/2.8), but despite this it takes heavily overexposed images. The viewing angle is wide, you can take pictures with friends without a selfie stick. The detailing is poor. Video from the front camera is recorded at 480p@30fps, this is unlikely to matter to you.

Sound

As I already said, starting with Boost 3, smartphones from the long-lived Highscreen series also stand out for their good sound. The device is equipped with a HiSound audio path, which includes an ESS Saber ES9018K2M DAC and an ADA4897-2 amplifier. The development of the filling was carried out by Russians Mikhail Orlov (sanmigel) and Dmitry Gamza (gemzza), well-known in audiophile circles. As a nice touch for music lovers, Highscreen has made smooth volume control. To assess the sound quality, I give the floor to Alexander Manichkin.

“The testing of the sound part of Boost 3 SE Pro was carried out in two stages. In addition to listening to test songs directly on the smartphone, we also compared the sound of Boost 3 Pro SE with one of the best “musicphones” today - Meizu Pro 5, as well as with the main portable player of our test laboratory - Questyle QP1R. For listening, various headphones with impedance from 16 to 250 Ohms were used.

The sound of Boost 3 SE Pro pleased me from the very first seconds of listening. Frequency response without flaws, wide dynamic range, excellent detail and sound purity. Low frequencies are quite tight and detailed, but there is no over-emphasis on the bass. The mid-frequency range sounds bright, I would even say that it is somewhat embellished. High frequencies are airy and transparent, but at the same time they do not conceal excessive harshness and shrillness and are reproduced softly. It is gratifying that in this model Highscreen has implemented the ability to play tracks in lossless quality not only with a proprietary application, but also with any other software player, which allows you to use the more familiar Neutron or HibyMusic for listening.

Let's compare with Meizu Pro 5. Both smartphones use the Saber ES9018K2M chip from ESS Technologies as a DAC, so we found it appropriate to compare them. The same hardware platform in digital-to-analog conversion is the reason that the sound character of both devices is very similar. I think that in a blind test it would be very difficult to distinguish them from each other. The most noticeable difference lies in the low-frequency range: the Boost 3 Pro SE has a more aggressive, assertive bass sound, the “subbass” is piercingly vibrating, while the Meizu Pro 5 has a much more intelligent low-frequency range - the bass is not as attacking and assertive. The mid frequencies of both phones captivate with their brightness, and the high frequencies softly and airily caress the ear.

Compared to smartphones, the Questyle QP1R doesn't sound as exciting. The mid frequencies seem to be shrouded in a gray veil, sounding dull and colorless in comparison with phones. High frequencies do not outperform Boost 3 SE Pro in terms of brightness and clarity, but they sound noticeably sharper. So much so that when compared with Boost 3 Pro SE, you get the unpleasant impression that the sound of the Questyle QP1R hurts the ears. The only thing in which the player looks more convincing than Boost 3 Pro is, perhaps, the low frequencies. They are more analytical and articulate. Boost 3 Pro SE, compared to the player, tends to have a more buzzing and booming bass character, but this is not so noticeable that it should be considered a disadvantage. Rather, it is a feature of the nature of the sound.

As a result, Boost 3 SE Pro demonstrated great sound, its quality level is not inferior to specialized Hi-Fi players. And although the smartphone is not equipped with controls that would allow you to control music playback by touch, in other respects the Boost 3 Pro SE is quite capable of competing with other hi-fi devices. Considering the price of a smartphone, it seems to be an excellent alternative to a portable player. Even if someone is not satisfied with the Boost 3 SE Pro as a smartphone, it is worth purchasing as a personal player.”

Performance and tests

The hardware of the Highscreen Boost 3 SE Pro, which is responsible for performance, is much more ordinary than that which is responsible for sound. We have seen the eight-core MediaTek MT6753 chipset with a frequency of 1.3 GHz and the Mali-T720 GPU coupled with 3 GB of RAM more than once, including on models with Full HD screens, so the behavior in games is more than predictable. So, in Unkilled and WoT Blitz! It is advisable to play with medium settings, but even then the framerate will not be ideal; Hungry Shark World is unplayable due to lag; Asphalt 8 is doing well, as is the pixelated 2D game Dan the Man. There are no surprises in the benchmarks either:

In games, the smartphone, of course, heats up, but not so much as to become unpleasant in the hands. In addition, the processor resets the frequency over time (but it endures for a long time; three runs of AnTuTu did not notice this slowdown) in order to heat up less. Built-in memory 32 GB, there is a microSD slot. In the non-Pro edition, let me remind you, 2 GB of RAM and 16 GB of ROM.

Now about the most important thing, the battery. I didn't test the 3100 mAh battery (if you need maximum battery life, you won't use it) and concentrated on the 6900 mAh battery. With it, I managed to achieve the following result: 2.5 days and 8.5 hours of screen time on a single charge. If you take time away from your smartphone more often, it will be able to last 4-5 days without power supply. If you are interested in synthetic numbers, here they are: 7 hours in Asphalt Extreme (brightness about 70%, all wireless modules are on, sound is off, graphics settings are maximum), 14.5 hours in the video player (brightness 100%, wireless modules are on, sound off, resolution – 1280x536). These are excellent results that few models can compete with (and almost none of the models with IPS screens). Boost is Boost.

And one more thing that I simply have to say about the battery. On the day I planned to take photos, it was minus thirty degrees, and I was afraid that I would not be able to take enough photos before the smartphone turned off. But Highscreen Boost 3 SE Pro did not disappoint, calmly withstanding a half-hour walk. Its built-in temperature sensors haven't even gone crazy! Probably, here we need to say thanks to the plastic case, which does not conduct heat very well, and the air gap between the lid and the filling of the smartphone that occurs when using a 6900 mAh battery.

Russian 4G networks are supported (bands 3, 7, 8 and 20).

conclusions

Highscreen Boost 3 SE costs 14,990 rubles, Pro version – 16,990 rubles. The smartphone fully confirmed its two main features - excellent autonomy and excellent audio component. In addition, its undoubted advantages include a high-quality screen, ISOCELL camera and semi-vanilla Android Marshmallow. You can complain about the poor behavior of the smartphone in games for such a price.

For whom is Highscreen Boost 3 SE Pro a good buy? Firstly, for everyone who appreciates high-quality sound or just wants to try it. Secondly, it is a good long-liver that can be taken with you on hiking trips (here frost resistance can come in handy, and good camera) or just use it, occasionally remembering the need to recharge.

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Highscreen has never been shy about experimenting, and in September 2015 they showed Boost 3 - the most musical smartphone, and the first to bypass Android's limitations in sound quality. While other manufacturers were improving the sound software solutions from Dolby Digital and the like, Highscreen in Boost 3 installed a DAC and an amplifier on the headphones, which together cost the company more than half the cost of the smartphone. It's time to update the most audiophile smartphone, meet Highscreen Boost 3 SE! We've been using Boost 3 SE for almost 2 weeks and are ready to talk about all the advantages and disadvantages of the smartphone in this review.

Characteristics

OS:Android 6
Networks:GSM/GPRS/EDGE (850/900/1800/1900 MHz), WCDMA (900/2100 MHz), FDD-LTE (3/7/8/20) (2x micro-SIM)
Screen: 5 inch. (S-IPS/OGS/1920x1080/2.5D Gorilla Glass 3)
Processor: MediaTek MT6753 (8x1.3GHz, Cortex-A53, 28nm, 64bit, Mali-720 MP3)
RAM: 2 GB (3GB Pro)
Permanent memory: 16 GB (32 GB Pro)
MicroSDHC memory card slot: up to 128GB
Cameras: 13 Mpx (module: Samsung ISOCELL, PDAF, f/2.0, single-color LED flash), max. video recording 1080p*30 (H264, stereo)/ 5 MPx (front)
Interfaces: Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, GLONASS/GPS, FM, USB-OTG, 3.5mm (for headphones)
Sensors: G-sensor, proximity sensor, light sensor
Sound: HI-Sound, ESS9018K2M DAC and ADA4897-2 amplifier (sound access directly to the DAC, bypassing Android OS restrictions)
Battery capacity: 3100 mAh and 6900 mAh (removable) Support fast charging
Dimensions (WxHxT): 141*71.4*9mm and 13.9mm
Weight: 168 g
Contents: two batteries, two replaceable battery covers, Charger 2A, USB cable, instructions, warranty card

Equipment, design, assembly and ease of use

Boost 3 SE comes in a package that is quite large and heavy, like for a smartphone. The packaging design immediately reveals the musical capabilities of the smartphone, because “the power is in the music” :) .
The box contains the smartphone itself, documentation, two batteries, the first for 3100 mAh, the second for 6900 mAh, two covers for a “large” and a “small” battery, as well as a MicroUSB - USB cable for charging and synchronization and a 5 volt power supply 2 amps.
What does the equipment have to do with the design? And despite the fact that by changing the battery and cover, the appearance changes radically. Let's first look at the Boost 3 SE with the "small" battery.

The front part is completely covered with protective 2.5D glass, which goes into a plastic frame, there is an oleophobic coating, three touch keys are clearly visible below the display, which can be backlit, above the display there is a camera, a speaker grille, perfectly tinted proximity and light sensors, they are in your eyes generally noticeable, as well as a bright and clearly visible notification light. Changing the cover does not in any way affect the appearance of the front of the smartphone.

If usually the back cover of smartphones is removed separately from the frame, then in Boost 3 SE the cover also serves as a frame. The Boost 3 SE came to us in a color scheme with a blue cover for the “small” battery and an orange cover for the “large” battery, but there is also a version with black covers. Plastic in both cases is Soft-Touch. On the back of the device there is a camera that protrudes slightly, an LED flash, a huge but not conspicuous Highscreen logo and a ring speaker grille at the bottom.
On the left side there is a lock key and a programmable key for launching applications, and on the right there is a volume rocker; nevertheless, when the keys are spaced on different sides, it is convenient. At the top end there is a 3.5 mm mini-jack, a noise-canceling microphone and a clearly visible company logo in a red frame, and at the bottom end there is a MicroUSB connector and a microphone. By the way, why the charging connector moved to the side will remain a mystery to everyone.

With a 3100 mAh battery, Boost 3 SE is quite compact smartphone with a slightly austere appearance and its character, in fact, is revealed only by the “large” battery and the cover for it. Once you put on the big orange cover, this smartphone starts to attract a lot of attention. More than once I have heard questions like “is it shockproof?”, to which you can safely answer “no, the power is in the music,” but let’s return to the appearance. It is clear that all the elements remained in their places, only the camera stopped sticking out, but turned out to be well hidden in the body , well, the lid makes it more angular and the thickness becomes indecently large - 13.9 mm, but do not forget that a 6900 mAh battery is hidden under it, and this is commendable.

Under the cover there is, of course, a removable battery, two slots for MicroSIM and one for MicroSD.
There are no complaints about ergonomics with a “small” battery; Boost 3 SE fits well in the hand and does not feel slippery. With a “large” battery, the smartphone becomes thicker, heavier, etc. Of course, it’s more inconvenient, but this is a board for 6900 mAh under the hood. What is poorly placed is the main speaker; if we place our device with the screen up, it is very muffled.

You can find fault with the assembly; when you squeeze it, you can hear a quiet crack on the sides, but this can be treated, you just have to avoid squeezing the smartphone. I would like to note one more unpleasant point: the large orange lid does not get dirty very quickly, but if it gets dirty, you will have to scrub off the dirt for a long time.

Display

Boost 3 SE is the flagship of the Highscreen company and therefore it has a flagship matrix: five inches, resolution 1920x1080, pixel density is 440 ppi, individual pixels cannot be seen with the naked eye. The color temperature is a little warm, the image is moderately contrasty, and the colors are saturated. And if you don’t like something, you can customize the display to suit you using a wonderful tool in the settings called MiraVision.
The vertical and horizontal viewing angles are maximum. The illumination is uniform and there are no obvious highlights. Automatic brightness adjustment works a little incorrectly, choosing a brightness level higher than a comfortable level in a dark room.

Sound

Usually I write about sound almost as an afterthought, but in this review I raised this topic to the top. Boost 3 SE is equipped with a HI SOUND audio path, which combines the top-end ESS9018K2M DAC and the powerful ADA4897-2 amplifier. And I can already feel how some of the readers of this review are thinking about what this means and only audiophiles are sincerely happy about this “filling”. For ordinary users, I’ll say it briefly: Boost 3 SE can rock any headphones you come across.

For those more advanced in the musical topic, I will tell you my observations. The first thing I want to draw your attention to is that from version 6 of the “green robot” the sampling frequency limit to 16 bit/44.1 kHz was removed and now you can listen to music High Quality on absolutely any player.

As for the sound quality, it very much depends on the quality of the headphones. In headphones for 200 rubles, for example, Boost 3 SE plays about the same as any other smartphone with a good DAC, only much louder. But this smartphone really shines with good headphones with an impedance above 32 Ohms, and at the same time has a good volume margin.

The sound is actually clear and it is with Boost 3 SE and quality headphones You can easily hear the difference between FLAC and MP3, and sometimes even what you simply couldn’t hear before. The sound is surround, the frequencies are not raised and not overloaded with all sorts of “improvers”, in the end we get the sound like this. how it was intended.

Boost 3 SE, perhaps, gives the clearest and loudest sound in headphones among absolutely all smartphones on the market and can give odds to most HI-Fi players.

Among the pleasant little things, it is worth noting that there are 50 steps for adjusting the volume; you can adjust the volume exactly the way you want. Absolutely omnivorous for audio files music player. And for the future we were promised advanced settings for controlling the DAC.

The main speaker, of course, produces a very loud sound, but I cannot call it high quality. There's a shortage low frequencies, and sometimes at maximum volume it even starts to “wheeze”.

Speaker: clear sound, but a little quiet, on a busy street sometimes there is not enough volume.

Camera

The main camera is a 13 megapixel module with autofocus and LED flash. To be honest, I have ambivalent feelings about the camera: on the one hand, you can get a really good picture, on the other hand, the automation constantly selects strange parameters for the photo and the pictures are either with an incomprehensible white balance, or crossed, etc. Although turning on HDR mode often solves the problem.

HDR shot

Photo without HDR

The camera app looks very simple. The number of modes is small by today's standards: panorama, retouching, rich, PIP mode (shooting with two cameras at once) and HDR, which saves the day.

Sample pictures:

The front camera has a resolution of 5.0 megapixels and you can even get a good selfie with it, but only with sufficient lighting, which is very rare indoors, but is ideal for video calls.