The MT6580 is suddenly a very popular SoC, finding its way into a lot of sub-$80 phones. This includes phones like the UMi Rome X, and more recently, the Bluboo Picasso. Unlike the Rome X, though, the $69 Picasso comes with 2GB of RAM. Where have the corners been cut, then? Let’s explore.
Bluboo Picasso Review – Specifications
| Model: | Bluboo Picasso |
| Sim Card: | Dual SIM |
| Color: | Blue | White |
| Capacity | RAM: 2GB
ROM: 16GB |
| Chipset | CPU: MediaTek MT6580
CPU frequency: 1.3GHz quad-core |
| System | Android 5.1 |
| Screen | Display Size: 5-inch
Resolution: 1280 x 720pixels Multitouch: Yes |
| Camera | Rear Camera: 8MP Front Camera: 8MP |
| Radio | 2G: GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900MHz
3G: WCDMA 850 / 2100MHz |
| Battery | 2500mAh removable |
| Size | 142 x 70 x 8.2 mm, 152g |
Bluboo Picasso Review – Design
Hands down, the Picasso has to be the best looking phone in its range. For less than $70, you get a phone that doesn’t look like a $200+ device, but also feels like one. The fact that the internals aren’t quite at par is a different story (more on that later).
Right off the bat, the Picasso gives an impression of being a very ‘solid’ phone. If you’ve spent time with one of those Cubot phones, it’ll remind you of that. Bezels outside of the screen (on either side) are non-existent, but then there’s the killer black lines under the capacitor which we all have come to hate, and something which manufacturers have come to love.
Besides that, the phone reminds you a bit of the Mi 4 — well made, and 5-inch. What’s more, there’s a nice textured back which makes it really easy to grip the phone.
This is the first Bluboo phone I’m testing, and I’m positively surprised with the build on it. The plastic used seems to be of decent quality, and will squeak only under a lot of pressure.
Breaking the design down, there’s the earpiece surrounded by the usual suspects — proximity sensor, light sensor and the soft flash light (which is of no use, to be honest).
Right under that sits the screen, locked on all sides by the black bezels.
Under the screen, there’s the bottom bezel. Surprise surprise, no hardware capacitive buttons here. Only on-screen buttons, which remain to be non-configurable, so you’re stuck with what the factory thought was right!
The ‘chin’ of the phone has a micro USB port (seriously waiting for the time when Type-C is the standard and not a bragging right) with eight holes on either side.
As mentioned before, the rear of the phone has a really nice textured design (that seems to be really popular in China right now) making it easy to hold the phone. Minus the texture, the device looks a bit like the Mi 5. A minimalistic (and rather classy, to be honest) Bluboo logo sits on the upper half, with the camera and dual LED flash on the top left.
All buttons — power, vol up and vol down — sit on the right edge of the phone.
In the end, it’s a plain, simple design — no fancy curved 2.5D glass, although the rear cover does have a bit of a taper to it.
Bluboo Picasso Review – Hardware & Performance
A mixed bag. With all the impressive exterior, Bluboo have cut corners on the insides — and its tough to hide.
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Let’s start off with something nice — the display. It’s a 5-inch 1280 x 720p panel, which for a $65 phone was unimaginable even a year back. That said, Bluboo have done well to source a very nice looking panel for the Picasso. I won’t blow the newest 2K displays out of the water, but (no exaggeration here) — you’ll find it tough to believe its a $65 phone you’re looking at.
Moving on: the sound. It’s quite weak, in all earnest. You’ll have noticed a pattern — most phones under the $100 mark (especially those from smaller brands) have really poor audio. Unfortunately, the Picasso is one of those phones. High treble, no bass… in short, no quality. This doesn’t just apply to the loudspeaker — the earpiece offers a poor experience also.
It’s a bit of a shame to see no configurable on-screen buttons on the Picasso, because that’s what’s come to be the norm of late.
Bluboo claim to ship the Picasso with a 2500mAh battery, and the real capacity doesn’t seem too far off. While its hard to ascertain the exact mAh in there, what I can tell you is that the phone will last you one day. You’d be getting yourself a Picasso only for mail, chat and calls — and a little productivity and social media — and that’s what the phone is made for.
Another downer, a major one for many, is the touchscreen. Bluboo seem to have used a lower-resolution touch panel than normal, and the experience in one word is frustrating. I’d take a smaller capacity battery than what Bluboo ship on the Picasso, but a low-res touchscreen is a strict no.
Performance wise the phone is at par with other $60-80 phones, such as the Rome X. I don’t know if it’s the low-resolution touch screen or what, but somehow the Picasso feels a little laggy compared to the Rome X. Switching between apps can sometimes be an issue, but 2GB RAM helps in this case — at least when you compare it to 1GB RAM phones with the MT6580. You can take a look at the Bluboo Picasso benchmarks for more info.
Bluboo Picasso Review – Camera
The camera is by far the biggest disappointment on the Picasso (it’s rubbish). It’s a really hardly any use. A recent firmware update made is slightly better, but the camera still struggles (big time) in fixing focus, even in daylight. At night the Picasso is as good as a feature phone with no camera — that’s how bad the implementation is.
In a nutshell, the Picasso doesn’t have a camera that will compel you to reach out to your pocket to take a snap of something interesting happening in front of you. It’s far from it.
Bluboo Picasso Review – Gallery
Bluboo Picasso Review – Conclusion
The Picasso with its build, style and feel promises a lot, but there are way too many corners cut. The low resolution touch screen is a major issue for me, and I’m sure will be for any Picasso user. The camera is no good, and so is the sound.
The pros of the phone include a very nice build quality, the screen, the price and 2GB RAM. Despite that, I don’t see myself recommending the Bluboo Picasso to anyone despite however low their budget be. UMi’s Rome X is a much better performer for the same budget.
You can purchase the Bluboo Picasso from Geekbuying, which is where this review sample comes from.
Great review, more reviews I see of those cheap phones, more I believe consumers should get away from them. And when I see the price, particullarlly I alread know it will sport a poor camera, but as on this case my biggest fear is get a phone with poor touch, or limited to 2 fingers input. Other thing is the durability of internals, how is the usb port stand after just some months? That’s it, my 2 cents 😛
I get asked all the time on various forums and here about phone recommendations and very rarely will I recommend any of these cheap phones. They have to cut corners to get to the low price and in this case the camera and processor are both terrible. The only budget phones I truly recommend are those from the major companies, just my 2 cents as well. I guess that’s 4 cents now haha!
LMAO
“UMi’s Rome X is a much better performer for the same budget”
If so, then why did Rome X received only 5.5% higher score ? Looking to the review and points Yash makes, this phone does not deserve more than 40%.
I understand GizChina is dependent on phone suppliers, but the reviews are becoming low quality… just like Blubo Picasso camera.
Let’s put it in this way: compared to this crappy one, rome x’s camera would deserve a (let’s say) 6/10… But, in a world where there are plenty of other phones better than both, you can’t give rome x’s camera an absolute 6, when it’s clearly a 4/10… Thus, the result only slightly higher (also, built and looks gives many points at this over the rome x)
@disqus_hFOS6jWFnn:disqus sums it up correctly. The Rome X is a much better balanced phone that this.
Just buy a Vernee Thor for 99 $, the best phone for that money. Good camera, great build quality, 3 gb ram, unlocked bootloader etc.
so far I have enjoyed my Thor in limited testing but I’m still not ready to recommend it especially for someone on a budget who this may be their long term phone for quite sometime. Brand is still too new.
I would recommend Redmi 3 and Meizu M3 over it for now. That could change in a few months though.
What you say about Infocus V5?
Infocus is one of the few brands I have yet to use. But I am very interested in them being that they are the house brand for Foxconn.
There is one guy on fb pg gizchina core who has great opinions about the phone, check it. For me I’d go for the new brand looks really promising and more durable and has higher specs than those budget phones.
I dont do FB lol. So far there isn’t much I don’t like about it, it’s a typical 6753 budget phone. In fact I just got through testing out a THL T7 with very similar specs and it’s about the same as that. There isn’t too much room for differentiation in this budget segment. But what I am most interested in is how good the brand is a few months from now. That will determine if I ever invest in their flagships. I wanna see how good they are with updates and if the hardware has any issues.
Great review, more reviews I see of those cheap phones, more I believe consumers should get away from them. And when I see the price, particullarlly I alread know it will sport a poor camera, but as on this case my biggest fear is get a phone with poor touch, or limited to 2 fingers input. Other thing is the durability of internals, how is the usb port stand after just some months? That’s it, my 2 cents 😛
I get asked all the time on various forums and here about phone recommendations and very rarely will I recommend any of these cheap phones. They have to cut corners to get to the low price and in this case the camera and processor are both terrible. The only budget phones I truly recommend are those from the major companies, just my 2 cents as well. I guess that’s 4 cents now haha!
LMAO
“UMi’s Rome X is a much better performer for the same budget”
Then why did Rome X received only 5.5% higher score ? Looking to the review and points Yash makes, Bluboo Picasso does not deserve more than 40%.
Let’s put it in this way: compared to this crappy one, rome x’s camera would deserve a (let’s say) 6/10… But, in a world where there are plenty of other phones better than both, you can’t give rome x’s camera an absolute 6, when it’s clearly a 4/10… Thus, the result only slightly higher (also, built and looks gives many points at this over the rome x)
@disqus_hFOS6jWFnn:disqus sums it up correctly. The Rome X is a much better balanced phone that this.
Just buy a Vernee Thor for 99 $, the best phone for that money. Good camera, great build quality, 3 gb ram, unlocked bootloader etc.
so far I have enjoyed my Thor in limited testing but I’m still not ready to recommend it especially for someone on a budget who this may be their long term phone for quite sometime. Brand is still too new.
I would recommend Redmi 3 and Meizu M3 over it for now. That could change in a few months though.
What you say about Infocus V5?
Infocus is one of the few brands I have yet to use. But I am very interested in them being that they are the house brand for Foxconn.
There is one guy on fb pg gizchina core who has great opinions about the phone, check it. For me I’d go for the new brand looks really promising and more durable and has higher specs than those budget phones.
I dont do FB lol. So far there isn’t much I don’t like about it, it’s a typical 6753 budget phone. In fact I just got through testing out a THL T7 with very similar specs and it’s about the same as that. There isn’t too much room for differentiation in this budget segment. But what I am most interested in is how good the brand is a few months from now. That will determine if I ever invest in their flagships. I wanna see how good they are with updates and if the hardware has any issues.
I own a bluboo xtouch and also sufers from poor camera, poor resolution touch and the worst standby battery drain i have ever seen. I would recommend everyone to stay away fom bluboo
Hey don’t be so harsh…Their X550 model was a big hit last year. Especially for these who were looking for a good battery life.
Yeah man, i totally agree. Thats the reason i bought the xtouch. The x550 is very good for the price. However the overpriced xtouch is a real let down.
You should have waited for some real reviews like this bro…
I own a bluboo xtouch and also sufers from poor camera, poor resolution touch and the worst standby battery drain i have ever seen. I would recommend everyone to stay away fom bluboo
Hey don’t be so harsh…Their X550 model was a big hit last year. Especially for these who were looking for a good battery life.
Yeah man, i totally agree. Thats the reason i bought the xtouch. The x550 is very good for the price. However the overpriced xtouch is a real let down.
You should have waited for some real reviews like this bro…
I have in my hands for the last 10 days a ”picasso”. With a 5” screen 1280 x 720p , 2 GB of RAM, look of a more expensive phone, it is a real bargain!
I have in my hands for the last 10 days a ”picasso”. With a 5” screen 1280 x 720p , 2 GB of RAM, look of a more expensive phone, it is a real bargain!
What?? 1st you said that you don’t like the low res screen and then calling the screen as a pros if this phone…
two different things, @MrFlyingZoom3rz:disqus; the low-res part refers to the digitiser that is low in resolution, not the screen (perfectly happy with the screen). Cheers.
Ok, thanks for clearing that up.
What?? 1st you said that you don’t like the low res screen and then calling the screen as a pros if this phone…
two different things, @MrFlyingZoom3rz:disqus; the low-res part refers to the digitiser that is low in resolution, not the screen (perfectly happy with the screen). Cheers.
Ok, thanks for clearing that up.
[Bluboo picasso is worth getting phone]
I already have bought a Bluboo Maya at $69.99,The shipping of bluboo maya has already begins from 10th of july,Now i am just waiting to get it in my hands.
BLUBOO Dual- your first choice of Metal body Dual camera Android Smartphone
BluBoo Presale period will last until December 18th and the presale price is set at $129.99. As a part of the this period there’s also a flash sale event with the price slashed to $114.99. Later on the retail price will rise up to $149.99.
You could also try your luck to win 6 free BLUBOO Dual pieces:
The more details: check BLUBOO facebook page.
BLUBOO Giveaway
Prize: Uwatch, BLUBOO Dual, BLUBOO Edge
It’s the end of 2016, we BLUBOO thanks for your support in past whole year. Now, we make a video to review the important events of us in past year, and we are going to give you surprise Christmas Gift in return, your supports are very significant for us to develop.
for participate check on youtube “BLUBOO 2016 Full Year In Review #Massive Giveaway activity?”
BLUBOO Giveaway
Prize: Uwatch, BLUBOO Dual, BLUBOO Edge
It’s the end of 2016, we BLUBOO thanks for your support in past whole year. Now, we make a video to review the important events of us in past year, and we are going to give you surprise Christmas Gift in return, your supports are very significant for us to develop.
for participate check on youtube “BLUBOO 2016 Full Year In Review #Massive Giveaway activity?”
While most Chinese manufacturers are already on vacation, BLUBOO are still at work and preparing a final sale for the Spring Festival vacation. As a part of the 2017 Happy Chinese New Year celebration, first of all, BLUBOO carefully prepare three waves of surprises: 50 lucky customers would have chances to get phones free of charge, another 50 buyers would get refunded and only need to pay $9.99, and other customers would have opportunities to win free BLUBOO Uwatch.
for more detail visit BLUBOO website.
While most Chinese manufacturers are already on vacation, BLUBOO are still at work and preparing a final sale for the Spring Festival vacation. As a part of the 2017 Happy Chinese New Year celebration, first of all, BLUBOO carefully prepare three waves of surprises: 50 lucky customers would have chances to get phones free of charge, another 50 buyers would get refunded and only need to pay $9.99, and other customers would have opportunities to win free BLUBOO Uwatch.
for more detail visit BLUBOO website.
I have been buying sub $150AUD phones for years and this was the best phone I have bought and the cheapest. Sometimes it does take more than one touch for the screen to respond but not a regular occurrence honestly. The battery will drain about 10% per half an hour of use (screen on, constantly touching) but it will sit in standby with wifi/network enabled for 16 hours and go down from 85% to 80%. If you use your phone constantly then spend double $ and get a better model with a 4000mah battery. This phone is the best value for money out of all phones I’ve bought. Don’t expect android-pay to work though as it thinks all chinese phones are rooted and refuses to work.
I have been buying sub $150AUD phones for years and this was the best phone I have bought and the cheapest. Sometimes it does take more than one touch for the screen to respond but not a regular occurrence honestly. The battery will drain about 10% per half an hour of use (screen on, constantly touching) but it will sit in standby with wifi/network enabled for 16 hours and go down from 85% to 80%. If you use your phone constantly then spend double $ and get a better model with a 4000mah battery. This phone is the best value for money out of all phones I’ve bought. Don’t expect android-pay to work though as it thinks all chinese phones are rooted and refuses to work.