JiaYu S3 Review: JiaYu’s 2015 Mediatek flagship


jiayu s3 review

After a week of testing the highly anticipated JiaYu S3 we have got everything together to let you know how we feel about this flagship Mediatek phone. Keep reading for the full JiaYu S3 review.

The start of 2015 has been exciting for so many reasons, but the main reason is thanks to Mediatek. Each year we get excited about the upcoming Mediatek processors and what those new chips and features could mean for the coming years phones, but this year has been very different. Rather than simple gaining additional cores and boosting clock speeds, Mediatek have created processors which laugh in the face of Qualcomm’s offerings, and for us that means amazing Chinese phones with awesome power, hardware and features!

2015 the year of the Mediatek Flagship

2015 is very much the year of Mediatek. They have started off strong and have gained a lot of ground. So far each of their new 64bit processors out perform the equivalent Snapdragon chip, and improvements in GPS and graphics haven’t gone unnoticed either. So far we have seen Mediatek flagship from Meizu, iOcean, Elephone and JiaYu, so how does the JiaYu S3 perform as a complete package?

JiaYu S3 Review Unboxing and Hands on Video

JiaYu S3 Review Design and build

JiaYu have moved away from their comfort zone with the JiaYu S3. While most manufacturers have moved from plastc > steel > alloy, JiaYu have moved from steel to plastic and alloy. Look back as JiaYu’s previous phones and you will see stainless steel bodies which looked stunning but also took a long time to produce. Time has always been an issue for JiaYu and with the S3 we are finally seeing the Chinese phone maker get up to speed.

jiayu s3 review

A new plastic body should be a lot faster to produce than the other steel models, and with an alloy chassis we have a lightweight phone that is sturdy in your hand and wicks away heat very efficiently. In fact of all the Mediatek phones I have tried over the past few months the JiaYu S3 is one of the coolest running I have come across.

jiayu s3 review

From a design point of few the JiaYu S3 looks similar the the Oppo Find 7 in that it has a similar silhouette, curved rear and the camera and dual LED flash are in the same positions. The screen is also a 5.5-inch panel, the same as the Find 7, but this is standard for most flagship phones these days.

In the hand the JiaYu S3 is a comfortable and well balance phone, the narrowish bezels helping to keep the overall width down, and the curved rear shell rests easily in the palm of you hand. Still one-handed operation is a struggle (unless you have lengthy thumbs) especially notable due to the rather long chin area. Believe it or not by a few mm chopped off here and a small diameter curve would improve handling (ala the Huawei Honor 6+), but this is a minor niggle rather than a major let down.

jiayu s3 review

That lengthy lower chin is there to house your standard capacitive touch buttons to move around the Android 4.4.4 OS, and removing the rear shell reveals this is also where JiaYu have placed the dual speakers and the LTE antenna along with the USB plug.

Above the 5.5-inch 1080p display is the usual receiver location, LED notification light (to the left) and a front facing 5 mega-pixel Samsung camera for selfies.

jiayu s3 review

The rear shell of our JiaYu S3 is made of a very flexible white plastic with textured finish. Picking the phone up for the first time without the battery installed and the rear panel can bend and creek, but once the battery is in place the rear firms up and there is no aching or complaining from the chassis while in use.

The rear shell has a large speaker cut out with speakers left and right, there is also the JiaYu logo and spaces cut out in the panel for the 13 mega-pixel Sony IMX214 F2.0 sensor and dual LED flash.

jiayu s3 review

Removing the rear and you get to see the 3D printed antennas for the Bluetooth, GPS, WIFI etc, dual SIM trays and space for a micro SD card. The removable battery is a 3100mAh, and as you can see this version of the S3 (the 2GB RAM model) does not come with NFC.

Other notable points are the 3.5mm headphone jack in the top of the phone, and power and volume rockers on the right side. These physical buttons fit well, but are a little on the thin side, again not a major issue.

Overall the JiaYu S3 looks good and is put together pretty well. We are not looking at the same sort of build as the OnePlus One here, but for an affordable flagship Chinese phone with the hardware the S3 has to offer, build quality is good.

JiaYu S3 Review Components and Performance

JiaYu have really taken time in their design and specification of the JiaYu S3 and it shows in just how well the device looks on paper, but also performs in real life. JiaYu have opted to go for the simple, tried and tested recipe for their flagship, and while that doesn’t set the world alight does mean you have a solid, dependable and well made phone for your money.

jiayu s3 review

The display on the S3 is a 5.5-inch 1920 x 1080 unit, not a full 2K or 2k+ panel, and personally that is fine by me. 1080p might have been around for a long time now, but there is nothing wrong with a decent FHD panel, and that is exactly what the JiaYu S3 has.

jiayu s3 review

Running the show on the S3 is a 64bit Mediatek processor. The model on this device is the octacore MT6752 running a 1.7Ghz with 2GB RAM. JiaYu will also offer a 3GB RAM model too (which also has NFC), but even with 2GB RAM performance from the MT6752 is stunning. Even compared to the Snapdragon 615 (also a 64bit octacore) the Mediatek hold’s its own and even surpasses the Qualcomm processor!

In early tests we found the JiaYu S3 to offer pretty good performance, but that was with an earlier ROM and JiaYu have been working hard on improving things and keep releasing updates. Unfortunately we didn’t have access to a Windows computer for the review and were unable to update the phone, if we can update before we send the S3 back I will add new benchmarks.

So not only have JiaYu made a switch to a material which will help them produce phones faster, but they have built it with top end hardware and are even working to keep on top of ROM updates! Great changes from JiaYu.

JiaYu S3 Benchmarks

  • 3D Mark Ice Storm Extreme: 6,508
  • Vellamo Metal: 1,111
  • Vellamo Multicore: 1,822
  • Vellamo Browser: 2,433
  • Quadrant: 19,288
  • GFXBench Manhattan: 358.7
  • GFXBench Manhattan Offscreen: 357.1
  • GFXBench T-Rex: 858.4
  • GFXBench T-Rex Offscreen: 866.2
  • Geekbench Single Core Score: 810
  • Geekbench Multi-core Score: 3948
  • Antutu X: 38,203
  • Antutu: 40,097

Performance really is not an issue for the JiaYu S3, it runs applications smoothly and is notably smoother than the Huawei Honor 6 Plus I have been testing along side it when it comes to browsing the web, scrolling through galleries and use in general.

With a Mediatek processor one issue which we have often faced is poor GPS performance, but this seems to be a thing of the past. Even in tests with phones running the MT6732 the GPS has been faster and more accurate than before. The S3 initially took 1 minute to lock on to a GPS signal that sped up greatly with 30 second lock on while walking around the city and a similar speed while driving.

Read Also:  Xiaomi 13 leaked specifications hint at a new rear-mounted camera

jiayu s3 review

Gizchina News of the week


JiaYu have again remained sensible when it comes to the size of the battery in the JiaYu S3, a 3100mAh removable battery is a good size for a phone of this size and specification. Although the size is good, I do feel there is some additional optimisation which needs to go on in the power management department. In use the S3 battery lasts as well as phones with similar devices, but it is when it is in standby that the power consumption is a disappointment. JiaYu really need to sort out the power management in standby as I would often wake to find the battery in the red when in previous experience I should be able to get through the morning at least without a charge.

Another issues is charging which is dreadfully slow. At first I thought that perhaps I have been spoilt with fast chargers and VOOC, but I also see that Chinese testers have similar complaints.  While looking at Chinese reviews I also noticed some people had issues with their receiver while making calls, not an issue I had experienced but something to watch out for.

Although the battery and charging speed are issues, I do believe that with JiaYu’s new-found speed and commitment to bringing updates to their phones we are going to see at least the battery drain issue addressed.

JiaYu S3 Review Camera

I will be honest when I say that I have never reviewed a JiaYu phone that I haven’t liked, but I will also honestly say that the camera’s have always let them down.

jiayu s3 review

The 13 mega-pixel Sony IMX214 F2.0 sensor was a big worry to me when I received the JiaYu S3, it is a similar sensor to what JiaYu chose to use in the past and so far they haven’t really had much luck with it, so has this changed?

jiayu s3 review camera sample

Yes! Photo quality is much improved on the JiaYu S3, not only are the quality of the images better now, but the speed of focus, capture and saving is lightning fast! As the camera application doesn’t have a shutter animation, I found myself waiting for photos to be captured to begin with, but I soon realised that images were being snapped and safely stored faster than I could have imagined.

Low light images do tend to upset the sensor on the S3, so JiaYu have provided a powerful dual tone flash. Personally I am not a fan of flash photography, but did find that for most situations the flash on the JiaY S3 to improve image quality, although the timing of the flash could be improved upon and there is still notably more noise than on some other phones.

Like the overall build, we are not talking about camera quality that will rival the Oppo N3 or the Vivo Xshot, but it is a huge improvement over previous JiaYu phones, and the speed and quality of images makes it enjoyable to use, just watch the light level and you should capture some great photos.

The camera application on the JiaYu S3 ROM is rather basic with options for tracking, HDR, flash, panoramic etc, and they all work well, however I am not a fan of JiaYu’s HDR and found photos taken in the automatic setting to be good enough.

jiayu s3 review

An interesting PIP option in the camera app allows you to add a little selfie of yourself in to photos. So no mattery what you are shooting you can add your own little duckface in their too.

JiaYu S3 Review ROM

The Android ROM on the JiaYu S3 is a pleasant surprise, not only for the updates, but for the look and features too. The ROM seems to be based on ColorOS by Oppo and features similar widgets and the same menu layout with green switches too.

jiayu s3 review

The ROM is great to look at and has some nice features to which add value to the S3 as a whole. From the General Settings menu you have access to the usual settings along with gesture sensing, smart wake etc.

jiayu s3 review

Gesture Sensing allows you to create a hand wave action to open a supported application or function. First you must teach the S3 the gesture you want to use then choose the option you want to activate.

jiayu s3 review

Smart Wake is where you find that all important double tap to unlock, along with on screen gestures. The settings in the system are pre defined so similar to Funtocuch on Vivo, we hope in the future we will be able to create our own gestures to access the apps of our choice.

jiayu s3 review

Venture in to Audio profiles and you will find settings for Sound Enhancement to boost overall sound quality when using earphones, plus an option for lossless Bluetooth and best audio surround sound.

Something to be aware of is that the JiaYu S3 doesn’t come with the Google Play store installed. Our version of the S3 came from JiaYu.es and all that was needed was to install the Google Play .apk and log in to gain access to my account. I have received messages from users who bought the S3 from Chinese resellers and are having issues with Google. I assume that JiaYu.es have a slightly different ROM with Google Services integrated, than the Chinese model of the phone. Rooting and installing GAPPS should solve the issue for all users.

If you are not sure how to ROOT or install GAPPS never fear as there are ROMS available over on Needrom which already have them included. Just be sure to update your phone with the correct ROM as different ROMS are listed for the 2GB RAM and 3GB RAM models.

JiaYu S3 Review Conclusion

The design of the JiaYu S3 isn’t anything extraordinary, but simple and functional. The whole phone follows this recipe and it is one that when served up creates a device that is throughly enjoyable to own and use.

jiayu s3 review

Performance is top notch, screen quality is on par with the best 1080 screens, and the fast camera and GPS make it an actual useable device you can take out of the box and enjoy from the get go. I’m impressed to see that JiaYu are updating and supporting the ROM on the S3, and hope this continues with fixes to the power management and also a Lollipop update in the near future.

I believe JiaYu have created a solid flagship phone that can easily carry them in to the later quarter of this year.

JiaYu S3 vs the rivals Specifications

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Thanks to JiaYu.es for supplying us with this review model of the JiaYu S3. 2GB RAM versions of the S3 should be on sale now, with 3GB RAM models hitting stores very soon.

JiaYu.es are offering GizChina.com readers a 17 Euro discount on purchases of the JiaYu S3 using the following code: 17gizs3

 

Previous Mystery Flagship Lenovo leaked with metal chassis, possible optical zoom
Next Breaking: JiaYu F2 costs just 599 Yuan with 2GB RAM

436 Comments

  1. Darevintage
    February 3, 2015

    Hmm…thanks Andy for this review. Reveals quite a lot. Now waiting to see what Elephone’s P7000 will offer. Disappointing NFC isn’t available on the 2GB RAM version amongst other ‘tiny’ faults.

    • desponent
      February 3, 2015

      What do you use NFC for? Serious question here.

      • Airyl
        February 3, 2015

        Same question here. I’ve never seen anyone actually use NFC, ever.

      • Demetrio
        February 3, 2015

        I used NFC on my old (broken) FAEA F2s for:
        1. sharing pictures and videos
        2. running macro after writing some cheap NFC tag (using Trigger and Lllama).

        Still never did (because NFC is not in every phone), transferring other files, vcard and similar.

        More, starting from Android KitKat, you can do small payments (I’ll do it once I’ll have S3, now I do it by using credit card NFC), and I saw somebody using metro ticket, it was stored in his own smartphone and activated by NFC (Milan Metro – Italy).

      • Jan
        February 4, 2015

        I pay the bus and taxis as well as goods in many shops.

        • desponent
          February 4, 2015

          Are you really going to trust Chinese phones for those?

          • Jan
            February 4, 2015

            Why wouldn’t I, exactly?

            • desponent
              February 4, 2015

              This for example

              nytimes[dot]com/2015/01/29/technology/in-china-new-cybersecurity-rules-perturb-western-tech-companies.html?_r=0

      • Darevintage
        February 6, 2015

        I can use it to share files. Even if that doesn’t happen often, it doesn’t hurt to just know it’s there to use anytime I want to.

      • Yeti hand
        February 16, 2015

        I wonder…

  2. Rob
    February 3, 2015

    Thanks Andi, doesn’t seem quite as good as the specs on paper made out though. What is the audio quality like as you never mentioned it? I’m hoping that the stereo speakers will deliver a decent audio experience.

    • February 3, 2015

      It is a great phone, but I wasn’t blown away with it. It’s got a good basic and well made design and impressive hardware. Performance is superb and the camera is a real update on previous JiaYu phones. The ROM is a nice surprise, but there was nothing there which really had me feel ‘wow’. It’s a good solide phone though, just not mind blowing.

      • Simon
        February 3, 2015

        That’s fair enough. To be blown away they would have to produce a phone costing considerably more, maybe they will in the future.

      • Mohamed Ameen
        February 4, 2015

        Hi Andi,

        Thanks for the great review, I just bought the Elephone P6000 a couple of days ago, it’s a fast phone but the screen isn’t that good, battery drains fast, and the front facing camera is rubbish. Since I use snapchat alot, I’m looking for a 64 bit 4G phone that would have a great front camera for use with snapchat, what can you recommend?

  3. Oziris
    February 3, 2015

    What about video quality?

    • February 3, 2015

      I made a short video which was fine, with no hunting for focus as some other reviews mentioned. I’ll upload it and add it later.

  4. veenu
    February 3, 2015

    Hi andy, i m from india i am using xiaomi mi3 with latest developer version miui v6 it is nice phone in every aspect , is jiayu s3 a edge phone to replace my mi3 in looks ,power and camera’s department…..pls reply andy

    • February 3, 2015

      The Xiaomi Mi3 is a fine phone, why do you want to replace it?

      • veenu
        February 3, 2015

        Thanks bro i m looking for better camera(64bit) phone in this 200$ range in compare to my mi3, his front cam is not so clear…

        • February 3, 2015

          Yep, the front camera on the S3 is much better in that respect. I’d like to test the Elephone P7000 and iOcean MT6752 so I can give a better idea of the S3, but so far so good.

          • veenu
            February 3, 2015

            Thank u so much i m waiting for your p7000, m1 note and iocean camera review in compare to s3 ..let see which one u pick…..keep it on bro……….

  5. Joe Mastro
    February 3, 2015

    The 13 mega-pixel Panasonic sensor, isn’t Sony?

    • Jason45
      February 3, 2015

      Yes, it is Sony camera module, perhaps it is a typo.

    • February 3, 2015

      The correct specs are a 13 mega-pixel Sony IMX214 rear sensor and 5 mega-pixel Samsung. I’ve got so many reviews on the go this week that I messed up. Sorry about that.

  6. Albert
    February 3, 2015

    Great review Andi! I´ve seen it´s already available in Jiayu.es , i want to buy it inmediatly, can you confirm it will have google play?

    • Jason45
      February 3, 2015

      Some resellers say there are different versions of this phone, Chinese version and International version. The International version perhaps has Google apps automatically installed.

    • February 3, 2015

      Jiayu.es have given me this code to save 17 Euros Discount code: 17gizs3

      The phone I received had Google services but not Google Play but all I had to do is simply installe the .apk and it all works fine. The link to NeedROM in the review will also give you the downloads for the Google version of the ROM and I am sure if you contact JiaYu.es they can install Google Play for you.

      • Simon
        February 3, 2015

        Can that code be used for the 3GB version once released ?

        • February 3, 2015

          If not I will ask for another code.

          • Simon
            February 3, 2015

            Thanks very much. If possible ask them if they can an English version of the website too (with a union jack flag in the top right hand corner), if anything it would make the site more attractive to others.

  7. Simon
    February 3, 2015

    Call quality is generally perfectly fine ?

    • February 3, 2015

      Yep, I had no issue but it has been mentioned my Chinese testers of the phone that their are sometimes issues.

      • Simon
        February 3, 2015

        Cos obviously I need it primarily for making and receiving calls.

  8. Nicola
    February 3, 2015

    Hello,according to many sites,that specific a 5mp front camera and 13 MP Sony imx214 sensor,i want to know what is true,front 5 or 8 MP?,and rear,have a panasonic or sony sensor?

    • February 3, 2015

      Apologies the correct specs are a 13 mega-pixel Sony IMX214 rear sensor and 5 mega-pixel Samsung. I’ve got so many reviews on the go this week that I messed up. Sorry about that.

      • Nicola
        February 3, 2015

        Np,thank you for the review,i will probabilly buy it!

  9. Muhammad Yasir
    February 3, 2015

    hmm.. cameras in chinese flagship still suck at low light 🙁
    thats a big let down for jiayu as i expected them to atleast give oppo and vivo a kick in the shins , with brilliant camera quality :/

    and whats with the NOISE in images? Its so sad to see Chinese OEMs DONT learn from their mistakes and repeat them like an infant.

    Some people might see my comments as overly negative and pessimist , but i should warn them , that im actually on their side. Cheap phones with top-notch OVERALL quality (including low light imaging) is what i have been scouring over but so far so good , china doesnt seem to want to learn from it.

    Well , lets see what the future brings!

    • February 3, 2015

      Not all Chinese phones have issues with the camera.

      Vivo Shot and Oppo N3 are two of the best I have ever used in terms of camera, and the Oppo Find 7, IUNI U3, Gionee Elife E7 and OPO all have very good cameras too.

      • Muhammad Yasir
        February 3, 2015

        I actually threw all my backing to Gionee when i first spotted it on coolicool.com BUT i backed off almost immediately after i got to know it had no LTE support :/

        it was actually a potential world beater , but stopped short at the very last hurdle.

        The chinese are mighty close to figuring it out 😀

        P.S i agree , not all the chinese phones have the camera blues … BUT , why are the low-end and mid-range phones left in the dark in camera department?
        its a flaw that demands severe attention

      • Stef
        February 3, 2015

        Well, to be fair none of these phones can be really called cheap. With a price starting from $350 they have at least a mid range pricing. Jiayu obviously does not compete with those phones as it costs half that.

        I guess the above poster’s issue (as is mine) is that you can’t really find a *cheap* phone with a good camera. Good screen sure, good battery certainly, but a great camera is peculiarly a privilege of high end phones.

      • Muneeb Ali
        February 3, 2015

        I agree with you Andi, i recently got the IUNI U3 for my fiance….and it has a great camera. The only issue with it is the lack of play support….have installed the play store but it sometimes crashes with bugs in various gapps. :(…..if it had the playstore and gservices built in, i would have gotten it for myself by now 🙁

  10. slartiblart
    February 3, 2015

    Andi Sykes! Where’s the Honor 6 Plus review!!!! Outrageous!

    • February 3, 2015

      The S3 had to jump the line as I have to send it back this week. Honor 6 Plus is next up.

  11. Marco Lancaster
    February 3, 2015

    Awesome review Andi! Thanks for it, I was just curious to know the perfomance of the phone running games like Asphalt or Modern Combat 5. I really appreciated the images taken by the camera, even on low light, and I’m glad to see that Flash really works. A great phone for the price, and of course my choose to take this year. I was between this and Elephone P7000, but the bad support of Elephone for P6000 (Fake delivery of OTG and Compass, and after complaints they changed it on main page, and said the phone doesn’t support those features) , make me not go with them for now.

    • February 3, 2015

      I’ll show gaming in the upcoming video review along with sound quality 😀

  12. MaxPower
    February 3, 2015

    Great review as usual.
    The title needs a correction though
    Flagship not flaghip

    • February 3, 2015

      Please also correct these typos:
      our perform -> out perform
      think of the past -> thing of the past

  13. True_Neutral
    February 3, 2015

    I ordered one of this and it’s on the way! Question though, what’s your source for Jiayu ROMs? I need to know what site to use to keep my phone updated…

    • desponent
      February 3, 2015

      needrom is pretty good, the official jiayu board also list their update though needrom usually will have it pretty fast, 592zn is another alternative for other rom like MIUI but it’s in chinese and you have to register first.

      • Simon
        February 3, 2015

        For 592zn can you get English translation ?

        • desponent
          February 3, 2015

          I just use google translate, though you can’t use it to register, you need to use your wit on that one, or just remember which is which and put what they ask accordingly (name, email address etc.).

          • Simon
            February 3, 2015

            Fair enough.

      • Airyl
        February 3, 2015

        People on Needrom seem to love JIaYu phones. The G4S has multiple custom kernels, roms and tweaks.

        • desponent
          February 3, 2015

          There are only two kernels, each for KK and JB (and one of them is even buggy… though it’s not really needed). But yeah, it’s relatively active for a chinese phone from ‘small’ company. The phone is probably quite popular world wide (particularly in Russia and Spain).

          • Simon
            February 4, 2015

            Hopefully we can get Franco and Elemental X kernels for it :), as well as TWRP.

  14. desponent
    February 3, 2015

    Thanks for the review Andi, but why are your photos look very bluish?

    • February 3, 2015

      I only see the blue in the photos taken with an extremely blue sky

      • desponent
        February 3, 2015

        Funnily I think the photos taken from S3 look fine while the photos you take the S3 with look bluish.

    • Airyl
      February 3, 2015

      The colour temperature does seem to lean a little on the cool side.

  15. Simon
    February 3, 2015

    Out of interest will the Jiayu S4 be a mini version of the S3 or a complete different phone ?

    • Airyl
      February 3, 2015

      It’s a mystery. JiaYu themselves have said nothing about the S4.

      • February 3, 2015

        Yup, nothing official has been said about the S4

      • Simon
        February 3, 2015

        I guess I’ll get the S3 then, I hope call quality is good, and that OTA updates will bring Lollipop ASAP.

  16. Viktor Zlatkovski
    February 3, 2015

    Great review Andi , we all appreciate your hard work.I have only one question.If you sum all the specs and performance will you choose Jiayu S3 or Meizu m1 note ?

    • February 3, 2015

      Ah that is a good question. I would need more hands on time with teh m1 note to see what the camera and other details are like, but based on a very short hands on with the m1 note I would choose the Meizu over the JiaYu. The m1 note basically gives you all the features of the MX4 at a lower price, and I personally prefer the plastic body of the note too.

      • mapo
        February 3, 2015

        but Meizu is without EU LTE frequencies, right?

        • Viktor Zlatkovski
          February 3, 2015

          Hm is that true ?

          • Bruce S
            February 7, 2015

            ….looks like 3G and LTE are china only if the advertised specs for the M1 Note are correct; i.e.

            3G: TD-SCDMA(can be only used in China) and
            4G: TD-LTE(can be only used in China)

      • Teo
        February 3, 2015

        I hope for a Meizu Note M1 with 3GB RAM and NFC in near future!

      • Chavdar Ivanov Chavdarov
        February 4, 2015

        In your opinion, what aspects of m1 note are better?
        10x

  17. Airyl
    February 3, 2015

    Great review, as usual. Thanks for the hard work. I’d like to ask if there’s any noticeable difference in performance between an MTK6732 phone like the Ulefone Be Pro and MTK6752 phones like the JiaYu S3 and Meizu M1 Note?

    • February 3, 2015

      Nope, not really. I’d do need to spend some time gaming on the MT6732 phones we have to be sure, but so far they seem simlar in actual useage.

      • Airyl
        February 3, 2015

        Great, thanks Andi! I’m honestly thinking about just getting an Ulefone Be Pro and settling with it for a bit. It seems to be getting good reviews all around.

        • Simon
          February 3, 2015

          Instead of the Jiayu S3 ?

          • Airyl
            February 3, 2015

            Yeah. The more I think about it, the more I feel like I should just skip the current gen of MTK6752 phones. The MTK6732 phones do pretty much everything I need them to just fine. I also get to save a pretty penny.

            • February 3, 2015

              I would wait on the Ulefone there are some issues with the real spec and what they claim. We are trying to find out if the sample that were sent out are preproduction as the rear camera sensor is not what is advertised.

            • Airyl
              February 3, 2015

              Didn’t know that. Thanks for the heads up, Andi. Guess I’ll be evading the Be Pro for now.

              How’s the Redmi 2 Andi? I might be getting one since they’re pretty cheap in Malaysia at the moment.

            • February 3, 2015

              Pretty nice, battery is a bit of a let down though. It looks like my wife is about to give birth so I think the review will be a little delayed 😀

            • Simon
              February 4, 2015

              Congratulations 🙂

            • levered93
              February 4, 2015

              ko orang Malaysia ke, aku pun tgh tunggu jiayu s3 aku smpai….

            • Wazzurai
              February 4, 2015

              bro,,ko order kat mana ?

            • Simon
              February 3, 2015

              Always good to save money, I agree.

        • Simon
          February 3, 2015

          This review also:

          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxAPEHDsm8g

          unless you’ve already seen it 🙂

  18. Demetrio
    February 3, 2015

    @Andy:
    1. now Flashtool is available even for Linux.
    2. Jiayu is going to fix headset and loudspeaker issue with next OTA ROM
    3. why do you need windows pc? OTA upgrades are not working? They work just with wifi
    4. I think you should mention Jiayu rooting (it’s a simple switch under “security” settings)

    • Simon
      February 3, 2015

      How often do they bring out OTA updates for their rom ?

      • Demetrio
        February 3, 2015

        Right now, every 7-10 days! Maybe in future that would not be the same, but it’s encouraging.

        • Simon
          February 3, 2015

          That’s great 🙂

    • February 3, 2015

      1. Great
      2. Great
      3. Jiayu sent me an update which hasn’t gone OTA yet.
      4. Thanks

      • Demetrio
        February 6, 2015

        Do you think you will upgrade this review, or write another one?
        tx

    • Simon
      February 3, 2015

      Do you have a link to flashtool ?

    • seekphones
      March 18, 2015

      i think it is the same as iocean m6752 as i look in 1949deal !

      • Demetrio
        March 19, 2015

        take a look to the battery and battery life (check reviews) 😉

      • dismaster
        March 19, 2015

        Iocean M6752 get fast recharge, but i didnt see JiaYu’s

  19. Sean Higgins
    February 3, 2015

    Does anyone know if and when people can order this from inside China? Please post link if you have it. Thanks.

    • Jason45
      February 3, 2015

      You can just pre-order on their Official Chinese website. http://shop.ejiayu.com/product-467.html

      Just like many Chinese manufacturers, they release it in limited quantities.

      • Simon
        February 3, 2015

        Whats the official website ?

        • Jason45
          February 3, 2015

          It’s only for people living in China, they don’t ship internationally.

          • Simon
            February 3, 2015

            That’s fine, I just wanted to know there official site, cos could never find it 🙂

  20. Mankiw
    February 3, 2015

    Andi,do you know if Jiayu will release a version with 32 Gb of storage? In the case of Meizu Note the difference of price is only 200 RMB, more or less 30$. I haven’t found anything about this hypothetical version. Regards.

    • Jason45
      February 3, 2015

      They have not mentioned it, but I doubt they will release the 32GB storage, you can use a microSD card for extra storage.

    • desponent
      February 3, 2015

      You can get a 64GB microSD that cheap nowadays.

  21. billybloggs
    February 3, 2015

    Looks like I have found my new phone.

  22. David Košič
    February 3, 2015

    This might be the first mediatek phone I am prepared to buy. Of course I will be waiting for the 3 GB model.

  23. M Junaid
    February 3, 2015

    Does jiayu.es ships to Pakistan? Any ideas?
    Thanks

    • Muneeb Ali
      February 3, 2015

      Dont have it shipped to pakistan….its a very big hassle…i dont know whether you have had phones shipped here before or not but the customs and the PTA create a really big issue. Last time i had one shipped here, i had to pay almost 30% of the cost of the phone due to the PTA delaying paperwork.You will be much better off getting the phone in one of two ways,

      1) have a relative bring it from abroad
      2) have it ordered through a local reseller….yes the markup is quite a bit but ure saved the hassle.

      As far as shipping from jiayu.es goes, yeah they do…via dhl

  24. Guest
    February 3, 2015

    Hmm…thanks Andy for this review. Reveals quite a lot. Now waiting to see what Elephone’s P7000 will offer. Disappointing NFC isn’t available on the 2GB RAM version amongst other ‘tiny’ faults.

    • desponent
      February 3, 2015

      What do you use NFC for? Serious question here.

    • Airyl
      February 3, 2015

      Same question here. I’ve never seen anyone actually use NFC, ever.

    • Demetrio
      February 3, 2015

      I used NFC on my old (broken) FAEA F2s for:
      1. sharing pictures and videos
      2. running macro after writing some cheap NFC tag (using Trigger and Lllama).

      Still never did (because NFC is not in every phone), transferring other files, vcard and similar.

      More, starting from Android KitKat, you can do small payments (I’ll do it once I’ll have S3, now I do it by using credit card NFC), and I saw somebody using metro ticket, it was stored in his own smartphone and activated by NFC (Milan Metro – Italy).

    • Jan
      February 4, 2015

      I pay the bus and taxis as well as goods in many shops.

    • desponent
      February 4, 2015

      Are you really going to trust Chinese phones for those?

    • Jan
      February 5, 2015

      Why wouldn’t I, exactly?

    • desponent
      February 5, 2015

      This for example

      nytimes[dot]com/2015/01/29/technology/in-china-new-cybersecurity-rules-perturb-western-tech-companies.html?_r=0

    • Guest
      February 6, 2015

      I can use it to share files. Even if that doesn’t happen often, it doesn’t hurt to just know it’s there to use anytime I want to.

    • Yeti hand
      February 16, 2015

      I wonder…

  25. Rob
    February 3, 2015

    Thanks Andi, doesn’t seem quite as good as the specs on paper made out though. What is the audio quality like as you never mentioned it? I’m hoping that the stereo speakers will deliver a decent audio experience.

    • Andi Sykes
      February 3, 2015

      It is a great phone, but I wasn’t blown away with it. It’s got a good basic and well made design and impressive hardware. Performance is superb and the camera is a real update on previous JiaYu phones. The ROM is a nice surprise, but there was nothing there which really had me feel ‘wow’. It’s a good solide phone though, just not mind blowing.

    • Guest
      February 3, 2015

      That’s fair enough. To be blown away they would have to produce a phone costing considerably more, maybe they will in the future.

    • Mohamed Ameen
      February 4, 2015

      Hi Andi,

      Thanks for the great review, I just bought the Elephone P6000 a couple of days ago, it’s a fast phone but the screen isn’t that good, battery drains fast, and the front facing camera is rubbish. Since I use snapchat alot, I’m looking for a 64 bit 4G phone that would have a great front camera for use with snapchat, what can you recommend?

  26. Guest
    February 3, 2015

    What about video quality?

    • Andi Sykes
      February 3, 2015

      I made a short video which was fine, with no hunting for focus as some other reviews mentioned. I’ll upload it and add it later.

  27. Guest
    February 3, 2015

    Hi andy, i m from india i am using xiaomi mi3 with latest developer version miui v6 it is nice phone in every aspect , is jiayu s3 a edge phone to replace my mi3 in looks ,power and camera’s department…..pls reply andy

    • Andi Sykes
      February 3, 2015

      The Xiaomi Mi3 is a fine phone, why do you want to replace it?

    • Guest
      February 3, 2015

      Thanks bro i m looking for better camera(64bit) phone in this 200$ range in compare to my mi3, his front cam is not so clear…

    • Andi Sykes
      February 3, 2015

      Yep, the front camera on the S3 is much better in that respect. I’d like to test the Elephone P7000 and iOcean MT6752 so I can give a better idea of the S3, but so far so good.

    • Guest
      February 3, 2015

      Thank u so much i m waiting for your p7000, m1 note and iocean camera review in compare to s3 ..let see which one u pick…..keep it on bro……….

  28. Joe Mas
    February 3, 2015

    The 13 mega-pixel Panasonic sensor, isn’t Sony?

    • Jason45
      February 3, 2015

      Yes, it is Sony camera module, perhaps it is a typo.

    • Andi Sykes
      February 3, 2015

      The correct specs are a 13 mega-pixel Sony IMX214 rear sensor and 5 mega-pixel Samsung. I’ve got so many reviews on the go this week that I messed up. Sorry about that.

  29. Guest
    February 3, 2015

    Great review Andi! I´ve seen it´s already available in

  30. Guest
    February 3, 2015

    , i want to buy it inmediatly, can you confirm it will have google play?

    • Jason45
      February 3, 2015

      Some resellers say there are different versions of this phone, Chinese version and International version. The International version perhaps has Google apps automatically installed.

    • Andi Sykes
      February 3, 2015

      have given me this code to save 17 Euros Discount code: 17gizs3

      The phone I received had Google services but not Google Play but all I had to do is simply installe the .apk and it all works fine. The link to NeedROM in the review will also give you the downloads for the Google version of the ROM and I am sure if you contact JiaYu.es they can install Google Play for you.

    • Guest
      February 3, 2015

      Can that code be used for the 3GB version once released ?

    • Andi Sykes
      February 3, 2015

      If not I will ask for another code.

    • Guest
      February 3, 2015

      Thanks very much. If possible ask them if they can an English version of the website too (with a union jack flag in the top right hand corner), if anything it would make the site more attractive to others.

  31. Guest
    February 3, 2015

    Call quality is generally perfectly fine ?

    • Andi Sykes
      February 3, 2015

      Yep, I had no issue but it has been mentioned my Chinese testers of the phone that their are sometimes issues.

    • Guest
      February 3, 2015

      Cos obviously I need it primarily for making and receiving calls.

  32. Nicola
    February 3, 2015

    Hello,according to many sites,that specific a 5mp front camera and 13 MP Sony imx214 sensor,i want to know what is true,front 5 or 8 MP?,and rear,have a panasonic or sony sensor?

    • Andi Sykes
      February 3, 2015

      Apologies the correct specs are a 13 mega-pixel Sony IMX214 rear sensor and 5 mega-pixel Samsung. I’ve got so many reviews on the go this week that I messed up. Sorry about that.

    • Nicola
      February 3, 2015

      Np,thank you for the review,i will probabilly buy it!

  33. Guest
    February 3, 2015

    hmm.. cameras in chinese flagship still suck at low light 🙁
    thats a big let down for jiayu as i expected them to atleast give oppo and vivo a kick in the shins , with brilliant camera quality :/

    and whats with the NOISE in images? Its so sad to see Chinese OEMs DONT learn from their mistakes and repeat them like an infant.

    Some people might see my comments as overly negative and pessimist , but i should warn them , that im actually on their side. Cheap phones with top-notch OVERALL quality (including low light imaging) is what i have been scouring over but so far so good , china doesnt seem to want to learn from it.

    Well , lets see what the future brings!

    • Andi Sykes
      February 3, 2015

      Not all Chinese phones have issues with the camera.

      Vivo Shot and Oppo N3 are two of the best I have ever used in terms of camera, and the Oppo Find 7, IUNI U3, Gionee Elife E7 and OPO all have very good cameras too.

    • Guest
      February 3, 2015

      I actually threw all my backing to Gionee when i first spotted it on coolicool.com BUT i backed off almost immediately after i got to know it had no LTE support :/

      it was actually a potential world beater , but stopped short at the very last hurdle.

      The chinese are mighty close to figuring it out 😀

      P.S i agree , not all the chinese phones have the camera blues … BUT , why are the low-end and mid-range phones left in the dark in camera department?
      its a flaw that demands severe attention

    • Stef
      February 3, 2015

      Well, to be fair none of these phones can be really called cheap. With a price starting from $350 they have at least a mid range pricing. Jiayu obviously does not compete with those phones as it costs half that.

      I guess the above poster’s issue (as is mine) is that you can’t really find a *cheap* phone with a good camera. Good screen sure, good battery certainly, but a great camera is peculiarly a privilege of high end phones.

    • Docmaddy
      February 3, 2015

      I agree with you Andi, i recently got the IUNI U3 for my fiance….and it has a great camera. The only issue with it is the lack of play support….have installed the play store but it sometimes crashes with bugs in various gapps. :(…..if it had the playstore and gservices built in, i would have gotten it for myself by now 🙁

  34. Renky89
    February 3, 2015

    How slow is the charging exactly? Around 2 and a half hours from flat to full? Or even longer? :O

    • February 3, 2015

      Even longer…

      • Renky89
        February 3, 2015

        Oh god no 🙁 this is a deal breaker for me. Looking forward to new smartphones without this kind of stupid quirks.

        • Stef
          February 4, 2015

          Actually slow charging is what keeps a battery healthy. Fast charging trash batteries very fast.

          if you want fast charging though, why don’t you just buy a second battery plus charger. It’s hardly bigger than a charger (to move around) and it gives you 100% battery in less than a minute (1 minute is the most that your phone would be “out of use”)

          • balcobomber25
            March 7, 2015

            “Actually slow charging is what keeps a battery healthy. Fast charging trash batteries very fast.”

            There is very little actual science to back these claims up. In fact there have been studies on rechargeable batteries of all types that say leaving them plugged in longer is more damaging than fast charging.

  35. slartiblart
    February 3, 2015

    Andi Sykes! Where’s the Honor 6 Plus review!!!! Outrageous!

    • Andi Sykes
      February 3, 2015

      The S3 had to jump the line as I have to send it back this week. Honor 6 Plus is next up.

  36. Marco Lancaster
    February 3, 2015

    Awesome review Andi! Thanks for it, I was just curious to know the perfomance of the phone running games like Asphalt or Modern Combat 5. I really appreciated the images taken by the camera, even on low light, and I’m glad to see that Flash really works. A great phone for the price, and of course my choose to take this year. I was between this and Elephone P7000, but the bad support of Elephone for P6000 (Fake delivery of OTG and Compass, and after complaints they changed it on main page, and said the phone doesn’t support those features) , make me not go with them for now.

    • Andi Sykes
      February 3, 2015

      I’ll show gaming in the upcoming video review along with sound quality 😀

  37. MaxPower
    February 3, 2015

    Great review as usual.
    The title needs a correction though
    Flagship not flaghip

    • 10basetom
      February 3, 2015

      Please also correct these typos:
      our perform -> out perform
      think of the past -> thing of the past

  38. John
    February 3, 2015

    Don’t know why it wasn’t mentioned in the review, but do the touch buttons have a light in them?

    • February 3, 2015

      yes, they do. Sorry for not mentioning

      • John
        February 3, 2015

        How un-Jiayu of them, but that’s cool. Thanks!

        • Marco Lancaster
          February 4, 2015

          I Wish they only light up, and not be painted on screen.

          • John
            February 4, 2015

            They do light up, Andi just confirmed that.

            • Marco Lancaster
              February 4, 2015

              Yeah i Know, I mean, the phone has light up buttons, but when not lighted they’re also painted on the phone.

  39. True_Neutral
    February 3, 2015

    I ordered one of this and it’s on the way! Question though, what’s your source for Jiayu ROMs? I need to know what site to use to keep my phone updated…

    • desponent
      February 3, 2015

      needrom is pretty good, the official jiayu board also list their update though needrom usually will have it pretty fast, 592zn is another alternative for other rom like MIUI but it’s in chinese and you have to register first.

    • Guest
      February 3, 2015

      For 592zn can you get English translation ?

    • desponent
      February 3, 2015

      I just use google translate, though you can’t use it to register, you need to use your wit on that one, or just remember which is which and put what they ask accordingly (name, email address etc.).

    • Airyl
      February 3, 2015

      People on Needrom seem to love JIaYu phones. The G4S has multiple custom kernels, roms and tweaks.

    • Guest
      February 3, 2015

      Fair enough.

    • desponent
      February 3, 2015

      There are only two kernels, each for KK and JB (and one of them is even buggy… though it’s not really needed). But yeah, it’s relatively active for a chinese phone from ‘small’ company. The phone is probably quite popular world wide (particularly in Russia and Spain).

    • Guest
      February 4, 2015

      Hopefully we can get Franco and Elemental X kernels for it :), as well as TWRP.

  40. desponent
    February 3, 2015

    Thanks for the review Andi, but why are your photos look very bluish?

    • Andi Sykes
      February 3, 2015

      I only see the blue in the photos taken with an extremely blue sky

    • Airyl
      February 3, 2015

      The colour temperature does seem to lean a little on the cool side.

    • desponent
      February 3, 2015

      Funnily I think the photos taken from S3 look fine while the photos you take the S3 with look bluish.

  41. Guest
    February 3, 2015

    Out of interest will the Jiayu S4 be a mini version of the S3 or a complete different phone ?

    • Airyl
      February 3, 2015

      It’s a mystery. JiaYu themselves have said nothing about the S4.

    • Andi Sykes
      February 3, 2015

      Yup, nothing official has been said about the S4

    • Guest
      February 3, 2015

      I guess I’ll get the S3 then, I hope call quality is good, and that OTA updates will bring Lollipop ASAP.

  42. Viktor Zlatkovski
    February 3, 2015

    Great review Andi , we all appreciate your hard work.I have only one question.If you sum all the specs and performance will you choose Jiayu S3 or Meizu m1 note ?

    • Andi Sykes
      February 3, 2015

      Ah that is a good question. I would need more hands on time with teh m1 note to see what the camera and other details are like, but based on a very short hands on with the m1 note I would choose the Meizu over the JiaYu. The m1 note basically gives you all the features of the MX4 at a lower price, and I personally prefer the plastic body of the note too.

    • Guest
      February 3, 2015

      but Meizu is without EU LTE frequencies, right?

    • Viktor Zlatkovski
      February 3, 2015

      Hm is that true ?

    • Guest
      February 3, 2015

      I hope for a Meizu Note M1 with 3GB RAM and NFC in near future!

    • Chavdar Ivanov Chavdarov
      February 4, 2015

      In your opinion, what aspects of m1 note are better?
      10x

    • Bruce S
      February 8, 2015

      ….looks like 3G and LTE are china only if the advertised specs for the M1 Note are correct; i.e.

      3G: TD-SCDMA(can be only used in China) and
      4G: TD-LTE(can be only used in China)

    • ec
      March 30, 2015

      jiayu s3 has sd slot and camera(imx214) and better sound. And 20$ cheaper than meizu m1 note.

  43. Airyl
    February 3, 2015

    Great review, as usual. Thanks for the hard work. I’d like to ask if there’s any noticeable difference in performance between an MTK6732 phone like the Ulefone Be Pro and MTK6752 phones like the JiaYu S3 and Meizu M1 Note?

    • Andi Sykes
      February 3, 2015

      Nope, not really. I’d do need to spend some time gaming on the MT6732 phones we have to be sure, but so far they seem simlar in actual useage.

    • Airyl
      February 3, 2015

      Great, thanks Andi! I’m honestly thinking about just getting an Ulefone Be Pro and settling with it for a bit. It seems to be getting good reviews all around.

    • Guest
      February 3, 2015

      Instead of the Jiayu S3 ?

    • Airyl
      February 3, 2015

      Yeah. The more I think about it, the more I feel like I should just skip the current gen of MTK6752 phones. The MTK6732 phones do pretty much everything I need them to just fine. I also get to save a pretty penny.

    • Andi Sykes
      February 3, 2015

      I would wait on the Ulefone there are some issues with the real spec and what they claim. We are trying to find out if the sample that were sent out are preproduction as the rear camera sensor is not what is advertised.

    • Airyl
      February 3, 2015

      Didn’t know that. Thanks for the heads up, Andi. Guess I’ll be evading the Be Pro for now.

      How’s the Redmi 2 Andi? I might be getting one since they’re pretty cheap in Malaysia at the moment.

    • Guest
      February 3, 2015

      Always good to save money, I agree.

    • Andi Sykes
      February 3, 2015

      Pretty nice, battery is a bit of a let down though. It looks like my wife is about to give birth so I think the review will be a little delayed 😀

    • Guest
      February 4, 2015

      Congratulations 🙂

    • Guest
      February 4, 2015

      ko orang Malaysia ke, aku pun tgh tunggu jiayu s3 aku smpai….

    • Wazzurai
      February 5, 2015

      bro,,ko order kat mana ?

  44. Demetrio
    February 3, 2015

    @Andy:
    1. now Flashtool is available even for Linux.
    2. Jiayu is going to fix headset and loudspeaker issue with next OTA ROM
    3. why do you need windows pc? OTA upgrades are not working? They work just with wifi
    4. I think you should mention Jiayu rooting (it’s a simple switch under “security” settings)

    • Guest
      February 3, 2015

      How often do they bring out OTA updates for their rom ?

    • Andi Sykes
      February 3, 2015

      1. Great
      2. Great
      3. Jiayu sent me an update which hasn’t gone OTA yet.
      4. Thanks

    • Guest
      February 3, 2015

      Do you have a link to flashtool ?

    • Demetrio
      February 3, 2015

      Right now, every 7-10 days! Maybe in future that would not be the same, but it’s encouraging.

    • Guest
      February 3, 2015

      That’s great 🙂

    • Guest
      February 3, 2015

      Thanks.

    • Demetrio
      February 6, 2015

      Do you think you will upgrade this review, or write another one?
      tx

    • Guest
      March 19, 2015

      i think it is the same as iocean m6752 as i look in 1949deal !

    • Demetrio
      March 19, 2015

      take a look to the battery and battery life (check reviews) 😉

    • dismaster
      March 19, 2015

      Iocean M6752 get fast recharge, but i didnt see JiaYu’s

  45. Sean Higgins
    February 3, 2015

    Does anyone know if and when people can order this from inside China? Please post link if you have it. Thanks.

    • Jason45
      February 3, 2015

      You can just pre-order on their Official Chinese website. http://shop.ejiayu.com/product-467.html

      Just like many Chinese manufacturers, they release it in limited quantities.

    • Guest
      February 3, 2015

      Whats the official website ?

    • Jason45
      February 3, 2015

      It’s only for people living in China, they don’t ship internationally.

    • Guest
      February 3, 2015

      That’s fine, I just wanted to know there official site, cos could never find it 🙂

  46. Guest
    February 3, 2015

    Andi,do you know if Jiayu will release a version with 32 Gb of storage? In the case of Meizu Note the difference of price is only 200 RMB, more or less 30$. I haven’t found anything about this hypothetical version. Regards.

    • Jason45
      February 3, 2015

      They have not mentioned it, but I doubt they will release the 32GB storage, you can use a microSD card for extra storage.

    • desponent
      February 3, 2015

      You can get a 64GB microSD that cheap nowadays.

  47. billybloggs
    February 3, 2015

    Looks like I have found my new phone.

  48. Bubba
    February 3, 2015

    Ummm, what about the video quality? The deal breaker for me is if it has slow motion capture. Does it?

  49. David Košič
    February 3, 2015

    This might be the first mediatek phone I am prepared to buy. Of course I will be waiting for the 3 GB model.

  50. Guest
    February 3, 2015

    Does jiayu.es ships to Pakistan? Any ideas?
    Thanks

    • Docmaddy
      February 3, 2015

      Dont have it shipped to pakistan….its a very big hassle…i dont know whether you have had phones shipped here before or not but the customs and the PTA create a really big issue. Last time i had one shipped here, i had to pay almost 30% of the cost of the phone due to the PTA delaying paperwork.You will be much better off getting the phone in one of two ways,

      1) have a relative bring it from abroad
      2) have it ordered through a local reseller….yes the markup is quite a bit but ure saved the hassle.

      As far as shipping from jiayu.es goes, yeah they do…via dhl

  51. Guest
    February 3, 2015

    How slow is the charging exactly? Around 2 and a half hours from flat to full? Or even longer? :O

    • Andi Sykes
      February 3, 2015

      Even longer…

    • Guest
      February 3, 2015

      Oh god no 🙁 this is a deal breaker for me. Looking forward to new smartphones without this kind of stupid quirks.

    • Stef
      February 4, 2015

      Actually slow charging is what keeps a battery healthy. Fast charging trash batteries very fast.

      if you want fast charging though, why don’t you just buy a second battery plus charger. It’s hardly bigger than a charger (to move around) and it gives you 100% battery in less than a minute (1 minute is the most that your phone would be “out of use”)

    • balcobomber25
      March 7, 2015

      “Actually slow charging is what keeps a battery healthy. Fast charging trash batteries very fast.”

      There is very little actual science to back these claims up. In fact there have been studies on rechargeable batteries of all types that say leaving them plugged in longer is more damaging than fast charging.

  52. Guest
    February 3, 2015

    Don’t know why it wasn’t mentioned in the review, but do the touch buttons have a light in them?

    • Andi Sykes
      February 3, 2015

      yes, they do. Sorry for not mentioning

    • Guest
      February 3, 2015

      How un-Jiayu of them, but that’s cool. Thanks!

    • Marco Lancaster
      February 4, 2015

      I Wish they only light up, and not be painted on screen.

    • Guest
      February 4, 2015

      They do light up, Andi just confirmed that.

    • Marco Lancaster
      February 5, 2015

      Yeah i Know, I mean, the phone has light up buttons, but when not lighted they’re also painted on the phone.

  53. jimberkas
    February 3, 2015

    so perhaps I’ve just missed it, but will this work in the US, specifically on ATT towers? is there an English ROM?

    • MaxPower
      February 4, 2015

      You get voice, texts and GPRS/EDGE data (extremely slow)
      No 3G, no LTE

      Chinese phone owner on ATT network here

  54. jimberkas
    February 3, 2015

    deciding between Elephone P7000, Meizu M1 Note, and JiaYu S3. seems JiaYu might be best for ROM updates. But need to figure out which will work best in the US. Any suggestions?

  55. Bubba
    February 3, 2015

    Ummm, what about the video quality? The deal breaker for me is if it has slow motion capture. Does it?

  56. Guest
    February 3, 2015

    so perhaps I’ve just missed it, but will this work in the US, specifically on ATT towers? is there an English ROM?

    • MaxPower
      February 5, 2015

      You get voice, texts and GPRS/EDGE data (extremely slow)
      No 3G, no LTE

      Chinese phone owner on ATT network here

  57. Guest
    February 3, 2015

    deciding between Elephone P7000, Meizu M1 Note, and JiaYu S3. seems JiaYu might be best for ROM updates. But need to figure out which will work best in the US. Any suggestions?

  58. Susan
    February 4, 2015

    It sounds like a good phone but I rather choose iocean M6752 at coolicool for 199$ way less then 240$ of Jiayu

  59. Nikie Lima
    February 4, 2015

    The overall features seems pretty close to ioceanM6752, the 2 points I wish it could be better is the thinkness and the price. Could be thinner to 7.9mm and the cheaper to $199.9 like the iocean new model.

  60. February 4, 2015

    Can we install App’s directly on external SD card or move to SD card ???
    Must reply Andi….

  61. Lion
    February 4, 2015

    Do you confirm the gorilla glass screen ?

  62. ken wagstaff
    February 4, 2015

    Hi all. I am definitely going to buy either this or iocean m6752…but which? I can tell there is a lot of love on here for the S3, but putting prejudice aside (really), help me out, please. I have been waiting and watching for S3 for what seems like an age but is it a case of the phone got better the longer we’ve waited? To the extent that it’s difficult to countenance a rival-or is S3 simply better than the m6752?
    The biggest bugbear for m6752 is battery size-is this surmountable? There doesn’t seem to have been a big deal made of zopo Zp920 battery.
    Thought maybe the camera might be an issue, but I just read on htcmania that it’s the same as S3 interpolated to 14mp-so that puts that one to bed.
    And the buttons/chin-you don’t notice it in official publicity, thanks for pointing it out.
    But it has 3gb and hotknot-so , aarrghhhhhh, what do I spend my money on? Please…

  63. JakobSWE
    February 4, 2015

    Jiayu s3 or elephone p6000, which one has the better camera?

  64. Guest
    February 4, 2015

    It sounds like a good phone but I rather choose iocean M6752 at coolicool for 199$ way less then 240$ of Jiayu

  65. Nikie Lima
    February 4, 2015

    The overall features seems pretty close to ioceanM6752, the 2 points I wish it could be better is the thinkness and the price. Could be thinner to 7.9mm and the cheaper to $199.9 like the iocean new model.

  66. Ali Raza
    February 4, 2015

    Can we install App’s directly on external SD card or move to SD card ???
    Must reply Andi….

  67. Simon
    February 4, 2015

    I’ve made up my mind, the 3GB model will be my next phone. Hopefully it will be released by the end of March.

  68. Guest
    February 4, 2015

    Hi all. I am definitely going to buy either this or iocean m6752…but which? I can tell there is a lot of love on here for the S3, but putting prejudice aside (really), help me out, please. I have been waiting and watching for S3 for what seems like an age but is it a case of the phone got better the longer we’ve waited? To the extent that it’s difficult to countenance a rival-or is S3 simply better than the m6752?
    The biggest bugbear for m6752 is battery size-is this surmountable? There doesn’t seem to have been a big deal made of zopo Zp920 battery.
    Thought maybe the camera might be an issue, but I just read on htcmania that it’s the same as S3 interpolated to 14mp-so that puts that one to bed.
    And the buttons/chin-you don’t notice it in official publicity, thanks for pointing it out.
    But it has 3gb and hotknot-so , aarrghhhhhh, what do I spend my money on? Please…

  69. Owsley_66
    February 4, 2015

    I ruled out the S3 because from what I could find it did not have the necessary WCDMA 850 band for those of us in the U.S. However, Colonel Zap did a youtube review and he showed the bands which included the 850 band. Don’t know about 4g in the U.S., but this phone should get 3g via AT&T.

    • lildwell
      February 4, 2015

      Hey. Where would you buy this from to be shipped to the U.S.?

      • Owsley_66
        February 4, 2015

        I’d look at coolicool.com. And if you decide to buy, be sure to pay the extra for expedited shipping. I bought my Be Pro from Gearbest but I don’t like the way they packed it. Not enough protection.

        Also, this phone may not come with Google Play or any other Google apps and that requires flashing the rom, I think, and I don’t even know what that means. Maybe Jaiyu will fix this before too long. Unless you’re a techy, you might want to check into that before ordering. Be sure to search for Colonel Zap on youtube for his review and update. GL

        • jimberkas
          February 4, 2015

          how do you like your Be Pro? how does it work in the US?

          • Owsley_66
            February 4, 2015

            I haven’t activated it yet. I’m just using the wifi function, which works well. I am waiting a few weeks because I’m going to port my # to the Be Pro and it could take up to three days and if there’s a glitch I could be without the phone for those three days and I can’t do that right now. Mayiandjay over at youtube has the phone and will review it within a couple of days. Check him out on youtube.

  70. JakobSWE
    February 4, 2015

    Jiayu s3 or elephone p6000, which one has the better camera?

  71. Guest
    February 4, 2015

    I’ve made up my mind, the 3GB model will be my next phone. Hopefully it will be released by the end of March.

  72. Owsley_66
    February 4, 2015

    I ruled out the S3 because from what I could find it did not have the necessary WCDMA 850 band for those of us in the U.S. However, Colonel Zap did a youtube review and he showed the bands which included the 850 band. Don’t know about 4g in the U.S., but this phone should get 3g via AT&T.

    • lildwell
      February 4, 2015

      Hey. Where would you buy this from to be shipped to the U.S.?

    • Owsley_66
      February 4, 2015

      I’d look at coolicool.com. And if you decide to buy, be sure to pay the extra for expedited shipping. I bought my Be Pro from Gearbest but I don’t like the way they packed it. Not enough protection.

      Also, this phone may not come with Google Play or any other Google apps and that requires flashing the rom, I think, and I don’t even know what that means. Maybe Jaiyu will fix this before too long. Unless you’re a techy, you might want to check into that before ordering. Be sure to search for Colonel Zap on youtube for his review and update. GL

    • Guest
      February 4, 2015

      how do you like your Be Pro? how does it work in the US?

    • Owsley_66
      February 5, 2015

      I haven’t activated it yet. I’m just using the wifi function, which works well. I am waiting a few weeks because I’m going to port my # to the Be Pro and it could take up to three days and if there’s a glitch I could be without the phone for those three days and I can’t do that right now. Mayiandjay over at youtube has the phone and will review it within a couple of days. Check him out on youtube.

  73. ch irfan
    February 5, 2015

    please admin tell me

    jiayu s3 Body to ratio screen ?

    • mapo
      February 18, 2015

      Size
      75.5 mm x 152.0
      mm x 8.9
      mm Weight158 gr.
      Frame size0.30 mm
      Usable surface70
      %

  74. Guest
    February 5, 2015

    please admin tell me

    jiayu s3 Body to ratio screen ?

    • Guest
      February 18, 2015

      Size
      75.5 mm x 152.0
      mm x 8.9
      mm Weight158 gr.
      Frame size0.30 mm
      Usable surface70
      %

  75. Bubba
    February 5, 2015

    Slow charging is a bummer, anyone think this kind of thing can be helped by future firmware update? What surprised me was the semi-glowing review of the GPS: my coolpad 7320 gets a cold lock outside on a sunny day in under three seconds, cloudy seven. What about a comparison with the Ecoo E04? I saw a video where, not only was there lightbleeding at the edges of the Ecoo screen but the coloring was way off, with an orange tint. Thoughts?

  76. Zoealandy
    February 5, 2015

    Jiayu S3 and Ecco E04, so which one better? just see comparision at Coolicool.com http://www.coolicool.com/Promotions/jiayu-s3-pk-ecco-e04.html?home_A1

  77. Demetrio
    February 5, 2015

    @Gizchina:disqus
    another ROM from Jiayu for S3, distribuited by using OTA, but it needs a factory reset before upgrading (you have to do it by yourself, make a backup before).
    this is copy-paste changelog from google translate:
    1. Repair earpiece sound sharp, open, popping and other issues.
    2, repair loud speaker sonic boom, and poor sound quality.
    3, when the repair part of the machine caller listening echo problems.
    4, repair parts of the machine when charging low battery charging slow.
    5. Optimized Desktop Caton, WIFI dropped the issue.
    6, optimizing several other BUG.

    What the #5 means for? 😀

    PS: if OTA is not available, you can download 20150204-161147 ROM from here:
    http://pan.baidu.com/s/1c0CjODa
    (click the upper right button, the white one near the blue one, than choose the white button on pop-up)

    PPS: on needrom.com the same ROM is available, without TDSCMDA support but gapps included

  78. Bogdan Botezatu
    February 5, 2015

    Prices are dropping. Only
    $189.98 with free shipping.
    http://www.b2cbuying.com/jiayu-s3-2g-16g-phone.html

    • Smart
      February 6, 2015

      Price drop again now Only $179.98 http://www.b2cbuying.com/jiayu-s3-2g-16g-phone.html

      • Bojo
        February 6, 2015

        And with coupon hongminote you can get an extra 4,98$ off

        • ken wagstaff
          February 7, 2015

          Anyone bought from here? Legit? Free shipping-tgtbt?

        • ken wagstaff
          February 10, 2015

          Coupon doesn’t seem to work now. Has anybody used this site-is it genuine? Bogdan Botezatu- do you know?

    • Viktor Zlatkovski
      February 9, 2015

      Is it legit seller ???

      • Bogdan Botezatu
        February 10, 2015

        Yes it is. And if you are from EU you can choose Netherland Post.

  79. Bubba
    February 5, 2015

    Slow charging is a bummer, anyone think this kind of thing can be helped by future firmware update? What surprised me was the semi-glowing review of the GPS: my coolpad 7320 gets a cold lock outside on a sunny day in under three seconds, cloudy seven. What about a comparison with the Ecoo E04? I saw a video where, not only was there lightbleeding at the edges of the Ecoo screen but the coloring was way off, with an orange tint. Thoughts?

  80. Zoealandy
    February 5, 2015

    Jiayu S3 and Ecco E04, so which one better? just see comparision at Coolicool.com http://www.coolicool.com/Promotions/jiayu-s3-pk-ecco-e04.html?home_A1

  81. Demetrio
    February 5, 2015

    @Gizchina:disqus
    another ROM from Jiayu for S3, distribuited by using OTA, but it needs a factory reset before upgrading (you have to do it by yourself, make a backup before).
    this is copy-paste changelog from google translate:
    1. Repair earpiece sound sharp, open, popping and other issues.
    2, repair loud speaker sonic boom, and poor sound quality.
    3, when the repair part of the machine caller listening echo problems.
    4, repair parts of the machine when charging low battery charging slow.
    5. Optimized Desktop Caton, WIFI dropped the issue.
    6, optimizing several other BUG.

    What the #5 means for? 😀

    PS: if OTA is not available, you can download 20150204-161147 ROM from here:
    http://pan.baidu.com/s/1c0CjODa
    (click the upper right button, the white one near the blue one, than choose the white button on pop-up)

    PPS: on needrom.com the same ROM is available, without TDSCMDA support but gapps included

  82. Bogdan Botezatu
    February 5, 2015

    Prices are dropping. Only
    $189.98 with free shipping.
    http://www.b2cbuying.com/jiayu-s3-2g-16g-phone.html

    • Smart
      February 6, 2015

      Price drop again now Only $179.98 http://www.b2cbuying.com/jiayu-s3-2g-16g-phone.html

    • Guest
      February 6, 2015

      And with coupon hongminote you can get an extra 4,98$ off

    • Guest
      February 7, 2015

      Anyone bought from here? Legit? Free shipping-tgtbt?

    • Viktor Zlatkovski
      February 9, 2015

      Is it legit seller ???

    • Bogdan Botezatu
      February 10, 2015

      Yes it is. And if you are from EU you can choose Netherland Post.

    • Guest
      February 10, 2015

      Coupon doesn’t seem to work now. Has anybody used this site-is it genuine? Bogdan Botezatu- do you know?

  83. February 5, 2015

    Andi can you say something about the screen and camera quality vs the camera and screen at the umi zero ? which is better. thanks.

    • cesc
      February 6, 2015

      I’ve tried the S3 in jiayu’s official spanish reseller shop, it’s a normal ogs screen… not great quality

      • ken wagstaff
        February 7, 2015

        Do you mean it’s not gorilla glass?

        • cesc
          February 7, 2015

          no, I can’t say that, I meant that I expectec a jdi or sharp quality as zte or xiaomi mobiles , instead it is too similar to old g4 quality

      • February 7, 2015

        thank you. and what do you say about the s3 in conclusion ?

        • cesc
          February 7, 2015

          I’ve small hands but it was really comfortable. Solid built and really well balanced weight, but cheap sensation… is not like touching a oneplus one, I can’t say this is the real jiayu’s 2015 flagship, for 100 hundred euros more we have a 64gb oneplus, and chinese reseller price in dollars is not really much cheaper than european official prices.

          • February 7, 2015

            mmm thanks for your answer !

            i think ill try to learn about meizu m1 looks good choice to take.

  84. Luca
    February 5, 2015

    Hi, the system is multilanguage?

  85. pdayahoo
    February 5, 2015

    Andi can you say something about the screen and camera quality vs the camera and screen at the umi zero ? which is better. thanks.

    • cesc
      February 6, 2015

      I’ve tried the S3 in jiayu’s official spanish reseller shop, it’s a normal ogs screen… not great quality

    • Guest
      February 7, 2015

      Do you mean it’s not gorilla glass?

    • cesc
      February 7, 2015

      no, I can’t say that, I meant that I expectec a jdi or sharp quality as zte or xiaomi mobiles , instead it is too similar to old g4 quality

    • pdayahoo
      February 7, 2015

      thank you. and what do you say about the s3 in conclusion ?

    • cesc
      February 7, 2015

      I’ve small hands but it was really comfortable. Solid built and really well balanced weight, but cheap sensation… is not like touching a oneplus one, I can’t say this is the real jiayu’s 2015 flagship, for 100 hundred euros more we have a 64gb oneplus, and chinese reseller price in dollars is not really much cheaper than european official prices.

    • pdayahoo
      February 7, 2015

      mmm thanks for your answer !

      i think ill try to learn about meizu m1 looks good choice to take.

  86. Luca
    February 5, 2015

    Hi, the system is multilanguage?

  87. Tas
    February 5, 2015

    Hello guys! I am new here and on the Chinese made phones. I found a very good deal online and the specs look amazing. How come noone mention a phone like that? Can you please check the link and let me know what you think and if i should buy it? I really like the 2000+ screen Thank you!

    http://www.aliexpress.com/item/free-shipping-new-phone-2015-mobile-phone-andriod-Eight-core-processor-5-7-Inch-4GB-RAM/32253071110.html

    • q
      February 14, 2015

      I hope you don’t buy it. It just screams fake. There is no brand too. You can’t know what you’re buying.

  88. Guest
    February 6, 2015

    Hello guys! I am new here and on the Chinese made phones. I found a very good deal online and the specs look amazing. How come noone mention a phone like that? Can you please check the link and let me know what you think and if i should buy it? I really like the 2000+ screen Thank you!

    http://www.aliexpress.com/item/free-shipping-new-phone-2015-mobile-phone-andriod-Eight-core-processor-5-7-Inch-4GB-RAM/32253071110.html

    • Guest
      February 14, 2015

      I hope you don’t buy it. It just screams fake. There is no brand too. You can’t know what you’re buying.

  89. Bubbles
    February 6, 2015

    Just received mine from jiayu.es, all google apps allready installed, battery draining in stand by is a issue! Gps works fine! Performance Great

    • cesc
      February 6, 2015

      tu tb crees q la pantalla no es gran cosa? estuve probándolo en la tienda y no se que hacer, por 100 euros mas está el oneplus

      • cesc
        February 6, 2015

        tb, opino q el no tener carga rapida es otro problema

      • Bubbles
        February 8, 2015

        I came from a tlh w8s so for me the screen ist fine 🙂
        Until now found no problem, just hope it gets thee lollipop update from jiayu. Does anyone knows something about it?

  90. Paris Pan
    February 6, 2015
  91. Bubbles
    February 6, 2015

    Just received mine from jiayu.es, all google apps allready installed, battery draining in stand by is a issue! Gps works fine! Performance Great

    • cesc
      February 6, 2015

      tu tb crees q la pantalla no es gran cosa? estuve probándolo en la tienda y no se que hacer, por 100 euros mas está el oneplus

    • cesc
      February 6, 2015

      tb, opino q el no tener carga rapida es otro problema

    • Bubbles
      February 8, 2015

      I came from a tlh w8s so for me the screen ist fine 🙂
      Until now found no problem, just hope it gets thee lollipop update from jiayu. Does anyone knows something about it?

  92. Paris Pan
    February 6, 2015
  93. Smart
    February 6, 2015

    Thank you for such a Great Review,Anybody know is JIAYU S3 can update to android 5.0?

    Through all the message,this is the really a very good price for only $179.98 http://www.b2cbuying.com/jiayu-s3-2g-16g-phone.html

  94. ARUN SUBRAMANIAN
    February 6, 2015

    Camera unfortunately is a disappointment even in final version…if its not meant to be,so be it.

  95. Andreas
    February 6, 2015

    jiayu.es has stock of S3 to EU? Or they ship it from China? I am asking cause I live in Greece and I would like to check how long it will take for it to arrive in case I order it. 🙂

  96. Smart
    February 6, 2015

    Thank you for such a Great Review,Anybody know is JIAYU S3 can update to android 5.0?

    Through all the message,this is the really a very good price for only $179.98 http://www.b2cbuying.com/jiayu-s3-2g-16g-phone.html

  97. ARUN SUBRAMANIAN
    February 6, 2015

    Camera unfortunately is a disappointment even in final version…if its not meant to be,so be it.

  98. Andreas
    February 6, 2015

    jiayu.es has stock of S3 to EU? Or they ship it from China? I am asking cause I live in Greece and I would like to check how long it will take for it to arrive in case I order it. 🙂

  99. Don Rogers
    February 7, 2015

    Well the waiting is over, my Chinese friend is leaving the UK to take a trip back home to Beijing. He has instructions to buy a Jiayu S3 whilst he is there. Does anyone know any good stores in the Beijing area that he can buy one from whilst he is in China

  100. Don Rogers
    February 7, 2015

    Well the waiting is over, my Chinese friend is leaving the UK to take a trip back home to Beijing. He has instructions to buy a Jiayu S3 whilst he is there. Does anyone know any good stores in the Beijing area that he can buy one from whilst he is in China

  101. ken wagstaff
    February 8, 2015

    Andi, as a newcomer to ‘Chinese’ phones, how does the S3(and others) compare to phones generally found in UK i.e. Samsung, Sony, htc? Apart from one video review (s3 v samsung s5 v meizu) the comparisons always seem to show one Chinese phone v one or more other Chinese phones.
    It seems that the Chinese ‘flagships’ come in cheaper, but are they actually comparable flagships?
    Are the samsungs etc simply overpriced, or is the premium justified? Are they better made, do they run better, easier to use or some other reason-or is it just a case of consumers being taken advantage of by manufacturers and networks?
    Cheers

  102. bmwes
    February 8, 2015

    is the jiayu s3 compatible to the european network frequencies? My gsm operator uses these frequencies 900/1800 & 3g-2100

    • Jason45
      February 8, 2015

      yes, it does.

  103. Jason45
    February 8, 2015

    The 3 GB version is finally on sale in China tomorrow. Resellers will most likely have them in limited quantities in the coming weeks. After Chinese New Year, we can expect more quantities shipped.

  104. Guest
    February 8, 2015

    Andi, as a newcomer to ‘Chinese’ phones, how does the S3(and others) compare to phones generally found in UK i.e. Samsung, Sony, htc? Apart from one video review (s3 v samsung s5 v meizu) the comparisons always seem to show one Chinese phone v one or more other Chinese phones.
    It seems that the Chinese ‘flagships’ come in cheaper, but are they actually comparable flagships?
    Are the samsungs etc simply overpriced, or is the premium justified? Are they better made, do they run better, easier to use or some other reason-or is it just a case of consumers being taken advantage of by manufacturers and networks?
    Cheers

  105. bmwes
    February 8, 2015

    is the jiayu s3 compatible to the european network frequencies? My gsm operator uses these frequencies 900/1800 & 3g-2100

    • Jason45
      February 8, 2015

      yes, it does.

  106. Jason45
    February 8, 2015

    The 3 GB version is finally on sale in China tomorrow. Resellers will most likely have them in limited quantities in the coming weeks. After Chinese New Year, we can expect more quantities shipped.

  107. Pakos Raja
    February 8, 2015

    When is the phone 3gb edition gonna be back in stock at the official website?

    And is the battery draining bug and the call quality bug solved?

  108. Pakos Raja
    February 8, 2015

    When is the phone 3gb edition gonna be back in stock at the official website?

    And is the battery draining bug and the call quality bug solved?

  109. Nana
    February 8, 2015

    Great review. I’m glad I cancelled my Umi Zero and switched to the S3. Still waiting for mine to arrive. Are you planning to do Meizu m1 Note review? I’m ordering one for my wife. I’m corious on how they compare to each other.

  110. Nana
    February 9, 2015

    Great review. I’m glad I cancelled my Umi Zero and switched to the S3. Still waiting for mine to arrive. Are you planning to do Meizu m1 Note review? I’m ordering one for my wife. I’m corious on how they compare to each other.

  111. billybloggs
    February 9, 2015

    Just ordered a S3 Advanced, SpeMall emailed me that they have stock and will be shipping this weekend.

  112. Yako
    February 9, 2015

    Is this phone US AT&T compatible for 3g and 4g?

  113. billybloggs
    February 9, 2015

    Just ordered a S3 Advanced, SpeMall emailed me that they have stock and will be shipping this weekend.

  114. Guest
    February 9, 2015

    Is this phone US AT&T compatible for 3g and 4g?

  115. Suskind
    February 9, 2015

    How about iocean M6752?

  116. Suskind
    February 9, 2015

    How about iocean M6752?

  117. Kieslowski
    February 10, 2015

    How about iocean M6752?

  118. Kieslowski
    February 10, 2015

    How about iocean M6752?

  119. Nikhil
    February 11, 2015

    is Jiayu good with updates and ROm stability ?

    WIll this get ANdroid 5.0 and any more updates ?

    ALso hows the camera quality and features ?

    • Demetrio
      February 12, 2015

      not always, but with S3 is different. 4 updates from january to now. Great stability. Android 5.0 only after the end of S3 and F2 launch (march-april)
      camera is very good, but it could be even more better, features are near standard (hdr, panorama, PIP, some color post-processing , things like that.)

      • Nikhil
        February 12, 2015

        Hows the battery life of the phone . What screen on time do you get ?
        Also how much is charging time ?

        Another thing , I am buying from China . So how do I delete all the bloatware and Chinese Apps . I am a novice in this . Can you please guide me . You seem to know everything about this phone !

        • Demetrio
          February 13, 2015

          Life battery tight now is enough for one day, may be in future Jiayu will get something better, to one day and a half I think. There’s no so much bloatware, anyway you can root the phone using its own swtich (great jiayu) and any app that is able to remove system apps. Do it with care!
          Read and follow threads on needrom (you’ll find stock ROMs and TWRP recovery) and on xda-developers to learn what you need and to ask some questions

  120. Nikhil
    February 11, 2015

    is Jiayu good with updates and ROm stability ?

    WIll this get ANdroid 5.0 and any more updates ?

    ALso hows the camera quality and features ?

    • Demetrio
      February 12, 2015

      not always, but with S3 is different. 4 updates from january to now. Great stability. Android 5.0 only after the end of S3 and F2 launch (march-april)
      camera is very good, but it could be even more better, features are near standard (hdr, panorama, PIP, some color post-processing , things like that.)

    • Nikhil
      February 13, 2015

      Hows the battery life of the phone . What screen on time do you get ?
      Also how much is charging time ?

      Another thing , I am buying from China . So how do I delete all the bloatware and Chinese Apps . I am a novice in this . Can you please guide me . You seem to know everything about this phone !

    • Demetrio
      February 13, 2015

      Life battery tight now is enough for one day, may be in future Jiayu will get something better, to one day and a half I think. There’s no so much bloatware, anyway you can root the phone using its own swtich (great jiayu) and any app that is able to remove system apps. Do it with care!
      Read and follow threads on needrom (you’ll find stock ROMs and TWRP recovery) and on xda-developers to learn what you need and to ask some questions

  121. Enric
    February 13, 2015

    It wont be the best phone in the market in any feature, but it’s good in all them. It has anything useful we can ask for. Really well balanced. Chinese phones tend to have quite bad cameras (much worse than Nokia, Sony or Apple ones), but this one is at least acceptable.

    The only con I see is the size, too big for me. But for the rest, as long as the price don’t grow too much, I love it.

    • Demetrio
      February 14, 2015

      the phone is near as large as a 5″ unit. It’s a bit more higher. So it’s not difficult to use with just one hand. (if you are not a child 🙂 )

  122. Jack
    February 13, 2015

    Please tell me the capacity buttons are illuminated?

    • Demetrio
      February 14, 2015

      Yes, they are. The light is very low to preserve battery, so you see buttons only in low light environment.

  123. Guest
    February 13, 2015

    It wont be the best phone in the market in any feature, but it’s good in all them. It has anything useful we can ask for. Really well balanced. Chinese phones tend to have quite bad cameras (much worse than Nokia, Sony or Apple ones), but this one is at least acceptable.

    The only con I see is the size, too big for me. But for the rest, as long as the price don’t grow too much, I love it.

    • Demetrio
      February 14, 2015

      the phone is near as large as a 5″ unit. It’s a bit more higher. So it’s not difficult to use with just one hand. (if you are not a child 🙂 )

  124. Guest
    February 13, 2015

    Please tell me the capacity buttons are illuminated?

    • Demetrio
      February 14, 2015

      Yes, they are. The light is very low to preserve battery, so you see buttons only in low light environment.

  125. a1g2
    February 14, 2015

    hi andy, i’m wondering if you know where can i find screw set for jiayu g3??

  126. a1g2
    February 14, 2015

    hi andy, i’m wondering if you know where can i find screw set for jiayu g3??

  127. Nikhil
    February 17, 2015

    i bought a 2gb version from pandawill. will it have google playstore ? if not how to install . I am new and dont know about root and all . also how to remove chinese apps and unwanted bloatwares

    • Demetrio
      February 18, 2015

      Don’t know if pandawill installs gapps. anyway, download jiayu.es app by hand, install it, download and install TWRP recovery, download gapps, enter in recovery mode and install gapps

  128. Nikhil
    February 17, 2015

    i bought a 2gb version from pandawill. will it have google playstore ? if not how to install . I am new and dont know about root and all . also how to remove chinese apps and unwanted bloatwares

    • Demetrio
      February 18, 2015

      Don’t know if pandawill installs gapps. anyway, download jiayu.es app by hand, install it, download and install TWRP recovery, download gapps, enter in recovery mode and install gapps

  129. Daniel Gallo
    February 19, 2015

    Hello guys, I’m looking for a new phone and 5″ should be the best size for me but my main concern are camera and dual sim with LTE B7 band, after research I ended with these options.

    1 – Jiayu S3
    2 – Zopo ZP920
    3 – Lenovo Vibe X2
    4 – ZTE Z7 mini

    I couldn’t find good informations about the camera of all these phones. Which of them may have the best camera? (focus speed, low light, shutter lag).

    Thanks guys!

  130. Daniel Gallo
    February 19, 2015

    Hello guys, I’m looking for a new phone and 5″ should be the best size for me but my main concern are camera and dual sim with LTE B7 band, after research I ended with these options.

    1 – Jiayu S3
    2 – Zopo ZP920
    3 – Lenovo Vibe X2
    4 – ZTE Z7 mini

    I couldn’t find good informations about the camera of all these phones. Which of them may have the best camera? (focus speed, low light, shutter lag).

    Thanks guys!

  131. BaTaSa
    February 23, 2015

    I have the s3 with 3gb, how would I go about installing gapps?

    • Demetrio
      February 24, 2015

      1. download and install twrp from needrom. to install you can use mobileuncletool , just rename .img file to recovery.img and move to the root directory.
      2. download gapps package from xda-developers
      3. enter in recovery mode and install gapps update

      • BaTaSa
        February 24, 2015

        Thanks Demetrio
        i think it may have worked however recovery mode is in chinese so I really can’t go any further.

  132. BaTaSa
    February 23, 2015

    I have the s3 with 3gb, how would I go about installing gapps?

    • Demetrio
      February 24, 2015

      1. download and install twrp from needrom. to install you can use mobileuncletool , just rename .img file to recovery.img and move to the root directory.
      2. download gapps package from xda-developers
      3. enter in recovery mode and install gapps update

    • BaTaSa
      February 24, 2015

      Thanks Demetrio
      i think it may have worked however recovery mode is in chinese so I really can’t go any further.

  133. Adri
    February 25, 2015

    How does it feel when you hold it in your hands, is easy maneuverable??this new trend of 5.5 seems to me a little bigger.

  134. Adri
    February 25, 2015

    How does it feel when you hold it in your hands, is easy maneuverable??this new trend of 5.5 seems to me a little bigger.

  135. Nikhil
    March 1, 2015

    @Demetrio

    I have a memory card in my Jiayu s3 . However the photos and videos I take from camera still get saved in internal memory . How do i change memory allocation ?

    Also how to change video charecteristics while shooting ? ie 720p / 1080p etc ?

  136. Guest
    March 2, 2015

    @Demetrio

    I have a memory card in my Jiayu s3 . However the photos and videos I take from camera still get saved in internal memory . How do i change memory allocation ?

    Also how to change video charecteristics while shooting ? ie 720p / 1080p etc ?

  137. tom
    March 2, 2015

    camera quality is poor 🙁

  138. tom
    March 2, 2015

    camera quality is poor 🙁

  139. autokirov@gmail.com
    March 3, 2015

    Hello ! I am from Russia ;
    How do I buy JiaYu S3 for Russia as a new grade ?

  140. autokirov@gmail.com
    March 3, 2015

    Hello ! I am from Russia ;
    How do I buy JiaYu S3 for Russia as a new grade ?

  141. David
    March 4, 2015

    Can Jiayu S3 be charged wirelessly? In other words, does Qi wireless charging work?

  142. David
    March 5, 2015

    Can Jiayu S3 be charged wirelessly? In other words, does Qi wireless charging work?

  143. michael miranda
    March 10, 2015

    Can i move my apps to sd here?

  144. michael miranda
    March 10, 2015

    Can i move my apps to sd here?

  145. toioioio
    March 26, 2015

    how would you compare it against the honor 6?

  146. toioioio
    March 26, 2015

    how would you compare it against the honor 6?

  147. Rick
    March 28, 2015

    I purchased Jiayu S3. I encounter three problems (read below). Can you offer solution?:
    1) At the bottom of each Android phone there are three important buttons. These buttons are used frequently to do many functions. In my old Samsung phone these buttons are illuminated and I can see them very clearly (even under direct sunlight). In Jiayu S3 you can hardly see them. The buttons illumination is very weak and can be seen only in a dark room. Most of the time I need to try to find the button by slipping my finger along the phone surface. Very frustrating and inconvenient. Is there a way to increase the illumination intensity? I went through the display settings but I can not find anything about it.
    2) I set the incoming call ringtone for certain song. In my old Samsung phone I can set different ringtones for each SIM card. This way I know which line is ringing. In Jiayu S3 I can not find way to set different ringtones. I get the same ringtone on both SIM cards and I do not know which line is calling. Can you guide me how to set different song as ringtone for each SIM
    3) When I connect Jiayu S3 to my computer (Win7) I can see only the SD card. It does not show me the files on the Phone. In Samsung I can see both the phone folders as well as SD card folders. It means in Jiayu S3 no way to move files between Phone and computer. Can you advise how to solve this?

    • JakubBivojKubien
      April 22, 2015

      Hi can you tell us how long the phone lives on one battery charge?

      • Demetrio
        April 23, 2015

        Simple answer: until late night.
        They are more than 5 hours with display on.
        4G data connections drain more battery power. GPS “high accuracy” mode doesn’t, I keep it always and I do not notice any difference. As usual, a good wifi signal is better than 3G/4G connection.
        Right now (18:10 here) I’m on 30% and I used display for 2 hours and a half. That’s because I used heavy drain apps (games) in early morning

    • Demetrio
      April 23, 2015

      1) install xposed framework and gravitybox, but I warn you OTA updates will not work anymore (you should uninstall before upgrading, or upgrade via SP flash tool and so on)
      2) I don’t know
      3) enable debug and change MTP options on phone

    • Steluta Basaroglu
      May 4, 2015

      1) No solution for this.
      2) Dual Sim Ringtone app is the solution.
      3) MyPhone Explorer software is the solution.

  148. Guest
    March 28, 2015

    I purchased Jiayu S3. I encounter three problems (read below). Can you offer solution?:
    1) At the bottom of each Android phone there are three important buttons. These buttons are used frequently to do many functions. In my old Samsung phone these buttons are illuminated and I can see them very clearly (even under direct sunlight). In Jiayu S3 you can hardly see them. The buttons illumination is very weak and can be seen only in a dark room. Most of the time I need to try to find the button by slipping my finger along the phone surface. Very frustrating and inconvenient. Is there a way to increase the illumination intensity? I went through the display settings but I can not find anything about it.
    2) I set the incoming call ringtone for certain song. In my old Samsung phone I can set different ringtones for each SIM card. This way I know which line is ringing. In Jiayu S3 I can not find way to set different ringtones. I get the same ringtone on both SIM cards and I do not know which line is calling. Can you guide me how to set different song as ringtone for each SIM
    3) When I connect Jiayu S3 to my computer (Win7) I can see only the SD card. It does not show me the files on the Phone. In Samsung I can see both the phone folders as well as SD card folders. It means in Jiayu S3 no way to move files between Phone and computer. Can you advise how to solve this?

    • JakubBivojKubien
      April 22, 2015

      Hi can you tell us how long the phone lives on one battery charge?

    • Demetrio
      April 23, 2015

      1) install xposed framework and gravitybox, but I warn you OTA updates will not work anymore (you should uninstall before upgrading, or upgrade via SP flash tool and so on)
      2) I don’t know
      3) enable debug and change MTP options on phone

    • Demetrio
      April 23, 2015

      Simple answer: until late night.
      They are more than 5 hours with display on.
      4G data connections drain more battery power. GPS “high accuracy” mode doesn’t, I keep it always and I do not notice any difference. As usual, a good wifi signal is better than 3G/4G connection.
      Right now (18:10 here) I’m on 30% and I used display for 2 hours and a half. That’s because I used heavy drain apps (games) in early morning

    • Steluta Basaroglu
      May 4, 2015

      1) No solution for this.
      2) Dual Sim Ringtone app is the solution.
      3) MyPhone Explorer software is the solution.

  149. Sergey Lutsenko
    March 29, 2015

    I actually got that phone (Jiayu S3) few days ago just for sake of seeing what it can deliver and while it is promising start – it is not good overall. Issues I am seeing
    1) Phone constantly drops data connection to EVDO and it takes a long time to get back to at least 3G
    2) T-Moblie USA – 4G/LTE is not working
    3) Takes extremely long time to register on cell network
    4) GPS is weird – it seems to be reporting position somehow off so it constantly keep rerouting. Nexus 5 – works perfect side by side.
    5) Overall cell signal reception is weaker then Nexus 5.

    I would return it if i could, but alas!

  150. Sergey Lutsenko
    March 29, 2015

    I actually got that phone (Jiayu S3) few days ago just for sake of seeing what it can deliver and while it is promising start – it is not good overall. Issues I am seeing
    1) Phone constantly drops data connection to EVDO and it takes a long time to get back to at least 3G
    2) T-Moblie USA – 4G/LTE is not working
    3) Takes extremely long time to register on cell network
    4) GPS is weird – it seems to be reporting position somehow off so it constantly keep rerouting. Nexus 5 – works perfect side by side.
    5) Overall cell signal reception is weaker then Nexus 5.

    I would return it if i could, but alas!

  151. ec
    March 30, 2015

    jiayu s3 has sd slot and camera(imx214) and better sound. And 20$ cheaper than meizu m1 note.

  152. GP
    April 1, 2015

    HI Folks, I bought this phone a few days ago, and whilst I like the display and size, the audio quality is horrendous. I dont think I can live with it. should have gone for the one plus one ! do you think a firmware update will fox this. alternatively will a vanilla rom not be better ? I am also having problems with gmail and google calendar not being able to sync… this has something to do with Gapps install; it comes up saying that it has an an unknown error…

  153. phil
    April 8, 2015

    hi
    first of all review was amazing thank u so much ANDY…….
    I have some questions please answer them..
    1.do the touch buttons have light???
    2.what about battery ??can I use it about 1 or 2 days???( brightness 20% and 1 sim and no gps and bluetooth )
    3.will this phone get android L ????
    4.at the end which one do you choose ??KINGZONE Z1 or JIAYU S3???
    again review was perfect and please excuse me english is my second language……

  154. Guest
    April 8, 2015

    hi
    first of all review was amazing thank u so much ANDY…….
    I have some questions please answer them..
    1.do the touch buttons have light???
    2.what about battery ??can I use it about 1 or 2 days???( brightness 20% and 1 sim and no gps and bluetooth )
    3.will this phone get android L ????
    4.at the end which one do you choose ??KINGZONE Z1 or JIAYU S3???
    again review was perfect and please excuse me english is my second language……

  155. aid85
    April 27, 2015

    Seems that every application using camera is out of focus (fix macro).
    How to fix it? (I need infinite or autofocus).

  156. Guest
    April 27, 2015

    Seems that every application using camera is out of focus (fix macro).
    How to fix it? (I need infinite or autofocus).

  157. Greekfireman
    April 30, 2015

    Hello. I own a S3+ from 1st of April, it comes without playstore I install it and everything is OK, it is very fast and without lags,but……..I have a strange problem, sometimes, I dont know when and how, the phone uses the upper microphone ( near the earphone) and the people wich I communicate with , have problem with my voice, it is low and when I speak louder has echo.
    Any idea will be helpfull!!!

    • plamen komarov
      December 29, 2015

      reboot phone and it fixes for a while
      it hapens to me as well

  158. Greekfireman
    April 30, 2015

    Hello. I own a S3+ from 1st of April, it comes without playstore I install it and everything is OK, it is very fast and without lags,but……..I have a strange problem, sometimes, I dont know when and how, the phone uses the upper microphone ( near the earphone) and the people wich I communicate with , have problem with my voice, it is low and when I speak louder has echo.
    Any idea will be helpfull!!!

    • plamen komarov
      December 29, 2015

      reboot phone and it fixes for a while
      it hapens to me as well

  159. Steluta Basaroglu
    May 4, 2015

    Hi Andi, do you know, are Jiayu S3 and Jiayu F2 phones using same batteries?

  160. Steluta Basaroglu
    May 4, 2015

    Hi Andi, do you know, are Jiayu S3 and Jiayu F2 phones using same batteries?

  161. Muhammad Yasir
    May 5, 2015

    sad SAD to see how they screwed up in the MOST CELEBRATED department of a smartphone… THE CAMERA !
    again , another case of chinese phone makers coming MIGHTY close to a 10/10 phone , BUT screwing it over due to blatant stupidity and making a 8/10 phone instead..
    seriously , chinamen , is it fun to make the same mistake THAT MANY TIMES OVER N OVER AGAIN ?!!?!?
    i hope this improves in subsequent models !

  162. Guest
    May 5, 2015

    sad SAD to see how they screwed up in the MOST CELEBRATED department of a smartphone… THE CAMERA !
    again , another case of chinese phone makers coming MIGHTY close to a 10/10 phone , BUT screwing it over due to blatant stupidity and making a 8/10 phone instead..
    seriously , chinamen , is it fun to make the same mistake THAT MANY TIMES OVER N OVER AGAIN ?!!?!?
    i hope this improves in subsequent models !

  163. Gris Som Yap
    May 12, 2015

    JiaYu, please setup your sales office in Malaysia. I love your smartphone, with several excellent features: low price, removable battery, micro-SD card …..

  164. Gris Som Yap
    May 12, 2015

    JiaYu, please setup your sales office in Malaysia. I love your smartphone, with several excellent features: low price, removable battery, micro-SD card …..

  165. andrzej dimmu
    June 12, 2015

    I had jiayu g4 sound was very good -loud and clean , now I bought jiayu s3 and sound is terrible -silent without any dynamic ,when you try set up by equalizer effect is opposite .I am extremely disapointed ,now I stop listen music because by jy s3 is profanation …..baterry from 15% to 1% need 2 minutes and when you have1% phone working next 30 minutes yet

  166. andrzej dimmu
    June 12, 2015

    I had jiayu g4 sound was very good -loud and clean , now I bought jiayu s3 and sound is terrible -silent without any dynamic ,when you try set up by equalizer effect is opposite .I am extremely disapointed ,now I stop listen music because by jy s3 is profanation …..baterry from 15% to 1% need 2 minutes and when you have1% phone working next 30 minutes yet

  167. anononimus
    August 17, 2015

    So jiayu s3 or elephone p7000? Jiayu advanced is 20€ cheaper, but it doesn’t cover 4g 2100 which i’m using. It also seems p7000 has better roms now

  168. anononimus
    August 17, 2015

    So jiayu s3 or elephone p7000? Jiayu advanced is 20€ cheaper, but it doesn’t cover 4g 2100 which i’m using. It also seems p7000 has better roms now

  169. anotherpissedoff Jiayu owner
    December 22, 2015

    Sounds great doesn’t it? Take my advice – STEER CLEAR OF BUYING PHONES DIRECT FROM CHINA unless you have the patience and time to meticulously locate and uninstall the MANY viruses/malware that come pre-installed.

  170. Guest
    December 22, 2015

    Sounds great doesn’t it? Take my advice – STEER CLEAR OF BUYING PHONES DIRECT FROM CHINA unless you have the patience and time to meticulously locate and uninstall the MANY viruses/malware that come pre-installed.

  171. Anes Fansub
    April 27, 2016

    Fran de android from china de algunos terminales chinos con pantalla ful hd y sin duda tiene razon con el ganador https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqa6CUKRreI&feature=youtu.be

  172. Anes Fansub
    April 28, 2016

    Fran de android from china de algunos terminales chinos con pantalla ful hd y sin duda tiene razon con el ganador