Blu Pure XL Smartphone Review

The Blue Pure XL: A Massive Smartphone that Defies Trends

If you think the trend for massive smartphones is over, you're wrong. The Blue Pure XL is a 6-inch touch screen behemoth that's absolutely gigantic. As you can see, it's quite large, and as the camera pans out, it becomes clear just how massive this phone really is. In fact, if you take another massive phone of the moment, like the Nexus 6p, you'll see that the Blue Pure XL is larger than the 6p. And despite being more expensive, at around $350, it's a significant departure from its competitors.

The Phone's Design and Features

One of the first things you notice about the Blue Pure XL is the large 6-inch touch screen on the front. While this makes for an impressive display, it also presents some challenges in terms of usability. With such a massive screen, tapping away on a passcode can be fairly difficult, which may require a bit of fiddling to get right. However, don't worry – there's a fingerprint sensor on the rear that's quite recessed in this panel on the back, which may look like metal but is actually plastic. The phone itself has a metal chassis, but this can sometimes make it difficult to get your finger just right.

The side of the phone features three buttons: top volume control, sleep, and B key. However, there's also another button at the bottom that serves as a quick access key to the camera. Hold down on this button for a few seconds, and you'll be straight into the camera app. It's quite handy to have little additional features like this, especially with the size of the phone in mind.

One thing that's clear from watching the video is that the Blue Pure XL is indeed massive – considerably larger than its competitors, such as the OnePlus 2. But despite being more expensive, it doesn't quite live up to expectations. One major drawback is the short battery life for a device with a 3,500mAh battery.

The Android Experience

One of the most notable features of the Blue Pure XL is its operating system. It uses a custom version of Android that's different from what OnePlus offers with Oxygen OS. This means that while the software is still capable, it doesn't quite have the same polish and refinement as some other Android devices on the market.

But one little thing that really stood out to me was when you swipe down to bring down the notification train. Normally, this takes up a significant portion of the screen, but in this case, Blue has decided to move the brightness slider to the bottom instead. And I have to say, it's not annoying at all – in fact, it's quite brilliant. It's little touches like these that make me wish there was more attention paid to the user experience.

The Screen and Display

One of the standout features of the Blue Pure XL is its screen – which is a Quad HD resolution that's excellent for the price point. The camera also boasts 24 megapixels, taking pretty good photos. However, it's worth noting that the processor isn't particularly well optimized, which can result in some worryingly short battery life.

Overall, while the Blue Pure XL has its moments, it's not quite the best Android smartphone we've tried. But if you're interested in reading more about this massive phone, you can check out our full review on Digital Trends.