Introduction
It's a tall order for any midranger to stand out among a myriad of offerings in the market. Both established brands and emerging Asian manufacturers are trying hard to grab a piece of that market spoiling those shopping there for choice. The Acer Liquid Jade S aims to make a name for itself with bold looks, slim waistline and balanced hardware.
Announced merely six months after the Liquid Jade the S version brings notable upgrades in several major areas. A more powerful chipset, featuring an octa-core processor and a higher-grade graphics processor is the key change, but the doubled operating memory and onboard storage are also important updates. The new SoC is not just about higher performance though, it also brings LTE support to the mix.
Meanwhile, other key features have been retained starting with the 5-inch display. True, it's not FullHD, but qHD resolutions aren't unheard of in the price segment and 720p gives enough density without rising the price too high. The dual SIM capability will be appreciated by a certain type of users, even if the second card needs to fight with the microSD for the shared slot space.
The Acer Liquid Jade S sports prominent styling too. While certain design elements may not be to everyone's liking, it's definitely not just another nameless black rectangle of a smartphone. It's also light and pleasantly thin - a rarity in a price range where build is usually sacrificed at the altar of lower price.
Acer Liquid Jade S key features
- Dual SIM slots, quad-band 2G connectivity for both SIM cards, quad-band 3G and Cat. 4 LTE for download speeds up to 150Mbps
- Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, hotspot; GPS with A-GPS
- 64-bit Mediatek MT6752M chipset with an octa-core Cortex-A53 processor clocked at 1.5GHz
- Mali T760MP2 dual-core GPU
- 2GB of RAM, 16GB of storage on board, expandable up to 32GB via microSD card in place of SIM 2
- 5-inch IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen display of 1,280 x 720 pixels resolution, Gorilla Glass 3 protection
- 13MP main camera with fast f1.8 lens, autofocus, and LED flash; 1080p@30fps video recording
- 5MP front facing camera
- DTS-HD certified audio
- Android 4.4.4 KitKat with thorough customizations from Acer, promised upgrade to Lollipop
- FM radio receiver
- 2,300mAh battery capacity
- Compact, light body; striking design
Main disadvantages
- Non-removable battery
- Power button is in an uncomfortable position
- No NFC
- You can't have dual-SIM and microSD at the same time
So, as evidenced by the above list, the Acer Liquid Jade S addresses the predecessor's shortcomings and adds up to a convincing smartphone package on paper. The capable hardware is complemented by unusual styling that may not please everyone, but is certainly a conversation starter.
Key test findings:
- Solid build quality, interesting design
- Very compact, nicely thin; pleasant to handle, if a bit slippery; power button on top is not comfortable to reach
- Display is very dim even at maximum brightness; colors, contrast and viewing angles are good though
- Battery life is barely tolerable with the screen on, struggling to reach 5 hours of uptime. Voice call and standby endurance are very good
- Dual-SIM flexibility is welcome, but the lack of simple features like USB OTG is hard to accept at this price and point in time.
- Acer's take on Android adds some interesting functionality with float apps and customization options
- Hardware delivers proper raw performance, but the phone heats up significantly in the process
- Gallery app is straightforward; basic video player plays most formats, but doesn't support subtitles
- Audio quality is mediocre with both headphones and an active external amplifier
- Disappointing camera output in both stills and video with low detail, plenty of noise and limited dynamic range; front shooter is only good as a last resort
- Proficient software package is on board, and Acer offers you a simple way of using your PC as cloud storage for your music and video viewing needs. It's a bit chaotic though, and who thought it was a good idea to have two optimization apps?
Given the above list, one cannot in good faith claim that the good offsets the bad. The truth is that in this price range there's fierce competition, and such major shortcomings are hard to live with. You have the current crop of capable midrangers, but it gets even more complicated when you throw former generation flagships in the bunch, and the Acer stands pretty outnumbered.
