Swipe Elite Note is a phablet from the Indian mobile company Swipe Technologies. Swipe is continuing to impress with its sensible lineup of mobile devices, unlike certain Indian brands who keep introducing mobile models in bulk and just for the sake of it. Swipe Elite series of mobiles have been well received in the market and the FreedomOS contributes to its popularity. It is priced at Rs 7999 and that puts this mobile in a very competitive segment in the market. Can it survive its fierce competition and is the device worth considering to buy?

Design

The Mobile is a 5.5 inch device. It has a soft texture matte finish at the back and smooth rounded corners just like the other Elite mobiles we have reviewed. The mobile is a phablet and which means has a large frame and display. But the smooth back and the rounded corners make it very comfortable to hold. Single handed operation is ruled out. The material used for construction is primarily plastic. There is a thin metal rim running along the frame edge. The metal edges adds to the aesthetics but not to the sturdiness. The mobile is 8.4mm thick and it weighs 194 grams. It is not the thinnest we have seen, but definitely one of the heaviest we have had. Though it does not feel like holding a cheap mobile, it does not feel premium either. Swipe has to improve the quality of plastic used in the construction.

The back panel is removable and though it is flimsy, when it is fitted back in the mobile, it fits snugly. The right side has volume and power button made of metal. The top has the 3.5mm audio socket,  microUSB socket and IR blaster port. The mic is at the bottom. The 13 MP camera is at the back assisted by a single LED flash. The 5.5 inch display takes over most of the front apart from the 5MP selfie camera, sensors, earpiece and non-backlit android keys. The display is protected by dragontrail glass and it has very thin bezels. With every Elite, I can see a massive jump in the quality and design. Swipe Elite Note, continues to impress with its minimal design language and simple aesthetics.

Display

Elite Note has a 5.5 inch IPS display which supports 720p HD resolution. It is protected by dragontrail glass and that is a massive upgrade. The display glass has 2.5 D curves along the edges and that looks impressive. The display has Vi-Di technology and that makes it vivid and bright. It has optimal brightness, saturation and color reproduction. The viewing angles are good and has good sunlight legibility. The text and graphics are crisp on the display. I was pleasantly surprised about the quality of display on the sub Rs 8k mobile.

Hardware

MediaTek 6735 is turning out to the be most preferred choice among the mobile in this segment. The Elite Note is no exception. It runs on the quad-core MediaTek processor clocked at 1.3 Ghz. It has 3 GB of RAM and Mali T720 GPU. It has an internal storage of 16 GB and expandable by upto 32 GB with microSD card.  It supports USB OTG. It has a 13 MP camera at the back and a 5 MP camera on the front. It has WiFi and supports dual SIM cards. When it comes to performance, the tried and tested MT6735 proved to be a great choice of hardware. The device handles UI smoothly and there was no issue with apps and games as well. The benchmark scores were decent as well as the device performed well in real life as well. There was a bit of heating issue. The mobile heated up beyond 44 degree celsius after around 20 minutes of intense gaming. The mobile shutdown on its own after a warning, when this over heating occurred. Otherwise, there was no heating issues on regular usage.

Available
Add to Compare

Telephony calls had no issues, but the quality of incoming voice was a bit tinny. The sound out of the speakers are not loud enough, but it was clear.  The audio quality on the in-ear headphones were decent, though the build quality was cheap. The infra-red on the top works like a charm. With the included IR app, I could configure my TV and Tata Sky without any hiccup.

Camera

Swipe Elite Note has got a massive upgrade in terms of the camera hardware. It has a 13 Mp sony sensor at the back and 5 MP selfie camera. The camera is also capable of recording video at 1080p resolution with 30 fps. The image quality from the rear facing camera is decent. The color reproduction is natural. The focusing is slow and dodgy. Elite Note camera can focus track on moving subjects. The images are good on ample daylight. But the camera is almost useless on low light. The flash is not of much help either. The HDR shots are good, but bit over sharpened and the exposure interlacing in uneven. Again, the HDR images come handy only on ample light conditions. The front facing camera is decent for fairly pleasing self portraits. The camera application is straight forward and is easy to use. It is the stock android UI and a bit laggy at times. It is not a fast snapper. The camera performance is average. Considering the price point and the target audience, the camera in the Elite Note would meet most requirements, but with a little compromise.

Check out some sample images from the camera at various conditions.

Software

Swipe Elite Note runs on Android 5.1 with Freedom OS UI skinned on top. The Freedom OS is rightly optimized for a basic mobile like the Elite 2. The UI is snappy and provides a bunch of handy features. The pure Android experience is still retained. Freedom OS rightly compliments the Swipe Elite Note. The Freedom OS offers quite a bunch of customization options.  Freedom OS also offers a huge list of gesture based controls. The UI is minimal and yet and highly functional. I feel that it has so many options that the user will have fun just by fiddling with the settings. Also the overall experience is still pure Android. The features that have been added by Freedom OS, sits on top and functions parallel to  native android applications, without hampering the experience in any way. It comes preloaded with a few apps like the Apus launcher, Newshunt, Magzter, Flipkart and Bobble. I wish Swipe had kept away from pre-loaded apps. Swipe has its own app store with a list of curated app, both paid and free. It also has cloud storage app called the Swipe Cloud. Omni Swipe is an interesting app that sits on a corner of your screen. When invoked with a swipe gesture, it bring out a list of customizable shortcuts. If you are a person, who don’t like to customize, you still have your traditional pure Android in the mobile.

Freedom OS had a lot of native features initially and now it is dependent on embedded 3rd party applications for features. The problem with 3rd party applications are advertisements and they pop up between many screens in the UI.  I also noticed ads, every-time I unlocked the mobile. Freedom OS has got the potential and also a lot of room for improvement.

Battery

The mobile is powered by a 3000 mAh battery and it comes with a regular 1000 mA charger. The battery is removable. It gets charged from 10 to 100% in less than 2 hours. On 4G network and normal usage, the mobile lasts for little over 26-32 hours. All the while during my review period I was on 4G network and I check whatsapp and Facebook frequently. I clicked a few pictures now and then and listen to FM radio from the mobile, on speaker while commuting to office. Even with such heavy usage, the device lasted for more than a day on a single charge. Battery performance is impressive on the Swipe Elite Note.

Verdict

The Swipe Elite Note is a great phablet in the Sub 10k segment. In this price band, the Elite Note is comparable to Asus Zenfone Laser 2, Lenovo Vibe K5 plus and the Honor Holly 2 plus. Zenfone Laser 2 has got a great camera and build quality, but you will have to spend Rs 1000 more than the Elite Note. The Honor Holly 2 plus has got a super long battery life, but the UI is a laggy. The Vibe K5 has got a fantastic design and a stable UI, but has a smaller battery. All these 3 mobiles have 2 GB of RAM while the Elite Note has 3 GB of RAM. If not better, the Elite Note has got comparable performance on an affordable price tag. Swipe has got a good service network and I personally experienced a good experience while getting my Elite battery replaced in a service center in Madurai. For Rs 7999, you get a sensible design, great display, impressive battery life and a decent hardware specification.