Smartphone S16 Review and Price Compare

By Carrie Tsai,  Last Updated: January 23, 2018

The $80 bezel-less smartphone, a solid option for an ultra-budget minded consumer.

Rating

S16 offers a decent set of specs while remaining extremely affordable. It cuts out extra features but includes all the essentials someone might want in a nice-looking smartphone.

Positives

• Elaborate appearance

• Quick, speedy performance

• Long-lasting battery life

• Fingerprint

Preface

More and more manufacturers have been rushing to create a unique experience capable of tempting buyers from their current device and into a new, futuristic phone. Almost all of these devices are flagships. We’ve seen the Samsung Galaxy S8 and Note 8, the LG V30, and even the iPhone X radically shift their design language to fit into the new form factor of the future.

But what if you don’t have a lot to spend? Consumer who doesn’t have as much money to blow on their phone, but who still wants something they can show off to their friends. While its specs aren’t on par with most flagships currently on the market, some of them actually come pretty close. And all for $80.

Design

Even though this is a $80 budget device, the company is still offering a very nice chassis. It uses an metal unibody design and feels quite nice in your hands.

The right side houses the volume rockers and power button, and they are both quite tactile and clicky. The dual SIM/micro-SD port mirrors the volume rockers on the other side of the device, and it creates a nice sense of consistency through the phone. The dual SIM/storage tray is another feature that many manufacturers are not utilizing, and it adds quite a bit of value.

The back is basically a colored mirror with dual cameras and dual flash at the top. Again, this is a way for Neway to try to make a competitive device that has all the trendy features. There is no wide-angle lens on this device, but one of these cameras is 1x while the second is 2x. I actually prefer this, and it’s really nice being able to quickly punch in without losing any quality.

It seems like we’ve spent the last few years debating whether or not you need a 1440p screen. While most manufacturers still haven’t made the leap to 4K, 2K seems to be the standard on flagships these days. Some manufacturers like OnePlus have fought this idea, claiming that 1080p is perfectly acceptable for most users’ needs.

Final thoughts

I think the biggest thing you have to keep in mind when you look at this phone is the price. Yes, it uses an old charging standard and the milling isn’t perfect. But for $80, this is a very solid device.

You’re getting great battery, a flashy design, dual cameras, and some nice extras in the box, and outside of some newer specs and caveats, I can’t see anyone with their expectations in check being truly unhappy with this thing.