Acer Liquid Jade S Smartphone Review

1. Introduction2. Packaging and Bundle3. Design4. Display5. Software6. Performance7. Camera8. Battery9. Closing Thoughts10. View All Pages

A little while ago we had a look at the Acer Liquid Jade – the first device in Acer's Liquid Jade smartphone range. Today we are looking at the Liquid Jade S, the successor to the original Liquid Jade. With a new octa-core processor, and higher RRP to match, is it worth the additional investment?

One of the weakest aspects of the original Liquid Jade was its poor processing power, so hopefully the new octa-core MediaTek CPU will be able to deliver the goods. However, the price has been bumped up to £229 for a 16GB version. We analyse the Liquid Jade S and see how, if at all, it improves on its predecessor.

Features

• 5-inch HD display.
• Octa-core MediaTek MT6752 CPU, 1.5GHz.
• 2GB RAM.
• 16GB internal storage, microSD cards supported up to 32GB.
• Android KitKat 4.4.
• 13MP primary camera, 5MP secondary camera.
• 2300 mAh battery.

The included packaging for the Liquid Jade S is certainly unique. Rather than going with a standard white/silver box as most manufacturers do, the Liquid Jade S ships in a shiny silver box with a distinctive criss-cross pattern.

Along the sides are some key features of the phone itself, while the underside of the box is left unadorned.

Inside, we find our usual array of accessories – an AC adapter, microUSB cable, earphones, and the typical set of quick start guides nobody seems to read.
When it came to the design of the original Liquid Jade, we praised the slim body, but the glossy finish to the phone felt very cheap and looked terrible. It seems the Liquid Jade S may be about to right some wrongs.

That being said, both designs are by-and-large the same. That said, there are a few differences when it comes to the Liquid Jade S which are definite improvements over the original phone's build.

For one, the glossy back is gone, and in its place is something completely different entirely. There is now a matte finish to the plastic, and though it may look black under dim lighting, it is actually deep purple in colour. The same criss-cross design from the phone's box is also used. While certainly unusual, it is a vast improvement. It does not feel cheap; the plastic sits nicely in your palm, and the matte finish means fingerprints are not on display.

Everything is slightly more subtle with the Liquid Jade S, with makes it a more appealing handset to look at. Another area where this is the case is the camera lens. Though it still protrudes by 2 or so millimeters, the silver ring around the lens is gone, which was very tacky. The new camera edge fits the rest of the deep purple colour scheme.

The Liquid Jade S is also still incredibly light – weighing just 116g. This is 6g heavier than the original, but the difference is negligible. When combined, the incredible lightness, slim bezel and 7.8mm thickness make this a very pocket-friendly phone.

The on/off switch remains at the top edge, on the right, while there is a volume rocker on the right edge. The SIM tray is still removable without the need of a pin – which is a handy feature – while the microUSB port sits on the bottom edge.
While the design of the Liquid Jade S has been improved, the display panel on the device is the same as its predecessor – which is no bad thing.

The 5-inch screen keeps the 720p resolution – which means there is 294 PPI. This is a good figure to be at, as text is crisp and HD videos look detailed. Usually we do not see FHD displays until the RRP of the device is closer to £300 – so expecting anything more in terms of resolution would be unreasonable.

So – the Liquid Jade S has same resolution display as its predecessor. It also has the same IPS panel, which means viewing angles are very good. We did not notice any colour shift, so clearly the Liquid Jade S is continuing right where the original Liquid Jade left off in terms of its display.

Brightness was a problem for the phone's predecessor, and it remains so. Indoor use is all well and good, but the maximum brightness setting is just not quite up to scratch for use outdoors. It is no real surprise given the both phones use the same panel, but it just makes using the Liquid Jade S that bit harder.
Though keeping the same display panel as the original Liquid Jade is no bad thing, it also appears the Liquid Jade S has the same version of Android, too – which we did not find so enjoyable last time around.

It is Android KitKat 4.4, but Acer have made some alterations and their version does not quite make the grade.

For one, the ‘Acer Home' launcher is still as clunky as ever – a huge weather widget takes up most of the display, and the icons look very dated. Modern phone UIs are flat and clean, something Android Lollipop and iOS 8 do very well. Acer's UI looks like it could be 5 years old – it is not very attractive at all. We strongly recommend a different launcher, as well as a new icon pack.

The quick settings are still very blocky, and lack colour. When you activate one setting – i.e. you switch on your WiFi – it does turn a sickly green, but it is far from appealing. Acer could learn a lot from looking at the clean look Asus achieved with their ZenUI interface – simple icons and bright splashes of colour look good, clunky and dark icons do not.

On the plus side though, it is nice to see Acer have included ‘Swype' as the stock keyboard. Swype usually costs £0.59 from the Google Play store, but is included free of charge with each Liquid Jade S. We tend to find 3rd party keyboards more user-friendly and efficient than stock keyboards, so this is definitely a good move.

It is not enough to redeem the OS as a whole, though. Acer did not change anything from the original Liquid Jade OS, and as such it remains a clunky and unattractive version of KitKat. The Acer website does suggest Lollipop will be coming to the Liquid Jade S, which will hopefully breathe some life into an otherwise stagnant OS.
With a new and improved MediaTek MT6752 CPU – clocked at 1.5GHz – we hoped that this new processor, as well as 2GB of RAM, would give significantly better results than the original Liquid Jade S. It is safe to say we were not disappointed.

The performance increase from using the octa-core processor was immediately noticeable. Apps opened very speedily, and the general system was very responsive. Multi-tasking proved no problem, and games ran smooth as can be. The Liquid Jade was sluggish and irritatingly laggy. The Liquid Jade S has banished all those problems in one fell swoop.

For our tests, we ran Geekbench 3 first, and were very pleasantly surprised. It scored 714 for single-core performance, and huge 3455 for multi-core performance. This is mightily impressive for a £229 phone. The multi-core score is also 3 times higher than the Liquid Jade – which scored 350 and 1081, respectively.

Ice Storm Unlimited also showed how much faster the new MediaTek MT6752 CPU is than the quad-core MT6582 used in the original Liquid Jade. The Liquid Jade S scored 9382, miles ahead of the 2844 the Liquid Jade posted.

Clearly, the octa-core unit from MediaTek is a high performer, and is very impressive for the relatively low price.
The Liquid Jade S still has a 13MP primary camera, but a new 5MP secondary camera also. The main shooter takes images at a native 4160*3120 resolution.

It would seem that the camera has been improved somewhat, though Acer have not made any mention of what they have changed. The camera focuses far more accurately than the shooter on the Liquid Jade did, and colours appear richer and more vibrant.

Lightning, while still not amazing, is also much improved – it is especially good to see a quality HDR mode included with the Liquid Jade S, as this takes well-balanced photos.

There are even a few gimmicks thrown in with the Liquid Jade S camera – say ‘cheese' to take a photo using the primary camera, and say ‘selfie' to take a photo using the front camera. It is hardly a game changer but it does add a bit of fun to your snaps.

HDR on (left) compared with HDR off

The camera still protrudes somewhat from the main body of the phone, but it is more forgivable now as it actually produces decent results. The Liquid Jade camera looked bad, and was sub-par. Here with the Liquid Jade S, though, it seems far more capable.
The battery included within the Liquid Jade S is a 2300 mAh unit, which is a small 200 mAh increase in capacity over the Liquid Jade. Presumably, Acer have done this as the octa-core processor is more of a battery-hog than the quad-core CPU in the Liquid Jade.

Despite this sensible move, the Liquid Jade S still struggles with its battery life. With WiFi/Mobile data and auto-sync always enabled, it could just about struggle through a day's use. This was only with the brightness at no higher than 50%, as otherwise the phone just could not last.

So it is clearly not very satisfactory, as most users will probably have to recharge during the day in order to keep the display brightness at a comfortable level. Indeed, heavy users will probably find the phone will not last much longer than half a day. As it is, with our testing simulating everyday usage, it is a real struggle to last 1 day.

So it seems Acer should have included an even bigger battery to accommodate the octa-core processor. The Liquid Jade had a poor battery life, and unfortunately that is a trend which continues with the Liquid Jade S.On the whole, it is safe to say the Acer Liquid Jade S is a significant improvement over the Liquid Jade. Packaged in an unique silver box, this was perhaps the first indicator that Acer had done something different with the Liquid Jade S.

The box gives way to the phone, with a new and improved design. Gone is the glossy back, and in its place is a deep purple matte back – with an unusual criss-cross pattern. Still, the phone is wonderfully light at 116g, and still very slim at 7.8mm thick.

The display panel remains the same as the original Liquid Jade – so there is an HD, IPS screen. This is more than good enough, with the mediocre brightness the only let down.

Android, too, remains unchanged from the Liquid Jade S' predecessor – which is not such a good thing. Icons look very dated and the OS is generally fairly clunky. Acer need to incorporate a flatter, more colourful design to make a phone fit for 2015. The lackluster OS really does let down what is otherwise a very capable phone.

Thanks to the MediaTek octa-core processor, performance is fantastic – with our benchmarks showing the Liquid Jade S is up to 3.2 times faster than its predecessor. For everyday use, too, it is very zippy and responsive.

Camera photos also seem much more detailed and focus. Colour production is strong, but lighting can still suffer occasionally. Acer have included a good HDR mode, though, so this camera is more than able to capture moments on the go.

Unfortunately, the battery life is just not quite up to scratch. It could last some users a day, but most will find it a real struggle to ensure the battery will last a day.

You can buy the Acer Liquid Jade S directly from Acer for £229 inc VAT.

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Pros

• Blistering performance.
• Improved camera.
• Decent display.
• New matte back.
• Relatively affordable.

Cons

• Screen brightness is lacking.
• OS looks dated.
• Battery life still below par.

KitGuru says: For those looking for a pocket-friendly but capable phone, the Liquid Jade S fits the bill nicely. However, the key areas of battery life and OS let it down somewhat, so it may be worth looking at the ZenFone 5 LTE or stretching the budget to the OPPO R5.

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