Wiko at MWC: A little bit essential, a little bit great
26.2.2018
Translation: machine translated
Video: Stephanie Tresch
Wiko. Nobody pays attention to the brand, but the small company from France is making waves. That's why its stand at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona is firmly on the list. Because Wiko is showing the Wiko View 2, its new almost-flagship.
At the Mobile World Congress MWC in Barcelona, Samsung is flattening everyone. The new Galaxy S9 outshines pretty much everything other brands are throwing at the market. Everything? Not quite. A small brand from France is neither impressed nor underestimated. Wiko proudly shows off the Wiko View 2 at its stand.
This is precisely why the Wiko stand is a must-visit at every trade fair. Sure, the brand will never have the reputation of a certain South Korean conglomerate, which will quickly stampede the market. Sure, the phones are not as classy as those of a no less large corporation from Cupertino. But Wiko is clearing the field from behind.
The View 2 is the latest proof that the company with around 500 employees is neither giving up nor content with its current market position.
With the notch at the top
The most striking features of the Wiko View 2 are the large display and the notch with the camera at the top, known as the "notch". Less striking is the fact that the View 2 comes in two versions. The View 2 and View 2 Pro take on the big players on the market - namely Samsung - and offer a dual camera setup at the rear for an additional charge. Plus more memory.
| Wiko View 2 | Wiko View 2 Pro | |
|---|---|---|
| System-on-a-chip | Qualcomm Snapdragon 435 Octa-Core 1.4GHz | Qualcomm Snapdragon 450, Octa-Core 1.8 GHz |
| Graphics processor | Adreno 505 | Adreno 506 |
| Internal memory | 32 GB | 64 GB |
| RAM | 3 GB | 4 GB |
| Expandable memory | up to 128 GB | up to 256 GB |
| Main camera | 13 megapixel single camera | 16 megapixel dual camera |
| F-Stop main camera | f/2.0 | f/1.75 |
| Front camera | 16 megapixel | 16 megapixel |
| F-Stop front camera | f/2.0 | f/2.0 |
Wiko is moving with the times when it comes to the aspect ratio and the ratio is close to 18:9, if not 19:9.
Since video producer Stephanie Tresch and I were already able to test the phone in Zurich before it landed in the lap of the main tester Livia Gamper, we can give a first impression not from the press release but from our own experience.
The golden colour at the back with the eye-catching shimmering effect on the back will divide opinion. But one thing is certain for the Wiko: attention. No other popular smartphone has this plastic back. The front display may not have a particularly high resolution, but it does produce a nice, bright image.
The Wiko View 2 runs an Android version that is close to the pure version of the platform published by Google, i.e. stock Android. While Wiko still relied on its own graphic elements last year, this idea has now obviously been discarded. The only noticeable difference is that if you pull down the notification bar at the top left of the notch, a drawing pad opens instead of the notification area. You can use this to draw a gesture that you configured earlier to create a shortcut to an app or function.
A brand that the editor celebrates
Wiko is a brand that I, as a smartphone enthusiast, simply have to love. Because simply producing cheap things doesn't suit the small company. Wiko always tries something new, remains surprising and, above all, shows that it doesn't have to be a thousand bucks to put a smile on the face of a now rather cynical journalist.
That's why I openly admit that I like Wiko and therefore tend to be in favour of them. Because it's brands like Wiko that hunker down and kick upwards that keep the market as a whole interesting. Because the real battle for the big money in the smartphone market - especially internationally and towards Africa and Southeast Asia - is not being waged with iPhones and Galaxies. It is being fought hard in the low-cost smartphone category.
Because the grumbling comments in our comments column are right: not everyone can and wants to afford a flagship every year. Then phones in a different price segment are needed. Usually from the price segment in which Wiko wants to assert itself as a pioneer and flagship brand.
Wiko saves money, Wiko cuts corners
Since Wiko is not only proud of its camera, but also of its pricing policy - the cheaper, the better - the View 2 comes with a very low price tag. So where does the manufacturer save money?
The Wiko View 2 is undoubtedly a bit great, but only a bit. The display only has a resolution of HD+, i.e. 1528 x 720 pixels. At 3 and 4 GB, the RAM is also at the lower end of the field, which currently declares 6 GB to be the standard. This is definitely not enough for a new fancy device.
This is the secret behind the Wiko's price. There isn't the one thing the brand saves on, but a little bit everywhere. The manufacturer then packs all the parts into a stylish casing and voilà, the good-looking mid-range phone is ready. According to the manufacturer, this allows it to offer a decent phone at a decent price.
In short: With the View 2, Wiko can not only hold its own in the mid-range, but is also really leading the way in its market segment.
Journalist. Author. Hacker. A storyteller searching for boundaries, secrets and taboos – putting the world to paper. Not because I can but because I can’t not.
Smartphone
Follow topics and stay updated on your areas of interest
4 comments
later