Budget devices have come a very long way in the past couple of years. In years prior, buying a $200 phone meant sacrificing almost every single aspect of performance. Does the REVVL 6 Pro 5G from T-Mobile fit that same model? We had a chance to spend some time with the carrier’s newest $219 budget device.
When looking for a new device, it’s important to keep an eye on the competition. Google’s latest budget offering – the Pixel 6a – is an outstanding deal, yet it will still end up costing you $449 at full price. Samsung also ends up in the ring with its Galaxy A-series devices, which drive a hard bargain. Those can end up being a steal too, at various low costs.
T-Mobile is looking to give us an enticing deal with the REVVL 6 Pro 5G, a budget device that has some tempting specs listed on paper.
Hardware and display
As with any phone, the very first thing you notice is the build quality. After all, it’s arguably one of the most important parts of a genuinely good device.
The REVVL 6 Pro 5G has a surprisingly good build, even though it’s made of plastic. The back holds a nice matte gray color and bears a frosted look and feel to it. The edges are plastic as well, although it doesn’t give off that look so obviously. It’s also worth mentioning that this device has a heft to it; not too much, but enough to make you feel better about the materials.
The bottom of the device houses a USB-C port and a 3.5mm headphone jack – something you don’t see all too often. A nice touch you might notice at first glance is the colored power button, made to match T-Mobile magenta. It isn’t all for looks, though. That power button is one of the features that make the REVVL 6 Pro stand out among its budget friends – it’s also a fingerprint sensor. As far as accuracy goes, the sensor gets it right about 7 out of 10 times.
Most devices in this price range rely solely on a PIN or passcode for device security. Since the REVVL 6 Pro has a fingerprint sensor, you can easily unlock it with a comfortable tap of your thumb. Surprisingly, the sensor is pretty fast. Touching it unlocked my device in less than a second, which is perfectly acceptable.
In the front lies the absolutely massive display. The HD+ display comes in at 6.82-inches, making for a huge viewing area. Unfortunately, this is where you start to realize that corners were absolutely cut to get to the $219 price point this device comes in at.
The total resolution for the HD+ display is 1640 x 720. Comparatively, the Pixel 6a comes in at 2400 x 1080, although it covers a smaller area. The REVVL 6 Pro by no means has a bad display, rather it’s perfectly adequate for everyday tasks – what I really struggled with was watching videos through YouTube and other streaming platforms.
Since the resolution isn’t very high the details are hard to make out, and I found myself being pulled away from whatever I was watching. Paired with that, the screen doesn’t get very bright automatically during everyday use, and when manually adjusted, you might be disappointed at max brightness as well. It can sometimes be a little hard to read the display at max brightness when outdoors, or even when it’s bright inside.
Software and performance
The REVVL 6 Pro runs Android 12, something you’ll see in just about any phone sold now – other than Google Pixel phones. Out of the box, the REVVL 6 Pro is equipped with July’s security patch and comes with tons of Google’s apps and software, giving off a pretty stock experience, mostly.
Since the device comes from T-Mobile, you can expect it to be peppered with bloatware here and there. The REVVL 6 Pro will greet you with a T-Mobile splash screen when you first turn it on, and unless you complete T-Mobile’s separate device setup, you’ll see a static notification asking you to do so.
Additionally, scrolling to the left from the home screen will take you to Google Discover, a stock feature on most Android 12 devices. Accompanying it is T-Mobile’s version that showcases the same material, although much less personalized.
Other than that, T-Mobile’s skin isn’t a far reach from stock Android 12, and most of the experience is left unchanged. That experience is powered by a MediaTek Dimensity 700 SoC, which is a 7nm chip that runs a 5G modem for fast connectivity. After all, this is the REVVL 6 Pro 5G. That paired with 6GB RAM and 128GB expandable storage makes for an alright experience; everyday use could be a little faster, although it’s completely usable and gets the job done.
The REVVL 6 Pro 5G runs a 60Hz display, which is what you might expect for a device at this price point. Unfortunately, it can often feel like less with the jelly scrolling issue you might come across on this device. This is more than likely a product of the lighter chipset used, although it’s something you can ignore over a small period of time.
Over a longer period of time, you can likely expect T-Mobile to keep up with software updates as they did with the REVVL 4+ back in 2021. T-Mobile doesn’t have a concrete update timeline or promises set for any specific Android , although the popularity of the budget device will likely influence how regularly it is kept up to date.
Battery
If the REVVL 6 Pro 5G excels at one thing, it’s battery life. Once fully charged, the REVVL 6 Pro will idle for days on end. When in use, I was able to get a full day with no problem on the 5,000 mAh battery, with scrolling through social media, websites, and sending and receiving messages.
Usage might vary, but using this device under normal circumstances, you should be impressed with how long you can keep going without a charge. A lot of this is probably due to the MediaTek Dimensity 700 being a power-efficient SoC. Since the device runs a low refresh rate and an efficient chipset, 5,000 mAh will keep it alive for a longer period of time.
Adding to the quality here is the fact that the REVVL 6 Pro comes with wireless charging. While not fast, it’s convenient. It’s also not something you see too often at the lower end of budget devices. All in all, that’s an excellent addition.
Camera
Another area the REVVL 6 Pro absolutely stunned me was the camera. In total, the REVVL has four sensors. It has a 50MP main sensor, 5MP ultrawide, a 2MP depth camera, and a 2MP macro sensor. That’s a total of four different cameras in this array. Of course, the lower MP sensors like the macro and depth lenses aren’t going to blow anyone away, but the main sensor is surprisingly adequate.
Every photo has a good amount of detail and is mostly color accurate, with a little bit of vignetting around the corners. The ultrawide lens does a good job of capturing details as well without sacrificing function for quality.
On the front you’ll find a 16MP selfie camera with a teardrop notch, and while not a hole punch cutout, the selfie camera still doesn’t take up a lot of room. The selfie camera takes pretty good images, to my surprise as well.
The camera app itself is just fine, although it can act a little slow sometimes. The REVVL 6 Pro isn’t going to be great for fast action shots, as there is a bit of a delay when taking photos. For every day still shots, the REVVL does a good job.
Final thoughts
All things considered, the REVVL 6 Pro 5G performs just fine. Coming in at $219, you can’t expect much, and going in, I didn’t. Certain aspects of the REVVl 6 Pro – like the camera and battery life – genuinely surprised me. The camera is pretty sufficient for most applications and the battery life did not disappoint in the slightest. Sprinkled in there are a few more wonderful features like wireless charging and a physical fingerprint sensor.
As far as performance goes, there could be a lot of improvement points, although, most woes are coming from the mid-range SoC inside the device itself. The 6GB RAM certainly helps matters, and it does a decent job of keeping up with basic tasks.
If I had to pick an area I struggled with the most on the $219 REVVL, I’d have to choose the screen. The resolution does not lend itself to a very pleasing display and the jelly scrolling was a bit of a pain, although not uncommon for this price point.
In all, the REVVL 6 Pro definitely has its place. For $219, I’d say it’s a pretty good phone. If it were $50 more expensive, I’d feel differently about it. The camera is solid and battery life is more than plenty for most people, which makes for a good combination that makes up for some other aspects.
If you were stuck on a $200 budget, this is one of the better devices you could get at this price. If you’re able to go over, I’d consider a Pixel 6a, since it has a lot of high-end features for only $449 – just over $200 more than the REVVL 6 Pro 5G.
Buy the REVVL 6 Pro 5G from T-Mobile
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