Benco S1 Review: A Decent First Attempt

Benco has always targeted Nepali consumers using their budget V series smartphones. But this year, the company thought of aiming high with the brand-new S-series. And so it launched the S1 and Pro with aggressive pricing, continuing its trend and packing as many specs as possible. This made it a subject of hype! However, can it live up to the hype? Let's find out in this detailed review of the Benco S1.

Benco S1 Specifications:

• Body: 168.47 x 75.34 x 8.5 mm, 203.4 grams
• Display: 6.8′′ HD+ IPS LCD (720 x 1640 pixels)
• Processor: Unisoc Tiger T606 (12-nm)
• CPU: 2 × 1.6 GHz Cortex A75 + 6 × 1.6 Cortex A55
• GPU: ARM Mali-G57 MP1 (650 MHz)
• Memory: 4/6GB RAM, 128GB storage (expandable)
• Rear Camera: Triple:
  • 48MP primary
  • AI camera
  • 2MP macro
• Front Camera: 16 MP sensor (punch hole)
• OS: Android 13
• Security: Fingerprint (Side-mounted)
• Battery: 5000mAh cell, 18W Fast Charging
• Price in Nepal: Rs. 14,999 (4/128GB) | Rs. 15,999 (6/128GB)

Benco S1 Review:

Design and Build

• 168.47 x 75.34 x 8.5 mm, 203.4 g
• Matte plastic back with camera island
• No IP rating

Digging into the design part, you are greeted with a pretty large phone at this price segment in terms of dimensions, which I am a fan of. I also appreciate the punch-hole camera on the front, which you wouldn't get much of in this price range. However, what I am not a fan of are the similar design choices every single smartphone company has been throwing at us, except for some. Everyone, from Redmi to Realme to every brand I use, has a similar camera island at the back. And I've just had enough of it. Nonetheless, the color choices are good here. Both the black and green color variations look pretty. I was using the green one, and it might be my bias, but I love the color. The plastic back with a matte finish feels not so good on the hands, but you couldn't expect more. And the glossy finish on the frame is a fingerprint magnet, so I would recommend using the case provided in the box, or you can buy one.

Display

• 6.8′′ HD+ IPS LCD
• 720 x 1640 px resolution, 20.5:9 aspect ratio
• 60Hz refresh rate

At first glance, the display specifications of the Benco S1 look nice. The huge 6.8" screen with thin bezels the company gets within this budget is massive. In fact, the 91% screen-to-body ratio is impressive for this device. And those 60Hz displays on IPS screens are quite common in this range.

Quality over quantity

However, the major dealbreaker here with the Benco S1 is the resolution, which caps out at 720 x 1640 pixels, but gets you to 1080p on YouTube. The thing is, there will be compromises on these budget phones. But in this case, when you are glamorized with a large screen, yet with the low-quality option, you are left with the display not being as sharp as it should be and an overall pixelated experience. As a result, the large screen becomes a con rather than a pro, in my view. I would rather prefer a smaller screen with sharper details.

Performance

• Unisoc Tiger T606 (12-nm)
• ARM Mali-G57 MP1 (650 MHz)
• 4/6GB RAM, 128GB storage (expandable)

Moving on to the performance, I am pretty happy here. If you are a normal day-to-day user, it can handle your social media and other everyday tasks without breaking a sweat. The Unisoc T606 (12nm), along with 6GB RAM and 128GB storage, is enough to do most of the things with some background tasks running. Having said that, I do not know how it goes for the 4GB RAM variant. Even for casual gaming, if you play some lightweight games, you are cool with the Benco S1, though the device itself gets pretty hot after some time. Also, after some moments, the game lags and stutters a little. I would still call it playable, though. Nonetheless, for some processing- and graphics-intensive games, you are better off with higher-priced options. Having said that, though, it is pretty okay at what it can do. Still, you are better off sticking with casual games.

Camera

• 48MP primary camera, AI camera, and 2MP macro at the back
• 16 MP sensor (punch hole) at the front

Starting with the rear camera, the photos are less than average. I said camera, not cameras, here because only the main camera is considered useful and the other two are just there for being there.

Normal photos

I must say, the photos from the rear camera are not that bad. The picture doesn't show up quite well on the viewfinder but after processing, it gets decent. However, the picture looks a bit washed and objects do lack a bit of sharpness. And the sky's exposure is handled quite poorly. Sometimes, the sky is highlighted quite well, but at other times, you will only see a white, exposed sky in your masterpiece. Yet, since the image relies heavily on processing, the quality is different if you take images from other apps. I took some close-up shots, and the images came out well. Here are two of them:

Portraits

Benco S1 gets portraits mostly right, with some hiccups here and there. The edge detection ain't that accurate when it comes to hairs, but for the price range, it does a pretty decent job.

Selfies

On selfies and front portraits too, the outputs are decent. The only major problem is the sharpness. Other than this, the skin tone is a little reddish but still fairly common for budget phones.

Low light Images

However, I wouldn't suggest it for nighttime images. The phone seems to struggle to manage exposure and dynamic range. And if the image contains any light source, there's no way the light won't scatter all over the place. The only image that is close to good is the first one, even if that's in the evening. As the darkness grows, the shots need to be captured with still hands and non-moving objects. Even after that, the photos turned out to be noisy.  

Videos

And the videos are jittery. The max resolution it can go to is 1080p/30fps and even so, you can see pixels moving in the videos. So, I won't recommend it for users who capture a lot of moments using videos.

OS

• InOne UI on top of Android 13

It is good that the S1 starts right out with Android 13. The device provides you with an experience close to native Android. This is what they call InOne UI, Stock Android with their own little customization on top of it. The UI itself delivers you with a different home screen, which I like, and with it, no theme choices and such, which I don't like. The only major concern is software support, which the company hasn't made mention of. And as a budget phone, it might not get a whole lot of updates. I might be completely wrong, though!

Connections

• 802.11 b/g/n WiFi
• Bluetooth 5.0
• VoLTE support

I had to add this section because I faced a lot of problems here. The main concern here is Bluetooth, which my device seems to have difficulty with. The connection appears to be struggling and sometimes not working at all. But, as said, the price is something not to overlook. Getting to the positives, the network coverage is also okay, and you also get VoLTE, which is a huge plus point for the device at this price. Even in the village areas of Nepal, 4G seems to work thanks to the bandwidths covered by this phone. And the GPS seems pretty accurate too.

Battery

• 5000mAh cell
• 18W Fast Charging

Another thing I am satisfied with is the battery. You can go a whole day with a single charge under normal usage. I do not use my phone that much, which gave me around 2 days with a juiced-up battery.

Good screen on time

On average, I got more than 9 hours of screen time. This is with those light gaming sessions every day for around half an hour or so. I even used it for games and YouTube the whole day; the Benco S1 lasted me more than 8 hours of screen time, which is pretty impressive. This is also added to the fact that my Bluetooth and Wi-Fi were enabled all the time.

Backed by an 18W charger

Additionally, the 18W fast charger that comes with the box charges your phone to full in around 2 hours. So you can use the S1 from Benco for a whole day without charging and plug it into the socket overnight to charge, and you don't have to worry about charging ever again.

Benco S1 Review: Conclusion

So, this was the review of the Benco S1. All in all, it is a really solid phone in its price range. You get one of the better, if not the best, design aspects at this price range, an average camera (both front and back), standard performance, and a superb battery, all at this price range. However, if you need a recommendation on a better camera, I suggest you go with the Samsung A04, priced similarly. On the other hand, some compromises have to be made in this price range, especially when you consider its display, video capture, and Bluetooth connection. Just by adding one or two thousand additional rupees to the budget, you can buy the better all-around device, the Redmi 12, a better option.

Benco S1 Review: Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Appealing design
• Mediocre cameras
• Near Stock Android experience with few customizations
• Good battery life and charging speed

Cons:

• Subpar display quality
• Jittery video quality
• No stereo speakers
• Connection problems