BLU has announced the second generation of monster battery saving smartphones—the BLU Studio Energy 2 and the BLU Energy X; both of which are available for purchase on Amazon. In this video, I’m going to go ahead and take a look at the Studio Energy 2.
The Studio Energy 2 is an updated version of the original Studio Energy, which was known as that one smartphone with a monstrous 5000mAh battery. There is a lot of improvements beyond just specs that I do want to take a look at. But while on the topic of specifications, the BLU Studio Energy 2 features a 5-inch HD Super AMOLED display, 1.3GHz quad-core processor with 1.5GB of RAM, an 8MP rear and a 5MP front-facing camera sensor, a microSD card slot for expandable storage, 4G LTE this time around and it runs Android 5.0 Lollipop. And of course, it still does feature the insanely large 5000mAh battery in here and it only features a 10mm thickness which is pretty thin with all things considered.
To get inside the box and get our first glance at the Studio Energy 2, it’s pretty simple. We just need to slide off the top of the box. I’m going to go ahead and set the device off to the side for now and come back to it because underneath, there’s a bunch of accessories. So first of all, there’s a micro USB charging cable in here. There is a pair of earphones with removable tips, a mic and music playback support buttons. We have a micro USB to USB adaptor here which is pretty unique. You might be wondering why that’s included but essentially, it’ll allow you to use your phone as an external battery pack to charge other devices. There is also an included US wall wart here with quick charging or fast charging and it can charge devices at a 2A speed. This is much appreciated because a 5000mAh is going to take a long time to charge but it’s not going to take as long to charge thanks to this little guy right here. Underneath those goodies, we have a protective silicon case to protect your new Studio Energy 2. There is a SIM Card Installation Guide, a Quick Start packet, and a screen protector and that is really about it for the contents of this box.
As for the Studio Energy 2, if you remove it from the bag, the very first thing I noticed was its weight. It’s a pretty heavy device in the hand. However, it features a relatively thin profile coming in at only 10mm thick which isn’t too bad at all. From a design standpoint, it features a very solid build. It has an aluminum frame that wraps around the entire device and it reminds me a lot of the BLU Pure XL or the Vivo Air. It certainly adds a premium element to the device that plastic cannot offer. The plastic back cover though does remind you that you are indeed holding a budget smartphone but it does have its perks. For example, it is removable, allowing you access to dual SIM card slots and a microSD card slot for expandable storage.
Powering on the BLU Studio Energy 2 and we’ll see an HD Super AMOLED display with pretty chunky bezels but vibrant colors. You can tell it’s not a terribly sharp display. It has a 294ppi index but it’s certainly better than the HD LCD panel which is found in the original BLU Studio Energy. I do want to say that the defaulted wallpaper is pretty odd. It doesn’t look the most professional. I think the idea that BLU was going for was to show off the deep black colors which looks great but the wallpaper as a whole doesn’t impress me. I’m definitely going to change it to something a little bit more saturated and vibrant.
The BLU software running on Android 5.0 Lollipop is pretty simple but there’s no app drawer so you might like that if you’re coming from iOS. But if you’re an Android user, you’ll probably want to download a custom launcher. But besides that, my minor complaint is it’s fairly light-skinned. I can’t really complain too much. The device is being powered by a 64-bit MediaTek MT6735 quad-core processor with 1.5GB of RAM. It seems to run pretty well in the limited time I’ve used the device. I haven’t noticed too much stuttering or really any stuttering or lag. It’s a pretty smooth experience overall, I must say.
As for the camera sensors, we have an 8MP camera sensor on the rear and a 5MP front-facing camera sensor. Here are some sample photos from both the rear and the front-facing camera sensors. For a budget smartphone, you can’t really expect too much. BLU says that the battery life of the Studio Energy 2 can last about 30 days of standby and about 72 hours of standard usage. Once again, I’ve not used the device for more than 30 days but I can assume the real world usage to be just shy of 72 hours, which overall is excellent.
If you’re in the market for a smartphone with excellent battery life, maybe you’re sick of just charging your current smartphone one or two times a day, you’ll want to consider the BLU Studio Energy 2. Also, another reason to consider it is its price which is just $179 off-contract on Amazon.com. Let me know what your thoughts are of the device. Do you like what you see? Why or why not?
For anyone who has used the original Studio Energy, I’m really looking forward to your feedback. Let me know what you think of this upgraded device.