In our AT&T Maestro Plus review, we found out how this budget smartphone can be a real steal with its dual camera and long-lasting battery.
The AT&T Maestro Plus smartphone was released in February 2021. Budget smartphones have always had their share of customers. This model is no exception.
Well-known for its affordability, it’s no surprise why phones like the AT&T Maestro Plus are gaining traction. The AT&T Maestro Plus has boasted remarkable features which are quite impressive in our books.
These include a 3GB RAM, long-lasting battery, and 15 MP + 5MP dual rear camera. Some of these features are typically hard to find in entry-level devices. But are they as good as they claim?
Get all the important details in our AT&T Maestro Plus review. Containing in-depth details about the device, our insightful review will help you make a confident choice.
Page Contents:
Key Specs
AT&T Maestro Plus specifications:
- Weight: 184g
- Dimensions: 159.5 x 75.9 x 8.9mm
- OS: Android 10
- Screen size: 6.22-inch
- Resolution: 1520 x 720
- CPU: 1.8GHz Octa-core, Qualcomm Snapdragon 460
- RAM: 3GB
- Storage: 32GB
- Battery: 3,300mAh, Non-removable
- Rear camera: 13MP + 5MP
- Front camera: 5MP
Design
The AT&T Maestro Plus has a compact design that would fit well in the palm of your hands. Going in at 184g, it’s slightly on the heavier side. But it’s not too heavy until we have to use two hands to hold it. The combination of its size and weight gives a sense of sturdiness and reliability to its overall build.
Right off the bat, we noticed how minimalist the front side is. The display screen stretches from edge to edge and is surrounded by very slim bezels. This provides the illusion of having a modern, widescreen phone. The front camera is tucked right on top in a teardrop bezel, a design most common in smartphones nowadays.
Moving onto the backside, we have the phone’s non-removable casing in blue. Unfortunately, there’s not much variety with the color options. But on the plus side, the chrome blue shade adds a touch of sophistication to the device. The rear camera, LED flash, and fingerprint sensor are available right on the back.
The side of the phone contains all of the smartphone’s basic keys and ports. We have the SIM tray on the left, where we can insert our Nano SIM card. The right side has the volume keys and power key. Right on the bottom, there’s the USB Type-C charging port, speaker, and microphone.
All in all, this smartphone boasts a good design that, in a way, makes the phone look more expensive than it actually is. We find it exceptionally elegant for a phone at this price.
Read also: AT&T Maestro Plus (V350U) User Manual
Display
The AT&T Maestro Plus has a 6.22-inch display screen. With this large size, there are lots of rooms to navigate around the phone’s interface. Because of the slim bezels, the display screen appears as if it stretches from one edge to another. With this full-screen design, users have great freedom to enjoy tons of content on the display.
The display’s size is not the only commendable feature. Supporting the display is the phone’s HD+ quality. A lot of the content on the phone, whether static or moving, appeared crisp with rich color tones. Expect long hours spent watching videos or playing games on this device.
The display also boasts a resolution of 1520 x 720, which supports a 19:9 ratio. No matter how high the resolution we choose on the device, everything stays sharp. Images or videos do not become pixelated, making it incredibly easy on our eyes.
All these display features are nice but even better, you’ll get something built-in to protect the screen. The AT&T Maestro Plus display comes with Corning Gorilla Glass 3. Known for its sturdiness and scratch-resistant properties, the coating glass helps you protect the screen from everyday minor damage.
Camera
The AT&T Maestro Plus has a 13MP rear camera and a 5MP depth camera. The 13MP camera promises high-quality shots that perfectly capture our memories. Props to the manufacturers for creating a phone that has high megapixels and a dual-camera setup. It can be rare to find a budget phone that takes shots at 13MP.
The 5MP depth camera provides variety for your photography results. It’s a great feature to take beautiful close-up shots with blurred backgrounds. For dark situations, we can use the phone’s LED Flash to ensure we get all the lighting we need.
Switching to the front, the AT&T Maestro Plus has a 5MP front-facing camera for all your selfie needs. While we wish it was slightly higher, 5MP is equally not bad considering how much the phone costs. Video-wise, the smartphone lets users record up to 1080 HD. Besides regular recording, you can record timelapse videos, and also in fast motion mode.
The camera settings are just as great as the quality of the phone’s cameras. For photography enthusiasts, you can experiment with a couple of different camera modes. From portrait mode to manual mode with shutter speed, there’s plenty to explore with the cameras.
Read also:
- AT&T Motivate Review: Long-lasting Battery and Compact Build
- AT&T Calypso Review: Compact Size, Budget Price
Storage
The AT&T Maestro Plus features 32GB internal storage. A memory space at this time is not bad, but unfortunately, only 23GB can be accessed. This is because the smartphone already has preloaded apps from the operating system installed into it. But 23GB is still big enough to store several huge apps or data.
To add more space, you can expand the device’s memory. To do this, you need to insert a microSD chip into the phone. The device is expandable up to 128GB, which is more than enough for today’s large apps. Please be aware that the microSD card does not come included with the smartphone.
Performance
The AT&T Maestro Plus is operating on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 460 processor. The CPU is considered to be within the entry-level category. This type of processor delivers significant mobile experiences. From supporting multi-tasking activities to more intuitive interactions, the CPU has gone past the entry-level criteria. It’s almost at a mid-level.
Running on a 1.8GHz Octa-core chipset, the processor offers prominent improvements to the phone’s performance. With a 70% CPU boost, and speedier 4G connection support, you will have a smooth time using the device. It helps the phone unlock its true potential beyond what it’s assigned.
The AT&T Maestro Plus also has a big RAM capacity. This is also an incredible feat as the phone has 3GB RAM to store the device’s temporary data. Thanks to the 3GB RAM, users are able to experience optimal phone performances. The large RAM is quite unexpected with a phone at this price point. It is a great surprise to know that a budget phone can be installed with a large RAM.
As a result, AT&T Maestro Plus is a comfortable device for activities beyond the essentials. The large RAM provides intense multitasking. You can open data-heavy apps, open several interfaces at once, and play 3D games. Nothing can’t stop you as long as you don’t overclock the performance by opting for high settings.
Next, let’s take a look into its Operating System (OS). Using Android 10 as its main system, we enjoyed some notable features. There is a more responsive gesture system, fine-tuned permissions settings, and security updates to protect the device. Not to forget, the Google Assistant is supposed to be smarter too on this version.
If we look at the AT&T Maestro Plus’s back, we can see its fingerprint sensor. This sensor allows users to lock or unlock the device quickly. We always appreciate a fingerprint sensor on a budget phone. A fingerprint sensor provides better accessibility. For anybody who’s always on the go, opening the phone using a sensor is much faster than typing in a password.
Connectivity
The AT&T Maestro Plus lets users connect with others through 4G LTE signals. To activate the phone’s connection, be sure to install a Nano SIM card beforehand. But if there’s Wi-Fi available in the area, you can activate the phone’s Wi-Fi feature as an alternative.
With Wi-Fi, you can also enable Wi-Fi calling. That way, save yourselves some internet and calling fees and take advantage of what’s free. Call quality is clear and good enough most of the time. On top of that, browsing the internet was also fast with this phone.
Not only can the phone connect with others, but it can also act as a network hub for other devices. Use the mobile hotspot so you can give other devices an internet connection. Other features included in the smartphone are Bluetooth, USB Type-C, and GPS. Expect a truly wireless experience with all these installed into the smartphone.
Battery
The AT&T Maestro Plus has a long-lasting 3,300mAh battery capacity. This battery size promises a continuous talk time of up to 15 hours or 320 hours on standby. Meanwhile, the battery type used is a non-removable one.
To charge the device, users will use the USB Type-C port located at the bottom of the phone. There’s no fast charging available. We find that the typical charging time is normal and not too long.
Is the AT&T Maestro Plus a good phone?
Generally speaking, the AT&T Maestro Plus smartphone has left us with a good impression. The phone has shown us that a budget phone can have high-quality features. From high-quality cameras to speedy processors, the phone is as good as it gets.
Coming in at $59, it’s safe to conclude in this AT&T Maestro Plus review that the phone is a major steal. While they may not be as astounding as flagship devices at higher prices, it’s nice to have an affordable device that still delivers good results. Anybody who needs something reliable without having to break their bank can opt for this device.
AT&T Maestro Plus Pros
- Large display
- Dual-camera with high resolution
- Large RAM
AT&T Maestro Plus Cons
- No quick charging
- Low-res front camera
