AT&T Radiant Max Review: Dirt-cheap phone with triple cameras

Read this detailed and informative AT&T Radiant Max review to learn about its features and find out whether it is worth the money or not.

AT&T Radiant Max smartphone was released in August 2020. The phone is marketed as an entry-level phone with an interesting gimmick, triple cameras.

While smartphones at this price range usually cut down their costs by getting rid of luxury features, AT&T Radiant Max does otherwise. The phone has three cameras on the back with different functions.

Phones with more than two cameras are commonly found in mid-range to flagship phones. They usually have advanced features to improve the quality of the pictures. So, does this phone fit into the mobile photography category?

Read this comprehensive AT&T Radiant Max (U705AA) review to learn more about this affordable phone with three cameras. Also, find out whether its cameras live up to our expectations.

Key Specs

AT&T Radiant Max specifications:

• Weight: 175.2g
• Dimensions: 170 x 76.2 x 8.9mm
• OS: Android 10
• Screen size: 6.5-inch
• Resolution: 1560 x 720
• CPU: 2GHz Octa-core, MediaTek Helio P22
• RAM: 3GB
• Storage: 32GB
• Battery: 4,000mAh, Non-removable
• Rear camera: 13MP (standard), 5MP (wide-angle), 2MP (macro)
• Front camera: 8MP

Design

For a budget phone, the overall design of AT&T Radiant Max is quite impressive. Phones at this price range usually give a minimalist appearance. On the other hand, this phone looks bold and quirky with its notch and camera modules.

However, we also noticed that this phone has quite thick bezels and they are asymmetrical. The bottom bezel or its chin is huge and the top bezel feels like such a waste of space.

The top bezel houses a front-facing camera. Unlike other phones, the camera is not wholly located inside the bezel. The half of it kinda sits above the screen.

Meanwhile, you can find three camera modules and an LED flash on the back cover. A fingerprint scanner is located below the cameras.

The right side of the phone houses the power button and volume rockers. You can also find a microphone, a speaker and a charging port on the bottom of the phone.

This phone weighs 175.2 grams and it is pretty light. The body is made from plastic and the back cover has a glossy finish. It is quite slippery when your hands get sweaty and you will see fingerprints and smudges often. A good hard case will help prevent the phone from slipping out of your grip.

Read: AT&T Radiant Max 5G Review: Super Affordable 5G Phone

Display

AT&T Radiant Max has a 6.5-inch display with 1560 x 720 resolution and 16.7 million colors. The screen is protected with Gorilla Glass 5. It is famous for increased protection against damage from scratches and drops.

The display looks average. The colors are accurate but they do not pop out. We found the display has a more bluish tint to the screen or usually known as cool temperature. The screen is not too bright either, especially under direct sunlight.

With a 6.5-inch display, the AT&T Radiant Max looks very spacious. Moreover, its aspect ratio makes the phone look taller than most other phones. This will probably be a disadvantage for users with small hands. Navigating the phone will be quite hard with only just one hand.

On a positive note, tall phones like AT&T Radiant Max are perfect for the split-screen view feature. You can open and view two apps at the same time because switching apps is too much of a hassle. You can copy and paste a text without having to go to the main menu.

The media viewing experience on this phone is decent. However, its HD+ screen resolution is not as detailed as Full HD display.

Camera

AT&T Radiant Max has triple cameras on the back and a front-facing camera. The triple cameras consist of a 13MP standard angle lens, a 5MP wide-angle lens and a 2MP macro lens. There is also an LED flash for you to take pictures in low-light conditions.

You can access the camera app by searching it manually or by swiping up the icon on the lockscreen. You can also open it by quickly pressing the power button twice.

The viewfinder looks neat and the quick menus are there to help you adjust settings in an instant. There are also a lot of features to customize or improve the quality of your photos, from HDR to effects.

Despite having three rear-facing cameras, we were not impressed with the results. For a phone which has three cameras, the AT&T Radiant Max captures below average images. Photos tend to be dark and blurry even in well-lit conditions. The phone also shoots mediocre videos and selfies.

However, the images are not downright embarrassing. You can still post your snaps to your social media. With a few tweaks, you can also improve the quality by a notch.

In short, the AT&T Radiant Max is not suitable for mobile photography. The cameras are basically just gimmicks but it is understandable since the phone is cheap.

Read: AT&T Radiant Max vs LG Phoenix 5: Which should you buy?

Storage

AT&T Radiant Max is only available in one variant of storage, which is 32GB of internal memory. 32GB of storage is common in phones at this price range. It is not spacious but you can still install basic apps, games and media files.

Fortunately, the phone allows you to expand the storage with a microSD. You are allowed to insert a microSD up to 128GB. Spending extra money on an accessory is sometimes a burden for some people. If you do not want to do so, you can always move your files to your personal computer via Bluetooth and USB cable.

Performance

AT&T Radiant Max employs MediaTek Helio P22 as its chipset. The cores are separated into two with four cores at 2.0GHz and the rest is at 1.5GHz. The processor was released in 2018 and we can say it is pretty outdated. Due to its processor, this AT&T Radiant Max review does not expect too much for its performance.

The phone can execute essential tasks easily like opening the messaging app and note-taking activities. However, it will start to struggle when you open heavier games and apps such as albums filled with pictures. Multitasking is not that seamless either but it is still bearable.

We encountered some noticeable lags when opening apps but it is not a severe case. Screen transitions sometimes do not look smooth either. However, the phone can still function as a daily driver normally.

The AT&T Radiant Max is perfect as a digital book reader and web browsing. Since the phone is tall, it can load more words in the line on sight. All you have to do is just scroll the text instead of reading from far-left to far-right.

What we like the most about this phone is that it comes with Android 10. Even though a few phones already get Android 11, the latest version is not available yet for most brands. We can confidently say that this phone will also get an update in the near future. We expect two or more years of software updates.

Another positive thing that impresses us is that AT&T claims that the phone has M4 and T4 Hearing Aid (HAC) ratings. These ratings mean that this phone will not cause interference when people with hearing problems use hearing aids.

In terms of security, the AT&T Radiant Max has a set of protection means. There is a fingerprint reader available on the back. The accuracy and speed are satisfying. Unless you have dirt in your fingers, the scanner can read your fingerprint quickly. You also secure your phone with pattern, PIN and password locks.

Despite being a cheap phone, this device has a complete set of sensors. The AT&T Radiant Max comes with an accelerometer, an ambient light sensor, a gyroscope, a magnetometer and a proximity sensor.

Sadly, there is no NFC so you cannot use your phone as an e-wallet. It is understandable because even mid-range phones often are not equipped with NFC.

Read also: AT&T Radiant Max User Manual

Connectivity

This phone is 4G-enabled by AT&T. You can browse the internet and social media using the carrier’s fast network. Although newer phones mostly come with 5G, we do not think it is essential for now. The 5G coverage is still not widespread so raising the price just for 5G is not worth it.

You can connect to nearby WiFi hotspots with one tap. If you are in the middle of nowhere, you can turn this phone into a mobile hotspot. 

Bluetooth 5.0 is embedded on this phone. You can pair the phone with external speakers, wireless earphones and smartwatches.

Battery

AT&T Radiant Max is powered by a non-removable 4,000mAh battery. The manufacturer claims that the phone can last up to two days. However, it all depends on your screen-on time, usage pattern and signal strength. This phone supports fast charging but no wireless charging. 

The good news is a USB Type-C power adapter is available in the box so your phone will be charged to 100% quickly. In order not to drain your battery, make sure to check if there are apps running in the background without your permission. You can also turn down your brightness when you are indoor.

Is the AT&T Radiant Max a good phone?

This phone is sold at $79.99, which is super affordable considering its specs. Is it worth buying? This AT&T Radiant Max review believes that the phone is totally worth it.

At this price range, it is rare to find a phone with a huge battery capacity. The phone uses USB Type-C, which is fast and more common than micro USB nowadays. The design and built quality are satisfying as well.

However, the triple cameras are nothing but a marketing ploy. The picture quality is below average. Another downside is the phone uses an outdated low-entry chipset as its brain. It is rather slow but still bearable.