The Wiko Life 3 review shows you what kind of subsidized gadget you can get for free. If you wish to get this device in your hand, learn it first.
It’s not hard to find any smartphones on the market. From the low specs to the high-tech, the cheapest to the most expensive are available. It comes from various brands, prices, and technologies. Even more, there is also a smartphone that comes with zero bucks, yes, for free.
Little did you know the Universal Service Fund was behind the Lifeline Assistance program. It provides a free phone, free monthly data, free monthly minutes, and unlimited texting for people who are low-income and eligible to get subsidized.
The Wiko Life 3 smartphone is included in this program. It becomes an entry-level smartphone with its modest specs and features. To recognize all the phone’s information, we’ve made this Wiko Life 3 review to consider whether this is the perfect phone for you.
Specifications
Wiko Life 3 key specifications:
| Weight | 191g |
| Dimensions | 150.9 x 72.9 x 10.2mm |
| OS | Android 11 Go Edition |
| Screen size | 5.5-inch |
| Resolution | 480 x 960 |
| Processor | MediaTek MT6739 |
| CPU | Quad-core (4×1.5 GHz Cortex-A53) |
| RAM | 2GB |
| Storage | 16GB |
| Battery | 2,550mAh, Non-Removable |
| Rear camera | 5MP |
| Front camera | 0.3MP |
| Features | USB Type-C |
Design
The Wiko Life 3 appearance gives us a flashback to a few years ago. It has a rectangular shape with dimensions of 150.9 x 72.9 x 10.2mm and a weight of 191g. It’s fairly compact but heavy to carry. However, It’s still possible to use it one-handedly.
As expected from an entry-level smartphone, the back area is built of plastic. It is covered with a navy blue color and gives off a more elegant, minimalist look. It has a single rear camera with LED flash at the top left.
However, the front area is a deal-breaker. It has thick bezels at the top and bottom, an outdated design. Even worse, the front camera is still placed at the top bezel – one step behind the other current smartphones with a water-drop or a punch-hole design.
Read also: Wiko Life 3 (U316AT) User Manual
Display
The Wiko Life 3 features a 5.5-inch display screen. It feels small, especially compared to most of today’s smartphones. Nonetheless, this size packs perfectly everything you need to navigate. It’s reliable for operating most of its features.
It’s not intended as a gigantic and stunning viewing experience. Being a subsidized smartphone means some features need to be sacrificed. This could be seen in its screen quality which disappoints us.
The Wiko Life 3 display has 480 x 960 pixel resolutions, far below the standard. It’s definitely not HD+ quality. With this screen quality, you will find any weaknesses. The colors become dull, and the detail is not sharp enough. So, you will get some pixelated icons and images here and there.
Camera
The camera on the Wiko Life 3 smartphone isn’t built for entertainment purposes. It has two camera setup, and neither impressed us at all. Let’s discuss its main camera first. The main camera consists of only a 5MP single rear camera. It can’t keep up with the trend that most smartphones already come with dual, even a quad camera on the back.
The 5MP is also lower than the current standard. Forget about having high-quality images. The photos are blurred and pixelated, especially if you’re about to get a zoom-in picture. Recording a video is possible, but it also has bad quality.
The Wiko Life 3’s front camera is a total disappointment. It is only equipped with a 0.3MP which is very low quality. Even though it’s a subsidized smartphone, we don’t expect this bad resolution. For us, the front camera is like an accent on this phone.
Storage
If you need a smartphone to support your heavy duty, then the Wiko Life 3 shouldn’t be on your list. This phone, disappointingly, in terms of its internal storage capacity. It only has 16GB capacity, a low standard for an entry-level smartphone. Even worse, several gigabytes will be used for the phone’s system, leaving you around 11GB.
However, you still get the opportunity to expand your phone’s external storage by installing a MicroSD card into the Wiko Life 3. We don’t get specific numbers of how much the max capacity can be added, but it can still help you get more spaces.
Performance
The Wiko Life 3 phone’s performance depends on the Quad-core MediaTek MT6739. It’s typically found on a lightweight entry-level smartphone. If you’re a heavy user, you might find it difficult to handle.
This CPU has a 1.5GHz clock rate to process the tasks on the four cores. Even though it isn’t as fast as other smartphones with higher rates, it can help improve the device’s performance.
A 2GB RAM works in tandem with the chipset. This capacity is also not very amusing, but at least we can still experience a proper operation with this. It’s reliable software for light activities, but it’s clearly not for high-intense ones.
As you know, some of today’s apps require a lot of power. So, when you’re accessing social media or playing games, Wiko Life 3 will start showing lags and delays. Unfortunately, this phone also doesn’t support multitasking or running apps simultaneously.
The Wiko Life 3 uses Android as its software. Still, it is different from the usual Android you’re familiar with. Instead of the original version, it uses Android 11 Go Edition. As an entry-level smartphone, it must be as light as possible. So, this version takes off some of the important gimmicks of Android 11.
The Android 11 Go Edition only has the essential features on the device. Even sadder, the user interface is also very limited. It comes simpler, and honestly, it’s boring for us. You must find the difference if you’re an original Android user.
For the additional features or sensors on the Wiko Life 3 smartphone, unfortunately, we didn’t get much information about this. But one thing we notice, it doesn’t have a fingerprint reader or face recognition as the security sensors.
Connectivity
The Wiko Life 3 is a 4G LTE smartphone. Besides this, you can still use older bands like 3G and 2G networks. However, we advise you to stay with the 4G LTE since it’s reliable connectivity in a wide area. The internet connection is fast and stable, and the call quality is crystal clear.
Wi-Fi connectivity is also available for users who don’t have mobile data. It’s faster and more efficient. The other default connectivities are Bluetooth and USB Type-C. Both are useful for sharing files with other devices or a computer.
Battery
The minimalist specs and experience with the Wiko Life 3 make this smartphone only employ 2,550mAh of battery capacity. It has a small capacity and obviously can’t support your all-day operations, especially if you’re busy.
As they claim, the Wiko Life 3 approximately can last up to 17 hours in talk time and 476 hours or 19 days in standby time. But eventually, it would depend on users’ behaviors and habits.
There is no fast charging feature on the Wiko Life 3. But their charging time is average. It takes 3,25 hours to fully-charged the device. Nonetheless, if you’ve planned to go out the next day, it would be best to have prepared by charging your phone beforehand.
Verdict
Getting a subsidized phone will be very helpful for people with low incomes. Still, there are a lot of decent-quality smartphone options for this program. The Wiko Life 3 isn’t a good choice, though. Yes, it’s a good device for communication, but the overall quality isn’t even near the bare minimum.
Wiko Life 3 Pros:
- Free phone
- Proper for non-heavy daily activities
Wiko Life 3 Cons:
- Lack of features
- Low-performance quality
