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Wiko Ride 2 Review: Entry Level Phone with Good Base Specs

Get inspirations for your next smartphone purchase through this Wiko Ride 2 review. This affordable phone might become your new tech companion.

Wiko Ride 2 Review

Wiko Ride 2 smartphone was released in July 2020. Wiko might not be a popular choice among smartphone consumers. Nonetheless, this particular model has more on its sleeves to attract attention.

This phone specifically aims at entry-level buyers. The 5.5-inch device comes with 4G support, a decent choice of CPU, and an 8MP camera. All these are offered to buyers at a jaw-droppingly low price.

For those seeking to enter the Android world without paying a lot, you can give the phone a try. Wiko Ride 2 does come with several downsides. One example, you might find the phone size to be too small.

Learn more about the device in this Wiko Ride 2 review. There are some things to pay attention to before purchasing a device. Here, we present objective analysis to help you make a decision.

Key Specs

Wiko Ride 2 specifications:

  • Weight: 158g
  • Dimensions: 149 x 72 x 8.7mm
  • OS: Android 10
  • Screen size: 5.5-inch
  • Resolution: 1440 x 720
  • CPU: 2GHz Quad-core, MediaTek Helio P22
  • RAM: 2GB
  • Storage: 32GB
  • Battery: 2,500mAh, Removable
  • Rear camera: 8MP
  • Front camera: 5MP

Design

Wiko Ride 2
Wiko Ride 2

Wiko Ride 2’s spec sheet reveals the exact dimension of this phone to be 149 x 72 x 8.7mm. Additionally, the phone weighs only 158g.

We like Wiko Ride 2 design because it looks more expensive than it actually is. The design is not necessarily premium. In fact, it’s pretty common and slightly outdated. The screen has no notch unlike the full-screen display nowadays. The bezels are also on the thicker side.

However, we like the color scheme. Wiko Ride 2 is adorned with a glassy front and gradient blue on the back cover. The gradient looks nice on the phone. As for the matte back cover, this type of casing is better in our opinion, because it absorbs light and more fingerprint-resistant.

When talking about the build quality, Wiko Ride 2 is indeed lacking in that tough feeling. The phone is lightweight because it’s only made from plastic. It does seem fragile.

But there’s one thing we like about Wiko Ride 2’s build. This phone surprisingly comes with a water-resistant feature. The IPX2 rating means this phone is shielded well from drips. You won’t be able to bring it while swimming. However, it’s still nice that the phone is well protected from every-day spills and light rain.

Read also: Wiko Ride 2 User Manual

Display

Wiko Ride 2 Display

Wiko Ride 2 smartphone comes with a 5.5-inch display. Today’s consumers may feel it strange to hold a phone this size. It’s smaller than its peers. Among 6-inch and more displays, Wiko Ride 2 is a dwarf.

Some people might like the display size of Wiko Ride 2. Especially those who are not really a fan of notch. There’s no awkward distraction when you watch something on full screen. Consumers preferring a smaller screen will also find the 5.5-inch to be a perfect size.

This 5.5-inch size is paired with an HD+ resolution. Specifically, the phone measures 1440 x 720 in pixels, with an aspect ratio of 2:1. With a pixel density of 295ppi, the phone is actually quite sharp when compared to a bigger screen with the same display quality.

More pixels in less space equals sharper graphical output. Colors appear beautiful and vivid on Wiko Ride 2. The phone also has a decent brightness. It’s worth noting that you will still encounter flaws such as rough edges. After all, Wiko Ride 2 is a budget phone at its core.

Camera

Wiko Ride 2 Camera

Wiko Ride 2 sports an 8MP rear camera and a 5MP front-facing camera. Just in case you don’t notice it, we’d like to point out how it lacks another popular feature: A dual-camera. On the back, you’ll only find the LED flash beside the camera.

Wiko Ride 2 has decided to not put cameras on the priority lists. The 8MP resolution is considered low and inadequate. The phone still tries to strap some helpful features, though. For users who’d like better image results, you can take advantage of HDR and other in-camera software features.

The image result doesn’t impress us in terms of quality. As always, you can take a nice picture when the lighting is optimal. Other than that, taking pictures can cause some frustration because the result it’s not what we hoped for. Images can come out too bright, too imbalanced, or have too much noise in low-light photos.

All in all, Wiko Ride 2 is not the phone for a photography addict. It’s for users who presumably won’t take many photos in their everyday life.

We also find the front camera to be just average. At 5MP, the lens is quite good for selfies. Other than that, there are no remarkable features worth taking note of.

Read also:

Storage

The ROM storage you’d get with Wiko Ride 2 is 32GB. It’s enough space to store all the files you plan to put into the phone. Make sure to be mindful about installing big apps. The phone easily runs out of space because 32GB is actually not a lot of capacity.

To add more space, Wiko Ride 2 comes with an expandable storage option. Users are welcomed to add up to 32GB SD card. We’re a bit disappointed with the capacity. It could be bigger. Users who like to store big multimedia files will find it inadequate for the long run, as the SD card is easy to get full.

Performance

Wiko Ride 2 Side

Wiko Ride 2 runs on a Quad-core MediaTek Helio A22 processor and 2GB RAM. Considering the price of the phone, this configuration is not entirely bad. There is plenty you can do with the phone before it hits the performance limit. Our Wiko Ride 2 review on performance is generally positive but with some notes.

The device is a reliable little machine as long as basic tasks are concerned. Wiko Ride 2 is comfortable to use for browsing, social media, and chatting. Navigating the phone feels seamless although it’s not ultra-fast like in a flagship. You can do multitasking here by stacking two apps on one screen.

One thing we often notice from budget phones is that the number of apps you run at once matters. Because there’s not any room on the RAM, often the phone will struggle with memory management during an intense session. As a result, an app will reload after you switch out from its interface.

Furthermore, it also means that Wiko Ride 2 is not your go-to phone for gaming. Light 2D games might be okay, but racing 3D games is definitely a no. The phone’s performance is too low. Some games even don’t show up on its Play Store app.

Wiko Ride 2 uses Android 10 as its operating system. This version is the recent one as of 2020. Even better, the manufacturer keeps the UI vanilla. There’s not much customization happening, making the phone more resource-efficient. However, the interface may look bland for some. You can’t choose a fun theme except for Android’s built-in Dark Mode.

Wiko Ride 2 doesn’t offer extra fancy features apart from base performance. You won’t get a fingerprint sensor, which is quite a bummer. However, at this price, it almost seems unfair for the manufacturer to provide one.

At least the phone provides great accessibility. It is a hearing aid compatible with M4/T4 rating. Wiko Ride 2 also supports multiple languages and TTY/TDD.

Connectivity

Wiko Ride 2 is an 4G LTE-capable phone. Supporting 4G, users will have access to this most widespread network in the country, all while enjoying a speedy connection. Calls are not so crystal clear. Even with a feature called Sound Amplifier, sometimes you’d get muffled sounds here.

Internet speed is generally fast. But with limited performance, the browser occasionally acts out due to the lack of RAM. As a result, loading a heavy website can feel too slow. For the internet, you can also choose the Wi-Fi option. Often we found it speedier, not to mention it is more energy-efficient.

Other available network features here include Bluetooth, MicroUSB, and GPS. A standard configuration on a smartphone, although missing some notable features like NFC or USB Type-C. These are considered a luxury for a phone like Wiko Ride 2.

Battery

Wiko Ride 2 runs on a 2,500mAh battery. It’s a small capacity even for a budget phone. The HD+ screen will be the enemy of the battery performance. Generally, you can expect an all-day performance with Wiko Ride 2. However, with more screen time, the performance can drop significantly.

The battery is a removable one, which is quite rare on today’s smartphones. There are not many perks of having a removable battery. Other than you can remove the battery when the phone freezes to troubleshoot it. Lastly, if you’re curious about the availability of fast charging, unfortunately, you won’t find such a feature here.

Is the Wiko Ride 2 a good phone?

Retailers are selling Wiko Ride 2 at $34.99 a unit. An extremely cheap price, it’s worth considering for deal hunters out there. This is clearly an entry-level product, so you must be ready to accept the phone’s drawbacks.

In this Wiko Ride 2 review, we have mentioned several good things about this phone. It has a decent display quality, although the size is small. We also like the water-resistant feature.

On the other hand, prepare for charging often due to the small battery. Wiko Ride 2 is also not a great phone for photography. It only has an 8MP rear camera.

Wiko Ride 2 Pros

  • Decent performance
  • Decent display
  • Affordable price

Wiko Ride 2 Cons

  • Small battery
  • Poor camera
  • No fingerprint reader