Freeyond M5 Review: Cheap and Cheerful!
A budget phone being both affordable AND good is usually something that is few and far between. Often than not, we tend to see cost cutting for budget phones which severely affects the overall usability for the user. This is not the case for the Freeyond M5, where it is both easy on the wallet, and a very well rounded phone. A “Cheap and Cheerful” phone if you like!
When it comes to mobile phones and consumer electronics, Freeyond is probably not a brand that would first spring to mind for many people. And it’s understandable, given that the company is really new, having only been founded in May last year.
And yet, despite the short timespan, the brand is not only finding itself well under way with its product releases, but is also already embarking on an ambitious plan to aggressively expand from its home market in China.
Freeyond made a grand entrance to the Malaysian market back in March, organising a glitzy and grand launch event that was attended by the communications minister himself. That event not only served as an official market entry for Freeyond, but was also a product introduction event, with its first wave of phones and accessories being announced and launched in our market at the same time with many more to come soon.
Today, we will be reviewing one of the products that was launched at the event, the Freeyond M5, and provide a deeper look into what Freeyond is able to offer as it’s debut product as well as provide some insights as to why the brand may already be living up to its vision of being a regional leader in “cost effective performance and fashionable design products”.
1. Specification Sheet
The Freeyond M5 is powered by a 1.6GHz octa-core Unisoc T606 processor, an entry level CPU. It has 6GB of RAM for the 128GB storage variant, and 8GB of RAM for the 256GB option. The M5 weighs in at 191 grams, and sports a 6.5 inch 720p IPS screen, at 20:9 aspect ratio with a max brightness of 400 nits. Expandable storage support is available, with Micro SD cards of up to 1TB supported.
Through our testing we found that the Freeyond M5 runs adequately and smoothly with no visible major lags or stutters when using the device, despite its entry level CPU. This is a pleasant surprise given that phones in this price point tend to have compromises to their performance, with visible lags, stutters and slowness when navigating and using the phone, even for the most basic of tasks such as on phone start up and opening apps. Thankfully, the M5 does not seem to have any issues with this.
2. What’s In The Box
In terms of what’s provided in the box (besides the phone itself), Freeyond generously provides a power adapter along with the included USB C charging cable, which is definitely a plus point these days. Included is also a sim ejection tool, as well as a clear phone case.
There are no earphones included though, which is a norm for purchasing new phones these days. Perhaps Freeyond’s own pair of wireless earphones might be worth a consideration then? (more on that later).
3. Build Quality
Perhaps unsurprisingly for a phone in this price category, the Freeyond M5 is built mainly using plastic. But don’t let the choice of material fool you, for Freeyond actually placed considerable efforts to ensure that the phone still feels stylish and premium.
And we’d be inclined to agree with that, with the M5 being very well built and not feeling like a budget phone at all, despite the material usage and price point. The phone is extremely well built with a premium looking industrial design, as it’s usage of different plastics on the chassis and back of the phone allow it to have a more premium, lifestyle look and feel that is more akin to a mid range phone.
The phone definitely does not look and feel “budget” when looked at and when being held, and plus points have to be given to Freeyond for their efforts for this given that phones in this price point tend to look like what their price suggests.
4. Performance
As mentioned in the specs sheet, performance on the M5 is generally adequate on the Unison T606 CPU, being able to run the installed Android 12 flawlessly without major lags or stutters. The phone also runs well when multitasking between web browsing and social media, with no significant lags to note as well in our experience.
Happily, the phone is able to play 720p and 1080p videos without any fuss, which will be great for those that are heavy into YouTube and Netflix. For gaming, the M5 is able to run popular modern mobile games like PUBG and has playable frame rates, albeit with the graphics significantly toned down by default to ensure a smooth and consistent experience.
Audio is middling at best, and is on par with phones in this price bracket, with its single firing mono speaker located at the bottom of the phone providing audio that is generally flat and lacking in clarity and richness.
Overall, it has to be said that we were still pleasantly surprised at the overall performance of this phone for both regular and heavy tasks, taking into consideration its price point.
5. Battery & Charging
When it comes to the battery department, the Freeyond M5 is extremely generous, having a 5000mAh battery attached with it which allows the phone to have a claimed 30 hours of usage in a single charge. It also takes 2.5 hours to charge it up from 0% – 100% via the included 18W USB C fast charging adapter and cable.
In our usage and tests, we found that the M5’s battery performance does live up to the claimed numbers, hence users will be able to easily get through 1 or even 2 days of moderate to heavy usage on this device, no issues.
6. Camera
In the camera department, the Freeyond M5 has a triple rear camera set up; the main lens being a 50 megapixel shooter, a secondary 8 megapixel ultra wide angle lens, and a third 2 megapixel macro lens. On the front is an 8 megapixel front facing selfie camera.
Throughout our testing and usage of the cameras, we found that image quality is in general slightly above average versus its peers in this price segment, with pictures coming out adequately crisp and clear with accurate colours.
The main surprise comes from the macro lens, where we realised that the lens was able to provide really good close up shots without losing much sharpness. The ultra wide angle lens however is about on par with competitors. The front selfie camera is grainy and muddy and lacks the clarity of the rear facing lenses, but it is adequate for video calls and casual selfie shots.
Overall, it is quite impressive that they are able to offer a triple camera array setup with this phone that is able to produce relatively good quality photos to boot. Under the right hands, one may be surprised at the quality of the photos taken with this device.
7. Ecosystem
In addition to its range of mobile phones, Freeyond also has its own line of accessories in the form of wearables and wireless earphones (TWS) as well, which are called the Freeyond Pods1 and Freeyond Watch F1 and are priced at RM89 and RM119 respectively.
The Freeyond Pods1 are an affordable TWS catering to price conscious consumers, and in general performs just about as expected for a TWS in this price range. The sound quality is acceptable, and the bass does not distort much unless at very high volumes. The Pods1 is rated for 30 hours of usage in a single charge, and is IPX4 rated water resistant. One important thing to note though, is that in our usage the Pods1 did have a noticeable lag/delay when using it to watch videos when paired with the M5 via bluetooth. You will notice the video being a fraction out of sync with the sound, and it does get jarring.
The Freeyond Watch F1 on the other hand (pun intended), does show its budget side more with a slow responding UI. However, given its extremely affordable price tag where even basic health watch bands are priced higher than the Watch F1, this smartwatch will definitely serve those that are in need of a smartwatch in the budget range well with its health features and phone connectivity features. In our tests, the Watch F1 just about does everything that it is expected of, albeit slowly from the sluggish UI.
Conclusion
Overall, we were pleasantly surprised with the Freeyond M5 and what it was able to offer relative to its price tag. For just RM699, you are getting A LOT of phone for your buck, along with a solidly built phone that looks stylish and steers clearly away from looking and feeling too “cheap” in spite of its affordable price tag.
If this is what Freeyond is able to offer as one of its first offerings as a company, then we very much look forward to how much further they can progress and improve with time as they continue on their journey and vision of being a regional leader in providing affordable yet good looking phones.
If you enjoyed this review and want to stay up to date with more news and reviews, stay tuned to PriceShop!
