Vodafone Smart Ultra 6 Smartphone Review

1. Introduction2. Packaging and Bundle3. Design4. Display5. Software6. Performance7. Camera8. Battery9. Closing Thoughts10. View All Pages

The Smart ultra 6 ships with Android Lollipop 5.0.2 and it runs like a dream. Vodafone have wisely left Android alone so what is installed is essentially stock Lollipop. It is very responsive paired with Snapdragon 615 CPU and Lollipop is certainly a beautiful OS.

The home and lock screens are very much stock Lollipop, with the new emphasis on a ‘flat' UI very much evident. The home screen is mercifully uncluttered, with just a few apps and a small clock widget taking up some room.

Usually we recommend changing the launcher on an Android device as they tend to be clunky and overly busy – but that is not the case. Vodafone have left things as they should be and it certainly makes the Smart ultra 6 very usable and aesthetically pleasing.

The settings menu is also fairly standard, with the Lollipop ‘green and white colour' theme. However, it could be better in one main way. Namely, with the LG G4 settings menu, the different settings were divided into categories. Each category (‘connectivity,' ‘display,' ‘general' etc) had its own tab at the top of the settings menu.

This means the actual length of each menu is not very long, so you do not have to scroll far to reach your desired setting. The Smart ultra 6 does not do this, having everything in one big list. It is not the proverbial end of the world, it is just small little things like this which could be improved for a more user-friendly experience.

Our drop-down notification panel is very straightforward however, with one swipe downward bringing up any app notifications you have. A second swipe will mean the quick-settings appear, which are neatly arranged and turn white when each one is enabled.

Overall, there is nothing wrong with the OS, and it is great to see Vodafone leaving Android alone. We just wish more manufacturers would follow suit.

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