review

Unihertz Tick Tock S Review Smartphone With Built-In Smartwatch

Friday, March 24, 2023

 
A cool looking smartphone with a smartwatch built-in - the new Unihertz TickTock-S will have you dancing like nobody's watching!
 
The key selling point for the Unihertz Tick Tock S is the integrated face watch, which is essentially a smartwatch built-in to the rear side of the phone. 
 
Just like most smartwatches, the TickTock-S face watch has its own settings, including backlighting and screen timeout. The TickTock-S smartwatch is operated via touch control and the two left side buttons.
 
 The Unihertz Tick Tock S comes with 256GB storage space, although 13GB is already used up out of the box. The screen display resolution is 1080p, which is great when watching videos and gaming. One drawback though, 1080p consumes more battery than a 720p phone display.
 

The rear camera setup is a dual one - a primary 64MP lens with a 2MP depth sensor for macro. On the front, the Unihertz Unihertz Tick Tock S uses Panda MN228 glass and a corner facing front selfie camera with a punch hole notch design. 
 
The Tick Tock S weighs 296 grams (without case) and 329 grams with case. The phone body is made of PC & TPU, while the buttons are made of aluminum alloy.
 
In terms of performance, the Unihertz TickTock-S is equipped with a MediaTek chipset (Dimensity 700) which is an 8-core 7n chip with two Cortex-A76 cores with a max clock speed of 2200 MHz and six Cortex-A55 cores with a max clock speed of 2000 MHz. Two years ago, the Dimensity 700 was a solid chip but sluggish by today's standards. It is better suited for casual gaming and light use.


The biggest drawback with the Dimensity 700 chip is the under powered GPU (Mali-G57 MC2), which struggles with free-to-play shooter games (e.g. Call of Duty: Mobile) running the Timi game engine. Mobile gaming is unplayable in high setting, unless set to "medium graphic" and "medium frame rate". If you're looking for a true gaming phone the Titan Pocket is a better choice.


Potential deal breakers
  • No micro SD card slot
  • In US, it only supports Verizon and T-mobile
  • No Android Auto support (only on Android 11 or older)
  • 1080p screen consumes more battery
  • Not adjustable refresh rate
  • No wireless charging
  • Rear facing speaker
  • Low quality macro camera 
  • Slight button rattling
  • Not flat back due to smartwatch bump
  • No telephoto
  • No wide lens
  • No headphone jack
  • 2 year old CPU (MediaTek Dimensity 700)
  • No portrait mode
 

Selling points
  • Timelapse mode
  • NFC
  • Built-in smartwatch 
  • IR blaster
  • Waterproof SIM card tray
  • Notification bubbles
  • 256GB storage space
  • 2.5hr  fast charging with 30W charger
  • 8GB RAM 
  • Programmable button
  • Noise cancelling mic
  • Take photo voice control
  • Sealed charging port
  • 66 pre-installed ringtones 
  • Corner front camera 
  • Protective rubber case included
  • 1080p display 
  • MediaTek MiraVision video enhancement
  • Lift to wake
  • 1080p gaming
  • Dark mode
  • Adaptive brightness
  • Gestures
  • Dual SIM 5G
  • Screen protector
  • Android 12
  • Factory unlocked
  • Supported by most global mobile carriers
  • Supports 4G VoLTE FD-LTE and TD-LTE
 
Accessories included are an audio dongle (male USB-C to female 3.5mm), male to male USB-C cable, screen protector and rubber phone case, which feels very protective but doesn't have an anchor point for lanyard or reinforced corner protection. You can buy the Tick Tock S phone from Unihertz and amazon.


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