Design and Build Quality

Since this is a $159 phone, you probably won’t be surprised to learn that the build is all plastic. Still, the phone feels solidly put together, there are no creaks and no flex. Measuring 152.3 x 76.5 x 7.9mm, and weighing in at 148g, the Emax is relatively compact for this product category; it’s thinner than most budget phablets, it’s not too tall, and it’s light.

There is no removable back cover and all card slots are accessed from the sides. You can open them with your fingernail, but you’ll need one of those SIM removal tools you always keep losing to get the cards out.

The faux-metal finish is not bad, but could be better. The back looks good and until you pick up the phone, you may mistake it for a brushed aluminium device like the HTC One series. However, the tactile feeling is quite different. We also noticed a few minor imperfections, but nothing too bad. The good news is that the textured finish keeps fingerprints and smudges at bay.

Silver and dark grey colour options are available, and we thing the darker one makes a bit more sense. Apart from some subtle branding, there’s not much to set the phone apart from the competition.

The oversized speaker grille is a nice touch, but don’t get your hopes up – you still get an average mono speaker.

The card slots are covered by plastic flaps attrached to the phone with a bit of rubber. They can be undone with  a fingernail, but you'll still need a SIM-removal tool to pry the cards out.

The camera lens and single LED flash are at the centre of the device, above the UMI logo.

The front is just as plain, if not more so. The capacitive buttons have the “back-on-left” layout, but they don’t use the latest icon designs, introduced with Android 5.0.

Overall, the design is understated and pleasant. The logo might be a tad too big, but it’s understated (at least it’s not chrome or something). It’s not a truly original design, but it’s not a complete rip-off of a bigger brand either. Sure, it has some Motorola DNA and a few HTC genes, but it’s somewhat different than either of them.