The Mintt X5 is $279. It is part of the good (A5 $199), better (X5 $279) and our favourite Mintt Y5 ($379) 2020 range.
In fact, the A5 and X5 (technically an UltraMintt X5) – share similar internals, and the extra price pays for a larger screen, more RAM/Storage, and upgraded camera. The hallmark of both is that they have Wi-Fi 5 AC, BT 5.0 USB-C charging (still an oddity at this price), dual sim and pure Google Android.
This is the first Australian review of the Mintt X5. We ran it through more than 70 hardware and software tests. It earns a recommendation in the category.
Australian review: Mintt X5, dual sim
- Australian Website here
- Price: $279
- From: Mintt online only although watch for further distribution announcements
- Elevator Pitch: Great quality and value in the $279 cut-throat market!
- Warranty: 1-year ACL swap warranty
- Mintt is an Australian company, part of the South-east-Asian Mintt/NWTL Group. Details here.
- You can read other Mintt reviews here
We use FAIL, PASS and EXCEED against more than 70 test paradigms to arrive at a rating.
First impression – EXCEED
- This is the largest screen MInnt have. At 6.5” with a 20:9 ratio, it is about the limit of one-handed use.
- Bright screen with Panda Glass and pre-fitted protector
- Rear fingerprint reader
- Tri-camera
- USB-C
- 3.5mm jack
- TPU bumper case, buds, 10W charger
After two weeks of use, the worst thing I can say is the colour is boring black. It has done everything as I expected. It has 4/64GB/microSD – more than many competitors do at this price.
PS – Mintt uses the same OEM as the US brand Blu. It is similar to the Blu G90, which has a reputation for a solid smartphone with 2+ day life.
Screen – PASS+
| Size | 6.5”, water-drop, IPS |
| Resolution | 1600 x 720, 60Hz |
| PPI | 269ppi, 90% STBR |
| Colour | Approx. 90% sRGB Delta E 8 (<4 is good) Modes: standard (sRGB), vivid (DCI), cool or custom Dark Theme Warm to cool slider 16.7m colours (not HDR) |
| Nits | 400 – can go higher with adaptive brightness on (measured 425) |
| Brightness | 1500:1 meaning its OK for daylight readability. (measured 1425:1) |
| G-T-G | 60ms – slow for gamers |
| Ratio | 20:9 |
| Viewing angle | 80/80 (equates to 160×160° horizontal/vertical) |
| Widevine | L3 means 480p SD streaming |
| Protection | Panda Glass (Chinese version of Gorilla Glass 3). It helps cut costs while providing similar protection – one of a growing number of substitutes. |
Interestingly the 6.5” screen market has Samsung Galaxy A21, Realme 5, Nokia 5.3, Moto One Fusion, Moto g8 Power Lite, Moto g9 Play and TCL 10 so we know what to expect.
All you need to know is that it is a good quality, bright and colourful screen – easily the match of the above devices.
Processor – PASS
| SoC | MediaTek Helio P22 (MT6762V/WD) 12nm big.LITTLE 4 x A53 1.8hz and 4 x A53 1.5Ghz Note this is mistakenly called a Helio A25 |
| GPU | PowerVR Rogue GE8320 Supports Open CL 3.2, Vulcan 1.1 Decode 1080p@30fps HEVC Supports AI for camera Game use: It should support most mobile games to 25fps. |
| RAM | 4GB LPDDRX4 dual-channel |
| Storage | 64GB eMMC 5.1 (50GB free) 287/219Mbps sequential read/write |
| micro-SD | Up to 128GB |
| GeekBench 5 | Single 140 Multi 821 Compute Open CL: Did not complete the test – same as all PowerVR GPU |
| Throttle 15-minute test | Starts at 79,026GIPS, Averages 75,846 (approx. 10% loss of performance). Excellent |
One way to make a value phone is to use a MediaTek processor. So there are about 150 brands/models utilising this processor. For example, Alcatel 3 2020, realme C2, vivo Y12, TCL 10 SE, Moto e6s and more.
It is a good, not great processor that makes 20:9 screens, dual sim, BT 5.0 and Wi-FI AC possible in lower-cost phones. Its closest competitor is the Qualcomm SD439 or SD450
Comms – PASS+
| Wi-Fi | Wi-Fi 5 AC, 2.4 and 5Ghz, 1×1 Signal Strength -29dBm (excellent) and 433Mbps |
| Bluetooth | BT 5.0 – SBC and AAC |
| GPS | GPS+GLONASS+Beidou+Galileo Single-band 10m accuracy fine for turn-by-turn navigation |
| NFC | Yes PayWave/Google Pay |
| USB-C | 2.0 OTG |
| Sensors | Accelerometer Magnetometer eCompass Distance (steps) Fingerprint rear (100% accurate) Light sensor Proximity |
Getting Wi-Fi AC (even 1×1 433Mbps) is a bonus. BT 5.0 is also hard to find at this price. It has excellent Wi-Fi signal strength showing good antenna design.
It has all the necessary sensors, including an eCompass.
LTE – PASS
| SIM | Dual hybrid with microSD (DSDS – one active at a time) |
| Ring tone | Single |
| Support | VoLTE – carrier dependent but generally yes Wi-FI calling – Yes |
| UL (Mbps) | 50Mbps Cat 13 |
| DL (Mbps) | 150Mbps Cat 7 |
| Band | 1/3/5/7/8/12/13/17/28A/28B/40 |
| Test | -102dBm in a 3-bar reception area (average) Found next tower at -105dBm (good) |
It has all the bands, including band 28. Reception is average for the test – it is more of a city/suburbs phone.
Battery – PASS+
| Battery mAh | 4000 (3900 rated) |
| Charger | Comes with 5V/2A 10W charger You can use any USB-C PD charger, but it tops out at 10W |
| Tests | 10W charge – 2.25 hours Discharge screen on – <500mA – good for 15 days standby Video Loop 1080p/50%/aeroplane mode – 11.7 hours General use: 16+ hours MP3 music – 20+ hours 100% load Battery drain – 9 hours T-Rex – 541.2 min (9.02hr) 1461 frames |
Under typical use, this should give two days use. By ‘bedtime’ it has 50% left.
Sound – PASS
| Speakers | Mono earpiece and down-firing speaker* |
| AMP | Uses P22 DAC/Amp |
| Mic | Single |
| 3.5mm | Yes |
| FM | Yes with earbuds cable as an antenna |
| Tests dB | Media 80 Ring 80 Alarm 80 Earpiece 50 The sound boost setting does little. |
* It is not fair to measure the sound signature on a mono speaker system. The primary use is for clear voice.
It is reasonably loud all around. But a single mic makes this an average handsfree speakerphone.
The 3.5mm buds were poor with no bass, high mid and harsh treble.
BT output to our reference Sony WH-1000XN3 (M4 review soon) on SBC and AAC codecs is loud and clear – more than CD quality.
Build – PASS+
| Sioze | 164.64 x 76.57 x 8.8 mm x 182g |
| Build | Panda Glass 3 factory fitted protector Plastic Frame Rear is plastic paint deposited |
| IP | None |
| Cover | TPU bumper cover provided |
It appears Solidly built and is as good as I have seen in this class. Mintt claims a <.05% failure rate – excellent. You can buy a PU leather-like flip case for $25 from MIntt.
Android 10 – PASS+
| Android | Pure Google Android 10 security patch 5 April 2020 |
| All standard apps, Google Lens and Assistant | |
| Bloatware | None |
| Update Policy | Assume that no OS update although security patches should come |
Few low-cost phones have Pure Google Android (except Nokia), and we have inquired about Mintt upgrade policy.
Mintt X5 camera – PASS+
| Rear Camera | 16MP | 8MP Ultra-wide | 2MP Depth |
| Sensor | Omnivision OV16885 | Samsung SK54H7 | OV16885 or OV16A10 |
| Lens | 5P | 5P | 3P |
| Focus | AF | AF | FF |
| Aperture f-stop | 1.8 | 2.2 | 2.8 |
| Pixel size um | 1 | 1.12 | 1.75 |
| FOV° and cropped | 65.2 | 118 (95.2) | 85 |
| Flash | Single | ||
| Video | 1080p@30fps | ||
| AI | Beauty Night Slo-mo Pro Filter HDR |
This is a great setup – better than you can expect. A 16MP with a wide aperture takes excellent shots in day or night.
| Front Camera | 13MP |
| Sensor | Samsung SK53L6 |
| Focus | FF |
| Aperture | 2 |
| Pixel size | 1.12um |
| FOV° | 65.8 |
| Flash | No |
| Video | 1080p@60fps |
| Face unlock | 2D Face unlock passed 6 out of 10 tests |
The selfie camera has just about enough FOV for group selfies. 2D Face unlock is about average and is most affected in low light.
GadgetGuy’s take – Mintt X5 ticks all the boxes for the price
This is a mass-market phone in a very contested $299 market. Its USPs are Pure Android, 4/64GB/microSD, good colourful screen and a decent battery.
When we reviewed the X3 (4.4/5) in September last year was briefly class-leading. The new X5 uses the Helio P22 (same), but other than that is an entirely different phone.
So, what has happened in that time? Well, the $299 price bracket has become a little more crowded with some terrific phones as well.
Mintt’s annual refresh policy means that soon the later models like the Moto g9 and new OPPO A-series may creep ahead. Then you have realme, Xiaomi, Nokia, TCL and LG entering that market segment.
It’s a hard call, but our objective rating gives it 4.4/5 like its predecessor.
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