BLU may not yet be a household name when it comes to the smartphone market, but it is becoming known for unlocked devices with premium features but will not make you break the bank. Earlier this year they released the BLU Vivo 5 and just a few months later, they’re now announcing a “refresh” of the device with the BLU Vivo 5R. The great news, aside from the new features of course, is that the price point remains the same at $199.99.
The BLU Vivo 5R now sports a body made from premium grade metal which makes it look even more high end than most actual high end devices. It now also has Full HD 1080p display with a curved glass touch panel, with the previous version just having an HD 720p display. The front-facing shooter has also now been upgraded to 8.0MP and even has a front-facing LED flash so you can take pics in low-lighting situations.
Another new thing about the Vivo 5R is that it now has an ultra-fast fingerprint sensor for added security and to give you a faster way to unlock your phone. You also get more LTE bands to improve your connectivity, like Band 12 for T-Mobile and Band 17 for AT&T, which were previously unavailable with the Vivo 5. Lastly, the Vivo 5R will run on Android 6.0 Marshmallow out of the box. The slightly older BLU Vivo 5 will also be receiving an upgrade to Marshmallow.
Other than that, everything else remains the same with its 5.5-inch display, powered by MediaTek 6753, 1.3 GHz octa-core processor, and with 3GB RAM and 32GB internal storage. And the best part is that it will still only cost $199.99, just like the Vivo 5. The BLU Vivo 5R will be available in gunmetal gray and solid gold. It will start shipping by September 21. It’s available for pre-order now on Amazon.
SOURCE: Blu
Does this thing have NFC? I can’t confirm it anywhere.