The Fero Pace 2 Lite was released in May with the type of fanfare you would expect for a low-end device. Apparently, from the moniker, the device is a light version or lesser version of a more impressive device, the Fero Pace 2. Even so, the overall performance of the Fero Pace 2 Lite is not exactly sub-par. AndroidNigeria received a review unit of the Pace 2 Lite for some months now and during this time we tested the features of the Pace 2 Lite and documented its performance so that consumers can have all the information, you need to make a smart buying decision. This review details the performance of the most prominent features of the device, read on.
Body
Smartphones are handheld devices as a result the exterior is the first part that you will notice and feel. For the Pace 2 Lite, its exterior is cut from Aluminum, the device feels sturdy in hand and solid enough to take a couple of drops without serious damage to the frame. One disadvantage of the coating is that it is not smudge resistant, so you should have a clean piece of cloth to always wipe it clean when the smudge gets too messy.
Display
The Pace 2 Lite sports a 6.0-inch screen with an HD resolution. High definition screens have become the norm and the Pace 2 Lite’s screen is no different. The hues projected by the display are balanced – the green looks green and red looks like red. Even if you have used devices with Quad Hd screens, you would find the colour output of the Pace 2 Lite satisfactory – just satisfactory. The device comes with floating capacitive keys, so you would find them at the bottom of the screen. The capacitive keys exit the screen (become invisible) when you open an application or start watching a movie. You can activate the on-screen keys by tapping the screen with your finger.
Audio
For audio entertainment, Fero equipped the Pace 2 Lite with 1 speaker grill. The speakers are quite audible and can satisfy your music cravings but don’t expect a boom loud enough to entertain a crowd or a bassy sound. However, the speaker produces a somewhat balanced texture.
Camera
The devices cameras are inarguably its most impressive feature. The front camera has a 5MP lens equipped with a soft flash. On the back, you will find an 8MP camera equipped with a flash and Auto-focus feature.
Taking pictures with both cameras was quite pleasant especially during the day. Unlike most average camera’s that we have tried, the Pace 2 Lite camera’s did a really good job in capturing images in good lighting conditions; there was no distorted colouring and the objects captured were properly defined. Well, as you might have guessed, the Pace 2 Lite’s camera quality began to struggle and was exposed as average when we tried capturing images in the dark. First off, the flashlights attached to the camera’s do not have sufficient illuminating power for night pictures, this means that it cannot light up an object will.
*Images were captured with the Feo Pace 2 Lite at an iTel launch event
Performance
In this category, I was not expecting to be impressed and rightly I was not, which is not a bad thing if you consider the fact that the Fero Pace 2 Lite comes with just 1GB RAM and an 8GB internal storage. This memory setup is paired with a MediaTek processor. I tested the device with large-file games (into the dead, shadow fight 3, temple run, and extreme car driver) that required high graphics output and a sizeable RAM memory to run.
Gaming was smooth, I experienced zero lag at first but as time went by and the devices heat production increased, the performance declined noticeably. And it got worse when I tried to multitask (browse, stream YouTube) and play other games, the device’s OS began to freeze momentarily – this was unsurprising as the RAM space was nearly used up.
Battery
The Pace 2 Lite’s battery spec touts a 4,000mAh size, although this battery size is becoming a staple in low-end devices; still it is quite impressive on paper. For the Pace 2 Lite; the battery spec only impressed me on paper because whilst using the device and putting it through various battery longevity tests, the battery power drained faster than I expected. Providing an average 8 hours run-time under intensive use (gaming & streaming). Without intensive game playing and streaming, you are sure to get more than 24-hours on time. Note that these tests were done without engaging the battery saver feature. The battery saver feature extends the battery life by hours.
Software
Fero Pace 2 Lite runs Android 7.0 Nougat out of the box. As you should expect, the devices OS is not stock Android – it has been Feroed (you what that means? Well, it has been tweaked). The interface of the device can be best qualified with the word “okay”, which is a good thing because you wouldn’t find it complicated navigating the interface or locating your applications.
Verdict
Fero Pace 2 Lite offers all the features anyone should expect from a low-end device and also has an edge over some low-end devices with its camera output; however, the camera quality is only visible in daylight. That said, this device is a piece of tech you should consider owning if you are on a budget and need a sturdy dual-SIM device that will give you access to all the features of a smartphone.
