Acer Liquid Jade Z Smartphone Review
For the original German review, see here.
Low weight, high-resolution cameras, LTE and an unusual pattern on the rear are to secure the success of Acer's Liquid Jade Z in the mid-range. It is one of the most expensive models from the manufacturer who generally concentrates on devices under 300 Euros (~$333) in its smartphone division.
The rivals cannot wait to compete with the Liquid Jade Z: Motorola's Moto G2, Samsung's Galaxy Grand Prime and LG's Spirit 4G are all in the same price range. How will Acer's smartphone score?
Case
With a weight of just 110 grams (~3.9 Oz), Acer's Liquid Jade Z is a true light smartphone. The Moto G2 comes closest to it with 120 grams (~4.2 oz) and Samsung's Galaxy Grand Prime weighs 150 grams (~5.3 oz). However, the review sample's low weight also leads to a somewhat low-quality feel when holding it.
Acer relies on round, organic shapes for the casing's design. This is extended into details such as the rear-sided speaker or the earpiece on the front. This very curvy design is a matter of taste, but its implementation is consistent and distinct, and we quite like it.
The casing is made entirely of plastic; a subtle texture consisting of vertical and horizontal lines, giving a high-quality impression, covers the rear. This texture also enhances the smartphone's grip. The casing is quite robust: The rear is pressure resistant, but pressure on the front leads to visible reactions in the liquid crystals. The casing tends to creak when it is twisted; otherwise, the build is good.
Connectivity
Dual-SIM support is a tradition at Acer's. However, the user will have to decide whether to use two nano-SIM cards, or only one nano-SIM card and a micro-SD card to expand the storage to 32 GB. Only the first supports LTE in dual-SIM mode. The second is limited to UMTS. In addition, the Liquid Jade Z features an FM radio receiver.
Software
The operating system is based on Android 4.4 with only minor changes to the look and feel of Android, for example, the modified lock screen with multiple quick start slots for apps. Acer has also preloaded a very extensive software bundle that, for example, contains the "ab Suite" for storing documents on the home PC and acts as the cloud server for the user's mobile devices. However, it also includes a lot of adware, and the preloaded programs occupy quite a lot of storage capacity from the outset.
Communication & GPS
The Liquid Jade Z even supports high-speed LTE connections at a speed of up to 150 Mbps in download and 50 Mbps in upload when communicating with the mobile network. The reception was good. We usually had 3/4 of the signal indoors and mostly the full reception outdoors in an urban area in the German O2/E-Plus network.
The smartphone links to Wi-Fi networks in the 802.11 b/g/n standard. This means that the 5 GHz band cannot be used. However, fast connections with up to 240 Mbps are possible anyway. The reception was rather below average. Only half the signal strength was displayed at a distance of ten meters (~33 ft) to the router and through three walls. Web pages opened slightly slower than when directly beside the router.
The GPS reception was quite decent. The module tracked us with an accuracy of up to 6.5 meters (~21 ft) in the outdoors. However, it took relatively long time before it connected to enough satellites. Localization was not possible indoors.
Telephone & Voice Quality
Acer has reworked the phone app slightly. Basically, very similar features as in Google's stock app are available. A log displays the last calls, contacts can be grouped, and a quick-dial feature is installed.
We evaluated the voice quality based on several test calls. Our contact heard us in a slightly muffled quality. Premium smartphones have a much clearer sound. The microphone also transmits actions, for example, when a finger slides over the smartphone's back. We also heard our contact as slightly muffled, but we found the quality of the earpiece better than that of the microphone.
Cameras
Acer's Liquid Jade Z features a rear-facing, 13 megapixel camera with LED flash and auto focus. This is a higher resolution than the rear-facing camera of all comparison devices. The 5 megapixel front-facing camera is also ahead of the resolution in the comparison devices.
The image quality of the rear-facing camera is very good. Colors are reproduced well, the focus is usually decent, and the photos can be zoomed in without seeing the individual pixels. Color fringes at the object's edges or coarse color transitions are not visible. In a direct comparison with the iPhone 6, the iPhone 6 has slightly more dynamic in dark areas, i.e. more details can be recognized. However, these are very minor differences. Videos can be recorded at a maximum of 1080p and only 30 frames per second. However, the quality is good.
The front-facing camera also shoots decent pictures, making it quite suitable for high-quality selfies.
Input Devices & Handling
Acer uses the virtual "Swype" keyboard rather than Google's keyboard by default. However, the user can always switch to Google's model. That is not really necessary. Swype offers many features and can particularly boast, as the name suggests, with the option of inputting text via swipe gestures. It even supports gestures that first have to be memorized because they are not intuitively conclusive, and are not displayed on the keyboard. In our opinion, the keyboard is slightly cramped with double assignments and relatively small keys.
The touchscreen responded instantaneously to our inputs, and is still very accurate at its edges. The menu keys are faded in at the lower edge; touch buttons or hardware keys are not installed. The only physical controls are the volume rocker on the right and the standby button on the casing's upper edge. The volume control in particular gives low-quality impression and sometimes we even had the feeling that the key wedged slightly.
Display
The screen in Acer's Liquid Jade Z is 5 inches and is based on the IPS technology. The resolution of 1280x720 pixels is standard in this price range. The review sample manages the last place among the comparison devices with its average brightness of 340.3 cd/m². However, the illumination of 93% is relatively even, making homogeneously colored surfaces possible.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Brightness Distribution: 93 %
Center on Battery: 343 cd/m²
Contrast: 879:1 (Black: 0.39 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 5.59 | 0.5-29.43 Ø4.91
ΔE Greyscale 7.25 | 0.5-98 Ø5.2
Gamma: 2.41
| Acer Liquid Jade Z Mali-T760 MP2, MT6732, 16 GB eMMC Flash | LG Spirit Adreno 306, 410 MSM8916, 8 GB eMMC Flash | Motorola Moto G 2. Gen 4G Adreno 305, 400 MSM8226, 8 GB eMMC Flash | Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime Adreno 306, 410 MSM8916, 8 GB eMMC Flash | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Screen | 2% | 12% | -15% | |
| Brightness middle | 343 | 359 5% | 417 22% | 426 24% |
| Brightness | 340 | 348 2% | 417 23% | 415 22% |
| Brightness Distribution | 93 | 92 -1% | 96 3% | 90 -3% |
| Black Level * | 0.39 | 0.46 -18% | 0.56 -44% | 0.83 -113% |
| Contrast | 879 | 780 -11% | 745 -15% | 513 -42% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 * | 5.59 | 5.17 8% | 3.11 44% | 5.98 -7% |
| Greyscale dE 2000 * | 7.25 | 5.4 26% | 3.64 50% | 6.03 17% |
| Gamma | 2.41 91% | 2.35 94% | 2.64 83% | 2.48 89% |
| CCT | 7361 88% | 7168 91% | 7115 91% | 7983 81% |
* ... smaller is better
The screen's black level is compelling. With just 0.39 cd/m², dark areas are not very bright and look quite rich. This also results in a decent contrast ratio of 879:1, and the colors on the screen look fairly vivid.
The analysis with the CalMAN software and a spectrophotometer gives more details about color reproduction. A clear bluish-greenish tint is evident here, which is primarily seen in bright grayscale levels. On the other hand, colors look quite natural to the naked eye, although the measured rates show clear shifts, especially in yellow and orange hues.
A glossy screen is of course not ideal for outdoor use, and the comparison devices are usually more suitable for this purpose due to their relatively higher brightness. Only the high contrast of the Liquid Jade Z enables recognizing activities on the screen fairly well even in somewhat bright ambient light.
Thanks to IPS, the viewing angles are good in all directions. However, a shadow moves over the image when tilting the screen back and forth, and dims it from some viewing angles.
Performance
Unlike the comparison devices based on Qualcomm's Snapdragon 400 or 410, Acer's Liquid Jade Z relies on a somewhat stronger Mediatek MT6732 with four cores, 64-bit support and a maximum clock of 1.5 GHz. This allows Acer's smartphone to clearly set itself apart from the comparison devices. The processor performance is at least one third higher than in all other devices, such as LG's Spirit. We did not experience any speed issues with apps or in the operating system in real-life use.
An ARM Mali-T760 MP2 graphics card with a clock rate of up to 500 MHz is installed. It is also a mid-range solution, but can also relegate the comparison devices to the last places.
Browsing on the Internet is also faster with Acer's Liquid Jade Z than with the equally priced comparison devices. The flash storage is also one of the fastest of its kind. However, just less than 11 GB of the 16 GB in our system can be used due to the multitude of preloaded apps. However, it is possible to move the apps to a micro-SD card.
| Geekbench 3 | |
| 32 Bit Single-Core Score (sort by value) | |
| Acer Liquid Jade Z | |
| Motorola Moto G 2. Gen 4G | |
| Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime | |
| 32 Bit Multi-Core Score (sort by value) | |
| Acer Liquid Jade Z | |
| Motorola Moto G 2. Gen 4G | |
| Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime | |
| Smartbench 2012 | |
| Productivity Index (sort by value) | |
| Acer Liquid Jade Z | |
| LG Spirit | |
| Motorola Moto G 2. Gen 4G | |
| Gaming Index (sort by value) | |
| Acer Liquid Jade Z | |
| LG Spirit | |
| Motorola Moto G 2. Gen 4G | |
| Linpack Android / IOS | |
| Single Thread (sort by value) | |
| Acer Liquid Jade Z | |
| LG Spirit | |
| Multi Thread (sort by value) | |
| Acer Liquid Jade Z | |
| LG Spirit | |
| AnTuTu v5 - Total Score (sort by value) | |
| Acer Liquid Jade Z | |
| LG Spirit | |
| Motorola Moto G 2. Gen 4G | |
| 3DMark | |
| 1920x1080 Ice Storm Extreme Score (sort by value) | |
| Acer Liquid Jade Z | |
| LG Spirit | |
| Motorola Moto G 2. Gen 4G | |
| Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime | |
| 1920x1080 Ice Storm Extreme Graphics (sort by value) | |
| Acer Liquid Jade Z | |
| LG Spirit | |
| Motorola Moto G 2. Gen 4G | |
| Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime | |
| 1920x1080 Ice Storm Extreme Physics (sort by value) | |
| Acer Liquid Jade Z | |
| LG Spirit | |
| Motorola Moto G 2. Gen 4G | |
| Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime | |
| 1280x720 offscreen Ice Storm Unlimited Score (sort by value) | |
| Acer Liquid Jade Z | |
| LG Spirit | |
| Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime | |
| 1280x720 offscreen Ice Storm Unlimited Graphics Score (sort by value) | |
| Acer Liquid Jade Z | |
| LG Spirit | |
| Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime | |
| 1280x720 offscreen Ice Storm Unlimited Physics (sort by value) | |
| Acer Liquid Jade Z | |
| LG Spirit | |
| Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime | |
| GFXBench (DX / GLBenchmark) 2.7 | |
| T-Rex Onscreen (sort by value) | |
| Acer Liquid Jade Z | |
| LG Spirit | |
| Motorola Moto G 2. Gen 4G | |
| 1920x1080 T-Rex Offscreen (sort by value) | |
| Acer Liquid Jade Z | |
| LG Spirit | |
| Motorola Moto G 2. Gen 4G | |
| GFXBench 3.0 | |
| on screen Manhattan Onscreen OGL (sort by value) | |
| Acer Liquid Jade Z | |
| LG Spirit | |
| Motorola Moto G 2. Gen 4G | |
| Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime | |
| 1920x1080 1080p Manhattan Offscreen (sort by value) | |
| Acer Liquid Jade Z | |
| LG Spirit | |
| Motorola Moto G 2. Gen 4G | |
| Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime | |
| Sunspider - 1.0 Total Score (sort by value) | |
| Acer Liquid Jade Z | |
| LG Spirit | |
| Motorola Moto G 2. Gen 4G | |
| Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime | |
| Octane V2 - Total Score (sort by value) | |
| Acer Liquid Jade Z | |
| LG Spirit | |
| Motorola Moto G 2. Gen 4G | |
| Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime | |
| Mozilla Kraken 1.1 - Total (sort by value) | |
| Acer Liquid Jade Z | |
| LG Spirit | |
| Motorola Moto G 2. Gen 4G | |
| Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime | |
| AndroBench 3-5 | |
| Sequential Read 256KB (sort by value) | |
| Acer Liquid Jade Z | |
| LG Spirit | |
| Motorola Moto G 2. Gen 4G | |
| Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime | |
| Sequential Write 256KB (sort by value) | |
| Acer Liquid Jade Z | |
| LG Spirit | |
| Motorola Moto G 2. Gen 4G | |
| Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime | |
| Random Read 4KB (sort by value) | |
| Acer Liquid Jade Z | |
| LG Spirit | |
| Motorola Moto G 2. Gen 4G | |
| Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime | |
| Random Write 4KB (sort by value) | |
| Acer Liquid Jade Z | |
| LG Spirit | |
| Motorola Moto G 2. Gen 4G | |
| Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime | |
* ... smaller is better
Games
The demanding game "Asphalt 8: Airborne" ran smoothly even in high details. It is also possible to play more basic games, such as "Angry Birds" without lags. Control via touchscreen and position sensor is accurate, and does not give any reason for complaint.
Emissions
Temperature
The areas around both the front and rear cameras are already slightly warmer than the rest of the casing even in idle mode. The temperature increase is also very limited to this area under load. The lower area where the smartphone is mostly held is the coolest part - a clever design decision by Acer. The maximum temperature of 40.1 degrees Celsius (~104 degrees Fahrenheit) is noticeable on the rear, but still within limits.
(+) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 39.5 °C / 103 F, compared to the average of 35.1 °C / 95 F, ranging from 21.9 to 63.7 °C for the class Smartphone.
(±) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 40.1 °C / 104 F, compared to the average of 33.9 °C / 93 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 30.6 °C / 87 F, compared to the device average of 32.8 °C / 91 F.
Speaker
Considering that it is an affordable smartphone, Acer's Liquid Jade Z provides a decent sound. The maximum volume could be slightly higher and very occasionally the trebles are slightly too prominent. Otherwise, the sound is balanced and pleasant. Of course, excessive bass should not be expected. In addition, the speaker's rear-sided positioning is not really ideal, but Acer's Liquid Z makes the most of it. Users who want more sound quality can connect speakers or headphones to the 3.5 mm jack, which is satisfactory.
Energy Management
Power Consumption
Despite its only moderately bright screen, Acer's Liquid Jade Z proved to be quite energy hungry. It consumed more power than Motorola's Moto G2 or Samsung's Galaxy Grand Prime in every scenario. It is only exemplary in a turned off state and in standby with 0 and 0.1 watts.
The smartphone consumed a minimum of 0.8 watts when on, and it increased to 3.6 watts under full load - which is a bad omen for the battery runtime.
| Off / Standby |   0 / 0.1 Watt |
| Idle |  0.8 / 1.2 / 1.5 Watt |
| Load |
3 / 3.6 Watt |
    
| |
Key:
min: ,
med: ,
max: Voltcraft VC 870 | |
Battery Runtime
Among other things, the smaller battery in Acer's Liquid Jade Z contributes to the lighter weight compared with most comparison devices. It can only supply 8.7 Wh. The Moto G2 and Galaxy Grand Prime have a clear edge here.
Despite its relatively high consumption rates and a rather small battery, the Liquid Jade Z scores quite well in the comparison, and outruns the Moto G2 and Galaxy Grand Prime with 8:43 hours in the Wi-Fi test. On the other hand, its load runtime of less than 3 hours is rather short.
| Acer Liquid Jade Z Mali-T760 MP2, MT6732, 16 GB eMMC Flash | LG Spirit Adreno 306, 410 MSM8916, 8 GB eMMC Flash | Motorola Moto G 2. Gen 4G Adreno 305, 400 MSM8226, 8 GB eMMC Flash | Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime Adreno 306, 410 MSM8916, 8 GB eMMC Flash | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Battery Runtime | 22% | 25% | -2% | |
| WiFi v1.3 | 523 | 674 29% | 499 -5% | 512 -2% |
| Load | 176 | 203 15% | 273 55% | |
| H.264 | 685 |
Pros
Cons
Verdict
The fast SoC is certainly an asset that Acer's Liquid Jade Z can boast with. It allows smooth gaming and lag-free navigation in the operating system. The cameras in Acer's smartphone also have some advantages over the comparison devices, and can even compete against considerably more expensive smartphones. The speaker has decent sound for this price range, and the storage can be expanded.
The need to save is actually only noticed in the moderate voice quality and the hybrid solution where the user has to choose between dual-SIM and expandable storage. Furthermore, the screen is not exactly the brightest of its kind.
Acer has done a good job in terms of price-performance, and launches a smartphone that wraps plenty of power and a high-resolution in a decent casing with its Liquid Jade Z. That is definitely worth a purchase recommendation at a price under 200 Euros (~$222).
Acer Liquid Jade Z
- 06/18/2015 v4 (old)
Florian Wimmer
Price comparison
