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BQ Aquaris X2 Pro Smartphone Review

More power! BQ has produced a new edition of its top smartphones - including the Pro version. Nice shapes and colors meet a top-level SoC, plenty of storage, new cameras - and a high price. Is the Pro model worth this premium charge? Find out in our review. Update: LTE band 8 now supported.

The BQ Aquaris X2 Pro is the Spanish company's current flagship and offers great technical features on its specification sheet. Compared to its predecessor, the Aquaris X Pro, the display's aspect ratio has been changed from 16:9 to 2:1. The resolution has therefore improved slightly to 2160x1080 pixels. The BQ phone is powered by a Snapdragon 660 and has either 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of internal storage or 6 GB of RAM and 128 GB of internal storage available. The storage capacity can also be expanded via a microSD card that can be placed in the second (hybrid) SIM slot. There is now a dual camera setup on the back, whose sensors are still made by Samsung. The battery capacity remains the same at 3100 mAh. The price has increased to 400 Euros (~$470) for the smaller model and a whole 520 Euros (~$610) for those who require more internal storage - this is quite a premium for a little more storage and a differently colored case.  

The BQ Aquaris X2 Pro will be compared to its smaller sibling, the X2, which has less storage and a less powerful SoC. We have also included the Honor 10, the Samsung Galaxy A8, the Nokia 7 Plus and the Motorola Moto Z3 Play in our comparison field. Older smartphones that have dropped into this price range are the Huawei P10 or the Sony Xperia XZ Premium, for example.

Update 8/23/18: BQ has released a new update. Details can be found in the software section.

BQ Aquaris X2 Pro (Aquaris Series)
Processor
Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 8 x 2.2 GHz, Kryo 260
Graphics adapter
Qualcomm Adreno 512, Core: 650 MHz
Memory
4 GB 
Display
5.65 inch 2:1, 2160 x 1080 pixel 427 PPI, 10-point capacitive touchscreen, LTPS, glossy: yes
Storage
64 GB eMMC Flash, 64 GB 
, 51.8 GB free
Connections
1 USB 3.0 / 3.1 Gen1, 1 HDMI, 1 DisplayPort, Audio Connections: 3.5-mm audio jack, Card Reader: microSD up to 256 GB (SD, SDHC, SDXC), 1 Fingerprint Reader, NFC, Brightness Sensor, Sensors: proximity sensor, accelerometer, Hall sensor, eCompass, gyroscope, FM radio, OTG, USB-PD, Galileo
Networking
802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (a/b/g/n = Wi-Fi 4/ac = Wi-Fi 5/), Bluetooth 5.0, GSM/GPRS/Edge (850, 900, 1800 and 1900 MHz), UMTS/HSPA+ (850, 900, 1900 and 2100 MHz), LTE Cat. 6 (Band 1, 3, 7 and 20), Dual SIM, LTE, GPS
Size
height x width x depth (in mm): 8.35 x 150.7 x 72.3 ( = 0.33 x 5.93 x 2.85 in)
Battery
3100 mAh Lithium-Ion, QuickCharge 4+
Operating System
Android 8.1 Oreo
Camera
Primary Camera: 12 MPix (Samsung S5K2L8, aperture f/1.8, 1.29 μm/pixel, 6 Largan lenses, Dual-Tone flash, autofocus with phase recognition Dual-PD) + 5 MP (Samsung S5K5E8, 1.12 μm), Ultra-HD video incl. stabilization
Secondary Camera: 8 MPix (Samsung S5K4H7, aperture f/2.0, 1.12 μm/pixel, 4 lenses, front falsh, Full-HD video)
Additional features
Speakers: dual speakers, Keyboard: onscreen, power supply, USB cable, QuickStart guide, security information, Android One, BQ Plus, 24 Months Warranty, head SAR: 1.495 W/Kg, body SAR: 1.451 W/Kg, IP52-certified , fanless
Weight
168 g ( = 5.93 oz / 0.37 pounds), Power Supply: 35 g ( = 1.23 oz / 0.08 pounds)
Price
400 Euro
Note: The manufacturer may use components from different suppliers including display panels, drives or memory sticks with similar specifications.

 

Case – gap dimensions are not always perfect

The BQ Aquaris X2 Pro is made of Corning Gorilla Glass and aluminum. This is also one of the biggest differences compared to the smaller X2, whose back is made of plastic. The new display design makes the case appear slightly stretched out and it is also a little thicker than the predecessor was. The dual camera module (noticeably) stands out of the back by one millimeter (~0.04 in). The X2 Pro is available in white, black and silver. It is a shame that BQ did not make a bolder move here.    

The workmanship is OK, but we did find a few issues with the precision of the various parts, which leads to irregular gap dimensions (see photo). The Aquaris X2 Pro resisted our warp attempts without even making a sound. Due to the display technology, you can see slight waves on the screen if a lot of pressure is applied to it. Overall, the smartphone appears to be very sturdy.

The BQ smartphone is protected against dust and water drops according to the IP52 standard - so it is not completely waterproof. The battery cannot be removed by the user. The card slot is made of plastic, but the cover is aluminum so there is no difference in color on the frame. The tray can contain either two nano-SIM cards or one nano-SIM and one microSD card. 

The gap dimensions are not very even.
The gap dimensions are not very even.

Size Comparison

158.4 mm / 6.24 inch 75.64 mm / 2.98 inch 9.55 mm / 0.376 inch 186 g0.4101 lbs156.5 mm / 6.16 inch 76.5 mm / 3.01 inch 6.75 mm / 0.2657 inch 156 g0.3439 lbs150.7 mm / 5.93 inch 72.3 mm / 2.85 inch 8.35 mm / 0.3287 inch 168 g0.3704 lbs149.2 mm / 5.87 inch 70.6 mm / 2.78 inch 8.4 mm / 0.3307 inch 172 g0.3792 lbs149.6 mm / 5.89 inch 71.2 mm / 2.8 inch 7.7 mm / 0.3031 inch 153 g0.3373 lbs146.5 mm / 5.77 inch 72.7 mm / 2.86 inch 7.8 mm / 0.3071 inch 158 g0.3483 lbs148 mm / 5.83 inch 105 mm / 4.13 inch 1 mm / 0.03937 inch 1.5 g0.00331 lbs

Connectivity – BQ phone with USB 3.1 and DisplayPort

The BQ Aquaris X2 Pro has a Type-C 3.1 (Gen 1) port that supports both OTG and image transmission via cable to HDMI and DisplayPort interfaces. While peripherals and storage devices are easily recognized by the smartphone, we encountered some issues with image transmission. Android is displayed in landscape mode on the external screen, but the X2 Pro's display turns black from then on and does not respond to inputs. It seems that BQ will have to create an update that deals with this issue.  

According to the manufacturer's specifications, the microSD card slot supports cards of up to 256 GB. As these belong to the SDXC standard, the smartphone should also be able to read larger cards easily. App data is not supposed to be stored on the optional microSD card, but if you wish to do so, you can activate this in the developer options.   

The device also has an FM radio receiver as well as NFC and Bluetooth 5.0.

top: microphone
top: microphone
left: card slot
left: card slot
right: volume rocker, power supply
right: volume rocker, power supply
bottom: speaker, USB, microphone, audio jack
bottom: speaker, USB, microphone, audio jack

Software – X2 Pro with Android One and Google Lens

BQ has chosen to install the current Google Android 8.1 Oreo on the Aquaris X2 Pro and use the Android One program which promises updates for two years and security patches for three years directly from Google. Therefore, the phone has pure Android - only the camera app and BQ Plus come from BQ itself.   

The BQ X2 series is one of the first smartphone series, apart from the Pixel 2, that can use Google Lens directly in their camera app. The BQ phone also has user account control activated. 

Update 8/23/18: BQ has released a new update (410 MB) which enables support for LTE band 8 and updates Google’s security patches, which are now as of July 1st, 2018. In addition, the update also includes various ominous system improvements.

BQ Aquaris X2 Pro: home screen
BQ Aquaris X2 Pro: quick settings
BQ Aquaris X2 Pro: software information
BQ Aquaris X2 Pro: FM radio
BQ Aquaris X2 Pro: warranty extension

Communication and GPS

There have been no big changes made to the BQ Aquaris X2 Pro's wireless communication options, although the SoC offers a more powerful modem. BQ has still decided to limit its phone to LTE Cat. 6 transfer speeds (downloads of up to 300 MBit/s, uploads of up to 50 MBit/s). The phone also supports very few frequencies. This should not be an issue if you are in a European city, but even the LTE band 8 (900 MHz), which is used a lot in Germany, is missing. Apparently, an update is supposed to change this. Apart from this, reception is good.  

The X2 Pro supports the IEEE.802.11 standards a/b/g/n/ac and works both in the 2.4 and 5 GHz bands. The attenuation fluctuates between -38 and -44 dBm at close proximity to the router. This is a good result. The transfer speeds to our reference router Linksys EA8500 are good and at the top of our comparison field.

Networking
iperf3 transmit AX12
BQ Aquaris X2 Pro
Adreno 512, SD 660, 64 GB eMMC Flash
346 MBit/s
Nokia 7 Plus
Adreno 512, SD 660, 64 GB eMMC Flash
307 MBit/s -11%
Samsung Galaxy A8 2018
Mali-G71 MP2, Exynos 7885, 32 GB eMMC Flash
269 MBit/s -22%
Motorola Moto Z3 Play
Adreno 509, SD 636, 64 GB UFS 2.0 Flash
237 MBit/s -32%
Honor 10
Mali-G72 MP12, Kirin 970, 128 GB UFS 2.1 Flash
236 MBit/s -32%
BQ Aquaris X Pro
Adreno 506, 626, 64 GB eMMC Flash
148 MBit/s -57%
iperf3 receive AX12
Average of class Smartphone
  (last 2 years)
376 MBit/s +34%
BQ Aquaris X2 Pro
Adreno 512, SD 660, 64 GB eMMC Flash
281 MBit/s
Samsung Galaxy A8 2018
Mali-G71 MP2, Exynos 7885, 32 GB eMMC Flash
280 MBit/s 0%
Nokia 7 Plus
Adreno 512, SD 660, 64 GB eMMC Flash
247 MBit/s -12%
BQ Aquaris X Pro
Adreno 506, 626, 64 GB eMMC Flash
242 MBit/s -14%
Motorola Moto Z3 Play
Adreno 509, SD 636, 64 GB UFS 2.0 Flash
232 MBit/s -17%
Honor 10
Mali-G72 MP12, Kirin 970, 128 GB UFS 2.1 Flash
210 MBit/s -25%
GPS test outdoors
GPS test outdoors
GPS test indoors
GPS test indoors

The Aquaris X2 Pro officially supports the satellite systems GPS, GLONASS and Galileo. We were also able to use the Chinese BeiDou to locate the phone during testing. The phone managed to locate us very quickly and within three meters (~10 ft) outdoors. Indoors, it needed about 10 seconds to find our position and was less precise.  

We took the device on a quick bike ride to compare it with the bicycle navigation system Garmin Edge 500. The two devices measured the same length and a look at the tracked route shows that the X2 Pro tracked our path very accurately.

BQ Aquaris X2 Pro - overview
BQ Aquaris X2 Pro - overview
BQ Aquaris X2 Pro - junction
BQ Aquaris X2 Pro - junction
BQ Aquaris X2 Pro - round of the lake
BQ Aquaris X2 Pro - round of the lake
Garmin Edge 500 - overview
Garmin Edge 500 - overview
Garmin Edge 500 - junction
Garmin Edge 500 - junction
Garmin Edge 500 - round of the lake
Garmin Edge 500 - round of the lake

Telephone & Call Quality

BQ Aquaris X2 Pro: telephone app
BQ Aquaris X2 Pro: telephone app

BQ has given our test unit the standard Google phone app which is very clear and easy to use and enables direct access to your favorites and general contacts.  

The call quality of the X2 Pro is very pleasing. We heard the voice of our call partner clearly, there were no disturbances or dropouts and the microphone filtered out background noises very efficiently. You can also use the speakers and lay the phone on the table without your call partner noticing a difference - as long as you are in quiet surroundings.   

The only deficiency: The BQ Aquaris X2 Pro does not currently support Wi-Fi calling or Voice over LTE (VoLTE). Both are supposed to be added in a future update. 

Cameras – not all areas have been improved

BQ Aquaris X2 Pro: picture taken with front camera (portrait mode with second smallest aperture and lowest beauty level)
Selfie with the BQ X2 Pro

The front camera of the BQ Aquaris X2 Pro continues to have a resolution of 8 MP (F/2.0, 1,12 μm pixels, fixed focus), but has been given an additional lens. We are very happy with the photos taken by this camera. The new portrait mode is also convincing as long as you select a light Bokeh effect (four levels) - otherwise the transitions between sharp and blurry areas are too uneven. The app also offers a beauty mode which you should play around with first, as the live view does not show the final result. Videos can be recorded at Full HD (30 FPS) max. but are not stabilized. It is possible to stabilize the video afterwards, but we were not particularly impressed by this feature as there were noticeable issues in the final video.     

The X2 Pro now has a dual camera system, which the normal X2 is also equipped with. Last year, our Pro version was equipped with the same sensor as the Galaxy S7. The current model is no longer equipped with what used to be Samsung's top sensor, but with the Samsung S5K2L8 (aperture f/1.8, 1.29 μm pixels, ISOCELL 1/2.8 inch) which is slightly smaller than that of the Aquaris X Pro. The second sensor (used for portrait mode) is the Samsung S5K5E8 (BSI, 1/5-inch) - it is also used in several Xiaomi smartphones.

We did a direct comparison with our phone's predecessor to find out if the slightly smaller sensor also has a negative impact on image quality. We noticed no loss and even a slight improvement when taking photos in low lighting. 

Aquaris X2 Pro (left), Aquaris X Pro (right)

In general, the dual camera does quite well and takes really good shots in daylight. Compared to the Honor 10, we appreciate the softer Bokeh, but noticed that our test unit recorded slightly fewer details. Top devices such as the Google Pixel 2 XL do even better, but only by a small margin. Photos taken in low lighting are not as good and the difference between the cameras becomes more evident. BQ does a good job nonetheless, and only catches a little less light than the Honor 10. Instead, our camera offers more details and the photos look more natural. 

The Aquaris X2 Pro can record videos in Ultra-HD (30 FPS) of Full-HD (30/60 FPS). Their quality is good, and the electronic image stabilization feature means that you can move the camera freely even at maximum resolution and still get a relatively stable video - although it does reach its limits when there are lots of wobbles within a short period of time. We registered a slight setback of the time lapse feature - this can only record in 1080p while the X Pro supported up to 2160p. Videos in slow motion can be made with up to 120 images per second in Full HD. Audio is recorded clearly on two channels.

Image Comparison

Choose a scene and navigate within the first image. One click changes the position on touchscreens. One click on the zoomed-in image opens the original in a new window. The first image shows the scaled photograph of the test device.

Scene 1Scene 2Scene 3
click to load images
ColorChecker: The reference color is in the bottom half of the field.
ColorChecker: The reference color is in the bottom half of the field.

We did further tests of the BQ Aquaris X2 Pro's dual camera system under controlled lighting conditions: The ColorChecker passport was used to compare color reproduction. Skin tones seem to be reproduced very accurately while other colors tend to be slightly brighter and more saturated. Whites also appear rather warm.  

The BQ phone has hardly any difficulties with the test chart. Sharpness is great in the center of the image and only drops slightly towards the edges. Only the numbers on the color gradient are not quite as sharp as they could be. 

Accessories and Warranty

The scope of delivery is identical to that of our test unit's predecessor. Apart from a modular power supply (QC3, 5V, 3A), the smartphone comes with a USB cable (Type-A-to-Type-C, USB 2.0), a SIM tool and a QuickStart guide.   

BQ does not currently offer any accessories that are specifically made for the X2 Pro. The only exception is the screen protector. Unfortunately, the manufacturer does not currently offer a power supply that supports QuickCharge 4.   

The phone has a 24-month warranty that cannot be extended. However, the manufacturer does offer an optional phone insurance called BQ Plus. This protects your phone from damage (60 Euros/$70 a year). This protection includes damage caused by liquids, falls, glass breakages and also theft. Please see our Guarantees, Return policies and Warranties FAQ for country-specific information.

Input Devices & Handling

The BQ phone has a capacitive touchscreen that can recognize up to 10 touches simultaneously. Fingers glide easily over the Corning Gorilla Glass surface and the oil-resistant coating makes the screen easy to clean. Double tapping the display wakes the phone from standby or turns off the screen.

The fingerprint reader on the back offers a comparatively large area and is easy to find by touch. We were happy with the speed at which the phone unlocked using the fingerprint reader and with the reliability of the feature - as long as your finger is dry.   

The pre-installed keyboard comes from Google as well. If you do not like this, you can easily download a different one from the Play store. The X2 Pro lets you configure its notification LED on the bottom edge to different colors and flashing intervals. 

Display - a bright panel in the Aquaris X2 Pro

Subpixel array
Subpixel array

The LTPS display of the BQ Aquaris X2 Pro has a 2:1 format and a diagonal of 5.65 inches (14.35 cm, 82.83 cm²). It has a resolution of 2160x1080 pixels and reaches a pixel density of 427 PPI, which makes content appear very crisp.    

The maximum brightness can be reached manually and is around 675 cd/m² in the center of the screen. When you let the ambient light sensor regulate brightness, we only measured a maximum of 611 cd/m², which is still a good result. The brightness remains the same when light and dark areas are evenly distributed across the screen (APL 50). The black value is a little better than that of our sibling model X2 and reaches 0.46 cd/m². This is still not the best result, but good enough. It enables a great contrast ratio of 1467:1.   

We did not notice any backlight bleeding on our test unit. The phone even features a night mode that increases the red light on the screen, improving readability in the dark and protecting your eyes.   

It is a shame, however, that BQ uses PWM to regulate the brightness - this was not the case in the X Pro. As the frequency is very high, only very sensitive users should notice this - if at all.

621
cd/m²
636
cd/m²
626
cd/m²
627
cd/m²
675
cd/m²
673
cd/m²
663
cd/m²
659
cd/m²
673
cd/m²
Distribution of brightness
tested with X-Rite i1Pro 2
Maximum: 675 cd/m² (Nits) Average: 650.3 cd/m² Minimum: 13.5 cd/m²
Brightness Distribution: 92 %
Center on Battery: 675 cd/m²
Contrast: 1467:1 (Black: 0.46 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 5.9 | 0.5-29.43 Ø5
ΔE Greyscale 6.6 | 0.57-98 Ø5.3
99.4% sRGB (Calman 2D)
Gamma: 2.36
BQ Aquaris X2 Pro
LTPS, 2160x1080, 5.65
BQ Aquaris X Pro
IPS, 1920x1080, 5.20
Honor 10
IPS, 2280x1080, 5.84
Motorola Moto Z3 Play
AMOLED, 2160x1080, 6.00
Nokia 7 Plus
IPS, 2160x1080, 6.00
Samsung Galaxy A8 2018
Super AMOLED, 2220x1080, 5.60
Screen
-31%
15%
-10%
15%
6%
Brightness middle
675
458
-32%
555
-18%
446
-34%
458
-32%
541
-20%
Brightness
650
473
-27%
537
-17%
451
-31%
463
-29%
538
-17%
Brightness Distribution
92
88
-4%
94
2%
93
1%
92
0%
96
4%
Black Level *
0.46
0.51
-11%
0.39
15%
0.22
52%
Contrast
1467
898
-39%
1423
-3%
2082
42%
Colorchecker dE 2000 *
5.9
7.1
-20%
2.3
61%
6.58
-12%
4
32%
5.8
2%
Colorchecker dE 2000 max. *
9.5
14.5
-53%
6
37%
11.94
-26%
7.4
22%
Greyscale dE 2000 *
6.6
10.5
-59%
3.9
41%
3.6
45%
4.7
29%
2.7
59%
Gamma
2.36 93%
2.28 96%
2.19 100%
2.199 100%
2.19 100%
2.07 106%
CCT
7846 83%
8951 73%
6212 105%
7116 91%
7425 88%
6570 99%

* ... smaller is better

Screen Flickering / PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation)

To dim the screen, some notebooks will simply cycle the backlight on and off in rapid succession - a method called Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) . This cycling frequency should ideally be undetectable to the human eye. If said frequency is too low, users with sensitive eyes may experience strain or headaches or even notice the flickering altogether.
Screen flickering / PWM detected 2315 Hz ≤ 46 % brightness setting

The display backlight flickers at 2315 Hz (worst case, e.g., utilizing PWM) Flickering detected at a brightness setting of 46 % and below. There should be no flickering or PWM above this brightness setting.

The frequency of 2315 Hz is quite high, so most users sensitive to PWM should not notice any flickering.

In comparison: 53 % of all tested devices do not use PWM to dim the display. If PWM was detected, an average of 18110 (minimum: 5 - maximum: 3846000) Hz was measured.

The color reproduction of the display, which uses Quantum Dot technology, was measured with our spectrophotometer and the CalMAN software. Like its predecessor, the BQ X2 Pro has a visible blue cast, which means that content is displayed in rather cool shades. This is not quite as noticeable as on the X Pro. Mixed colors actually look better than our measurements suggest. They are slightly oversaturated and the blue cast also has a negative impact. This does not matter in everyday use as it is not too strong. It makes it more difficult to judge images though, which is why we would wish for some way to choose a more natural color reproduction.

grayscales (sRGB)
grayscales (sRGB)
colors (sRGB)
colors (sRGB)
color space (sRGB)
color space (sRGB)
saturation (sRGB)
saturation (sRGB)

Display Response Times

Display response times show how fast the screen is able to change from one color to the next. Slow response times can lead to afterimages and can cause moving objects to appear blurry (ghosting). Gamers of fast-paced 3D titles should pay special attention to fast response times.
       Response Time Black to White
28 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined↗ 12 ms rise
↘ 16 ms fall
The screen shows relatively slow response rates in our tests and may be too slow for gamers.
In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.1 (minimum) to 240 (maximum) ms. » 67 % of all devices are better.
This means that the measured response time is worse than the average of all tested devices (21.6 ms).
       Response Time 50% Grey to 80% Grey
46.8 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined↗ 23.2 ms rise
↘ 23.6 ms fall
The screen shows slow response rates in our tests and will be unsatisfactory for gamers.
In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.2 (minimum) to 636 (maximum) ms. » 78 % of all devices are better.
This means that the measured response time is worse than the average of all tested devices (33.9 ms).

The phone is very easy to use outdoors thanks to the bright display and good contrast. The ambient light sensor reacts very quickly and soon adapts to changes in lighting. 

X2 Pro in shade
X2 Pro in shade
X2 Pro in direct sunlight
X2 Pro in direct sunlight

The viewing angle stability of the BQ Aquaris X2 Pro is very good and colors do not invert at any angle, while only very little brightness is lost at wide angles. Only the reflective glass surface could make it difficult to read the LC display sometimes. 

viewing angle stability of the BQ Aquaris X2 Pro
viewing angle stability of the BQ Aquaris X2 Pro

Performance – the Snapdragon 660 has a lot of power

The BQ Aquaris X2 Pro is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 that is positioned in the upper mid-range. Our test unit has 4 GB of RAM, but there is also a version with 6 GB available. The graphics are taken care of by the Adreno 512.    

The Nokia 7 Plus and the Xiaomi Mi A2 (Mi 6X) both use the same SoC and achieve very similar results in the benchmarks. Only the Honor 10 has a slight advantage as it is equipped with the Kirin 970 - Huawei's current high-end SoC. Compared to its predecessor the X2 Pro can boast a significant performance increase in all areas. 

The BQ phone runs smoothly and quickly in everyday use and easily handles multitasking.

AnTuTu v6 - Total Score (sort by value)
BQ Aquaris X2 Pro
115834 Points
Honor 10
174272 Points +50%
BQ Aquaris X Pro
66226 Points -43%
Motorola Moto Z3 Play
93813 Points -19%
Nokia 7 Plus
117165 Points +1%
Samsung Galaxy A8 2018
83284 Points -28%
Xiaomi Mi 6X
110680 Points -4%
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 (105973 - 120479, n=11)
116194 Points 0%
AnTuTu v7 - Total Score (sort by value)
BQ Aquaris X2 Pro
140875 Points
Honor 10
205297 Points +46%
BQ Aquaris X Pro
82343 Points -42%
Motorola Moto Z3 Play
115656 Points -18%
Nokia 7 Plus
141701 Points +1%
Samsung Galaxy A8 2018
116746 Points -17%
Xiaomi Mi 6X
140714 Points 0%
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 (116346 - 143551, n=10)
137699 Points -2%
PCMark for Android
Work performance score (sort by value)
BQ Aquaris X2 Pro
6332 Points
Honor 10
8530 Points +35%
BQ Aquaris X Pro
5886 Points -7%
Motorola Moto Z3 Play
6457 Points +2%
Nokia 7 Plus
6825 Points +8%
Samsung Galaxy A8 2018
5916 Points -7%
Xiaomi Mi 6X
6723 Points +6%
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 (6274 - 7026, n=11)
6676 Points +5%
Average of class Smartphone (10884 - 19297, n=2, last 2 years)
15091 Points +138%
Work 2.0 performance score (sort by value)
BQ Aquaris X2 Pro
5965 Points
Honor 10
7046 Points +18%
BQ Aquaris X Pro
4915 Points -18%
Motorola Moto Z3 Play
5640 Points -5%
Nokia 7 Plus
6077 Points +2%
Samsung Galaxy A8 2018
5214 Points -13%
Xiaomi Mi 6X
5995 Points +1%
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 (5789 - 6426, n=13)
6050 Points +1%
Average of class Smartphone (9101 - 12871, n=4, last 2 years)
10872 Points +82%
BaseMark OS II
Overall (sort by value)
BQ Aquaris X2 Pro
2394 Points
Honor 10
3374 Points +41%
BQ Aquaris X Pro
1314 Points -45%
Motorola Moto Z3 Play
2044 Points -15%
Nokia 7 Plus
2369 Points -1%
Samsung Galaxy A8 2018
1993 Points -17%
Xiaomi Mi 6X
2343 Points -2%
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 (1905 - 2428, n=12)
2307 Points -4%
Average of class Smartphone (411 - 11438, n=158, last 2 years)
5704 Points +138%
System (sort by value)
BQ Aquaris X2 Pro
5048 Points
Honor 10
5882 Points +17%
BQ Aquaris X Pro
3492 Points -31%
Motorola Moto Z3 Play
4628 Points -8%
Nokia 7 Plus
4976 Points -1%
Samsung Galaxy A8 2018
4358 Points -14%
Xiaomi Mi 6X
4797 Points -5%
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 (3745 - 5282, n=11)
4927 Points -2%
Average of class Smartphone (2376 - 16475, n=158, last 2 years)
9621 Points +91%
Memory (sort by value)
BQ Aquaris X2 Pro
2494 Points
Honor 10
3808 Points +53%
BQ Aquaris X Pro
1046 Points -58%
Motorola Moto Z3 Play
2208 Points -11%
Nokia 7 Plus
2503 Points 0%
Samsung Galaxy A8 2018
2275 Points -9%
Xiaomi Mi 6X
2470 Points -1%
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 (1737 - 2799, n=11)
2349 Points -6%
Average of class Smartphone (670 - 12306, n=158, last 2 years)
6230 Points +150%
Graphics (sort by value)
BQ Aquaris X2 Pro
2279 Points
Honor 10
4397 Points +93%
BQ Aquaris X Pro
1012 Points -56%
Motorola Moto Z3 Play
1625 Points -29%
Nokia 7 Plus
2298 Points +1%
Samsung Galaxy A8 2018
1331 Points -42%
Xiaomi Mi 6X
2295 Points +1%
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 (1970 - 2332, n=11)
2241 Points -2%
Average of class Smartphone (697 - 58651, n=158, last 2 years)
13900 Points +510%
Web (sort by value)
BQ Aquaris X2 Pro
1146 Points
Honor 10
1316 Points +15%
BQ Aquaris X Pro
806 Points -30%
Motorola Moto Z3 Play
1052 Points -8%
Nokia 7 Plus
1101 Points -4%
Samsung Galaxy A8 2018
1195 Points +4%
Xiaomi Mi 6X
1108 Points -3%
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 (1027 - 1334, n=11)
1114 Points -3%
Average of class Smartphone (10 - 2145, n=158, last 2 years)
1487 Points +30%
Geekbench 4.4
64 Bit Single-Core Score (sort by value)
BQ Aquaris X2 Pro
1579 Points
Honor 10
1890 Points +20%
BQ Aquaris X Pro
928 Points -41%
Motorola Moto Z3 Play
1330 Points -16%
Nokia 7 Plus
1646 Points +4%
Samsung Galaxy A8 2018
1526 Points -3%
Xiaomi Mi 6X
1620 Points +3%
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 (1431 - 1646, n=11)
1598 Points +1%
Average of class Smartphone (800 - 9574, n=90, last 2 years)
5063 Points +221%
64 Bit Multi-Core Score (sort by value)
BQ Aquaris X2 Pro
5856 Points
Honor 10
6610 Points +13%
BQ Aquaris X Pro
4369 Points -25%
Motorola Moto Z3 Play
4941 Points -16%
Nokia 7 Plus
5867 Points 0%
Samsung Galaxy A8 2018
4431 Points -24%
Xiaomi Mi 6X
5843 Points 0%
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 (4895 - 5913, n=11)
5694 Points -3%
Average of class Smartphone (2630 - 26990, n=90, last 2 years)
13549 Points +131%
Compute RenderScript Score (sort by value)
BQ Aquaris X2 Pro
5688 Points
Honor 10
8634 Points +52%
Motorola Moto Z3 Play
4501 Points -21%
Samsung Galaxy A8 2018
3680 Points -35%
Xiaomi Mi 6X
5486 Points -4%
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 (4983 - 5811, n=9)
5524 Points -3%
Average of class Smartphone (2053 - 18432, n=70, last 2 years)
10590 Points +86%
3DMark
1280x720 offscreen Ice Storm Unlimited Score (sort by value)
BQ Aquaris X2 Pro
26175 Points
Honor 10
29111 Points +11%
BQ Aquaris X Pro
13963 Points -47%
Motorola Moto Z3 Play
19873 Points -24%
Nokia 7 Plus
26610 Points +2%
Samsung Galaxy A8 2018
14779 Points -44%
Xiaomi Mi 6X
26731 Points +2%
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 (22145 - 26731, n=12)
25633 Points -2%
1280x720 offscreen Ice Storm Unlimited Graphics Score (sort by value)
BQ Aquaris X2 Pro
29306 Points
Honor 10
32674 Points +11%
BQ Aquaris X Pro
13277 Points -55%
Motorola Moto Z3 Play
20908 Points -29%
Nokia 7 Plus
29333 Points 0%
Samsung Galaxy A8 2018
15262 Points -48%
Xiaomi Mi 6X
28984 Points -1%
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 (25561 - 29496, n=12)
28454 Points -3%
1280x720 offscreen Ice Storm Unlimited Physics (sort by value)
BQ Aquaris X2 Pro
19050 Points
Honor 10
21070 Points +11%
BQ Aquaris X Pro
17044 Points -11%
Motorola Moto Z3 Play
16939 Points -11%
Nokia 7 Plus
20085 Points +5%
Samsung Galaxy A8 2018
13306 Points -30%
Xiaomi Mi 6X
21016 Points +10%
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 (15088 - 21016, n=12)
19093 Points 0%
2560x1440 Sling Shot OpenGL ES 3.0 (sort by value)
BQ Aquaris X2 Pro
2059 Points
Honor 10
3358 Points +63%
BQ Aquaris X Pro
849 Points -59%
Motorola Moto Z3 Play
1474 Points -28%
Nokia 7 Plus
2035 Points -1%
Samsung Galaxy A8 2018
1001 Points -51%
Xiaomi Mi 6X
2023 Points -2%
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 (1825 - 2104, n=13)
2021 Points -2%
Average of class Smartphone (712 - 7285, n=52, last 2 years)
3495 Points +70%
2560x1440 Sling Shot OpenGL ES 3.0 Graphics (sort by value)
BQ Aquaris X2 Pro
1938 Points
Honor 10
3573 Points +84%
BQ Aquaris X Pro
725 Points -63%
Motorola Moto Z3 Play
1333 Points -31%
Nokia 7 Plus
1895 Points -2%
Samsung Galaxy A8 2018
879 Points -55%
Xiaomi Mi 6X
1891 Points -2%
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 (1711 - 1986, n=13)
1893 Points -2%
Average of class Smartphone (618 - 9451, n=52, last 2 years)
3845 Points +98%
2560x1440 Sling Shot OpenGL ES 3.0 Physics (sort by value)
BQ Aquaris X2 Pro
2638 Points
Honor 10
2773 Points +5%
BQ Aquaris X Pro
2127 Points -19%
Motorola Moto Z3 Play
2337 Points -11%
Nokia 7 Plus
2734 Points +4%
Samsung Galaxy A8 2018
1946 Points -26%
Xiaomi Mi 6X
2680 Points +2%
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 (2383 - 2834, n=13)
2672 Points +1%
Average of class Smartphone (1093 - 4525, n=52, last 2 years)
2989 Points +13%
2560x1440 Sling Shot Extreme (ES 3.1) (sort by value)
BQ Aquaris X2 Pro
1361 Points
Honor 10
2891 Points +112%
BQ Aquaris X Pro
464 Points -66%
Motorola Moto Z3 Play
953 Points -30%
Nokia 7 Plus
1332 Points -2%
Samsung Galaxy A8 2018
729 Points -46%
Xiaomi Mi 6X
1335 Points -2%
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 (1124 - 1374, n=15)
1328 Points -2%
Average of class Smartphone (286 - 7890, n=102, last 2 years)
2665 Points +96%
2560x1440 Sling Shot Extreme (ES 3.1) Graphics (sort by value)
BQ Aquaris X2 Pro
1196 Points
Honor 10
2993 Points +150%
BQ Aquaris X Pro
379 Points -68%
Motorola Moto Z3 Play
815 Points -32%
Nokia 7 Plus
1161 Points -3%
Samsung Galaxy A8 2018
618 Points -48%
Xiaomi Mi 6X
1164 Points -3%
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 (1061 - 1206, n=14)
1172 Points -2%
Average of class Smartphone (240 - 9814, n=102, last 2 years)
2655 Points +122%
2560x1440 Sling Shot Extreme (ES 3.1) Physics (sort by value)
BQ Aquaris X2 Pro
2628 Points
Honor 10
2582 Points -2%
BQ Aquaris X Pro
2132 Points -19%
Motorola Moto Z3 Play
2327 Points -11%
Nokia 7 Plus
2749 Points +5%
Samsung Galaxy A8 2018
1950 Points -26%
Xiaomi Mi 6X
2757 Points +5%
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 (1883 - 2759, n=14)
2587 Points -2%
Average of class Smartphone (858 - 4679, n=102, last 2 years)
3119 Points +19%
GFXBench (DX / GLBenchmark) 2.7
T-Rex Onscreen (sort by value)
BQ Aquaris X2 Pro
51 fps
Honor 10
59 fps +16%
BQ Aquaris X Pro
22 fps -57%
Motorola Moto Z3 Play
35 fps -31%
Nokia 7 Plus
48 fps -6%
Samsung Galaxy A8 2018
31 fps -39%
Xiaomi Mi 6X
48 fps -6%
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 (42 - 59, n=14)
48.1 fps -6%
Average of class Smartphone (22 - 165, n=178, last 2 years)
83 fps +63%
1920x1080 T-Rex Offscreen (sort by value)
BQ Aquaris X2 Pro
46 fps
Honor 10
124 fps +170%
BQ Aquaris X Pro
23 fps -50%
Motorola Moto Z3 Play
36 fps -22%
Nokia 7 Plus
50 fps +9%
Samsung Galaxy A8 2018
34 fps -26%
Xiaomi Mi 6X
50 fps +9%
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 (43 - 51, n=14)
48.4 fps +5%
Average of class Smartphone (19 - 791, n=178, last 2 years)
244 fps +430%
GFXBench 3.0
on screen Manhattan Onscreen OGL (sort by value)
BQ Aquaris X2 Pro
22 fps
Honor 10
50 fps +127%
BQ Aquaris X Pro
9.6 fps -56%
Motorola Moto Z3 Play
15 fps -32%
Nokia 7 Plus
22 fps 0%
Samsung Galaxy A8 2018
15 fps -32%
Xiaomi Mi 6X
21 fps -5%
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 (19 - 40, n=14)
22.6 fps +3%
Average of class Smartphone (6.8 - 165, n=179, last 2 years)
71 fps +223%
1920x1080 1080p Manhattan Offscreen (sort by value)
BQ Aquaris X2 Pro
23 fps
Honor 10
59 fps +157%
BQ Aquaris X Pro
9.8 fps -57%
Motorola Moto Z3 Play
16 fps -30%
Nokia 7 Plus
23 fps 0%
Samsung Galaxy A8 2018
16 fps -30%
Xiaomi Mi 6X
23 fps 0%
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 (20 - 23, n=14)
22.1 fps -4%
Average of class Smartphone (9.2 - 363, n=179, last 2 years)
138 fps +500%
GFXBench 3.1
on screen Manhattan ES 3.1 Onscreen (sort by value)
BQ Aquaris X2 Pro
14 fps
Honor 10
34 fps +143%
BQ Aquaris X Pro
6.3 fps -55%
Motorola Moto Z3 Play
9.8 fps -30%
Nokia 7 Plus
15 fps +7%
Samsung Galaxy A8 2018
9.6 fps -31%
Xiaomi Mi 6X
14 fps 0%
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 (12 - 30, n=15)
14.7 fps +5%
Average of class Smartphone (3.7 - 158, n=179, last 2 years)
59.9 fps +328%
1920x1080 Manhattan ES 3.1 Offscreen (sort by value)
BQ Aquaris X2 Pro
15 fps
Honor 10
39 fps +160%
BQ Aquaris X Pro
6.4 fps -57%
Motorola Moto Z3 Play
10 fps -33%
Nokia 7 Plus
14 fps -7%
Samsung Galaxy A8 2018
9.9 fps -34%
Xiaomi Mi 6X
15 fps 0%
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 (8.2 - 15, n=14)
13.6 fps -9%
Average of class Smartphone (6.2 - 279, n=179, last 2 years)
96.7 fps +545%
GFXBench
on screen Car Chase Onscreen (sort by value)
BQ Aquaris X2 Pro
8.6 fps
Honor 10
20 fps +133%
BQ Aquaris X Pro
3.5 fps -59%
Motorola Moto Z3 Play
6 fps -30%
Nokia 7 Plus
9.1 fps +6%
Samsung Galaxy A8 2018
5.8 fps -33%
Xiaomi Mi 6X
8.6 fps 0%
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 (7.5 - 18, n=15)
9.13 fps +6%
Average of class Smartphone (5 - 117, n=179, last 2 years)
42.9 fps +399%
1920x1080 Car Chase Offscreen (sort by value)
BQ Aquaris X2 Pro
9.1 fps
Honor 10
23 fps +153%
BQ Aquaris X Pro
3.5 fps -62%
Motorola Moto Z3 Play
6.3 fps -31%
Nokia 7 Plus
8.3 fps -9%
Samsung Galaxy A8 2018
6 fps -34%
Xiaomi Mi 6X
9 fps -1%
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 (8 - 9.1, n=14)
8.84 fps -3%
Average of class Smartphone (2.9 - 166, n=179, last 2 years)
58.6 fps +544%
Lightmark - 1920x1080 1080p (sort by value)
Nokia 7 Plus
15.07 fps
Samsung Galaxy A8 2018
3.052 fps
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 660
15.1 fps
Basemark ES 3.1 / Metal - offscreen Overall Score (sort by value)
Nokia 7 Plus
349 Points
Samsung Galaxy A8 2018
355 Points
Xiaomi Mi 6X
353 Points
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 (349 - 353, n=2)
351 Points
Average of class Smartphone (177 - 6114, n=61, last 2 years)
2145 Points

Legend

 
BQ Aquaris X2 Pro Qualcomm Snapdragon 660, Qualcomm Adreno 512, 64 GB eMMC Flash
 
Honor 10 HiSilicon Kirin 970, ARM Mali-G72 MP12, 128 GB UFS 2.1 Flash
 
BQ Aquaris X Pro Qualcomm Snapdragon 626, Qualcomm Adreno 506, 64 GB eMMC Flash
 
Motorola Moto Z3 Play Qualcomm Snapdragon 636, Qualcomm Adreno 509, 64 GB UFS 2.0 Flash
 
Nokia 7 Plus Qualcomm Snapdragon 660, Qualcomm Adreno 512, 64 GB eMMC Flash
 
Samsung Galaxy A8 2018 Samsung Exynos 7885, ARM Mali-G71 MP2, 32 GB eMMC Flash
 
Xiaomi Mi 6X Qualcomm Snapdragon 660, Qualcomm Adreno 512, 64 GB eMMC Flash

The stronger processor of the X2 Pro also makes for good browsing and the web benchmarks are better than those of the X2, which is equipped with the less strong Snapdragon 636. In everyday use you will find that web pages load quickly, and even complex pages can be displayed without difficulties. Scrolling is very smooth as well.  

JetStream 1.1 - Total Score
Average of class Smartphone (66.1 - 414, n=3, last 2 years)
194.9 Points +295%
Honor 10 (Chrome 66)
56.5 Points +14%
Nokia 7 Plus (Chrome 60)
53.9 Points +9%
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 (45.3 - 55.5, n=12)
52 Points +5%
BQ Aquaris X2 Pro (Chrome 67)
49.4 Points
Samsung Galaxy A8 2018 (Chrome 64.0.3282.137)
49.07 Points -1%
Motorola Moto Z3 Play (Chrome 67)
44.59 Points -10%
BQ Aquaris X2 (Chrome 67)
44.24 Points -10%
BQ Aquaris X Pro (Chrome 59.0.3071.125)
26.84 Points -46%
Octane V2 - Total Score
Average of class Smartphone (4633 - 89112, n=202, last 2 years)
33525 Points +250%
Honor 10 (Chrome 66)
10965 Points +14%
Nokia 7 Plus (Chrome 60)
10945 Points +14%
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 (8463 - 10945, n=14)
9973 Points +4%
BQ Aquaris X2 Pro (Chrome 67)
9582 Points
Samsung Galaxy A8 2018 (Chrome 64.0.3282.137)
9350 Points -2%
BQ Aquaris X2 (Chrome 67)
9004 Points -6%
Motorola Moto Z3 Play (Chrome 67)
8519 Points -11%
BQ Aquaris X Pro (Chrome 59.0.3071.125)
4424 Points -54%
Mozilla Kraken 1.1 - Total
BQ Aquaris X Pro (Chrome 59.0.3071.125)
8742 ms * -114%
Motorola Moto Z3 Play (Chrome 67)
4820 ms * -18%
BQ Aquaris X2
4733 ms * -16%
Samsung Galaxy A8 2018 (Chrome 64.0.3282.137)
4275 ms * -4%
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 (3796 - 4769, n=13)
4115 ms * -1%
BQ Aquaris X2 Pro (Chrome 67)
4094 ms *
Nokia 7 Plus (Chrome 60)
3937 ms * +4%
Honor 10 (Chrome 66)
3899 ms * +5%
Average of class Smartphone (388 - 9999, n=165, last 2 years)
1653 ms * +60%
WebXPRT 2015 - Overall
Honor 10 (Chrome 66)
182 Points +14%
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 (159 - 182, n=8)
170.9 Points +7%
Nokia 7 Plus (Chrome 60)
168 Points +6%
BQ Aquaris X2 (Chrome 67)
164 Points +3%
BQ Aquaris X2 Pro (Chrome 67)
159 Points
Samsung Galaxy A8 2018 (Chrome 64.0.3282.137)
156 Points -2%
Motorola Moto Z3 Play
154 Points -3%
BQ Aquaris X Pro (Chrome 59.0.3071.125)
86 Points -46%
WebXPRT 3 - Overall
Average of class Smartphone (37 - 304, n=119, last 2 years)
131.8 Points +127%
Honor 10 (Chrome 66)
69 Points +19%
Nokia 7 Plus (Chrome 60)
63 Points +9%
BQ Aquaris X2 Pro (Chrome 67)
58 Points
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 (47 - 63, n=9)
57.1 Points -2%
Motorola Moto Z3 Play (Chrome 67)
55 Points -5%
BQ Aquaris X2 (Chrome 67)
54 Points -7%

* ... smaller is better

Of the 64 GB of internal storage the user has about 52 GB left available after initial setup. The 128-GB version leaves you with 107 GB. The storage speed has been improved a lot, but the X2 Pro is still slower than its competition, particularly when writing small data blocks.   

The microSD, however, offers very good transfer rates - although our reference card, the Toshiba Exceria Pro M501, would support even faster speeds.

BQ Aquaris X2 ProBQ Aquaris X ProNokia 7 PlusSamsung Galaxy A8 2018Motorola Moto Z3 PlayAverage 64 GB eMMC FlashAverage of class Smartphone
AndroBench 3-5
-18%
7%
2%
75%
15%
709%
Sequential Read 256KB
280.8
270.5
-4%
283.1
1%
299.9
7%
271.7
-3%
273 ?(95.6 - 704, n=201)
-3%
1467 ?(215 - 4512, n=210, last 2 years)
422%
Sequential Write 256KB
204.8
139.6
-32%
211.6
3%
104.2
-49%
182.5
-11%
176.8 ?(40 - 274, n=201)
-14%
1077 ?(57.5 - 3678, n=210, last 2 years)
426%
Random Read 4KB
51.3
37.97
-26%
54.7
7%
82.6
61%
60.6
18%
59.1 ?(9.58 - 148.5, n=201)
15%
241 ?(22.2 - 543, n=210, last 2 years)
370%
Random Write 4KB
15.43
12.07
-22%
19.62
27%
14.69
-5%
84.1
445%
31.7 ?(2.34 - 146.9, n=201)
105%
265 ?(13 - 709, n=210, last 2 years)
1617%
Sequential Read 256KB SDCard
83.3 ?(Toshiba Exceria Pro M501)
78.7 ?(Toshiba Exceria Pro M401)
-6%
82.2
-1%
77.9 ?(Toshiba Exceria Pro M501)
-6%
83.7
0%
77.4 ?(21.1 - 107.6, n=144)
-7%
Sequential Write 256KB SDCard
61.1 ?(Toshiba Exceria Pro M501)
49.77 ?(Toshiba Exceria Pro M401)
-19%
62.3
2%
62.3 ?(Toshiba Exceria Pro M501)
2%
62.7
3%
58.3 ?(11.2 - 83.3, n=144)
-5%

Games - great performance even at high details

The Snapdragon 660 and the Adreno 512 work together well and can handle everything mobile gaming currently has to offer - the X2 Pro will display every title from the Play store smoothly and at high details. We tested its refresh rate with the app GameBench: The smartphone reaches smooth 30 FPS in “Asphalt 8”. This result could probably be even higher if it was not limited by the app. “PUBG Mobile” could reach up to 60 FPS in theory. 

The sensors and touchscreen are easy to use, and we encountered no issues with them during our test. The two speakers also enhanced our gaming experience. 

Asphalt 8
Asphalt 8
PUBG Mobile
PUBG Mobile
Asphalt 8: Airborne
 SettingsValue
 high30 fps
PUBG Mobile
 SettingsValue
 HD30 fps

Emissions - stable performance even under load

Temperature

BQ Aquaris X2 Pro: GFXBench battery test (Manhattan, OpenGL ES 3.1)
Manhattan test

The BQ phone remains cool while idling with only one hotspot appearing at the front while charging. Under load, temperatures rise noticeably and exceed 40 °C (~104 °F) in some areas - but this is still harmless.

Things become more interesting when looking at temperatures inside the smartphone. We did this with the GFXBench battery test, which repeats each scenario thirty times in a row and creates a protocol of the battery level and frame rates. The X2 Pro did a good job in the demanding Manhattan test (OpenGL ES 3.1) and kept up its high frame rate - there was no throttling.  

Max. Load
 40.1 °C
104 F
39.1 °C
102 F
39.9 °C
104 F
 
 39.9 °C
104 F
39 °C
102 F
38.9 °C
102 F
 
 39.5 °C
103 F
37.5 °C
100 F
37.2 °C
99 F
 
Maximum: 40.1 °C = 104 F
Average: 39 °C = 102 F
35.8 °C
96 F
38.6 °C
101 F
39.1 °C
102 F
35.9 °C
97 F
37.8 °C
100 F
37.3 °C
99 F
35.4 °C
96 F
37.3 °C
99 F
37.4 °C
99 F
Maximum: 39.1 °C = 102 F
Average: 37.2 °C = 99 F
Power Supply (max.)  30.2 °C = 86 F | Room Temperature 20.1 °C = 68 F | Voltcraft IR-260
(-) The average temperature for the upper side under maximal load is 39 °C / 102 F, compared to the average of 32.7 °C / 91 F for the devices in the class Smartphone.
(±) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 40.1 °C / 104 F, compared to the average of 35 °C / 95 F, ranging from 21.9 to 56 °C for the class Smartphone.
(+) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 39.1 °C / 102 F, compared to the average of 33.8 °C / 93 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 31.8 °C / 89 F, compared to the device average of 32.7 °C / 91 F.

Speakers

Pink Noise graph
Pink Noise graph

The BQ Aquaris X2 Pro has two speakers. One is positioned along the bottom and the other at the top. The sound is quite decent as long as the volume is not turned up too high. At maximum sound level, the gap between middle and high frequencies grows and the frequencies between 650 and 900 MHz are not strong enough, which makes for an unbalanced sound. But it is still good enough to sample a song or watch a short video.

The audio jack offers a clean, noise-free sound output. If you prefer wireless connections, you can use the device's modern Bluetooth 5.0 with LDAC and aptX HD.

dB(A) 0102030405060708090Deep BassMiddle BassHigh BassLower RangeMidsHigher MidsLower HighsMid HighsUpper HighsSuper Highs2033.929.52528.437.73136.130.54030.929.25030.6326322.225.68024.922.310024.422.712523.52716020.327.720019.845.725018.249.231517.458.240016.661.950017.16263015.961.380015.957.1100015.963.6125016.773.316001674.5200015.970.9250016.272.8315016.471.540001774.1500016.573.3630016.468.4800016.665.6100001765.31250016.5571600016.949.2SPL28.683.2N1.151.8median 16.6median 62Delta0.99.835.244.432.941.737.232.531.737.339.641.828.335.827.335.926.934.126.7362439.920.944.820.952.219.550.118.554.117.564.817.561.815.769.215.873.816.675.115.874.115.474.115.574.71675.915.8741672.216.374.316.371.916.268.216.456.416.452.128.685.31.161.3median 16.4median 68.22.211hearing rangehide median Pink NoiseBQ Aquaris X2 ProNokia 7 Plus
Frequency diagram (checkboxes can be checked and unchecked to compare devices)
BQ Aquaris X2 Pro audio analysis

(+) | speakers can play relatively loud (83.2 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 23.6% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (13.2% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(±) | higher mids - on average 5% higher than median
(±) | linearity of mids is average (8.2% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(±) | higher highs - on average 8.1% higher than median
(+) | highs are linear (4.6% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (25.3% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 56% of all tested devices in this class were better, 8% similar, 36% worse
» The best had a delta of 12%, average was 38%, worst was 134%
Compared to all devices tested
» 74% of all tested devices were better, 6% similar, 21% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 25%, worst was 134%

Nokia 7 Plus audio analysis

(+) | speakers can play relatively loud (85.3 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 25.3% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (7.1% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(±) | higher mids - on average 6.1% higher than median
(±) | linearity of mids is average (7.7% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 4.8% away from median
(+) | highs are linear (3.7% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (22.1% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 39% of all tested devices in this class were better, 7% similar, 54% worse
» The best had a delta of 12%, average was 38%, worst was 134%
Compared to all devices tested
» 59% of all tested devices were better, 7% similar, 35% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 25%, worst was 134%

Battery Runtime - good runtimes and QuickCharge 4+

Power Consumption

The power consumption of the Aquaris X2 Pro is higher than that of its predecessor and is also slightly elevated compared to its price class. This is probably mainly due to the bright display.  

The 3100-mAh battery can be recharged completely within two hours with the included power supply. As the smartphone supports QuickCharge 4+, it is possible that it can be charged even faster with a suitable power supply. The phone does not support wireless charging. 

Power Consumption
Off / Standbydarklight 0.01 / 0.13 Watt
Idledarkmidlight 0.63 / 2.16 / 2.18 Watt
Load midlight 4.48 / 7.87 Watt
 color bar
Key: min: dark, med: mid, max: light        Metrahit Energy
Currently we use the Metrahit Energy, a professional single phase power quality and energy measurement digital multimeter, for our measurements. Find out more about it here. All of our test methods can be found here.
BQ Aquaris X2 Pro
3100 mAh
BQ Aquaris X Pro
3100 mAh
Nokia 7 Plus
3800 mAh
Motorola Moto Z3 Play
3000 mAh
Samsung Galaxy A8 2018
3000 mAh
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 660
 
Average of class Smartphone
 
Power Consumption
11%
4%
-14%
27%
-30%
-2%
Idle Minimum *
0.63
0.67
-6%
0.65
-3%
1.3
-106%
0.67
-6%
1.052 ?(0.56 - 2.9, n=14)
-67%
0.891 ?(0.42 - 2.37, n=157, last 2 years)
-41%
Idle Average *
2.16
1.7
21%
1.76
19%
2
7%
1.02
53%
2.62 ?(1.4 - 8.6, n=14)
-21%
1.448 ?(0.69 - 4.26, n=157, last 2 years)
33%
Idle Maximum *
2.18
1.78
18%
1.78
18%
2.7
-24%
1.1
50%
2.88 ?(1.54 - 8.9, n=14)
-32%
1.63 ?(0.79 - 4.45, n=157, last 2 years)
25%
Load Average *
4.48
4.42
1%
4.47
-0%
3.7
17%
3.86
14%
5.1 ?(3.47 - 9.4, n=14)
-14%
5.57 ?(2.4 - 16.5, n=157, last 2 years)
-24%
Load Maximum *
7.87
6.3
20%
9.13
-16%
5.1
35%
5.97
24%
9.08 ?(5.93 - 18.5, n=14)
-15%
8.27 ?(4.32 - 20.8, n=157, last 2 years)
-5%

* ... smaller is better

Battery Runtime

The 3100-mAh battery of the BQ Aquaris X2 Pro offers very good battery runtimes. Although things do not look quite as great when compared directly to its competition - but this is mostly due to the smaller battery.  

Tests run at a set display brightness (150 cd/m²) offer the best comparability. The competition has very similar results during video playback - only the Galaxy A8 takes a strong lead. When surfing on Wi-Fi, the X2 Pro has similar results to the Samsung smartphone, but the runtimes in this scenario are significantly worse than those of its predecessor. The runtimes as such are very good and will easily get you through your day. 

Battery Runtime
Idle (without WLAN, min brightness)
22h 54min
WiFi Websurfing (Chrome 67)
10h 05min
Big Buck Bunny H.264 1080p
10h 58min
Load (maximum brightness)
2h 25min
BQ Aquaris X2 Pro
3100 mAh
Honor 10
3400 mAh
BQ Aquaris X Pro
3100 mAh
Motorola Moto Z3 Play
3000 mAh
Nokia 7 Plus
3800 mAh
Samsung Galaxy A8 2018
3000 mAh
BQ Aquaris X2
3100 mAh
Battery Runtime
11%
32%
6%
13%
34%
2%
Reader / Idle
1374
1162
-15%
1840
34%
1245
-9%
1703
24%
1546
13%
H.264
658
662
1%
644
-2%
648
-2%
706
7%
908
38%
WiFi v1.3
605
663
10%
730
21%
595
-2%
672
11%
646
7%
617
2%
Load
145
216
49%
254
75%
199
37%
158
9%
260
79%

Pros

+ bright LTPS display
+ fast SoC
+ storage expandable
+ Android One
+ USB 3.1 with image output
+ precise localization
+ good dual camera
+ QC4 support
+ fast Wi-Fi

Cons

- display could have better color accuracy
- neither VoLTE nor VoWifi
- not many LTE frequencies supported
- workmanship is not perfect
- Hybrid-SIM (not a full-fledged Dual-SIM)

Verdict

Review: BQ Aquaris X2 Pro. Test unit provided by BQ Germany.
Review: BQ Aquaris X2 Pro. Test unit provided by BQ Germany.

BQ has decided to make the two models of the new X2 series more similar and has equipped both versions with the same cameras. Therefore, the only differences lie in the material of the case, the storage and memory and the processor. If you compare the two 64-GB versions with each other, the only noticeable difference is the material the back of the phone is made of, the SoC, and 50 Euros (~$60). In the end, this is a matter of choice - the options are glass or plastic. Unless you also expect your smartphone to be able to play demanding games. In that case, you will have to go for the Pro version. Personally, we feel that the additional premium of about 120 Euros (~$140) is a little too high for the larger memory (6 GB of RAM) and internal storage (128 GB) - we are not sure if the Pro version will really take off.

The Aquaris X2 Pro is a successful update of BQ's most expensive smartphone, but it does have to accept some criticism.

The X2 Pro impressed us with its features, its bright display, long battery runtimes and good cameras. The new dual camera module takes great photos - it is just a shame that it no longer uses Samsung's top sensor. Had BQ not made that change, the cameras might have been even better. The manufacturer could also have added an option to choose a more natural color reproduction for the display.

We were very happy with the call quality of the BQ Aquaris X2 Pro. It is a shame that the transfer rate is limited to LTE Cat. 6, but we can still live with this. However, we cannot understand why a European manufacturer does not support all frequency bands used in the EU and why VoLTE and VoWifi are not supported from the launch of the phone. We would have also expected some more basic bands from outside the European regions. 

BQ Aquaris X2 Pro - 07/26/2018 v6(old)
Daniel Schmidt

Chassis
83%
Keyboard
66 / 75 → 88%
Pointing Device
92%
Connectivity
58 / 60 → 97%
Weight
91%
Battery
92%
Display
85%
Games Performance
54 / 63 → 85%
Application Performance
60 / 70 → 85%
Temperature
88%
Noise
100%
Audio
75 / 91 → 82%
Camera
73%
Average
78%
86%
Smartphone - Weighted Average

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Daniel Schmidt, 2018-07-27 (Update: 2019-03- 9)