Is it worth paying more than 100,000 yen for the 2021 No. 1 smartphone "BALMUDA Phone"?

■ Serialization / Junya Ishino's Gachi Review

Balmuda, which has made a big hit with toasters that make cheese toast deliciously and electric fans that reproduce the natural breeze, has entered the smartphone market. The "BALMUDA Phone" developed by the company was well known, and as soon as it was announced in November 2021, it caused a great reaction. It is no exaggeration to say that the magnitude of the response exceeded that of the iPhone in 2021. It is proof that expectations were rising with the announcement of a new entry into the smartphone market in May 2021.

On the other hand, when we mainly analyze the voices of the Internet, we do not always have positive opinions. Rather, there were more negative opinions about what was below expectations. In particular, there were many doubts about prices over 100,000 yen. It can be said that these voices were spurred by the fact that there was a problem with the cooking mode of the camera that was on sale after the release, and that the sale was temporarily suspended due to technical problems.

However, not all smartphones are evaluated based on specifications and price alone. Even if it is expensive, if the value of the smartphone can be properly appealed, it may be well accepted by users. So, is BALMUDA Phone a product that is worth the price? I would like to review the ability of the company after eliminating prejudice such as previous reputation as much as possible.

BALMUDA Phone, which was a big hit as Balmuda's first smartphone

A feeling of size that fits your hand and a rounded body that is good or bad

BALMUDA Phone is one that was born as an antithesis to smartphones that are getting bigger and bigger. As you can see from the size, the body is very compact. The display size is 4.9 inches, which sets it apart from today's smartphones, where around 6 inches is becoming commonplace. In terms of antithesis, the rounded back is also very different from the trend with smartphones, which are often composed of straight lines. As mentioned at the time of the announcement, the stone-like rounded body is the biggest feature of BALUMDA Phone.

Rounded body.Not only the back but also the front display is slightly curved

As a result of adopting such a shape, the fit when picked up is outstandingly high. The soft curve on the back makes it a nice point that your hands will not get tired even if you hold it for a long time. However, as a trade-off, if you try to operate it while it is placed on a desk or table, the main body will not be stable and will rotate around. The aircraft also supports wireless charging, but it can be said that it is a shape to choose the type of charger.

The body made up of soft curves fits your hand firmly

It fits in your hand and the screen is small, so it is very easy to operate with one hand. When pulling out notifications from the top of the screen, your thumbs reach diagonally, and you can hit the edge with one hand while keeping the standard size of the keyboard. You don't have to forcibly move the terminal in your hand, so you can operate it with confidence. Although the size of the main body is small, the width is 69 mm, so even when the QWERTY key is displayed, each key is large enough. This ease of use is one of the advantages of using BALMUDA Phone.

Due to the compact body, your fingers can reach the edge of the screen when you hold it with one hand.

On the other hand, it is not always the case that the operation feeling is smooth. The chipset uses the Snapdragon 765, which has good performance, but the scroll may not follow your finger exactly. This may be because the frame rate of the display is driven at 60Hz. Not only high-end models but also middle-range models are increasing the number of terminals equipped with 90Hz and 120Hz drive displays, so once you get used to this, you will get the impression that the smoothness is not enough.

Sometimes it lacked smoothness when scrolling.This is probably because the refresh rate of the display is low.

In terms of operability, the position of the power key and fingerprint sensor also remained questionable. It's on the back of the BALMUDA Phone, mounted on the other side of the camera. Because the body is small, when I hold it with my right hand, my index finger naturally approaches the camera, and I often accidentally press it. It's a little confusing to have to press the power key to turn on the screen. I was also dissatisfied with Android smartphones because many devices can unlock the screen by simply touching the fingerprint sensor and then turn on the screen. The power key is on the back, making it difficult to take screenshots.

Since the power key and fingerprint sensor is on the back and lined up with the camera, I often accidentally put my finger on the camera.

The power key and fingerprint sensor may have had to be placed on the back due to space constraints, but this is a minus for usability. The concept of BALMUDA Phone is to add another option to the smartphone, but I feel that the power key and fingerprint sensor are the same as those of a normal smartphone. It is off by default, but it seems that the user needs to devise something such as tapping it to turn on the screen.

Although it is equipped with an original app with elaborate ingenuity, there are also issues with variations.

Due to its small display size, it is not suitable for watching videos. Moreover, there is a large punch hole for the in-camera in the upper right corner of the display, so if you display a photo or video in full screen, part of it will be missing. With this size, I wanted the punch hole to be smaller by dividing it and reducing the number of pixels of the in-camera to the minimum. Content such as e-books is also difficult to use. The characters were small, and depending on the site and the format of the email, it was difficult to read unless it was enlarged.

The power of the video is poor.It's a pity that the image is missing because the punch hole of the front camera is large.

Due to the small display size, the amount of information that can fit on one screen is small.

However, this is a common issue for compact terminals and can be assumed in advance. Few users will dare to use content such as videos and ebooks on this device. BALMUDA Phone is rather a terminal that keeps a certain distance from such smartphone-friendly content. Instead, Balmuda is focusing on basic functions. Various applications such as schedulers, watches, memos, and calculators are not standard OS, but pre-installed ones developed in-house.

For example, unlike that of a general terminal, the scheduler has a date on the vertical axis and time on the horizontal axis, so that the schedule can be grasped two-dimensionally. Since you can change the scale by pinching in and out, you can smoothly perform operations such as looking down on the schedule you are in and conversely looking at the time in detail. In addition, the calculator can display units unique to Japanese such as "100 million" and "10,000", and can convert currencies into dollars and euros, so it is a workmanship that can reach the itchy place.

In the scheduler, the vertical axis is date, the horizontal axis is time, and you can change the scale by pinching in and out.

In addition to being able to display units of "100 million" and "10,000", the computer is also equipped with a currency conversion function, making it multifunctional.

It can be said that the software has a high degree of customization of the home screen. Swipe the bar displayed on the home screen diagonally up or down to launch a preset application, or display initials and phone numbers on the screen. many. It can be said that it is an ambitious effort to be able to show your own personality, not just wallpaper.

You can change the color of the home screen and the application assigned to the stripe.Being able to display names and phone numbers is a unique feature.

However, there remained some doubt as to whether the proprietary app really matched BALMUDA Phone as hardware. Although the concept of the scheduler can be evaluated, the width is required when trying to list the schedule, and the BALMUDA Phone is too small. Since it does not support horizontal display, scrolling is inevitable when grasping the schedule of the day. Calculators are also useful, but if you search Google Play, you can find apps with similar functions. Although the original app is certainly a seasoning for the device, it is hard to make a decisive purchase.

Also, despite sticking to the basics, there are also conspicuous missing functions such as no voice recorder application and leaving the mailer and music playback application to Google. Although we have launched a smartphone that can be used as a tool, it is a frank impression that it is still unsatisfactory in that context. At the time of the announcement, we announced that we would add apps in the update, so we hope that the functions will be enhanced as soon as possible.

How powerful is the camera?Also check the cooking mode

Another thing Balmuda has modified is the camera. The number of pixels is as high as 48 million pixels, and by shooting with 12 million pixels by combining four pixels into one, it is possible to capture a lot of light. It is a general specification for the middle range model, and there is not much to mention in this regard. Unfortunately, this is the only camera. You can't switch to a super wide-angle camera or a telephoto camera.

The camera has 48 million pixels, which is equivalent to 12 million pixels when shooting.Single camera, no ultra-wide-angle camera or telephoto camera

It's a pity that there is no super wide-angle camera in particular. Unlike a telephoto lens, which can be used as a substitute to some extent, it is impossible to widen the angle of view to the wide-angle side without hardware. If the BALMUDA Phone is an entry model of around 30,000 yen, it may have given up, but it is undeniable that the function is insufficient for a terminal over 100,000 yen. There is a limit to pushing two cameras into a limited space, but this is the part I wanted to hold down.

The painting has a rather natural impression, which is different from the finish of a smartphone camera whose saturation is sharply raised by computational photography. For example, compared to the Galaxy Z Fold3 5G as shown below, the blue of the blue sky is reflected naturally. I can't say which one is better, but if you want to look good on SNS, you can use Galaxy, and if you want to emphasize naturalness, you can use BALMUDA Phone. However, the night view has a tendency to overwhelm the atmosphere, and there is a strong tendency for dark places to collapse, so I couldn't take very beautiful pictures.

The colors are natural and tuned to give the picture a close look.

This is a picture taken with Galaxy Z Fold3 5G. Compared to BALMUDA Phone, the color development is crisp

On the contrary, the dark place gives the impression that the atmosphere is too much.The difficulty is that the dark place is too crushed

The cooking mode is unique to Balmuda. Below are photos of the same dishes taken on and off, but the difference is obvious. On the other hand, while the bright daytime scenery was taken naturally, I felt that the cooking mode processing was a little overkill. In this photo, the ramen soup is unnaturally white and fluffy, and the richness of the oil and the texture of the ingredients are lost. Even with the same dish, there are strengths and weaknesses depending on the subject, but I want you to leave a little more natural.

A picture of ramen taken in normal mode.The white soup looks somewhat muddy

When I turned on the cooking mode, the photo became bright and saturated.However, I also get a slightly unnatural impression.

There is still room for improvement in the camera user interface. The above cooking mode and night view mode can be switched only by taking the initiative from the setting menu, and since it does not have a function to automatically recognize the scene using AI, it takes time and effort when shooting. It seems that the operating speed including autofocus is not as good as that of terminals higher than the general middle range model. I would like to expect continuous updates on the points that can be improved by software.

It is difficult to switch modes, and there are few compatible functions.The camera user interface needs improvement

On the other hand, even though it is a new entrant manufacturer, it has some functions required for Japanese smartphone users, such as being compatible with Osaifu-Keitai and being able to use 5G. It can be said that it fits to some extent for users who are looking for a terminal with a small display and easy handling. However, it is a fact that there is much room for improvement for a terminal that costs more than 100,000 yen. The value of smartphones cannot be evaluated only by their functions, but there is also a question mark as to whether there is an overwhelming "experience" at a price. It's a little too expensive to buy as a second smartphone, so if you propose a different option from your previous smartphone, I felt that you could narrow down the functions.

[Ishino's Judgment] Texture ★★★★ Easy to hold ★★★★★ Display performance ★★★ UI ★★★★ Shooting performance ★★★ Music performance ★★★ Collaboration & network ★★★★ Biometric authentication ★★★ ★ Payment function ★★★★ Battery life ★★★ * Scoring is judged on a scale of 5 for each item * Because it is a prototype, it cannot be evaluated because it cannot be used around the network or Felica.

Interview / text / Junya Ishino

After graduating from Keio University, joined Takarajimasha. After becoming independent, he has been active in a wide range of media as a mobile journalist / writer. He has authored numerous books such as "Keitai Children" (Softbank new book) and "Easy to understand in one hour" (Mainichi Shimbun).