BlackZone Warrior Review: Budget Phone That Delivers, But with Caveats

The BlackZone Warrior is a budget-friendly smartphone that aims to deliver a premium experience at an affordable price. With its large display, substantial battery life, and ample storage, this phone seems to offer features typically found in more expensive models. But in the highly competitive budget smartphone market, where every brand tries to offer the best features at the lowest possible price, how does the BlackZone Warrior truly perform? 

Build Quality

The mobile phone features a robust plastic build that, while not premium, is durable and well-suited for everyday use. The modern design includes a waterdrop notch on the front, housing the selfie camera, and a well-integrated camera module on the back. Ergonomically, the phone offers a comfortable grip that doesn’t feel too slippery, making it suitable for prolonged use.

One of the highlights of the build quality is the tactile and responsive buttons. The power and volume buttons, located on the side, are easy to reach and provide a satisfying click when pressed. The side-mounted fingerprint sensor is another convenient feature, offering quick and reliable unlocking, which is a nice touch for a budget device.

Features

The BlackZone Warrior phone comes equipped with a range of features that cater to the needs of budget-conscious consumers. Running on Android 13, it provides access to the latest apps, features, and security updates. The phone is powered by the Unisoc SC9863A octa-core processor, coupled with 7 GB of RAM (4 GB physical + 3 GB virtual) and 128 GB of internal storage. This combination ensures smooth performance for daily tasks, and the storage can be expanded by up to 128 GB via a dedicated microSD card slot.

The 6.6-inch HD+ IPS LCD panel is decent for media consumption, browsing, and casual gaming, although the resolution is limited to 720p, which is typical for this price range. While the display offers good color reproduction and brightness, it may fall short for users seeking a sharper viewing experience.

Performance

Powered by the Unisoc SC9863A octa-core chipset, the BlackZone Warrior is capable of handling everyday tasks such as social media, web browsing, and light gaming with ease. The 7 GB RAM ensures that apps run smoothly, and multitasking is generally fluid. However, the processor may struggle with more demanding games or heavy multitasking, which could be a limitation for power users.

The device includes both fingerprint and face detection, both of which work flawlessly, providing quick and reliable unlocking. The side-mounted fingerprint sensor is particularly convenient, allowing for easy access without needing to adjust your grip on the phone.

Camera

The BlackZone Warrior features a dual rear camera setup with a 16 MP primary sensor and an LED flash. In daylight conditions, the camera performs decently, capturing images with acceptable detail and color accuracy. However, the camera's performance drops significantly indoors and in low-light conditions. Indoor photos often lack clarity, with noticeable grain and a decrease in sharpness. In low light, the camera struggles considerably, producing images that are noisy and poorly focused, with a general lack of detail.

The front camera, with its 8 MP sensor, follows a similar pattern. Daylight selfies are decent, offering satisfactory detail and color. However, in indoor or low-light conditions, the front camera's performance is disappointing. Both the rear and front cameras could have been better optimized to improve low-light performance, a critical aspect for many users.

Battery Life

The BlackZone Warrior phone is powered by a 5250 mAh battery. With typical usage, the phone easily lasts a full day or more on a single charge. For media consumption, such as watching videos, the battery can comfortably support over 10 hours of continuous use.

In our battery loop test—streaming video at full volume and 100% brightness on YouTube over Wi-Fi, the BlackZone Warrior lasted an 6 hours and 15 minutes, depleting from 100% to 0%. The inclusion of a USB Type-C port for charging is a welcome upgrade, particularly at this price point. However, it's worth noting that the device does not support fast charging, which means longer charging times.