(iWish) I bought the $130 SOYES W88 PRO Mini Brick Phone Thing from AliExpress!

Timestamps are integrated into the video for each segment.
I read through most of the listing and ramble on about the phone quite a bit so feel free to skip through the video to wherever you'd like to go to. I completely understand!
======================================================
Greetings and welcome to another installment in the iWish series, a series in which I purchase various questionable products to see if they are any good...most of the time they are not but I buy this stuff so you don't have to!
I found this little gem while I was on AliExpress looking for some phone parts and I immediately went "I need to purchase this and show the folks on the channel".
It's a SOYES so I wasn't expecting too much but...there was a surprise and a first for any WELCOME phone!
All in all this is a big novelty thing and I don't know who would buy it (apart from this idiot here) but here's a 53 minute review of me telling you all what this thing has to offer at $130 AUD.
Stick with reputable manufacturers and not random brands like this on AliExpress.
Who knows what kind of reject parts they use to put these things together!
Anyways, I hope you all enjoy this one! I had fun making it :)
======================================================
Applications:
CPU System Info: bit.ly/3BYfdaZ
Device Info HW: play.google.com/store/apps/de...
Geekbench 5: play.google.com/store/apps/de...
QuickShortcutMaker: bit.ly/3wAC6jm
System files from the WELCOME/SOYES W88 PRO are here:
archive.org/details/SOYES-W88PRO
INTERNET ARCHIVE: archive.org/details/@smoorez
TIMESTAMPS:
Intro & Disclaimers: 0:00
Current Pricing & Quick Specs: 1:25
The Absolute Nonsense Listing: 3:15
Unboxing: 9:58
Around the Phone: 11:52
Power On, The Surprise, Big LED & Display Quality: 13:44
Apps, Shortcuts, GBoard, Mobile & Call Quality: 15:47
Question for System Apps, Battery & Display: 17:55
Accessibility, Face Unlock Fail & Navigation: 19:15
Updates, About Phone & Current Performance: 20:22
Big Sperker Test: 21:38
Other Apps, The Camera & Bright LED: 23:43
Camera Test - Photos: 25:30
Camera Test - Videos: 27:00
Camera Quality, Battery Test & Charging: 29:58
LED Button Issues, Useless Antenna & Much Lag: 31:28
Installed Apps & Browser Test: 33:00
KZbin Test: 34:20
Recovery Mode & A Stupid Moment: 35:46
Geekbench & Bluetooth: 37:24
Gaming Test - DOOM: 38:34
Gaming Test - Minecraft & GTA San Andreas no worky: 39:39
Checking the Specs: 41:41
QuickShortcutMaker & Secret Codes: 42:39
Conclusion: 44:45
Teardown & Investigation: 45:36
Full Specifications & Final Thoughts: 50:22
Thank you for watching & Questionable Merch Outro: 51:31
Be good people!
======================================================
SOCIAL:
Instagram: s.moorez
Email: [e-mail]
My second channel that is charging my headphones with a powerbank:
/ @smoorez2
======================================================
Music/Video:
Outro:
Mick Gordon - Cultist Base (Doom Eternal Soundtrack)
Speaker Tests:
Mick Gordon - BFG Division (DOOM 2016 Soundtrack)
SMOOREZ - Event Horizon (Hell Demo)
(Some EP I never made)
iWish Theme/Camera Test:
Andrew & Simon Hale - L.A Noire Main Menu Theme
Video Test:
4K Video In Costa Rica by Jacob + Katie Schwarz
• COSTA RICA IN 4K 60fps...
======================================================
*All images used in the video belong to their rightful owners but are used under fair use/demonstration.
======================================================
#WELCOME #AliExpress #Smartphone

[@SMOOREZ]

*Sorry the autofocus is a bit whack in certain segments before the camera test. My bad* Greetings everyone and welcome back to another installment in my iWish series I am sure no one was expecting a review on this thing that I stumbled across! Also it's a WELCOME that has done a first of something...amazing. Let me know what you thought of this one down below :) Keep being awesome and I'll see you all soon! TIMESTAMPS: Intro & Disclaimers: 0:00 Current Pricing & Quick Specs: 1:25 The Absolute Nonsense Listing: 3:15 Unboxing: 9:58 Around the Phone: 11:52 Power On, The Surprise, Big LED & Display Quality: 13:44 Apps, Shortcuts, GBoard, Mobile & Call Quality: 15:47 Question for System Apps, Battery & Display: 17:55 Accessibility, Face Unlock Fail & Navigation: 19:15 Updates, About Phone & Current Performance: 20:22 Big Sperker Test: 21:38 Other Apps, The Camera & Bright LED: 23:43 Camera Test - Photos: 25:30 Camera Test - Videos: 27:00 Camera Quality, Battery Test & Charging: 29:58 LED Button Issues, Useless Antenna & Much Lag: 31:28 Installed Apps & Browser Test: 33:00 KZbin Test: 34:20 Recovery Mode & A Stupid Moment: 35:46 Geekbench & Bluetooth: 37:24 Gaming Test - DOOM: 38:34 Gaming Test - Minecraft & GTA San Andreas no worky: 39:39 Checking the Specs: 41:41 QuickShortcutMaker & Secret Codes: 42:39 Conclusion: 44:45 Teardown & Investigation: 45:36 Full Specifications & Final Thoughts: 50:22 Thank you for watching & Merch Outro: 51:31 System files and Apps to test your phone are in the description also Be good people!

[@thedarkknight1971]

FOR ANYONE WHO WANTS TO MAKE THEIR ANDROID PHONE FEEL 'MORE RESPONSIVE'... :- - Go into 'Developer Mode' (find out how to 'Enable Developer Mode' IF you haven't already), - Scroll down to the 'Drawing' section, - Scroll down to ''Window Animation Scale' & Transition Animation Scale' & Animation Duration Scale', - As standard All three of these will usually be set to '1x', set ALL three to either '.5x' (for quicker response), or, set ALL THREE to 'Animation Off' (which will just make everything feel 'Instant'... 👍 Setting ALL three will make your phone feel DOG SLOW! 🤣🤣 😎🇬🇧

[@EmeraldHill-vo1cs]

But it looks nothing like the old phones.

[@mmuller2402]

I reverse engineered the APK file. RAT is also short for Radio Access Technology. So it handles switching connection between network types. (4G /5G etc.) I'm not gonna post whole source code here, since i wanna avoid any legal issues but, you can rest easy. It's not a spyware or anything.

[@clark_johannes]

With all that space and they still wouldn't bother implement a headphone jack lmao

[@draculakickyourass]

That is one of the reasons they cannot sell it in EU

[@CKT1138]

Oh you've GOT to be kidding me lol

[@HangoverTelevision]

even worse: so much space and still just 4G! XD

[@hyperturbotechnomike]

The idea would be genius if it were a satellite phone with a good smartphone and proper GPS combined. So i wouldn't have to carry three devices when traveling.

[@jackwilson5542]

Soon normal phones will have satellite connection. I believe the iPhone 15 Pro/Max already have it for emergencies.

[@BrunodeSouzaLino]

Some flagships now have dual or tri-band GPS which doesn't require cellular connection to work.

[@jjcoolaus]

The ulefone Armor 23 Ultra has satelite messaging built in through bullitt but they don't cover Australia just yet, later this year they reckon

[@hyperturbotechnomike]

@@jjcoolaus Australia wouldn't be important to me, but eastern Asia. My family in law lives in Mongolia and the Baikal area. I currently have one from Iridium, which looks like a 90's phone. It's extremely clunky, especially with the antenna sticking out. In vehicle this is not a problem, but when navigating the terrain on foot, it is cumbersome. CAT has a satellite phone, the S75 that might have been interesting, but it uses a very limited text only service from Bullit. They DON'T cover Asia at ALL. Iridium is worldwide and supports calls, which is important if hands are incapacitated.

[@GodOfWar109]

The iPhone has all that now, no need for multiple devices.

[@Andoryuuu]

That Ainol skit was gold. (Both the one in the middle of the video, and the one at the end.)

[@SolidCoreBlack]

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@WHERETFisAinsley]

anal HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM! 💀💀

[@RockRedGenesis]

I more surprised you can get Ainol merch! That hoodie and beanie are sick! We need more Ainol stuff!

[@gentuxable]

33:20 as teenagers we used to make fun of friends with slow GPU by saying: "Your graphics performance should be measured in seconds per frame", we had a great laugh.

[@Uwuhater]

Lol😂

[@__JiG__SaW__]

I love how they tried to pass ABS as an "environmental protection material" or anything that's especially tough. It's just cheap plastic man, the same kind they use to make Lego bricks.

[@draculakickyourass]

Actually it is a brick,but not Lego, it's more like a construction brick,

[@nicklove9257]

I like the apps list run through it doesn't take long and we get to see information which can be revealing

[@niprbmw_210]

The smarter version that claims to be "easy on the walnuts"

[@collectthemall]

Approved by Tommy Vercetti😂

[@brettrigby2226]

imagine you peeled the plastic off and the cameras just came off with the peel

[@jackmfunion]

I actually thought the same thing when he peeled!

[@iSamYTBackup]

damn the back of it looks like modern sony phones lol and am i the only one that thinks that you should put the ep on the second channel?

[@aaa5717]

Despite the obvious Welcome-ness of the phone it still looks rad as hell. Almost makes me want to buy it...

[@bass1sam]

Thats an actual aspect ratio but ... I dont think I've ever seen that on a consumer device

[@SMOOREZ]

A similar one was on the Qin Device I reviewed a while back. The same tall screen.

[@robertusthemac]

Wow, so the camera is actually decent

[@bradye21playsIndieHorror]

Its so strange seeing good footage of the backyard, especially at night! I think i prefer the jellocam though 😂

[@seanet1310]

As an engineer in radio frequency domain, I can confirm the bloody obvious, that the screw in, external "antenna" does nothing. Techncially antennas can couple wo dont need wires too them but there is no such mechanism here. That "antenna", if real, would have beyond horrid performance on 3G/4G. Even the relic that is 2G would be near unuseable. It looks to be from a cheap UHF 2 way radio toy and around 400 MHz is likely all the antenna, if wired up correctly was semi-competent for (measure the length and we can get a decent idea of the designed frequency). An interesting gimmick in its own way. Thanks for birnging the hidden "gems" of chineese e commerce to our screens Smoorez

[@AlexandruLipan]

Probably only half decent usage would be as walkie talkie antenna, or as a CB radio, and even there would not be the best

[@aleksazunjic9672]

That antenna has other ... uses 😁🤩🤣

[@TommyAgramonSeth]

​@@aleksazunjic9672 Please do not the antenna ❌

[@wyterabitt2149]

I have an old phone from the early 90s that has an antenna that looms almost the same. It worked fine back in the day with it, it had no signal at all without it.

[@draculakickyourass]

In other words he could just put a nice round head screw instead of the antenna,just to cover the hole😄

[@GINGER_KING_]

*NO BANDAIDS WERE HARMED DURING THE MAKING OF THIS FILM*

[@stevenspencer5367]

Wow what a walk down memory lane. The style is reminiscent of the walkie talkies that bouncer/security people used 20-30 years ago. On the whole I like this novelty phone. But it is mainly the nostalgia bit. Lol 😆 Sound is OK and the camera took some ok photos. The pink flowers ere not to bad but not as good as the phone that was sent for review a few weeks back. The video test had me beginning to suffer motion sickness 😢 Ripley was a star as usual. The *Ainol hoodie and beenie hat are cool. 😊 bit it still appeals to my immature sense of humour. 😂

[@Sam-K]

Yes, the camera is surprisingly good. I just did some math. Turns out, the sensor is actually pretty large for a bootleg phone at ~20.6 sq-mm or roughly 1/2.8". That's actually slightly larger than the 50 megapixel Samsung ISOCell JN1 on my Xiaomi, though I doubt it's backside illuminated (BSI or 3D-BSI) or has PDAF and the F/2.8 aperture is pretty small, hence the poor low-light performance.

[@wyterabitt2149]

It's slightly smaller sensor size than the jn1. Sensor size can be fairly meaningless. There are sensor sizes that are a similar size from 15 years ago that take photos in good light better than this phone does.

[@Sam-K]

@@wyterabitt2149 Sure, sensor size isn't everything. But I highly doubt older sensors from 15 years ago can keep-up with modern smartphone sensors that are both frontside and backside illuminated (FSI, BSI), feature pixel binning, complex noise reduction algorithms, and also come with other features like F-DTI, VTG and Lord knows what else!

[@tigersusyt]

I kinda want this

[@bedrockbetter386]

Same😂

[@draculakickyourass]

Only if you work in construction, very usefull at hammering nails with it.....or as a weapon in a bar fight,haha

[@zetorek83]

surprisingly not bad camera from other phones you showed

[@macker38]

The rear camera is actually pretty good at pictures especially the lemon photo, but videos aren't its thing...

[@elihernandez330]

It better have crazy cell range with that physical antenna.

[@hyperturbotechnomike]

Such antennas are usually reserved to satellite phones. But i wouldn't trust my life on a welcome one.

[@zetsubou3704]

​@@hyperturbotechnomike Bruh spot on, in the teardown he shows the antenna connects to nothing 😂

[@hyperturbotechnomike]

@@zetsubou3704 My comment was made before the cideo was live. The hollow antenna is a joke. They could have at least built a shortwave radio into it.

[@draculakickyourass]

@@hyperturbotechnomike It would be a good idea to have FM, coupled with that antenna, any construction /shop worker would like to have one. But unfortunately it is the typical chinese half unfinished,half missing functions.

[@AmadarianArkwing]

Love that Smoorez reading all those jargons and shmorgasboard of text in one breath. XD

[@catmouse1718]

Instead of the soyes, I would by the NOPHONE phone 😂

[@jj926]

my jaw dropped when i saw the inside lol

[@Boogie_the_cat]

I'm not huge on keeping in the listing of all apps. With Android System having 300 or so apps (at least on my old A20 there were 350 stock apps) it gets hard to tell what is stock and what is dodgy\bloat. I love the absolute nonsense listings. Keep including them. They are part of the unboxing, IMO. Very informative rubix cube technology 8 million HD cameras snatch red packets faster wif da big sperker

[@User1-Paul]

Man i love your Vids. Some of the crazy stuff you read, off of these advertisments for these products, make me laugh!

[@chessoc7799]

The best thing seems to be the battery. I miss being able to charge once a week.

[@abukes01]

28:35 "Is there a blue? There's a blue! Haha, There's a blue... Yes, there's a blue." idk why that made me laugh but thank you!

[@Freevo_Lowse]

Giving off angry Joe vibes

[@seireiart]

The sequel of "Easy on the walnuts" and "The Opera was wrong"

[@IntelliPocalypse]

Also, phones like these are the reason there is a silicon shortage. The useless Mediatek APU

[@draculakickyourass]

A silicon shortage? Were? I was yesterday at the beach,here in Spain,but i didn't noticed missing sand,it was all there....

[@_snaiio5492]

nice one! had potential... thanks for the review! shame the rear flash is garbage. ps. i received a Ainol branded charger back in like 2010 with a SmartQV2 linux/android MID. odd device!

[@Sam-K]

That's an ultra-wide 21:9 aspect ratio. 21.6:9, to be precise.

[@user-xu2pi6vx7o]

Nice.

[@Meowmeowmeowmeow2]

As always, Great videos, could you also perhaps add Egyptian Pound in the currency converter chart? For an egyptian folk whos curious, nothing much ^^

[@hikkamorii]

that thing really looks like IBM Simon to me, that's pretty cool

[@cliffordreynolds1835]

Hey is there any way I can get a copy of your Event Horizon song?

[@shreyas8504]

Appreciate the Indian Rupee in the conversion chart!

[@G_Fresh_UK]

That cat is Ripley, believe it or not..

[@Seethingcondolences2]

unrelated: i love the ear gauges.

[@juanchopingo]

Such a weird phone, i love it

[@liamcoldrick8044]

I love all your videos

[@epiciphones]

@26:00 love that Jazz 🤩

[@emersongranados2330]

Thanks for the review…Fyi a semiconductor (I assume partly the material this block phone is made of ) along with the antenna has a specific purpose. Albeit a complex one, dealing with transmission of a radio signal- think UHF/VHF, if you and mates are caught up outdoors with no cellular coverage, provided a user “ out there” knows your phone no. …they can send you a message as long as you have the antenna on the SOYES phone.

[@Win_7]

18:30 keep showing! :D

[@TommyAgramonSeth]

8:41 oh no, Smoorez turned into an ebay listing

[@gentuxable]

22:56 looks like the persistent media control notification that popped up but the playback buttons are white on white background.

[@Realplayman17]

I think you can combine the app list and quick shortcut maker on one part

[@wahidpawana424]

Finally, something to replace my smartphone and brick that i carry around (for self defense).

[@gentle285]

The Ainol parts were awesome!

[@redsable6119]

lol fuselage, we set out to make an airplane but ended up with a retro cell phone. The company also makes a 2.5 inch cell phone. $99 on Amazon(Canada)

[@draculakickyourass]

They run out of stock of turbine engines. As the proverb sais,any chinese helicopter is a good ventilator.

[@bobeiger3275]

Lmao the bit

[@mcash2189]

personally I wish real Flagship smartphones where this thick all that extra space could be filled with battery capacity

[@StuffJason437]

I'm going to take wild guess and say they probably picked parts off donor phones, and created new phone with 'em.

[@Larochaess]

ibm simon is back

[@Chop43]

Ok, I will buy this😂😂😂

[@sharpsteel1986]

Was looking at this on AliExpress now

[@element_47]

Reverse charging is when you can use the phone to wirelessly charge and watch or headphones or something like That by laying the device on the back of the phone and you have to turn it on from the scroll down bar

[@JulianSauco]

Do you get your bandaids in the same shop everytime? They must be scratching their heads quite hard lol.

[@JoanseCastillo]

The apps list can be shown when you are doing the shortcut section...

[@mr.number9279]

I like the shape and idea of it, but... yeah.

[@FavouriteContestant]

I cant wait to watch your new video smoorez 🙂

[@luv2stack]

On a Saturday. You must have no life

[@Meowmeowmeowmeow2]

That IS the new video

[@razvanschuster5058]

That display's aspect ratio looks like a vertical Nokia Communicator display 💀

[@gbresaleking]

Whats a good second hand flagship phone that I can buy for around $100 usd now?

[@chat-nior4617]

Genuine question,would the 3gig ram and 64gig storage be useable?

[@arbolmaldonado877]

Wow, it's not bad, I'll buy it for my aunt who is going to Mexico City and wants a cell phone that doesn't attract attention.

[@kristofcs9359]

In case you are already going for Soyes XS16, i think it would be more smart to go for the XS16 PRO (4" screen instead 3"). XS16 is basically the same device as XS12,XS13,XS14... and there are ton of reviews for that, while there is none yet for XS16PRO. I was thinking about buying one), but i'm afraid of the camera quality:-D I refuse walking around with a half brick in my pocket, my daily driver is either my Palm PVG100 or my Cubot KingKong Mini 2, latter has questionable camera quality especially with low light though.

[@reinmeiker9024]

Kepe the app list btw

[@wiredmind]

Holy shit the Welcomes finally got a new ROM!?

[@brettrigby2226]

knew smoorez was into anoil

[@gentuxable]

39:55 that's what she said!

[@pizzahutisfuckingincredible]

I NEED THIS

[@TestECull]

15:52 If that was a good brand phone with proper internals and such I would 'daily' it. As it is I bought a Kyocera Dura-Force 5G because I was sick and tired of these stupid slim bezel-less phones being so damn fragile. I wanted a thiccc boi with a hefty battery and some bezel-age so it would survive the rigors of being in someone's pocket a bit better.

[@draculakickyourass]

Remember the times when accidentally droping a Nokia by the stairs you would have to replace a floor tile? That's the kind of phone i want .

[@faith_6082]

Can you revew the Jupiter ces 2016 phone ? Its a phone with a vape at the same time

[@FennecTECH]

They likely found the devices on open market with the fake cameras. But since they don’t want to scam their customers they dont push the 5 cameras and openly say that they only give one camera. It is much more than just extra 2 cents to add macro camera and stuff. The module is a few dollars or more. Plus the added PCB design and application work that isn’t cheap.

[@jwoody8815]

Why the hell is this so funny? lmao.

[@thewhizard]

I like it....

[@bradye21playsIndieHorror]

960x400 is larger than 21:9 aspect ratio. 😮

[@MTN1601]

30:33 I have a very old lenovo p780 which is a pretty low end phone in 2013 but it has 1080p video recording (1920x1088 for some reason

[@azmanchanel5118]

WELCOME....again 😂😂

[@tools.shoe.country.quickly]

but does it go easy on the walnuts?

[@gauravjaikish]

Business in the back end and party in the front 😂

[@Noahyaboii]

I would like to buy this for my grandpa but replace the is with an optimized android 10 version

[@YoshiIsCool1]

Why Does It Not Have Enough Memory Storage?

[@Spellfork]

decorative camera...

[@tajemniczepulchnecos2074]

I bought used Samsung Galaxy S7 for 40$ in nearly perfect condition... Installed lineage os android 11. It plays KZbin in 1440p60fps at 2x speed no problem. It plays cod mobile and even honkai star rail. Also, 2k OLED screen... Used market is great.

[@channelname9843]

Unfortunately this isn't an option in countries where 2G/3G have shut down since Exynos devices still don't have VoLTE on non-stock-based ROMs

[@tajemniczepulchnecos2074]

@@channelname9843But s7 is 4g, also stock android 8 is still fully supported...

[@tajemniczepulchnecos2074]

@@channelname9843But s7 has 4g lte, also stosk rom is on android 8. Its's still fully usable, and will be for at least a few years. I put lineage os just for fun.

[@shayZazmat9350]

I want one❤

[@der_kluger_gunther8391]

i was going to scream: where did you get that ainol hoodie?? i need it lol! as for the phone, it's something i guess. i mean for a home phone that stay there it's good just for the retrò style, using it will be painful tho. i was curios and searched for that app and it looks like it's a legit mediatek crap for remote control even tho, some virus use those kind of app to remote control your device... pretty sus in my opinion. now excuse me, i'll get my ainol hoodie UwU. (i want a pipi one too!!)

[@stojicgaming893]

The earpeice is so big it better make me hear stuff more clearly

[@FennecTECH]

Oh i could fit so much battery into it!

[@andyvitz]

Yes you have to show all the apps but it's nice to at least show the weird ones you find that's all

[@ZcaseVX1]

👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[@playerroku4412]

Accessibility, speakers, left right if it's stereo. You have to know this by now

[@anthonystevens971]

i would buy that

[@ClassicRockVw]

Spettacolo 🎉

[@Hadisabetghadam]

I think This Phone Runinng A12 Go Edition

[@SweetiePizza]

Hype

[@evilladollyz7602]

I think it's a cute phone i would buy it lol

[@omurozeroglu9619]

Can you add turkish lira to currency chart?

[@nerevar8823]

app list run is good, but the easter egg thing on every device gets boring

[@IntelliPocalypse]

You mean .2 or .5 on the front camera