Obi Worldphone MV1 review – stunning design on a budget

Display

It’s a shame it’s not a tad faster and longer-lasting, as its 5in, 1,280×720 display is more or less on par with its Moto G rival. While its 81% coverage of the sRGB colour gamut isn’t quite as high as the 3rd Gen Moto G’s 85.4%, the MV1 had a higher contrast ratio of 1,247:1 and a higher overall brightness of 401.99cd/m2, making it a bit easier to see outdoors.

In fact, looking at the phones side by side, I actually prefer the more neutral colour cast of the MV1, even if images looked rather flat overall. The Moto G, on the other hand, has richer, more saturated colours, but they also veer toward looking slightly green by comparison. Neither one’s perfect, then, but they’re certainly two of the better screens I’ve seen at this end of the market.

Camera

Sadly, the same can’t be said of the MV1’s 8-megapixel camera, as this was rather low on detail and very high on noise. Even in bright sunny weather, the MV1’s pictures were rather uninspiring, as everything had a rather pink tinge to it and bright, white objects ended up being very blown out. Switching to HDR mode didn’t help either, as this made each image look very artificial and overly bright.

^ The MV1 will produce perfectly good shots for uploading to social media, but up close they’re very noisy and low on detail

^ I’d recommend keeping HDR mode switched off, as images look far too bright and unnatural when it’s turned on

Indoors, colours looked a lot more natural, but noise and artificial grain was present throughout in low light. This improved when I switched on our studio lights, but object outlines were still a touch grainy for my liking. The flash, meanwhile, was hopeless, as it made everything look green.

^ Colours had a more natural colour temperature indoors, but images were still ridden with noise and grain

Conclusion

There’s a lot to like about the Obi Wonderphone MV1, as its head-turning design punches well above its weight and its screen is just as good as its Moto G rival. However, in terms of value for money, the 3rd Gen Moto G still wins hands down, as it’s not only faster and has a better camera, but its longer battery life also makes it more reliable over the course of a day. The MV1’s certainly not a bad choice if you want something a little different to your typical budget smartphone, but it still has a long way to go before it can claim the Moto G’s crown.