Intex is regular in terms of launching new devices and giving their customer a lot of options across different price segments. It recently launched the Cloud Tread, at a price tag of Rs 4,999. With 4G support and decent specs, it seems to be an attractive option. Let’s check out, if it’s good enough to be in the race of best smartphone under Rs 5000.
Design and Build
The Intex Cloud Tread has a glossy plastic body with a silver colour finish at the back. The smartphone is light in weight and can be used with a single hand. With the bundled cover, you can make it less slippery. However, it increases its thickness a bit more.
The rear panel has a camera module and an LED flash at the top side of the body. Intex logo is in the middle, along with speakers towards the bottom. The panel is removable and gives access to the user-replaceable battery, dual-SIM card slots and a microSD card slot.
The front panel has the selfie camera and the sensors at the top of the display, there are on-screen buttons instead of normal backlit buttons. Sadly, the bezel is too thick and increases the body width. The 3.5-mm audio interface is at the top edge while the microUSB port is at the bottom edge. The volume rocker keys are at the right edges along with the power key.
Display
The Intex Cloud Tread features a 5-inch HD display with 1,280 x 720 pixel resolution. It has a pixel density of 294 ppi and has a Dragon Trail Glass Protection. The display is good in terms of given specification and offers good viewing angles as well, however, I found it to be a bit difficult to see the display under sunlight.
Performance
As per the specification and its price point, the Intex Cloud Tread is one of the best devices under Rs 6,000. It houses a 1.5-GHz Hexa-core MediaTek Processor. The smartphone handles high-end games and apps smoothly at first, though later it starts to hang. The 2GB DDR3 RAM handles the multitasking smoothly device.
The Antutu and Quadrant Standard benchmark scores of the smartphone are 29377 and 11031 respectively, which is a good score in comparison to the other device in this range.
The UI is good but has a lot of bloatware like Intex Store, 9Apps, Daily Hunt, InMobi Services, and many more. Probably that’s why it only gives us only 9GB of free space, out of available 16GB memory on board.
Camera
The rear camera is of 5-megapixel with 4P lens, f/2.0 aperture, and auto-focus. It shoots decent images in terms of given specification. The performance is good in normal lighting, but the low-light images are below average. The front camera is also of 5-megapixels with 3P lens, and shoots good selfies.
In fact, I liked the front camera more than the rear one. The given camera app is user-friendly, but lacks different modes. It should be more helpful to users.
Battery and Connectivity
The 2,200mAh battery is capable of giving a full day backup with normal use. I used the phone in a train travel journey for 12 hours, with lots of network changes, music playback and a bit of Internet usage, and yet there was 12 percent of battery left at the end. The moderate user will get approx. 8 hours of running time.
The Cloud Tread accepts dual-SIM (micro + full SIM), both the SIM supports 3G+ connectivity. The phone also comes with other connectivity options – Bluetooth, and WiFi.
Gizmo Verdict
Overall, the Intex Cloud Tread is one of the best smartphones to have in this segment. If you’re on a tight budget and just want a decent smartphone for normal use, you can definitely go for it.
