In the search for finding a dumb phone the Jelly Star was not the first in line. I've looked at flip phones, Nokias, Blackberries, flagships, and many more. But the Jelly Star was a very interesting concept to me because it's technically a smart phone, but it's practicality has very dumb outcomes.
First off, making the switch to android from apple is not nearly as difficult as I thought it would be, I fell for that propaganda notion for a decade I guess. The Jelly Star is a powerful phone and the looks are very deceiving, so much so that people referred to my phone as a "temu purchase". But yes, this phone can do everything I need it to, besides Google Wallet tap to pay (which does suck, and that's my only criticism, Unihertz plz fix).
While I have not heard anyone discuss this before, but the Jelly Star is absolute COMEDY. When you bring this to any function, you will have the power to make every single person laugh their ass off, but you have to own the idea of the Jelly Star it to really succeed at this. Some frat guy asked for my Snapchat to invite me to future parties and the moment I pulled my Jelly Star out to show my QR code, he screamed "WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT" and proceeded to crash out and throw the beer pong table at the wall with alcohol flying everywhere.
These are the experiences you will get from the Jelly Star.
Do I recommend this as a dumb phone, yes, but only if you have the courage to be the butt of the joke everywhere you go. This thing reduces my screen-time purely off the fact that pulling this thing out in any public setting is embarrassing enough to make me not pull it out at all.
This is a success in my books.
TLDR: comically small phones make people laugh or throw table at wall.
Ottimo prodotto, buono rapporto qualità prezzo
Works great on Verizon / Visible; same 5g reception as compared to my old iPhone.
Battery lasts over 2 days for me with plenty of usage.
After reading/watching other reviews I will say the camera is better than I expected. I am able to get some decent photos when needed.
I bought this phone as my every day carry phone because I feel that my Samsung is way to big.
The Jelly 2E fits mich better and it ist working really good. It could be a little bit faster but its ok.
I am using it for WhatsApp, Mail and calls.
I will keep it for a while and upgrade them maybe to the Jelly Star or Max
(Bought November 2024, review January 2025) I bought the phone for it's size, I always loved 'small' phones and I'm glad this one is a slightly smaller than the Google Pixel 4a I had before.
As you might notice I called the title 'little startup struggle' but the size was not part of it. The DP were, in my previous phones I could in the settings easily change 'small' 'medium' 'big' for the scaling of the apps instead of only text. However after a hard searching I found I could change it in the Developers Mode under the subject 'smallest width' and change it to 446dp to match the app-scaling I had on my previous Pixel phone.
Another issue I came across with was the battery, whatever I tried, it refused to charge to 100% but after 4 attempts of entirely draining the battery and trying to full charge it, it finally decided to obey and now it functions great. I can do 2 full days with one battery. I mainly use the phone for Discord and Whatsapp.
The last issue I came across with and am still confused about is the camera quality. Paperwise it should be a lot better than the Pixel one I had but in fact it is many times worse. It sometimes frustrates me... since I'm a handcrafter and do sell my handcrafted items on the internet... I do need to be able to take a proper picture of it, but the photos genuinely looks similar to the Nokia-E6 phonecamera I had on one of my first phones (a keyboard phone which I had around 2011/2013).
But now the positive sides of the phone:
- It is very reliable (after the little start up issues)
- It does what it needs to do
- IT FITS IN MY POCKET !! YAAAAAAAAAY
- I was surprised there was a protecting bumper cover delivered as well with a screen protector. Very positive.
- it is very comfortable to hold, it is a very thick phone, but oddly when holding and using it, it feels 'thinner' than the Google Pixel I had, although it is a whole CM difference between two (with the pixel being on the thin side)
- apparently you can turn off the led lights that indicates messages when you search in the settings for 'led', it took a bit to figure that one out but I am happy now that I've turned it off. It only turns on during charging.
- I love the programmable button.
The last bit of my review, I want to show the photo quality of the Unihertz, so future buyers are prepared for the disappointing quality.
This phone brings me back into the old times, where phones were supposed to be phones and not small tablets. It feels because it is curved and thick, very nice and robust in the hands. The camera is unexpectedly good, although I don't make photos often, yet it will definitely fulfill my needs. The protective glass came pre applied onto the phone, and it came with a reserve, so that is great. Also, the amount of RAM and ROM is surprisingly a lot for that price. An IR Blaster is also quite nice, but the thing I most adore on this phone are LEDs for notifications and a self customizable button, which I am using every day. Next to no preinstalled bloatware, just some tools apps and NFC payment are big plus points for me as well. With modern Android and the packaging, it makes it feel like a high quality phone for me. Like an iPhone 3g. But there are some small downsides.
-The UI works great for almost all apps, but I've also experienced some UI issues with one App in the picture below, although I am sure Amazon has to fix this (Fire TV App)
-The longevity of the battery is great, but makes the phone a bit heavy, even with plastic housing
-Putting the speakers on the back is great, because your hands can't block it while holding it horizontally, but the problem reappears when putting it on any flat surface
- For a phone this thick, I would have expected it to have enough space for a headphone jack, sadly not the case, but it gets somewhat compensated with an usbc to audio jack adapter included.
Overall the upsides outperform the downsides for me, so I give it still 5 stars because I really like it, and it gives me a bit of nostalgia
And for that price with the bike accessory included and a 66W charger (I bought it during black week), how could I complain much.
I just wish I could trade the IR blaster with an audio jack, but oh well, not the end of the world.
Cheers.
If you're thinking about getting this phone, get it! It is the best phone i've had. It’s got the perk of being smartphone while also giving off a unique, nostalgic vibe. It works great and I would definitely recommend this phone to any physical keyboard lovers.
the best phone i have ever had. this is a very specific phone and not everyone will like it. but for me it is just 10 out of 10. i am very intensively involved in cycling and running and also really love to go to the mountains and go hiking. so my choice fell on compact phones for a very long time. in my arsenal over the past few years there have been various models of Sony Compact, then the iPhone 12 and 13 mini. these are the most convenient phones for using with one hand while running or intensive cycling, period. And then recently I found out about the Tank mini. At first I was quite skeptical about this phone since it was an unknown brand to me before that caused doubts. but still taking a risk I bought this phone and do not regret it one bit, period I have been using it for more than a month and I have something to tell. firstly, the design and ergonomics: the phone fits perfectly in the hand and is made very well. Secondly, performance and battery: the phone copes very well with all everyday tasks, And about the battery, here is a separate Thanks to the developers. The phone may seem very thick to you But in fact, it just fits perfectly and comfortably in your hand. And its battery is more than enough for two or even 3 days of average intensive use. Regarding the cameras, I will say right away, the cameras are the simplest for the budget segment, nothing surprising. But I did not buy this phone for photo capabilities)). A small digression regarding those who say that the screen is very small and inconvenient to use: You are idiots, remember When the iPhone 5 with a diagonal of 4 inches came out, you all ran and shouted "ugh, what a shovel" ..... Clowns 🤣.... here the screen is 4.3 inches and it is quite comfortable to use, I will not say that it is ideal, since typing text on the keyboard is not particularly easy, But to my surprise, I got used to the phone in just a few days. a few more words about the flashlight, It's winter now and it gets dark very early and the sun rises very late, I run a lot in the mornings and in the evenings and this flashlight is just an amazing thing that I use almost every day, which makes it an integral part of this phone. I was also very pleased that Android 13 is installed here, which is more than enough for all my tasks.I wish your company further development and success in prosperity. If you ever decide to release the next model, I will definitely buy it for myself.
Me encanta. Lo uso todos los días como teléfono secundario y me ha salvado en múltiples ocasiones. Es hermoso, rápido y todos lo aman al conocerlo. Estoy feliz con mi pequeño y poderoso Jelly Star
Finally a properly sized phone. I'm loving mine, really surprised at the performance.
I sold my tank mini after two days and bought a tank 2. My first thought was: one was too small and the other was a bit heavy (530 g). Wouldn't an armoured phone of this type, but weighing about 400 g, be the ideal compromise? However, after a month of use, to my surprise, my trousers (ordinary denim joggers from Lidl tied with a string) don't fall off, and my pockets don't seem to get punctured either. The phone, despite weighing half a kilo, doesn't weigh me down in the hand (yes, you can easily use it with one hand). So my fast and reliable Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro (which, however, has too small a battery capacity) went into my backpack as a spare phone. I'm getting used to the dimensions and weight of the Tank 2, because the lightest of the heavier models in the tank series has become a phone for everyday use. It surprised me with its fluidity and ease of use. The quality of this phone and the battery capacity are excellent! Charging once every 3 days is what I needed during festival trips and long bike rides in the forest. The retro-futuistic design of the 80s, like from the series "Lost" or "Stranger Things", captivates almost everyone, the navigation is great, the photos are quite decent, the screen is bright even on a sunny day, the camping lantern is powerful and the 40 lumen projector is reliable (although it is a bit dark). This is the best phone I've ever had!
Me ha gustado mucho, tiene un tamaño ideal, y es super rapido.
The Titan has been my daily driver since 2020, from the moment I held it in my hand I realized that I had founded my perfect companion of every day work. Strong, reliable, amazing battery life, superb keyboard and gorgeous style makes the Titan an unreplaceable device! Thank you Unihertz!
Love the size some people with the screen was tad larger I do not the screen size is perfect. Fits in my pocket. I was really surprised how loud the phone can be. Make no mistake its not gonna annoy the neighbors but really shocked on how loud and good the audio quality is for its size. Extreamly easy to root because there nice enough to have the firmwares downloadable directly from them. I can share my storage via samba / Windows standard file sharing because of it. And I can Vnc remote control my phone putting it on a computer with a full keyboard and mouse is dang steller. The camera quality is very decent I lowered it to 8mp takes perfect pictures to list stuff on ebay and facebook. Love the extra orange button that you can program to do what you want. Also surprised it had a real thumb reader too works very well. Bluetooth module is probably the most powerful ive ever seen in a phone. I work in a computer lab and the EM / RF radiation is very excessive yet the blue tooth works pretty dang well back here and outside of the lab I can skate on my roller skates with zero stuttering, Thats a first. I was also worried about its size and reception of course it does not get cell reception in my lab nothing does but Maybe a bag phone but the wifi works amazing with T-Mobile wifi calling. And outside my lab ive had no issues using T-Mobile and Verizon services. Love the dual sim option. Interal storage is quite fast I can read and write to it via samba at almost 20mb + a sec my old Moto Z 2 play could only do about 8mb a sec. Relitivly powerful processor for its size perfect amount of ram for this cpu. Over all I think Unihertz did a dam amazing job with the phone. I hope they stick around and keep maken phones. I wish though some one would make a copy of the Old Droid 2 with the slider keyboard. Small screen would be a lot easier to use if it had a built in qwerty keyboard like the old Droid 2's had. The onscreen keyboard would be pretty tuff to use if your a person with large hands. My hands are pretty small I can get along with the onscreen keyboard if I have to. I like they give you a Jelly case to put it in the lasso they include is also pretty good quality although I didnt like it dangling off the phone I could totally see some one wearing this phone as a necklace its that small and light weight. I also really liked they had a screen film protector on the phone shipped and put on and give you a spare screen protector as well. Im going to replace it with a Zagg screen protector soon as I get a hold of them and havem cut me one as they dont offer one on there site. Far as its design its fatter then most phones but personally I like this the concave bezeling of the edges and the thickness of the phone makes it really easy for me to picup off flat surfaces. Been using it for two weeks and yet to drop it or have issues snacken it up off my desk. I also love that it has a full Headphone jack on it I do still use analog and this was great the jack feels very snug and sturdy. The Led Light is bright enough but not insainely bright like most phones. I also Love that they put the charging jack on the side and not the bottom. Makes it very easy to charge and prop up as pictured. Keep it up Unihertz And suggestion for a small phone for the future I would stright up pay 300+ bucks for a Jelly with all these features and design with a slider keyboard on it.
HECTOR
Design and concept are so cool! I wish the display size were a tad bigger, say 3.5 inches, and the battery at least 2500, with an IP rating as well. Also, the software support is very limited, and I wish Unihertz would provide security updates at least twice a year for the first couple of years!
It's perfect. It's solved my doom scrolling and I'm not tempted to peek at my phone for social media updates. The only issue I have is when the screen brightness auto feature glitches. A full device reset fixes it but it happens often. Tapping on stuff at the edges of the screen tend to miss the tap. As a phone though, best purchase I made.
It's very small but surprisingly powerful. Haven't had any issues with it yet. It has some quirks that need figuring out but nothing too bothersome. It's lightweight and easy to hold. Overall I can recommend this phone to anyone who wants a mini phone with normal phone capabilities. Not a fan of the LEDs on the back of the phone though.
It is really small, fast and reliable. The service and relacement parts are very good, even when they send them to Europe. I love it to play music, whatsapp, banking or order a taxi. People are surprised when they see it function.
this phone has been nothing short of amazing. i bought it on a whim after reading all the positive reviews. my life has already changed for the better. this phone has all the abilities and necessities that i need to live daily life but without the temptation to scroll and live on my screen every second of my life. the size is adaptable - i use voice dictation for a lot of my texts when i don’t feel like typing on the keyboard. the quality of phone calls are good too and people i’ve talked to on speaker didn’t even notice i was using an android instead of an iphone. this phone is tiny and perfect. it’s a great conversation starter too.
i feel a general sense of anxiety has been lifted already and ive only had jelly 2 for four days. i used to be so overwhelmed and afraid of rejection when i would send a text to someone or just be unable to relax without checking for notifications all the time but for some reason it’s like the smallness of jelly 2’s screen has completely taken that fear away. i’m able to be more myself over text exchanges now. it’s like im not afraid to be perceived anymore as much - sounds crazy but it seems to be because of this phone…
mindfulness is returning to my life and im beginning to slow down and be present every day again. i never even realized just how addicted i was to dopamine scrolling until i got this. i was skeptical that the idea of a phone like this was just a novelty that would wear off but by the way things have been going i think im gonna make this a permanent change. i’ve already begun getting so many more tasks ive been putting off for years done. productivity and modern day social media and smartphones are natural enemies - but even though jelly 2 is technically a smart phone the size completely erases the probability of becoming addicted to your phone - at least for me
ps i have att and all i did was swap out my sim card in my iphone 12 into jelly 2 and it worked straight away
i got my atom last september 2023, as a secondary phone for my iphone 13 mini. i had my eyes on the jelly star, but decided to go for the rugged Atom, as i know i would not have access to spare parts or repair it if something broke ( in my country), i found someone selling it online, and they got it while abroad.bought it right away, and i loved it from the very beginning, kept going between both phones for different environments and circumstances. but weeks ago, i started to transfer my whats app to this phone, and ditch my iphone in the drawer for a while because i wanted a social media detox ( the atom has all the social media apps but it's not as easy browsing them as on normal phones which is just what i needed) . and i could't be happier now!
pros:
-good battery. i charge it when it's 40% once a day, because it's better for the battery on the long run.
-camera: i LOVE the simple camera specially that i only use (OpenCamera) app. i fiddled around with the settings and knew how best to use them. and i'm really in love with the artistic simple output. sometimes what you need is the bare minimum to let your creativity flow. because i was sooo sick of the overly processed images of all the new phones. plus i already have a mirrorless camera. unlike most reviews i'm happy with it.
-bluetooth is great. sometimes it cuts a bit but only with my bluetooth earphones, and can't maintain a connection with my garmin watch. but with jbl speakers and car it's perfect.
-swype typing on this thing is a breeeze. normal typing is not great.
-loudspeakers are loudd. music is okay if instrumental and acoustic, but something like rock or many equipments create distortion.
-my first android phone (iphone user since 2014) and i'm not really bothered from the bloatware as it is minimal. and the tool box apps that came from unihertz are greatt.
-maintains calls very well even in bad network areas. ( my iphone dropped calls in the same place, that the atom maintained it perfectly! and several times with both so no coincidence here)
-that LED that blinks if i have messages or calls is super useful. as i don't have to open the phone every now and then to see if i got msgs or missed calls. VERY useful and awesome.
-the fact that the phone does not wake up when the screen is touched. (love it)
-fingerprint sensor works great with me, along with facial recognition.
-phone is snappy and fast, rarely rarely have hickups. ( i don't play games or watch stuff on it).
-headphone jack ( use it alot to reduce bluetooth usage, so the battery stays longer)
-final and favorite feature: The Radiooo. i just love the presence of an FM radio on my phone like in old days.
cons:
-google maps (specially car directions) is very hard to see as the UI was created for bigger screens. i have to use the audio to know where to go.
-sometimes the gps signal is not correct, or struggles to update. i think i have to recallibrate the phone sometimes.
-android auto is not pre-installed. i have to download it from google play and it's not available in my country. i managed to find an APK but a couple of months later it was outdated and did not want to start the app at all :(
-speaker in calls ( on the lowest setting) is still a bit loud to me.
-video in camera needed stabilization.
-lowest brightness is still too bright for me in nighttime.
-adaptive brightness does not work perfectly most of the times.
-i don't use dual sim so i wished the other empty tray area could've been used for an SD card expansion.
finally, UNIHERTZ, please, a special request. make a new version of this phone. updated hardware and software. while keeping the exact same dimensions. and i'll be the first to buy it! because really the Atom has everything i need in a phone, and the most important one of them is it's size, and durability, and hopefully the next one will be with a user replaceable battery.
Highly recommend the Atom for people who want a phone that (phones) , keeps them connected, and has all the main utility apps we can't stop using in our life now ( uber, maps, music streaming, NFC, and all that)
Bought one after many hours watching reviews. The phone feels solid and heavy just like a work tool should be. It is the closest thing you can get now to an updated BlackBerry. Android has some small rough edges but is very snappy and you forget the small screen while being productive. Be careful though because everyone will ask you what phone is it and say that it looks cool.
As someone who loves QWERTY physical keyboards, there hasn't been a better smartphone for me. After purchasing it through a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign and using it for about a year and a half, I haven't found anything inconvenient about it and have been using it without any problems. I'm satisfied with its design, performance, and above all, the QWERTY physical keyboard.
However, looking forward to the Unihertz Titan Slim 2, the first thing I hope for is a slimmer design, and secondly, the addition of waterproofing capabilities.
Since Unihertz is a company that makes good small smartphones and smartphones with waterproof features, I believe it's possible.
I want to express my gratitude to Unihertz for making such a great smartphone, looking forward to the next version of the Titan Slim.
The screen of my previous mobile phone broke, so I bought a new mobile phone. I use it daily as primary phone. It's very perfect for me, a student who don't have time to lose in distractions. This phone has the speciality of the leds on the back. They are very useful to know who is calling me when I am in the library. Also, I had the discount of a free accesory and now I use it for running or in the car.
I hate having large phones, which barely fit into my pocket. I have been looking for a small, yet usable smartphone for quite some time and could not find anything, until 2 weeks ago.
The price I was willing to pay for a phone was up to 1000€ ($1100) and there were no serious options, outside of iPhone 12 / 13 mini (which you can see on the photo), but I dont like iOS and the battery on iPhones barely lasts a day, even if its new.
Finally, I have found Jelly Star, which almost perfectly covers my needs. I was worried about the screen at first, if I will be able to write on it (I am tall and have bigger fingers), but did not have any issues, compared to iPhone 12 mini, which I had to correct myself over and over. I was a bit slower at writing though, I would say I can write at 70% of the speed compared to my 6,5" android phone.
Battery is "only" 2000mAh and I was worried about it at first too, but it does not really seem like an issue, unless you want to stress the phone. When idling, the phone takes about 1-2% of battery each hour, with about 70 apps installed, WIFI toggled on and also SIM card with 4G inserted.
I chose to transfer my files from my previous phone to this one with a USB-C to USB-C cable, which I had to buy (they are not so common, but I recommend you to buy one, it will make your life much easier and clonning faster). I have charged the phone before data transfer to 100% and chose to transfer all my contacts, apps, files, settings,... which was around 50GB totally. Its quite a lot of data and many apps (80 at the time of transfer), so even the CPU was stressed a lot because of installing them one by one. The battery got from 100% to 20% during this "stress test" in 2 hours, after that I just unplugged the cable from the phone, charged it for about 30 minutes (which pumped it from 20% to cca 60%) and was able to just reconnect the cable, press a few buttons on the other phone to continue data transfer and the transfer finished).
Photos taken on the phone are comparable to other Android smartphones in this price range. I dont consider not having more lenses as a disadvantage, if you need this for standard use and dont consider yourself an "influencer" taking photos everywhere, or something :D but even then, the photos are very usable. Daytime photos are completely normal, night time not so much, but thats what I expected anyway.
So, do I consider this phone worth your money? Certainly yes! I am a developer and spend a lot of time on my PC and phone and was looking for something usable, as a minimalist phone, which I can use in case of emergency (to respond to important emails, connect remotely to SSH console, or anything else requiring an Android APP). So if your case is the same, this can be a full replacement of your phone, which you can, but dont want to use (for scrolling instagram, facebook, tiktok and other things all day).
