Hotwav Cyber 16 Pro Review: specs and features, camera quality test, gaming benchmark, user opinions and photos

HOTWAV Cyber 16 Pro - indicative stagnation

Inexpensive smartphones with water protection according to IP68 standards have made a serious step forward over the past year. The performance of the chipsets used has increased, the photo modules involved have become more advanced. Unfortunately, not all manufacturers of such devices keep up with progress. Thus, the Chinese company Hotvav will definitely be on the list of laggards if it continues to produce devices like the hero of today's review.

The appearance of the new product has not changed much compared to its predecessors. Large screen frames, archaic design of the 32-megapixel selfie camera in place, and the rubberized case is bulky and heavy, if you remember that the battery installed is not the most impressive. Of course, you can find a number of advantages of the exterior. So, there is a side fingerprint scanner, and an additional 1.45-inch IPS display for displaying notifications and other information, which is important for some buyers, and an abundance of pseudo-metallic brutal elements. The main IPS panel will please you with the clarity of the picture at a resolution of 2408 x 1080 pixels, decent smoothness at a refresh rate of 120 Hz. But with the peak brightness, everything is bad (450 nits), it is almost impossible to work with the gadget in the summer outdoors. There are also problems with color rendering, it is too dim.

The technical characteristics include the MediaTek Helio G100 processor, 8 GB of RAM and the Mali G57-MC2 video adapter. The CPU has lost a significant share of relevance, because it does not support 5G networks, and in the AnTuTu benchmark it is already gaining a modest 380-400 thousand points by today's standards. With such results, we can hope for relatively smooth operation of Android 15, but not for outstanding performance of modern games. In new resource-intensive projects, you need to reduce the graphics presets to the minimum, and even then, there will be occasional lags. However, 512 GB of permanent memory is allocated, so MicroSD cards will not be needed by everyone. The battery capacity is 6280 mAh, which is a mediocre value for a unit protected from dust and moisture. You can count on 8-10 hours of active screen time. There is fast charging, but the power is low (33W).

Photo capabilities are simplified if you compare the model with the previous one. A peculiar 24-megapixel night vision module is combined with the main 108-megapixel sensor from Samsung without optical or hybrid stabilization. Even daytime shots have lost some detail, and evening shots will often be full of noise. Stereo sound has not appeared, but at least one speaker has acquired a large diameter and, as a result, loud and quite high-quality sound. Contactless payments NFC have not been removed, which is already pleasing. However, the overall impression of the device is very ambiguous, because it looks outdated against the background of its opponents.