Review: Accer Liquid X2

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Introduction

Liquid X2, Acer called it, when it clearly should have been the Acer Liquid X3. Now, we understand how the smartphone comes to replace the X1, but how did they miss out on a chance to name a triple-SIM device the X3, even if it skips a digit? Yes, the Acer Liquid X2 has multiple SIM slots, three of them.
Okay, to be fair, Acer already had one triple-SIM offering - the Liquid E700 - and it had the Trio moniker slapped to its name in some markets. Apparently, the company is no stranger to creative naming, it just chose to keep it simple for the Liquid X2.
Anyway, the number of SIM slots quickly reveals the price-conscious nature of the smartphone. Even if you had any doubts about it, the 720p resolution of the 5.5-inch display does well to squash them.
That said, the budget constraints have luckily not affected most of the other areas. The Mediatek MT6753 chipset is a reasonably powerful performer, there is a respectable 32GB of storage on board, and RAM is at a far-from-entry-level 3GB. There are also a couple of 13MP cams, one on the back, and one for selfies, and each gets an LED flash - not what you'd call skimping.
Powering the smartphone is a generous 4,020mAh battery (removable too), because what good are all these radios if they drill through your power pack in half a day of standby. A nicely balanced overall package, then.

Acer Liquid X2 key features

• 5.5" 720p IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen, 267ppi
• Triple-SIM card support
• All-plastic build, removable rear cover
• Mediatek MT6753 chipset; octa-core 1.3GHz Cortex-A53 CPU, Mali-T720MP4 GPU, 3GB of RAM
• 13MP autofocus rear camera, f/1.8 lens, single-LED flash; 1080p@30fps video recording
• 13MP autofocus front camera, f/1.8 lens, single-LED flash; 1080p@30fps video recording
• 32GB built-in storage, dedicated microSD slot
• Android Lollipop 5.1
• Cat. 4 LTE (150/50Mbps); Wi-Fi b/g/n; Bluetooth 4.0; GPS; microUSB, FM radio
• 4,020mAh battery
• Standard 3.5mm headphone jack, 24-bit/192kHz DAC, Dolby DTS HD certification

Main disadvantages

• Not quite enough resolution for the screen real estate
• Bulky for the screen size
• Android 5.1 is somewhat dated

Looking at the above lists, users of multiple carriers or multiple numbers with the same carrier will find plenty to like about the Acer Liquid X2. Perhaps its biggest shortcoming is the low pixel density, but that's understandable, it just needed to fit it into the budget. And just because we have twice the ppi in some flagships, doesn't make the X2's 267ppi all that terrible.
Of course, the above is based solely on the spec sheet, before we've even opened the box. That's exactly what we're going to do on the next page, where our usual routine begins.
 

Unboxing

The Acer Liquid X2 arrives in a rather common-looking retail box with the device printed on top. There isn't a whole lot inside but the basics are covered - a USB cable, AC adapter (5.2V/1.35A) and a handset are all there is inside.

Retail package

Acer Liquid X2 360-degree spin

The Acer Liquid X2 is no compact device. Measuring 153.3 x 78.8 x 8.5mm, it's pretty wide for its screen diagonal, with even the Zenfone 2 ZE551ML more than 1.5mm narrower. It's also taller by a smidgeon than the regular 5.5-inch Zenfone 2, but if you compare it to the Zenfone Selfie ZD551KL, the Liquid X2 wins by some 3mm.
Then there's the Lenovo Vibe K4 Note, which is equally tall, but has capacitive keys to show for it. It's also more than 2mm narrower, making it a lot more manageable than the actual size difference suggests.
The Liquid X2 weighs 166g and that's about right for what it is. Competing Zenfones are a tiny bit heavier at 170g, while the Vibe K4 Note with its 158g is a little lighter. None of those comes close to the X2's battery capacity, though.

Hardware overview

The Liquid X2 sports a rather generic design, though it does have a few fine touches that reveal it as an Acer device, to the initiated at least. Otherwise, a sharp-edged rectangle with only subtly rounded corners, the X2 is a smartphone like any other.
It's an all-plastic device, but is trying hard to hide it, and not without success. The rear panel, for instance, poses for brushed metal, much like the Zenfones it competes with for the same market. The cover is pretty hard to remove, and requires some serious nail strength to pry open, but that's infinitely better than falling off on its own - we approve. A flip cover is available, which replaces the regular rear cover and has a cutout the shape of an old-school elevator door.

Brushed metal look • Back cover removed • Flip cover

The camera lens and the flash look at you from cutouts in the panel, in the top left corner. The lens ring sticks out slightly above both the panel and the front element of the lens, so the glass should be safe from scratches if you put the phone face down on the table.
At the rear bottom, you have a wide speaker mesh but there's only one speaker behind it, about half the size of the mesh.

Camera and flash in the top left • Loudspeaker down below

Up front, the display is surrounded by a checkered pattern that perhaps aims to mask the rather thick bezels. The chin, for example, big as it is, would have looked even larger had it been a solid color. Or least that's what we think.

Checkered pattern in the ample bezels

While the bottom bezel is devoid of function (on-screen navigation buttons), the area above the display is pretty busy. Located in the center, the earpiece is the signature Acer design, the plughole looking less obtrusive on a handset this size, than it does for rear mounted loudspeakers.
In the upper left corner you'll find the front-facing camera, and midway between that and the earpiece is the LED notification light. To the right of the earpiece you have the ambient light and proximity sensors, and the front facing flash. Symmetry freaks will find little to fall in love with here.

"Wherever you find room on the PCB, we'll make a cutout for it in the front panel"

The power button and the volume rocker are on the right side of the phone and, with the card slots under the hood, there's nothing on the left side.

Buttons on the right • Nothing on the left

The microUSB port is at the bottom, and Acer insists on putting it off-center. So be it. Next to it is the mic pinhole. On top you have the 3.5mm jack and the secondary mic.

microUSB port on the bottom • 3.5mm jack on top

In hand, the Liquid X2 does feel a bit bulky thanks to those large bezels, but also because of its flat back. The relatively flat sides do provide substantial area to hold on to, which is nice because the back is rather slippery.

In the hand

Decent 5.5-inch display

The Acer Liquid Jade X2 is equipped with a 5.5-inch IPS display. Its 1,280x720 resolution is rather low by today's standards - the most obvious victim of cost cutting. That said, 267ppi is still okay, if you're not going to be reading tiny texts.
In the other areas we measure though, the screen is actually an okay performer. Its maximum brightness is good for the class, only bested by the Moto X Play. A touch brighter blacks still don't send contrast down the drain - in fact, it's on the good side of average. The minimum brightness is rather high though, at 13.5 nits.

Display test	100% brightness
	Black, cd/m2	White, cd/m2	Contrast ratio
Acer Liquid X2	0.50	473	950
Asus Zenfone 2 ZE551ML	0.44	390	879
Asus Zenfone Selfie	0.36	333	928
Lenovo Vibe K4 Note	0.47	442	940
Oppo F1	0.46	408	897
Samsung Galaxy J7	0	358	∞
Samsung Galaxy J7 outdoor	0	500	∞
Motorola Moto X Play	0.41	620	1520
Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (MediaTek)	0.42	403	953
Huawei Honor 5X	0.44	473	1073
OnePlus Two	0.30	399	1334
Meizu m3 note	0.52	425	816
Samsung Galaxy E7	0	517	∞

Color reproduction is decently accurate - the average DeltaE of 5.8 is only slightly off the flagship G5's 5.6. The grays are mostly accurate, cyan probably the most distant from the truth.
There is a proprietary mode for enhancing photos in the gallery, called LumiFlex, which we found to be working in other apps as well. It dynamically alters contrast based on the content on the screen. While the premise is nice, in practice we found it to perform quite inconsistently.

The standard DeltaE 2000 deviation is used to describe the accuracy of the screen's color rendition. We test the screen with a set of over 100 different color and grayscale patterns to determine the accuracy of the color reproduction.
Even when a phone's screen color reproduction is off, you would still have a hard time noticing a color cast without a reference as the human eye is quite quick to adjust and normalize colors.
Also, the display colors are a matter of personal taste and perception so consider this test data only if you are concerned about presenting color-critical content on the mobile screen.
Any deviation above DeltaE 2000 of 10 is considered a highly visible error in color reproduction on the display. A DeltaE 2000 deviation between 4 and 10 is considered okay or acceptable color performance. A DeltaE 2000 deviation below 4 is considered good, but professional color calibration requires a deviation between 1 and 2.

It's out in the sun that the Liquid X2 doens't fare all too well. Its result is better than the Zenfone Selfie that we tested, and similar to the Zenfone 2 ZE551ML and the Xiaomi Redmi 3. The Moto X Play is miles ahead, but that's one of the better-scoring non-AMOLEDs in our test.

Sunlight contrast ratio

• Sort by Label
• Sort by Value
• Expand

• Samsung Galaxy E7 4.485
• Samsung Galaxy J7 outdoor 3.879
• Samsung Galaxy J7 3.422
• Motorola Moto X Play 3.222
• Oppo F1 2.528
• Lenovo Vibe K4 Note 2.254
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (MediaTek) 2.249
• OnePlus Two 2.165
• Asus Zenfone 2 ZE551ML 2.149
• Acer Liquid X2 2.084
• Asus Zenfone Selfie 1.68

Connectivity

The Acer Liquid X3 is a triple SIM device, so you have flexibility in terms of carriers and plans. The three microSIM compartments are under the rear cover and they all get 2G connectivity. Only one card gets 3G/4G, but you don't need to worry about it when putting the cards in - the networks are managed in the options menu.
Additionally, the cards are not active at the same time. If you're taking a call on one card, and someone rings you on another, the call would just be forwarded to the active SIM card which may or may not be what you'd like depending on your usage case.
Naturally, you get Wi-Fi, but it only operates on the 2.4GHz band, and there's no Wi-Fi ac. There's GPS with A-GPS, Bluetooth v.4.0, and an FM radio receiver, but no NFC.
Wired options include a microUSB port and a 3.5mm jack. The microUSB port can be used to attach an external accessory as it supports USB On-The-Go.

Acer Liquid X2 battery life

Under the rear cover of the Liquid X2 you'll find a large, flat 4,020mAh battery. It blocks access to the SIM cards, so you may need to pop it out quite often. The capacity is pretty generous, and well above the competition, but then again, it needs to be in order to keep all those radios running.
Indeed, the Liquid X2 proved to be a dependable performer in terms of battery backup. In both tests where the display stays on, the smartphone is good for a little less than 13 hours - excellent numbers. What's not as impressive is the endurance in 3G voice calls, but even so, upwards of 15 and a half hours should still be more than enough for even the busiest days.
We do measure standby battery drain, and even though it's not included explicitly in the scorecard, it has its influence on the overall rating. In the case of the Liquid X2, having three SIMs inside inevitably takes its toll, and the otherwise excellent 85h endurance rating gets a 20-hour hit when you put all cards inside - still acceptable.
An Asus Zenfone 2 ZE551ML lasts virtually the same on a call, but is otherwise no match for the X2 with around 8 hours on the web and half an hour more of video playback. The Lenovo Vibe K4 Note outlasts the Acer model by more than 3 hours of talk time, but again, its 9 hour score in the two other tests is far from what the X2 is capable of.

The battery testing procedure is described in detail in case you're interested in the nitty-gritties. You can also check out our complete battery test table, where you can see how all of the smartphones we've tested will compare under your own typical use.

 

User interface

The Liquid X2 boots Android 5.1 Lollipop with an Acer layer on top. The company's skin leaves most stock interface elements unaltered, but does introduce changes in some areas, and those aren't necessarily all for the better.
Anyway, the lockscreen is very much standard-issue, with a clock, notifications and shortcuts to dialer and camera, which work with any side swipe, not just from the corners. Past that are the usual homescreens with folder support and an app drawer - unlike many makers that put all apps on the homescreens Acer sticks with the two-tiered approach. There's no search or sort functionality in the app drawer, though.
We have a minor niggle with the folder implementation, which hinders their functionality. They are represented as a deck of icons, and you can only clearly see the top one, and barely distinguish the next two, and that's it. Why not have 6 or 9 tiny icons, so you forget what's where, you can tell by color and shape?

Lockscreen • Homescreens • App drawer

The leftmost pane next to your homescreens is sort of an information hub which can pull news for you, remind you of incoming events and aggregate social network messages. You can even set its as the default homescreen.

Flipboard-like content aggregator

The task switcher is the regular Lollipop one, with a button to kill all apps.
The notification shade is one of those interface elements Acer could have done better. Pulling it down, you get 7 toggles and shortcuts on top, followed by notifications. You can pull a second time to expand the toggles, you need to press the "More" button, which also takes up a space for a toggle.
The brightness slider is accessed from there as well, and there's no Auto toggle. We know there isn't one in stock Android either, but if you're going to change something, why not make it better.

Task switcher • Notification shade

On a positive note, Acer has added multi-window functionality and float apps. The former works a lot like Samsung's implementation, but you can initiate it in a different way.
When you're in an app that supports multi-window, an icon appears to the left of the back button in the navigation bar. You tap that and the app shrinks to half the screen size with the other half offering you a choice of recently used apps and a complete list of all apps that support it. You can resize the windows, and swap them, and it also works in landscape. You can't have two instances of the same app, though.

Multi-window works nice and simple

On top of that (literally) you can have what Acer calls Float apps, and Sony calls Small apps. Well, those are small floating instances of the regular apps, which display above all other content on the screen, and include a simple calculator, calendar, browser and camera, among other things.

Float apps

Remember that flip cover we mentioned in the hardware section? When the phone is in standby, the screen is off, but wake it up and it displays a clock and battery lever indicator. Double tap and you launch the camera, though the tiny strip is perhaps not the best means for accurate framing.
There's more to it, though. From the default state you can slide up or down and it gives you some neat shortcuts. You can enter airplane mode, fire the flashlight or mute the sound. Additionally, when you're on the weather panel, a press-and-hold action gets you a minute-by-minute weather forecast until the end of the day.

FlipCover

 

Synthetic benchmarks

The Acer Liquid X2 is powered by the Mediatek MT6753 chipset - one of those non-Helio models by the Taiwanese chipmaker. Its forte in radio connectivity aside, the SoC comes with a rather standard-issue octa-core Cortex-A53 CPU with the cores clocked at up to 1.3GHz in the X2 (Mediatek quotes a 1.5GHz maximum). There's a Mali-T720 GPU on board with four shader cores and RAM is a liberal 3GB.
Business as usual, we kick off with GeekBench, which is a reliable gauge of raw CPU performance. Here the Liquid X2 posts numbers in the middle of the pack, with the MT6753 clearly behind the Helio X10 - the 8 Cortex-A53 cores may be the same, but the 1.3GHz vs. 2.0GHz clock rate difference inevitably shows, and the Redmi Note 3 (Mediatek) obliterates the X2 in multi-core. Even the Snapdragon 650-equipped Redmi Note 3 has a clear edge.
The X2 does inch ahead of the highest-specced Zenfone 2 and also bests the Lenovo Vibe K4 Note (with the same MT6753 inside). The Zenfone Selfie and Motorola Moto X Play with their Snapdragon 615's rank even lower.

GeekBench 3 (multi-core)

Higher is better

• Sort by Label
• Sort by Value

• Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (Helio X10) 4537
• OnePlus 2 4429
• Samsung Galaxy J7 3619
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (S650) 3570
• Huawei Honor 5X 3053
• Meizu m3 note 3028
• Oppo F1 3014
• Acer Liquid X2 2972
• Asus Zenfone 2 ZE551ML (Z3580) 2887
• Lenovo Vibe K4 Note 2745
• Motorola Moto X Play 2608
• Asus Zenfone Selfie ZD551KL 2582

In the single-core test the Cortex-A72 is in a league of its own - the score of the S650-powered Redmi Note 3 is more than twice as high as what a modest 1.3GHz A53 can do inside the Liquid X2. The Meizu m3 note has the A53 clocked at up to 1.8GHz, and beats the X2 comfortably, but the Vibe K4 Note is again a notch behind the Acer offering.

GeekBench 3 (single-core)

Higher is better

• Sort by Label
• Sort by Value

• Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (S650) 1573
• Meizu m3 note 807
• Huawei Honor 5X 705
• Acer Liquid X2 641
• Lenovo Vibe K4 Note 628

Moving on to compound benchmarks, the Liquid X2 ranks in the middle of the table. In Basemark 2.0 it inches ahead of the Moto X Play, and outperforms both the Vibe K4 Note and the Samsung Galaxy J7 (last year's). The Zenfone Selfie is on top of the X2 in this one, but both Redmi Note 3's are way out of reach.

Basemark OS 2.0

Higher is better

• Sort by Label
• Sort by Value

• OnePlus 2 1622
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (S650) 1537
• Asus Zenfone 2 ZE551ML (Z3580) 1222
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (Helio X10) 1018
• Oppo F1 961
• Asus Zenfone Selfie ZD551KL 883
• Huawei Honor 5X 874
• Acer Liquid X2 825
• Motorola Moto X Play 809
• Lenovo Vibe K4 Note 729
• Samsung Galaxy J7 709

The current Antutu 6, doesn't do the Liquid X2 any favors either. The Vibe K4 Note is slightly ahead, and you know where to find the Redmi Note 3's. Then again, the Snapdragon 616 in the Oppo F1 puts it behind Acer's phablet.

AnTuTu 6

Higher is better

• Sort by Label
• Sort by Value

• Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (S650) 75051
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (Helio X10) 45474
• Meizu m3 note 44898
• Lenovo Vibe K4 Note 38359
• Acer Liquid X2 36986
• Huawei Honor 5X 35469
• Oppo F1 35353

The graphics department isn't where you should expect the X2 to deliver record breaking numbers. Indeed, it doesn't, but does a decent job with what it's got. For example, in Basemark X it defeats the identically equipped Vibe K4 Note, and the Exynos 7580-powered Galaxy J7. The Snapdragon 615 and its Adreno 405 redeem themselves putting the Moto X Play and the Zenfone Selfie above the Liquid X2.

Basemark X

Higher is better

• Sort by Label
• Sort by Value

• OnePlus 2 21937
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (S650) 14732
• Asus Zenfone 2 ZE551ML (Z3580) 12426
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (Helio X10) 8540
• Oppo F1 5314
• Motorola Moto X Play 5032
• Huawei Honor 5X 5009
• Asus Zenfone Selfie ZD551KL 4915
• Meizu m3 note 4567
• Acer Liquid X2 4300
• Lenovo Vibe K4 Note 4072
• Samsung Galaxy J7 3922

In the Manhattan bit of the GFXBench graphics benchmark the Acer Liquid X2 only manages 4.2fps in the offscreen 1080p part of the test. However, while it may be lacking in sheer graphics oomph, in practice the GPU needs to render less than half the pixels, hence the 9.1fps score in the onscreen test.

GFX 3.0 Manhattan (1080p offscreen)

Higher is better

• Sort by Label
• Sort by Value

• OnePlus 2 22
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (S650) 14
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (Helio X10) 8.5
• Oppo F1 5.8
• Motorola Moto X Play 5.8
• Huawei Honor 5X 5.6
• Meizu m3 note 5.4
• Asus Zenfone Selfie ZD551KL 5.3
• Acer Liquid X2 4.2
• Lenovo Vibe K4 Note 4.2
• Samsung Galaxy J7 4.1

GFX 3.0 Manhattan (onscreen)

Higher is better

• Sort by Label
• Sort by Value

Telephony and loudspeaker

The phonebook and dialer have a very stock Android look, only they're a blend of Lollipop and Marshmallow. The latter lends the three-tabbed arrangement with favorites, log and contacts, but instead of icons the tabs get names like in Lollipop.
As part of the Float apps, the Liquid X2 has a Float caller toggle, which makes incoming calls appear in a small pop-up instead of full-screen. Smart dial is supported too, naturally.

Phonebook

The headline feature of the Liquid X2 is its triple-SIM support and it inevitably has a settings menu on how to handle them. You can assign a name to each card, as well as a color to identify it more easily. A preferred card must be selected for data, while calls and short message can be left on a case-by-case basis.

SIM card settings

The loudspeaker of the Liquid X2 performed rather poorly in our test, falling in the Below average category. The Zenfone 2 ZE551ML isn't better, but Moto X Play is a few notches up and so is the Xiaomi Redmi Note 3.

Speakerphone test	Voice, dB	Pink noise/ Music, dB	Ringing phone, dB	Overall score
Acer Liquid X2	61.9	62.1	67.1	Below Average
Samsung Galaxy J7	63.0	62.1	66.6	Below Average
Asus Zenfone 2 ZE551ML	62.9	61.7	67.7	Below Average
Samsung Galaxy E7	66.2	66.2	74.1	Average
Huawei Honor 5X	71.1	65.6	70.7	Average
Asus Zenfone Selfie ZD551KL	65.9	66.1	75.7	Average
Xiaomi Redmi Note 3	66.5	66.6	75.8	Good
Motorola Moto X Play	69.8	66.6	75.7	Good
Lenovo Vibe K4 Note	74.7	66.6	72.3	Good
Sony Xperia C4 (ClearAudio+ enabled)	71.1	70.5	79.9	Very Good
Lenovo Vibe K5 Plus	72.8	71.3	81.9	Very Good
Oppo R7 Plus	73.7	72.8	79.9	Very Good
Meizu MX5	75.7	73.5	79.5	Excellent
OnePlus 2	75.7	73.5	80.7	Excellent
Microsoft Lumia 950 XL	74.9	75.7	84.3	Excellent

Messaging and text input

The Liquid X2 has a generic messaging app with threaded view of conversations. There are two email clients, the stock one and Gmail, guess which one is which in the screenshots below. You can't remove either, mind you.

Short messages • Email • Gmail

Text input is handled by the Swype keyboard. It has word prediction, swipe input (imagine that), can be detached and moved around as well as squished to one side for easier one-handed access.

Swype keyboard

 

Gallery

The Acer Liquid X2 comes with a standard-issue gallery, which offers three views based on albums, location or time. Three thumbs a row is the norm here and no pinch gestures can change that.

Gallery

The editor, on the other hand, is a bit more powerful. It offers the obvious cropping, rotation and mirroring, color filters and picture frames, but also more serious editing like curves adjustment.

Viewing and editing an image

Technically, there's no dedicated video player, videos are played from within the gallery, and play/pause is as far as features go. That said, the UC Browser comes pre-installed and it features its own video player, if you don't have a favorite solution of your own.

Gallery video player • Third-party video player

Google Play Music

For listening to music, the Liquid X2 relies on Google's Play Music app, sporting the familiar Material design. It greets you with a "Listen now" screen which shows your recent activity. A swipe-in from the left opens up a menu where you can access your library, playlists, settings and the Instant mix feature. When fiddling with the phone, the app remains active in the background with controls, accessible from the notification shade. If you lock the phone altogether, a small control bar shows up on the lockscreen.

Google Play Music

FM Radio

A very nice FM radio app is available on the Liquid X. It has RDS and can retrieve the stations' names, but interestingly enough, only displays them when the current station is playing. If you want the names to appear in the list of stations, you need to input them manually. You can also record audio straight from the radio app.

FM radio

Audio output not quite to audiophile standards

The Acer Liquid X2 isn’t a particularly inspiring musician. When used with an active external amplifier its scores were as high as you’d expect for the most part, but the frequency response disappointed. Add the disappointing volume levels - this is one of the quietest phones we’ve seen and you get why we aren’t particularly enthusiastic.
Plugging in our standard headphones led to worsening of the signal-no-noise ratio, and increase in stereo crosstalk. Volume levels plummeted further down so don’t bother attaching very powerful headsets to this one. It’s one of the tests where the Liquid X2 budget nature really shined through.
Here go the results so you can do your comparisons.

Test	Frequency response	Noise level	Dynamic range	THD	IMD + Noise	Stereo crosstalk
Acer Liquid X2	+1.01, -0.13	-86.1	86.3	0.012	0.023	-88.1
Acer Liquid X2 (headphones)	+1.48, -0.14	-77.8	82.6	0.013	0.178	-56.5
Lenovo Vibe K5 Plus	+0.02, -0.08	-93.8	92.8	0.0037	0.034	-91.3
Lenovo Vibe K5 Plus (headphones)	+0.09, -0.03	-93.5	92.6	0.070	0.075	-49.0
Huawei Honor 5X	+0.02, -0.08	-93.4	90.1	0.0028	0.012	-93.4
Huawei Honor 5X (headphones)	+0.10, -0.03	-92.9	89.8	0.0048	0.071	-78.2
Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016)	+0.02, -0.07	-94.3	92.2	0.0065	0.010	-95.0
Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016) (headphones)	+0.42, -0.01	-93.4	87.1	0.029	0.254	-53.0

Acer Liquid X2 frequency response

You can learn more about the tested parameters and the whole testing process here.
 

13MP rear camera...

The Acer Liquid has a 13MP camera on the back, which we'll go ahead and keep calling primary, even though there's the same setup on the display side of the phone.
Anyway, the rear camera can take images up to 4160 x 3120 pixels in resolution and the lens aperture is a respectable f/1.8. There's no OIS, nor should you expect it, and there's no fancy phase detection or laser autofocus. There is a tick in the LED flash checkbox, though.
The camera interface is a bit more cluttered than recent trends have been heading, but the extra buttons offer some genuinely useful functions. For example, the padlock button is a toggle that lets you save photos directly to a pass-protected Private album. You can also use voice control to activate the shutter with a preset phrase like "Cheese". There's also a zoom slider, and the pinch-to-zoom gesture doesn't work.
ISO is buried in the settings menu, where you can also select resolution - a total of 18 possibilities there! Why you would insist on 4,096x3,072 instead of 4,160x3,120 is a question we can't answer.
A truly convenient feature - Favorite Shot - lets you assign one of the capture modes to the third virtual button next to the shutter release and video record button, so you don't need to switch modes just for that one HDR shot.

Camera interface

The arrow button in the top right pulls up a menu with shooting modes and some more controls. You don't get a proper Pro/Manual mode, and some may find the logic of the grouping of the settings a bit odd. There are four white balance presets on top of Auto, there's a delayed shutter release with 5/10/15s timer, and a slider for adjustment of brightness, contrast, saturation and sharpness. "Slider" may be an overstatement though - they all have just three positions.
You have Scene modes - landscape, night, night portrait and, well, regular portrait, and also a selection of color filter effects (just a few of those, not the kitchen sink). More importantly though, the Capture modes on top offer some interesting options, outside of the usual HDR and Panorama.
Presentation is one, and using that you can just point the phone at the screen and grab a shot of each slide, and it will correct for any skew your off-center position inevitably introduces. The process keeps the source images, so you can correct for any mistakes the software has made. You do need to explicitly save the finished presentation (as JPG or PDF file) - it took us a while to figure it out.
Multi-angle View lets you take stereoscopic images for side-by-side or anaglyph 3D viewing. Picture with sound lets you record a short message to go the photo you just took, but you couldn't do that with a food shot - Gourmet is a capture mode all in itself.

Camera interface

The images that come out of the Acer Liquid X2 aren't spectacular, but they aren't bad either. There is an overall softness and low contrast to most images. Fine textures gets smeared, but straight lines are reasonably well defined. In terms of color rendition, the output is a touch on the warm side, and colors aren't particularly saturated. The X2 is a little lacking in dynamic range, with highlights in bright daylight often clipped.

Camera samples

HDR mode applies a different tone curve, but in the X2's case it acts in a rather specific way. It does salvage some of the otherwise blown highlights, but the shadows remain as dark as they would be in the non-HDR shot and the midtones get a boost.
An unpleasant aspect of the X2's HDR mode is that it can't handle moving objects, which turn into ghosts.

HDR mode: off • on • off • on

Don't forget to check out how the Liquid X2 compares against other smartphones we've tested in our Photo compare tool.

Acer Liquid X2 in our photo compare tool

Switching to the front camera

On the front you get another 13MP shooter, and even if promo material and the numbers would have us believe the two are identical, there's at least some different processing going on here.
The output is good, don't get us wrong, but it's not on par with the rear camera in terms of detail. Even in normal mode (not Beautification) there's some smearing in fine skin detail, though facial hair is rendered rather sharply.

Front camera samples: normal mode • beautification (sliders in the middle)

The front-facing flash is borderline useless, you're much better off sacrificing precision in framing and shooting with the rear one in complete darkness.

Front camera sample with flash • Rear camera with flash in the same conditions

Video recording fails to impress

The Acer Liquid X2 shoots videos up to 1080p/30fps. There are lower resolutions available, and a timelapse mode, but nothing fancier. Also, the video resolution setting lists two "HD 1080p" options, and we thought one might be 1080p@60fps. It isn't, both capture 1080p/30fps, so go figure.
Videos are saved as 3GP files with a bit rate of just over 17Mbps, and audio is recorded in stereo at 128kbps. Video quality is uninspiring though, output is soft and with rather low level of resolved detail, and colors are somewhat washed out with low contrast. The focusing mechanism is not overeager and doesn't hunt unnecessarily, so at least there's that.
A unedited video straight out of the camera is available for download from out server (12s, 24MB).
Finally, you can head over to our Video compare tool, to see how the Liquid X2's stacks up against the competition.

Acer Liquid X2 in our video compare tool

 

Four browsers, because... why not?

The Liquid X2 comes with four browsers pre-installed, because letting you download your own is too mainstream. You get a stock browser, Puffin, UC Browser, and Chrome.

Browsers: Stock • Puffin • UC • Chrome

Other pre-installed apps

The Liquid X2 comes with a pre-installed copy of Polaris Office 5, which handles document editing with ease. It supports Word, Excel and PowerPoint docs (both the 2003 and 2007 versions), it also opens PDF files and it doubles as a file explorer.

Polaris Office 5.0 can handle document editing on the move

The Acer Aid Kit includes System doctor, Power management and Backup and restore. The first one aims to clean up RAM and storage, while Power management keeps track of the apps and hardware that take a toll on your battery. It also gives access to a battery saver feature, which reduces brightness and performance and limits the use of non-essential radios.

System doctor • Battery saver

There's a simple file manager on board, but it does at least support batch actions.

File manager

Acer has thrown in a bundle of proprietary apps which can be accessed from the Acer Portal app, or from their separate icons. They require an Acer ID, and allow you to use your PC as a cloud storage solution for your smartphone. Naturally, additional software needs to be installed on the PC as well.
abFiles is yet another file manager (third so far), which adds your PC cloud to the local storage, but other than that offers largely the same functionality. abMusic is the music player of the bunch, with support for playlists and sorting by albums, artists or genres. You can guess then what abPhoto is for. Meanwhile, AcerEXTEND allows you to control your smartphone from your PC via USB or Wi-Fi connection.

Acer ab-apps

The Liquid X2 sports a Quick Mode which is in turn divided into Standard, Easy, and Basic, with progressively simpler interface. Standard and Easy retain the two-tier interface, with a simple homescreen and an app drawer, while Basic only gets a homescreen and is more child-oriented. All three come with a redesigned notification shade and larger icons across the interface.
 

 

Final words

Although we genuinely try to stay open-minded, our approach to the Acer Liquid X2 wasn't completely free of prejudice. We must admit though, it's more than just a quirky triple-SIM smartphone - which is how it will most likely be perceived by most. We were there too, but we ended up with mostly positive impressions overall.
The plastic build is no flagship material, but it looks reasonably good. We appreciate all things removable and user-accessible, and this one can have its cover popped off and the battery swapped too.
One of its major flaws was already clear from the spec sheet but, for its low resolution, the display did well in all tests, save for sunlight legibility. Battery life is impressive too, especially so with heavy screen-on usage.
Lollipop has been mostly unchanged, but where Acer has added its own touches, they are a hit and miss. The good impression from the effortless multi-window implementation and useful camera features are spoiled by minor form-over-function decisions.
Camera output is barely average in quality with soft, low contrast images and videos. The 13MP selfie camera produces pleasing selfies but the front flash is hardly any good.

Acer Liquid X2 key test findings:

• All-plastic build, simple but attractive design, metal-looking back holds firmly in place – tough to remove but it is mostly a good thing.
• Display has good contrast and maximum brightness and mostly accurate color rendering. Outdoor visibility is mediocre though, 720p resolution is only just enough on a 5.5-inch diagonal.
• Excellent battery life, with almost 13 hours in both on-screen disciplines. Voice call endurance is less impressive, and having three SIMs inside has a substantial effect on standby drain (duh!), but even then, the endurance rating is a good 65 hours.
• User interface is mostly stock Lollipop, but Acer has added a straightforward and useful multi-window feature, plus Float apps (Samsung and Sony, all in one). The modded notification pull-down is not the best, and folder icons go against function, but that's livable.
• Benchmark performance is about average for the segment, CPU scores are ok and the GPU does a decent job, helped by the 720p resolution.
• The smartphone is pre-loaded with all sorts of bloatware, including a suite of Acer apps you can't uninstall, plus a whole bunch of games you can get rid of. On the upside, there is a document editor on board and the camera app has genuinely neat features.
• The loudspeaker is rather quiet and gets a Below Average rating.
• Still image quality from the rear cam is barely there with soft output and low contrast.
• The front camera takes good images with true to life skin tones and good detail for a selfie cam, though processing seems pretty heavy-handed even with beautification features turned off. The front flash barely does anything in complete darkness.
• 1080p videos from the main camera are underwhelming, output is again, soft and low in detail.

So, what else can you get in the Liquid X2's price range? Well, actually, first things first. If you want an up-to-date smartphone with three SIM slots coming from a reputable brand, the short list is pretty short. Its sole entry is the one we're reviewing right now. If you can settle for fewer SIMs, the selection quickly broadens. Where and if you can find the Liquid X2, it competes with midrangers in the $250-$300 ballpark and that's a pretty densely populated segment.
For starters, you have Asus' Zenfone Selfie that matches the Liquid X2 for camera resolution both front and rear. The Selfie has a dual-LED flash on either ends, if that can be a decider, but also has a sharper FullHD display. While it does have a base 2GB/16GB version, you could have it specced like the X2's 3GB/32GB, so that can't untie the knot either. The Liquid X2 lasts an hour longer in video playback and a whopping five more on the web on a single battery charge, but the Selfie can do 5h more in voice calls, so this may settle it.
If you're not that much into selfies, but enjoy the Zenfone's form-factor, you can always get a Zenfone 2. It is available in innumerable configurations, but we'd humbly suggest the FullHD ZE551ML in its top-specced Intel Z3580/4GB variant, even if that may cost you a little extra over the Liquid. A downside to this one is that you can't easily swap batteries.

Asus Zenfone Selfie ZD551KL • Asus Zenfone 2 ZE551ML

The Lenovo Vibe K4 Note is another option you should check out. Same chipset, but a FullHD display, plus a fingerprint sensor on the back. While the K4 Note has solid battery life, the X2 outlasts it by more than 3 hours in both on-screen disciplines. The Acer phablet can't match the K4 Note's build quality though.

Lenovo Vibe K4 Note

Then there's the Samsung Galaxy J7. First and foremost, Samsung's entry-level 5.5-inch phablet is a marathon runner in video playback with more than 16 hours on the clock before it runs out of juice. The Liquid does outlast it comfortably in web browsing though. The J7's camera output is slightly better, but it does only have half the RAM and is outpaced by the X2 in benchmarks.

Samsung Galaxy J7

The Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 can be had for significantly less, and in both versions it has more oomph than the Liquid X2. Metal build, FullHD screen resolution and fingerprint recognition are all in its favor. The X2 can offer somewhat better battery life and a removable battery, but this one is likely going to be settled by availability in your particular region. Yes, both devices are limited to specific regions.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 • Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (MediaTek)

A dual-SIM version of the Motorola Moto X Play can be had on certain markets, and you should check it out. We've reviewed the single-SIM option, but the cameras are identical and much better than the Liquid X2's, we must say. Moreover, the X2 loses its battery edge here, the Moto X Play is a pretty long-lasting smartphone.

Motorola Moto X Play Dual SIM • Motorola Moto X Play

You need not look any further if triple-SIM is a must-have. Now, that's a pretty limited use case. Yet, the Acer Liquid X2 did make a strong case for itself as a dependable midranger. There may be better overall performers in that particular price bracket and better specialists at this or that. If you do your homework though and go for the Acer Liquid X2, it won't let you down.

 

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