Coolpad launched a pretty interesting budget smartphone called the Cool 5 a couple of months ago. The company's most recent budget offering came in just before Xiaomi launched the Redmi 8 in India, and it offers similar features and specifications at a tempting price. The Coolpad Cool 5 boasts of a decently big battery, a USB Type-C port, and dual rear cameras, all of which should appeal to buyers with tight budgets.
With a current market price of Rs. 7,499, should this be your next budget pick? Let's find out.
Coolpad Cool 5 design
On similar lines as the Coolpad Cool 3 Plus[1] (Review[2]), which we tested back in August, the Coolpad Cool 5[3] doesn't have the best aesthetics. The marketing pictures on the company's website makes this phone look like it has super-slim bezels around the display and no chin whatsoever, but reality cannot be Photoshopped. Instead, the Cool 5 has visibly thick borders around the display, a prominent notch, and a fat chin at the bottom. It's quite chunky at 8.2mm in thickness, but not very heavy at just 145g. The glossy plastic body attracts a lot of fingerprints and smudges very easily.
There's a hybrid dual-SIM tray on the left, which can accommodate two Nano-SIMs or a single SIM and a microSD card for expanding storage. You get a headphone jack on the top and a USB Type-C port at the bottom. The volume and power buttons are placed on the right, and have good feedback. Overall, the phone is comfortable to hold, and despite the glossy sides, we didn't find it to be very slippery. We had the Gradient Blue version, but it is available in other trims too.
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