Centric L3 First Impressions – An all around package with an appealing design


In the recent past, if you observe closely, the quality of the budget smartphone has increased manyfold, thanks to the prevailing strong competition. With the arrival of new companies including CENTRiC in the smartphone market, it is evident that, even the budget device under the price of Rs. 10,000 comes with an admirable build quality, adequate processing power and much more. In a technologically evolving environment, only few handset makers make the product complete and enhance productivity and digital transformation.

Having said that, the Priyanka Communications, which made its entry into the Indian smartphone market with the launch of its Centric brand last year has now come up with another VFM (Value For Money) device named as CENTRiC L3.

Unlike other budget smartphones, the CENTRiC L3 is surprisingly premium with rounded edges, ultra-narrow bezels, and a glossy finish giving a solid feel in the hand when held. The design language of the CENTRiC L3 is refreshingly different amid the existing Chinese smartphone with a humdrum design. It comes with a removable back cover with a premium fit and finishes.

It is one of those few devices that is pocketable, compact and encourages one-handed usage as well. The buttons on the sides have been blended well into the body, which makes it pretty smooth while interacting with it.

The CENTRiC L3 sports 5-inch IPS HD (1280×720) Oncell display with 2.5D curved glass. The display is bright enough, texts look sharp, and has decent sunlight legibility too. It’s worth mentioning here that the screen, in turn, offers immersive experience while watching video on it. Also, the touch response and latency of the display is good too.

Moving on, the CENTRiC L3 is powered by 1.25GHz Quad-Core MediaTek MT6737 processor with Mali T720 MP2 GPU under the hood. As you’d expect, the performance of the device is just top notch. It is smooth giving no scope for hang or lag even during heavy usage. Notably, the device handled graphics intensive gaming with ease without any frame drops or so. Additionally, the fingerprint is fast here and unlocks in a fraction of a second. It is active all the time and helps you to unlock your phone almost instantaneously when it is sleeping.

The CENTRiC L3 is equipped with a 13MP rear camera with LED flash, f/2.2 aperture and a 5MP front shooter for some amazing selfies. While most of the devices in this segment offers an average output, the CENTRiC L3, on the other hand, surprised us with some excellent shots. Talking about the real world usage, the CENTRiC L3 clicks some really good photos under daylight condition with fine details, color, and vibrancy. The front camera too offers worthy Instagram worthy shots that can be shared without any filters or editing.

The CENTRiC L3 is shipped with Android 7.0 (Nougat), where the UI is pretty much close to Stock Android. Moreover, the fact that it lacks bloatware makes it fluid and clutterless.

In terms of storage, the CENTRiC L3 comes with 2GB RAM, out of which users will get around 1GB free on the first boot. Out of 16GB onboard storage, the user gets around 10GB free, with an expansion option of up to 256GB through microSD card slot. Another thing that needs to be mentioned here is the call quality. The earpiece is good and clear on the CENTRiC L3, so is the loudspeaker. In our experience, we didn’t face any call drops, which needs a special mention here.

In a nutshell, the CENTRiC L3 smartphone is an all-round package with an appealing design language. This device got something for everyone, be it photography, entertainment factor, style quotient and more. The CENTRiC L3 is one of the rarest smartphones in the budget segment that leaves you with a smile. You can get your hands on this device at a price tag of Rs. 6,749.