Magenta T Phone Pro review: Conclusion on the Magenta smartphone
A TEST REPORT from Fabian Menzel 
on April 03, 2023, 7:50 am | Write a comment
Magenta Telekom makes smartphones? Yes, really! A few weeks ago, the Austrian branch of Deutsche Telekom launched two new smartphones, the T Phone and T Phone Pro, which are undoubtedly entry-level smartphones. Both in terms of hardware and price. The regular model costs 219 euros, and the Pro model costs 50 euros more.
For this price, customers get, among other things, a plastic housing, a 6,82-inch LC display with a low HD+ resolution, a MediaTek Dimensity 700, a 5.000 mAh battery and a 50 megapixel quad camera. This is definitely not enough on paper, but you can find out below whether you notice it in everyday life Shorttest.
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The exterior is the biggest problem
The biggest criticism of the Magenta T Phone Pro is the exterior, and by that I mean both the casing and the display. Firstly, the smartphone is enormously large and heavy, and is uncomfortable to use due to the sharp edges. In addition, the plastic back is of extremely poor quality, which is very susceptible to fingerprints despite the matte surface. The plastic also seems quite thin, can even be (visibly) dented, and scratches quickly. By the way: A small peel-off sticker was attached to the back from the factory, and after peeling it off, traces of adhesive were still visible even after several weeks. Unfortunately, this also indicates a very poor quality back. Even for under 300 euros, this is really poor.
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- Picture: TechnikNews
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- Picture: TechnikNews
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- Picture: TechnikNews
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- Picture: TechnikNews
If we turn the smartphone over, the criticism unfortunately continues straight away. The display is surrounded by extremely thick bezels and the notch is no longer really contemporary in 2023. The pure quality of the display cannot convince either. 257 pixels pro Inches are simply not enough, you won't find 90 or even 120 Hertz here and due to the LCD technology, contrast values leave a lot to be desired. The brightness and viewing angle stability are also below average.
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- Picture: TechnikNews
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- Picture: TechnikNews
The interior is more convincing
Inside is the now outdated Dimensity 700 from MediaTek, which is supported by 128 GB of flash memory (expandable) and a solid 6 GB of RAM. Even if this processor has no place in a 269 euro smartphone in my opinion, the everyday performance is actually quite impressive. However, this could also be due to the clean software, because the T Phone Pro runs on Material You, i.e. pure Android.
Apps start and close quickly enough and stuttering is not too common. However, you can see that the smartphone is already reaching its limits, which is particularly evident when taking photos. For this price, I simply expect a more powerful processor.
The absolute highlight of the T Phone Pro is without question the battery life. At the end of the day, with a screen-on time of around four hours, I still had an incredible 60 to 70 percent battery left, depending on usage, which is phenomenal. Unfortunately, with the included power adapter, it takes a whopping 150 minutes for the battery to fully charge from 0 to 100 percent. Surprisingly, the smartphone can also be charged wirelessly, which cannot be found in any other competitor in this price range. Hats off!
The camera is rock solid
There is space for a triple camera on the back, which is set up as follows:
- 50 Megapixel main camera
- 5 megapixel ultra wide-angle camera
- 2 megapixel macro camera
- 2 megapixel depth sensor
Picture: TechnikNews
Photos taken with the main camera in daylight succeed with decent sharpness, good colors and a surprisingly nice bokeh. The ultra-wide-angle camera can't really keep up - especially in terms of sharpness and noise reduction - but it's (still) okay for one or the other photo with enough light. In low light you can forget both cameras, as well as videos and selfies, but that is completely normal in this price range.
Weak speaker, disappointing vibration motor and much more.
Unfortunately, the Magenta T Phone Pro only has a mono speaker, which doesn't produce good sound. It doesn't get particularly loud and sounds extremely thin overall. The built-in vibration motor sounds very unpleasant and gives an extremely poor feeling in the hand.
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- Picture: TechnikNews
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- Picture: TechnikNews
To end the short test on a positive note, I would like to praise the fast and reliable fingerprint sensor and the existing 3,5 mm jack on the bottom.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the Magenta T Phone Pro has far too many weaknesses for a recommended retail price of 269 euros. Starting with the poorly manufactured casing, the weak display, the outdated processor and the disappointing mono speaker. The camera is rock solid and the battery life is simply outstanding, but none of that is of any use to me if the rest of the smartphone is not right.
If you are looking for a smartphone for less than 300 euros, then it is best to take a look at Xiaomi, Redmi and OnePlus. These devices are clearly ahead in all points – except for the battery life.