Friends+Design
- Solid build quality
- Good looking aesthetics with a two-tone gradient (plastic body) design
- Feels light and has a comfortable hand fit
- Compact enough for one-handed use
- The glossy back profile of course makes it a fingerprint magnet (thankfully, the phone comes with a protective case inside the box)
- Fingerprint sensor (on the back) and face unlock are on the slow side
Display
- Decent, 5.7-inch HD+ display with a dewdrop notch - the screen has good viewing angles, and its sunlight legibility is also satisfactory
Software
- Coolpad’s Cool UI is a decent Android skin - not too heavy, and not too far from what stock Android looks like - the device also features minimal bloatware, which basically a couple of bundled apps, that you can uninstall
- It also packs some useful add-ons like App Lock, and App Freezer
Performance
- Average performance with a Helio A22 at the core (similar to Snapdragon 429) - daily use is fine, but there is some sluggishness while switching between apps, and opening new apps
- The phone has some thermal issues, too - it tends to gets warm while playing games or streaming multimedia content
Camera
- Overall ok camera performance for the price bracket
- Both the rear and front cameras take decent pictures in daylight
- The Bokeh mode works surprisingly well
- Auto-focus speed is on the slow side
- Low light performance is a struggle, though
Battery
- Decent battery life with a 3000mAh battery - it will power you through the day with moderate use
- Quite slow charging speed - it takes about 4 hours to charge from 0 to 100%
Verdict
- The Coolpad Cool 3 Plus is not a bad phone, but will find it hard to compete against the likes of Realme C2 and Redmi 7A, which are well-established leaders, give better performance, and are overall better value for money
