Some time ago, I saw a video released on Jimmy Lin Weibo, which actually opened an Android interface with an iPhone. My first reaction at that time was that I didn’t believe it and thought it was a fake video. But what I didn’t expect was that a few days later, this artifact "Mecha" that allows the iPhone to run Android system opened a press conference, which made me have to admire the scientific development now!
Fortunately, less than two weeks after the Mecha was released, the author got a testing machine, and I can enjoy playing this black technology. Today, I will talk to you about the feeling of using it.
From the product category point of view, the mecha is different from any existing iPhone accessories, which is amazing. At first glance, it is an iPhone case, and it also has the function of charging treasure. But in fact, its body also has a complete set of mobile phone hardware and Android operating system, which is the secret of the mecha’s ability to let the iPhone run Android.
I believe that many friends who saw Jimmy Lin Weibo are very eager to understand the principle that Mecha makes iPhone run Android, and so am I. Get the mecha and after the successful installation, just roughly know what’s going on. First of all, install the mecha’s APP, then install the iPhone on the mecha, press the power button on the back of the mecha, open the mecha’s APP and follow the prompts, and then you can see the magical scene in Jimmy Lin Weibo.
After this set of actions is done, the author speculates that the principle is this: the mecha has built-in complete smart phone hardware, which is equivalent to a computer. Connecting with the iPhone is equivalent to using the screen of the iPhone as its own display and touch screen. Of course, it is not enough to display the picture. We have to open the iPhone’s microphone, microphone, camera, notification, Bluetooth and other permissions to the mecha to achieve complete functions. So, this is actually not to let "iPhone run Android system", but to let "iPhone become a touch screen of Android phone".
Next, we are concerned about the hardware performance of the mecha. By setting the menu, we can see that the built-in Mecha is a MediaTek MT6735 chip with 2GB of memory, which is an 8-core mobile phone chip with mid-range positioning, and it was popular in last year’s thousand yuan mobile phone. Compared with another mobile phone that also uses MT6735, it is found that the performance of the two phones is basically the same, so it seems that the hardware performance of the mecha is still fully exerted. However, it is worth noting that the screen output of the mecha is actually 720p, not 1080p of the iPhone 6plus screen, so the 3D running will be a little higher, and the visual effect displayed on the iPhone screen is not very sharp.
The MT6735 chip allows Mecha to support the 4G networks of China Mobile and China Unicom. Inserting a second SIM card into the SIM card slot of the mecha can turn the iPhone into a dual-card dual standby, which has fulfilled our dream for many years! Through the actual measurement, both SIM cards can receive and send calls and text messages normally. Or you can insert an Internet card into the mecha and use it as a mobile WiFi, which is also a way of playing. I don’t know if anyone else remembers the "apple peel". Speaking of this, I feel that Mecha is really a super enhanced version of apple peel.
Some use feelings
Although Mecha is the first generation product, its maturity is very high from the author’s use process. The connection between iPhone and Mecha, as well as the call of Mecha to iPhone hardware and software resources are smooth, and there has never been a chain drop. Use WeChat, make phone calls, send text messages, etc. in the mecha. If there is any new news, a notification will pop up in the iPhone system in time. The only BUG I found was that if I borrowed an iPhone camera to take pictures in the mecha, it was only 300,000 pixels, but I don’t think anyone would hurt enough to take pictures in the mecha.
In addition, there is another place that I am not satisfied with, that is, the mecha comes with the Android system provided by APUS, with too many pre-installed applications and advertisements. The company that launched Mecha is Haima Play. Their main business is the Android emulator on the PC side, and they should have the technical force to launch their own Android system. However, it is suggested that a variety of Android interfaces should be provided for users to choose and install. My personal favorite is the Android native system.
In addition to using the iPhone as the monitor of the mecha, and using the receiver and microphone of the iPhone to make phone calls, there are other intercommunication functions between the two. For example:
1. The pictures of iPhone can be transferred to the mecha, which can be regarded as an expansion of iPhone. However, the mecha itself has only 16GB storage space, and a memory card cannot be inserted. I believe the next generation of products will be improved.
2. Mecha can be used as an emergency charging treasure for iPhone. You can choose whether to supply power to iPhone in the settings, but it is recommended to turn off the Android system in the Mecha at this time, otherwise, if both devices use electricity at the same time, they will soon run out.
In terms of grip, the mecha is very delicate, with a little rubber feeling, which provides protection for the iPhone from every angle. If it falls to the ground, it should greatly reduce the risk of broken screen. It is a bit heavy to use the mecha as a mobile phone case, but after all, it also integrates the battery and motherboard, so it should be compared with the official charging case of iPhone. The iPhone 6s version of Mecha weighs 84 grams, while the plus version weighs 109 grams, which is still acceptable.
If there is anything that needs to be improved, it should be battery capacity. As mentioned earlier, if you really want to use the mecha as an emergency charging treasure, it is best to turn off the Android system inside, otherwise the two systems will soon run out of 2500mAh batteries when they use electricity together. In addition, I feel that the APUS system pre-installed in the mecha is not very power-saving, and I hope the next generation of products can be improved.
To sum up, the mech can be regarded as the most surprising accessory of the iPhone so far, which has realized the two ideas that the iPhone runs Android system and the iPhone turns into a dual-card dual standby, which have always been unattainable. I hope there will be more such cool products in the future.
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