Kult Ambition review: HD display, fingerprint scanner make an impression, but battery life ruins the party

Domestic smartphone maker Kult recently launched a new 4G-enabled budget smartphone called "Kult Ambition," with a price tag of Rs 5,999. The device, the company's fourth smartphone offering after Kult Beyond, Kult Gladiator and Kult 10, is exclusively available on Amazon.

To begin with, Kult Ambition does impress us by offering key features like an HD display and a fingerprint scanner at such an affordable price. The phone comes with dual SIM support, a dedicated microSD slot, and a removable battery.

The Specs

Kult Ambition features a 5-inch ON-CELL HD IPS display with 720 x 1280 pixel resolution. The handset is powered by a MediaTek MTK6737 1.25 GHz Quad Core processor, backed with 3GB of RAM.

The phone offers a 32GB internal memory capacity that is expandable up to 32GB via microSD card. The device sports a 13MP rear camera and a 5MP front-camera with front and rear flash.

The handset draws power from a 2600mAh battery while other connectivity options include 4G LTE, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. The phone also has a rear fingerprint sensor and OTG support.

The device has a dimension of 145.35mm x 72.7 x 9.1mm and weighs 160 grams. The phone runs on Android 7.0 Nougat out of the box, and comes with pre-installed apps like the Amazon, Amazon Prime Video, Opera mini and Go2pay.

International Business Times India got some time to spend with the handset, and here's how our experience with it.

Design & Display

The phone feels sturdy in hand. However, despite lacking a metal form factor and a large battery, the handset seems bulky. Weighing 160 grams, it's heavier than Samsung's Galaxy S8 (155 grams), which comes with a 3000 mAh battery, and a combination of glass, metal and a massive screen.

The phone carries the 3.5mm jack and the microUSB port on the top while the power and volume buttons can be found on the right. The fingerprint scanner on the back was accurate most of the time during the review period, but it did feel a bit slow in response.

Kult Ambition's display is protected by a Corning Gorilla Glass to prevent it from getting scratched. However, when it comes to colour reproduction, we feel that the screen could have been better.

Software & Performance

Kult Ambition runs on Android 7.0 with stock UI, which ensures that you get a smooth performance from the device for your daily usage. The device performed quite well while playing 720p HD videos, but we won't recommend this phone for playing graphically intensive games.

The phone's 2,600mAh removable battery is a disappointment. During the review period, the battery barely lasted a whole day. Especially with continuous cellular and Wi-Fi connectivity, Kult Ambition's battery used to run out of juice within 5 to 6 hours. Since there's no fast charging, it took over 2 hours for us to fully charge the phone.

Camera

The 13MP rear camera was a decent performer in both natural and indoor lighting conditions. The camera comes with a beauty and panorama mode and is also capable of recording full HD videos.

The 5MP front camera, on the other hand, was a letdown as there was a lot of noise in photos taken in low light conditions. We also found the shutter to be a bit sluggish.

Kult Ambition is certainly a convincing package with such an affordable price point. The phone does have some strong points including a good screen, fingerprint sensor, and most importantly a clean Android UI.

However, the bulky form factor and a subpar battery make it difficult for Kult Ambition to stand out in an increasingly competitive market segment.