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Welcome to the 2016 Telstra Signature Premium smartphone review. The Signature Premium is as it name implies is not an entry level phone or a mid range but aiming its this model at the top range models. The Signature Premium is an Android OS based, rebranded HTC One A9 with Telstra's own user interface which looks like the minimal Nexus presentation. The Telstra Signature Premium has a recommend retail price at $648 outright and a small handset fee if you bundle it with a plan.
In terms of construction the Telstra Signature Premium is very well built. The body is very slick feeling metal and not gaps or creaks to speak off. It's a good looking phone with refined minimalist design theme that makes it look anonymous in the sea of smart phones in 2016. To be completely honest it does closely resemble an iPhone 6. The most obvious design choice is to recess the fingerprint scanner which we initially though was broken! Top of the range build quality for the price.
In terms of hardware the Telstra Signature Premium has good specifications for a Telstra branded smart phone but it not the complete package. The most obvious issues being the small capacity battery and only 1080p display. The Signature Premium packs in a Octa-core CPU topping out at 1.5 Ghz and a decent GPU. It also features a Dolby Audio hardware which means it should sound good and. Back to the AMOLED display, the screen quality is very good but not top end but it makes the iPhone 6 next to it look washed out. The hardware specifications are good but definitely mid-range+.
In terms of use the The Telstra Signature Premium very good too. No lag with the navigation, Apps worked pretty fast, response times feeling good. Since it is an Android phone there are so many more ways to customise and use your phone, it plays any video, image or music file format you want, it's fully integrated with the Gmail ecosystem and most of all you can manage your files on your phone not needing to temporary download from the 'cloud'. The biggest complaint is that the graphics and standard backgrounds images are pretty 'cheap' looking.
To sum up, the Telstra Signature Premium works really well. It does feel and work like a top range phone but it's not. Definitely better than the iPhone 6S and a better phone than the cheaper Oppo R7S too but not as good as real top range phones like the Galaxy S7 or Nexus 6P. Nonetheless we can recommend the Signature Premium as a phone choice however the price is a concern, priced at $648 outright it is on the high side for an essentially mid-range phone. If free on any of the phone plans and it becomes the recommended choice. The Signature Premium is the best Telstra branded smartphone to date (mid-2016).
Specifications
- Telstra Signature Premium
- Network
Quad-band GSM
3G - Tri-band
4G - Quad-band
- Design
Touch screen
L145.75 W70.8 x D7.3 mm
Weight 143 grams
- Display
5 inch 1080 x 1920 AMOLED
- Camera
13MP auto-focus LED Flash
2nd forward facing video call camera
8MP Video Camera
4K 30FPS main video camera
- Connectivity Wi-Fi, NFC, Bluetooth V4, USB
- CPU Snapdragon Octo-core 1.5 GHz Andreno 405 Graphics CPU
- Memory
3Gig RAM
Up to 32 Gig for user
MicroSD expansion
- Features
Dolby Audio, A-GPS, Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass, Gorilla Glass, Proximity, Ambient Light, Barometer, Fingerprint
- Battery
Li-Po 2150 mAh battery
Up to 18 Days Standby
Up to 16 hours Talk Time
- Price history
Approx $648 AUD (outright May 2016) or Phone plan
