u/mat383

I've used this phone off and on for the last few days. In short, it's a decent phone. It's a bit slow and the lack of Google will be either a killer feature or a deal breaker for you, but there's hardly anything like this in the Australian market (especially at the price).

• The battery life is fine, maybe even good. The 2150mAh battery lasts me a full day of light/moderate use with a SIM, but your mileage may vary. The lack of Google services helps battery life.
• The OS is barely modified Android 11 Go with no Google services and security updates dating to November 2022. No further updates were promised and with these specs I doubt there would be any. If the old security patch bothers you, avoid this phone.
• The quad-core 1.5GHz(?) CPU is slow, but Android Go Edition and the lack of Google services makes the system pretty responsive. Apps are still slow though, but usable. Web browsing with a modern browser (I chose Brave) is doable. 2GB of RAM is enough for what you'll be doing with this and the 16GB of storage is tight but you have a Micro SD slot that supports up to 128GB.
• You can install any app onto it by sideloading APKs. I recommend Aurora Store (a Google Play store front end), but APKPure Lite is preinstalled for your convenience. However, a lot of apps rely on Google services for not just Google logins, but push notifications and location services (I can't seem to get notifications from FB Messenger or Discord, for example). That means no Google Maps, but some apps like Magic Earth and OsmAnd don't rely on Google so they work fine. I tried installing Google services by installing the right APKs as user apps, but it didn't work.
• The keypad is pretty good. The buttons all feel good, with the exception of the right navigation button. That one feels soft and needs more force to press down (anyone else?). Time will tell if it will develop double clicking issues like my Cat S22 Flip did after a few months, but it's surprisingly solid right now. It also lights up very dimly when in use. While you can use a normal on-screen keyboard for typing, you would buy this phone for the keypad. Despite that, Android's included keypad typing is terrible. Traditional T9 should be the first app you install on this phone, to get proper keypad/T9 typing.
• The navigation buttons are a bit of a mess. The back/recents key is one button (short press for back, long press for recents) which acts as backspace when typing. I'm also not a fan of the power/home/end call button. It usually acts as a home button, but you can only turn the screen off with it if you press it while on the first page of your home screen (but only on the default launcher). The R key is used for bringing up the password screen from your lock screen and long pressing it can be bound to a couple things that would be worth listing if that action didn't only work on the home screen of the default launcher smh. The # and * keys are volume up and down (when you aren't typing). There are no other buttons around the sides of the phone.
• The 2.8" 640x480 screen looks very sharp at the size and has great viewing angles. It's just bright enough for use outdoors. This Android version weirdly doesn't have an option for auto-brightness, but there are apps that can replicate the functionality using the phone's light sensor.
• The phone comes with an RUIO Family app which is a very basic parental control / location tracking. I wrote more about how the app works here.
• The flashlight is impressively weak. It's weaker than most actually dumb phones I've used.
• The cameras are usable. Here's a sample image from the rear camera compared to a good smartphone.
• The phone has WiFi, Bluetooth 4.2, 4G LTE (with hotspot), GPS, a light sensor, proximity sensor, but no accelerometer, gyro, nor NFC. Calls, texts, and mobile data obviously work on Australian networks.
• It has no headphone jack and while the manual says the phone supports audio over USB C, people here have been having issues with that. I'll buy an adaptor soon and test it myself.
• It comes with a wrist strap and a free clear case that will likely yellow over time, but no one will ever make a case for this phone so cherish it.
• I don't know if it works internationally, but it is sold exclusively in JB Hi-Fi and Harvey Norman stores in Australia. If you can get one shipped to your country, maybe check what network bands your carrier requires. These are the bands this phone works with: B1/B3/B5/B7/B8/B26/B28A+B/B40, WCDMA 900/2100, GSM 850/900/1800/1900Mhz

This is RUIO's first smart feature phone. While it's pretty good, I find it hard to recommend to a lot of people because it's not a great experience out of the box. If the phone came with Traditional T9 preinstalled, had the navigation keys more separated, used a better processor with a current Android version, and came with MicroG services, it'd be a much easier sell. I hope RUIO continues to design smart feature phones in the future!

(PS: also read the two other reviews on this sub!)

The RUIO Joy released a week ago but it's just starting to reach store shelves (currently only in JB Hi-Fi).

It runs Android 11 with no Google services, has 4G that works on Australian networks, and has similar specs to the Cat S22 Flip (slow quad-core CPU, 2GB ram, etc.)

I'll chuck my SIM in it, use it for a few days, and I'll do a proper review of it. I'll answer any questions people may have in the meanwhile.

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Edit after one arvo: It's an alright phone. I'll have a lot to say about it.