Unihertz Jelly 2

The Unihertz Jelly 2 goes beyond being a small phone into the realm of genuinely tiny. For some, that’s a massive part of the appeal. It’s lightweight, easy to shove in a pocket, and a boon to those looking to reduce screen time and decrease electronic dependence. What—besides size—are you giving up for the benefits, and is the phone dependable and worth using?

Design

The phone is easily the smallest full-featured phone on the market in 2020. Its outer shell is a glossy fingerprint magnet. The phone is also a bit thick if you’re used to toting around a smartphone. But it will likely still weigh less than any other phone you might have owned in the past few years.

It also has a programmable shortcut button, which you can customize based on how you use your phone and a fingerprint scanner on the center back. Unfortunately, some reviewers found the fingerprint scanner frustratingly slow and inaccurate.

Display

This is where things get complicated. The screen isn’t incredibly sharp or colorful. Pair this with the tiny size and it’s going to be an adjustment for just about anyone who has adjusted to larger smartphones.

Because the display is so tiny, the keyboard essentially takes up the entire screen when typing in a password or firing off text messages. Viewing apps with complex layouts or heavily-formatted websites can get dicey as well.

Performance

The Unihertz Jelly 2 performed surprisingly well for its size. Reviewers never complained of sluggishness or wait times and reported good reviews overall on speed and capabilities. They did, however, note that things could be buggy sometimes due to the tiny display.

Software & Storage

Storage is a surprising 128GB to start and also has a MicroSD expansion slot. It runs stock Android 10 without any fancy skins or bloated extra apps. Reviewers found the barebones approach refreshing.

Cameras

The phone includes a 16MP camera on the back of the phone. It sits above the fingerprint scanner in an aluminum bezel of sorts. Unfortunately, it’s not very good. Reviewers stated that the photos were over-exposed at the best of times and noise filled mud at their worst. Some even remarked that the function of the camera Unihertz chose was simply to check it off the spec list.

Battery Life

There’s only so much room to cram a battery on such a small phone. As such, reviewers found that heavy phone use would mean you’ll need to top it off in the afternoon. That said, top-offs are fast thanks to USB Type-C charging and the tiny 2,000mAh battery.

Audio

Middling at best, this phone comes with the typical mobile audio caveats. Flat sound and an easy-to-muffle speaker were leading complaints. However, since the phone has a 3.5mm headphone jack, you can quickly remedy the situation.

Specs at a Glance

• Plastic chassis
• 3-inch display
• MediaTek Helio P60 Octa-core 2 GHz processor
• 6GB of RAM
• Android 10
• 128GB onboard storage and MicroSD slot
• 16MP camera
• 2,000mAh battery

Bottom Line

The Unihertz Jelly 2 bucks the big smartphone trend of 2020 and packs a surprising punch. Along with some small issues that are easily fixed, it behaves much as it should with just a little extra — as long as you’re not looking to take great photos with your phone.

The consensus is that this phone is perfect for those cutting back screen time and dependence on their phones. It might be an excellent option for outdoorsy types looking for a phone that doesn’t take up much space, but be sure to keep it dry because it doesn’t have an IP rating.

PC Magazine says, “The tiny Unihertz Jelly 2 is the perfect device for people who need access to apps, but don’t want to spend a lot of time looking at their phones.”

The Verge states, “I can’t say I have much need for the Jelly 2 myself, but I continue to appreciate Unihertz’s devotion to making ultra-niche devices. I’m sure the Jelly 2 is exactly what a very small number of people have been waiting for.”