Blu Launches iPhone 7 Rival Pure XR, An Affordable Android Smartphone With A 3D Touch Display

Blu Products has announced its latest affordable and flagship-like Android smartphone, the Blu Pure XR. The handset is a followup to last year’s Pure XL and it comes with flagship features without the flagship price.

The Blu Pure XR comes with a 5.5-inch SuperAMOLED full HD 1080p display which supports 3D Touch, the same pressure sensitive display technology found on the iPhone 6s. As of now, it looks like the 3D Touch features are only reserved for the device’s user interface/app launcher, according to 9To5Google. That should be resolved once developers start updating their apps to support 3D Touch for the Blu Pure XR. The display is also layered with Corning’s Gorilla Glass 3 for added protection.

Underneath, the Pure XR is a 2GHz Octa-core MediaTek Helio P10 processor paired with a Mali-T860 GPU along with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage. It even comes with a microSD card slot for memory expansion. Also, the device is powered by a 3,000 mAh battery that supports Quick Charging via USB Type-C. Blu claims that a 10-minute charge would be enough for a talk time of up to one hour, according to Engadget.

As for optics, the Blu Pure XR comes with a 16-megapixel rear camera and an 8-megapixel front-facing camera. It’s a bit of a downgrade from last year’s Pure XL that came with a 24-megapixel rear shooter.

Other features of the Android 6.0 Marshmallow-running Blu Pure XR include 4G LTE support, dual-SIM support, a home button with a built-in fingerprint scanner and a full metal unibody design that’s available in gray and gold color options.

The best thing about the Blu Pure XR is its price. The iPhone 7 competitor is now on sale unlocked at Best Buy and Amazon for only $299. The only real downside of the device is that it only supports GSM networks; therefore, it is only compatible with carriers like AT&T and T-Mobile.