Acer Liquid Jade review

Acer's best phone yet, at a mid-range price point

Acer Liquid Jade review
Functional is the word.

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The Acer Liquid Jade doesn't disappoint but it won't blow you away either: what good points the phone has are balanced out with a few niggles so you'll want to make sure it offers the benefits you need before parting with your cash.

The handset does the job, and is kind on your wallet too. It's not a bad choice if you want a mid-range, decent value Android handset, but the problem is it's up against some strong competition.

We liked

That CPU saver battery mode is certainly impressive, the 13-megapixel camera takes better shots than most phones at this kind of price, and in the design department you get a thin and light handset that looks sleek and feels comfortable in the hand.

We disliked

In general, battery life isn't amazing, and you get a pile of bloatware that isn't particularly useful.

The phone has middling internal specs and performance, and comes with a price that doesn't really make the Acer Liquid Jade stand out enough in a crowded market.

Final verdict

What matters to you most in a phone? If it's a decent camera, a long-lasting standby mode or the ability to use two SIMs in one handset then get the Acer Liquid Jade near the top of your shortlist.

In all other respects - value, design, performance - the phone manages to do okay, but not much more than that. It's definitely Acer's best phone yet, however, and at this kind of price level it's perhaps unfair to moan too much about its shortcomings.

First reviewed: October 2014

David Nield
Freelance Contributor

Dave is a freelance tech journalist who has been writing about gadgets, apps and the web for more than two decades. Based out of Stockport, England, on TechRadar you'll find him covering news, features and reviews, particularly for phones, tablets and wearables. Working to ensure our breaking news coverage is the best in the business over weekends, David also has bylines at Gizmodo, T3, PopSci and a few other places besides, as well as being many years editing the likes of PC Explorer and The Hardware Handbook.