Acer Liquid Jade Primo review: Windows Prime

Unboxing

Our review sample arrived in a rather unique-looking package. Inside a paper sleeve with a printed pattern which mimics the phone's back panel, you'll find a cardboard box with what looks like a coarsely woven textile finish.

Pre-release contents, box should be final

The box contains an AC adapter, rated at 5.35V/2A, and a thick but short USB Type-A to Type-C cable. The commercially available bundles will also include a headset, we've been told.

Acer Liquid Jade Primo 360-degree spin

The Acer Liquid Jade Primo measures 156.5 x 75.9 x 8.4 mm, which is larger than the Lumia 950 in every direction. And while the 5.5-inch display warrants the increased dimensions over the 5.2-inch 950, the Jade Primo is actually taller and thicker than the 5.7-inch 950 XL. It's barely smaller in footprint than our benchmark in wasteful use of space - the iPhone 6s Plus. Sorry, Apple, you suck at bezels.

In terms of weight, the Jade Primo has the scales balanced with the Lumia 950 - both weigh 150 grams. The Acer's slightly larger display coupled with a slightly smaller battery seems to be a logical explanation.

Hardware overview

Polycarbonate is what the Liquid Jade Primo is made of, despite appearances. The back panel poses for brushed metal, and does a convincing job of it, but it's plastic nonetheless.

Acer likes the plughole design for its smartphones' speakers and the Jade Primo has one such circular grille as well. It has to be said though, that the look has been refined since the Liquid Jade and is now less obtrusive and attention-grabbing.

Brushed metal-like back • Speaker grille

The camera module up top is a more traditional element - a circular bulge to accommodate the f/2.2 lens in front of the 21MP sensor. Right next to it are the dual-tone flash and the secondary mic pinhole. Both the camera and speaker are accented with a shiny silvery ring to match the prominent company logo.

The back is nicely curved, which makes it feel comfy in the hand and thinner than it actually is. The finish also makes fingerprints one less thing to worry about - it's nearly impossible to leave a mark on the phone and that's a rarity these days.

Camera with dual-LED flash • Curved sides • In the hand

The outer frame is also treated to a shiny paintjob, but on top of that you get tapered strips of black. It looks okay, but it could have just as easily lived without it.

The right side is pretty busy. The power button is located just under the midpoint and the volume rocker is above it. Some of us feel like the two should be on separate sides, while others are entirely indifferent on the matter, but the former often found themselves pressing the volume rocker, trying to wake up the Primo.

Further up we have two separate card trays, bottom one takes a nanoSIM card, the top one takes a second nanoSIM or a microSD card. Why not both, we hear you say, and that's one we've been complaining about for a while, but such is the state of the affairs. On a more positive note, the two trays are different enough for you not to be able to insert them the wrong way.

Left side? Nothing to see here.

Right side • Controls • Two separate trays • Nothing on the left

The top is home to the 3.5mm jack and nothing else. Other manufacturers put the secondary mic here, but the Primo's is on the back. On the bottom you have the USB Type-C port and the primary mic.

Top • Bottom • micrroUSB Type-C port

On the front the plughole theme continues with the ear piece, much smaller than the rear-mounted speaker. The 8MP front camera is to its right, while the sensor array is on its other side. There's nothing but Acer's logo on the chin, and both top and bottom bezels feel unnecessarily large.

Sizable top and bottom bezels on the front • Earpiece true to Acer's traditions