Acer Liquid X2 review: Switchboarding

Unboxing

The Acer Liquid X2 arrives in a rather common-looking retail box with the device printed on top. There isn't a whole lot inside but the basics are covered - a USB cable, AC adapter (5.2V/1.35A) and a handset are all there is inside.

Retail package

Acer Liquid X2 360-degree spin

The Acer Liquid X2 is no compact device. Measuring 153.3 x 78.8 x 8.5mm, it's pretty wide for its screen diagonal, with even the Zenfone 2 ZE551ML more than 1.5mm narrower. It's also taller by a smidgeon than the regular 5.5-inch Zenfone 2, but if you compare it to the Zenfone Selfie ZD551KL, the Liquid X2 wins by some 3mm.

Then there's the Lenovo Vibe K4 Note, which is equally tall, but has capacitive keys to show for it. It's also more than 2mm narrower, making it a lot more manageable than the actual size difference suggests.

The Liquid X2 weighs 166g and that's about right for what it is. Competing Zenfones are a tiny bit heavier at 170g, while the Vibe K4 Note with its 158g is a little lighter. None of those comes close to the X2's battery capacity, though.

Hardware overview

The Liquid X2 sports a rather generic design, though it does have a few fine touches that reveal it as an Acer device, to the initiated at least. Otherwise, a sharp-edged rectangle with only subtly rounded corners, the X2 is a smartphone like any other.

It's an all-plastic device, but is trying hard to hide it, and not without success. The rear panel, for instance, poses for brushed metal, much like the Zenfones it competes with for the same market. The cover is pretty hard to remove, and requires some serious nail strength to pry open, but that's infinitely better than falling off on its own - we approve.

Brushed metal look • Back cover removed

A flip cover is available, which replaces the regular rear cover and has a cutout the shape of an old-school elevator door.

Flip cover

The camera lens and the flash look at you from cutouts in the panel, in the top left corner. The lens ring sticks out slightly above both the panel and the front element of the lens, so the glass should be safe from scratches if you put the phone face down on the table.

At the rear bottom, you have a wide speaker mesh but there's only one speaker behind it, about half the size of the mesh.

Camera and flash in the top left • Loudspeaker down below

Up front, the display is surrounded by a checkered pattern that perhaps aims to mask the rather thick bezels. The chin, for example, big as it is, would have looked even larger had it been a solid color. Or least that's what we think.

Checkered pattern in the ample bezels

While the bottom bezel is devoid of function (on-screen navigation buttons), the area above the display is pretty busy. Located in the center, the earpiece is the signature Acer design, the plughole looking less obtrusive on a handset this size, than it does for rear mounted loudspeakers.

In the upper left corner you'll find the front-facing camera, and midway between that and the earpiece is the LED notification light. To the right of the earpiece you have the ambient light and proximity sensors, and the front facing flash. Symmetry freaks will find little to fall in love with here.

"Wherever you find room on the PCB, we'll make a cutout for it in the front panel"

The power button and the volume rocker are on the right side of the phone and, with the card slots under the hood, there's nothing on the left side.

Buttons on the right • Nothing on the left

The microUSB port is at the bottom, and Acer insists on putting it off-center. So be it. Next to it is the mic pinhole. On top you have the 3.5mm jack and the secondary mic.

microUSB port on the bottom • 3.5mm jack on top

In hand, the Liquid X2 does feel a bit bulky thanks to those large bezels, but also because of its flat back. The relatively flat sides do provide substantial area to hold on to, which is nice because the back is rather slippery.

In the hand