Recently launched Nepalese Accessories brand, Asta Wolf, has left a positive impression on most people. But unfortunately, that hasn’t been the case with us. Though we have quite a few things to say about the brand, I’ll stick to talking about their (Asta) Wolf Phoenix smartwatch and its fake AMOLED screen in this article.
What’s wrong with Asta Wolf Phoenix?
For starters, the Wolf Phoenix is an affordable yet feature-rich smartwatch priced under NPR 4,000 rupees. It comes with SPO2 tracking, a heart rate monitor, a steps tracker, app support, and more. But the main selling point of the Phoenix is its ‘AMOLED’ display. Mind you, finding an AMOLED screen on a smartwatch at this price point is a pretty sweet deal. So naturally, I was excited to try it out as soon as I could. But my delight quickly turned to disappointment when I realized the screen was definitely NOT an OLED one.
LCD vs AMOLED
LCD displays use a backlight to produce images, while OLED displays have LEDs that light up individual pixels. This means that OLED displays can turn off those individual pixels to produce true deep blacks, while LCD displays can only block the backlight to produce (less) dark colors. They also have richer colors and better color accuracy at low brightness. However, Asta Wolf Phoenix has an LCD panel instead of an AMOLED one.
When I tried out the Phoenix smartwatch, the colors felt off, there was bleeding on the edges, and it didn’t feel like an AMOLED at all. So, just to be 100% sure, I set the watch face to black wallpaper and tried it out in a dark room. The result was as expected, the screen displayed a lightish grey color but it was not pitch black.
Likewise, we also conducted the microscope pixel testing using our high-res macro lens (Sigma 70mm Macro) and found out the black portion on the Phoenix watch had lights turned ON, indicating it’s an LCD panel. As such, the Wolf Phoenix Smartwatch doesn’t have an AMOLED panel.
Asta Wolf still claiming that Phoenix has an AMOLED screen
The sad thing is the company is still claiming that Asta Wolf Phoenix has an AMOLED panel on its social media including Daraz Q&A and Review section. They have even claimed to come up with a “Certification” from their vendor in the coming days. This is pure arrogance and just not acceptable. A brand is misleading consumers into buying a product that is not what it claims to be.
I am a little disappointed in Daraz too. Asta Wolf launched as a Daraz-exclusive brand so they needed to do their due diligence as well. They are promoting a brand without verifying the claims it’s making, which ultimately affects the consumers.
Daraz has built up consumer trust via reliable service and ease of use. However, such carelessness can quickly undermine that hard-earned reputation and damage trust. This AMOLED fiasco on the Asta Wolf Phoenix is just an example. There must be systems in place to ensure consumer fraud doesn’t foster in coming days.
The False Marketing
I am surprised by some of the tech influencers as well. None of the videos I watched had any bad things to say about Asta Wolf Phoenix.
Likewise, there are a lot of paid promotions on platforms like TikTok which features influencers who had nothing to do with tech. A food blogger reading vague specs of a Bluetooth speaker or a comedian talking about a battery health-protecting power bank doesn’t exude confidence in the buyer.
I understand what Asta Wolf is doing for marketing, but I expected ‘influencers’ to do at least a little bit of research which is clearly lacking here. Even some tech YouTubers got it wrong this time around which makes me question the integrity of tech content I have been consuming for the last few years.
The Aftermath
Everyone who got the Phoenix in hopes of an AMOLED screen was cheated and hence deserves a refund or some kind of compensation. I also want Asta Wolf to discontinue the Phoenix completely to prevent further damage. And to other upcoming Nepali OEM brands, let this act as a lesson. A lesson not to mislead consumers, no matter how ‘affordable’ your product is. So, that’s all I had to say about the Asta Wolf Phoenix fake AMOLED scandal.
But you can check out our opinion on the brand’s other shenanigans here :
