The Punkt MC02 gets by without Google, but it’d be much better with a brighter display

You usually have to set up Android smartphones that don’t use Google yourself. Swiss provider Punkt does things differently with the MC02. The Android version installed – Apostrophy – is based on GraphenOS. It doesn’t require Google services, but should provide access to them via MicroG if required – without passing on any data. However, this and other software gimmicks suffer from partially awful hardware.

Aphy in place of Google

Apostrophy isn’t just a user interface for Android; it’s a separate service under aphy.app, replacing Google for e-mail, contacts, calendar, data storage in the cloud and to-do lists. The data’s stored on servers in Switzerland. This works, but it’s clear that Aphy has fewer UI designers than Google. The aesthetics seem simple.

While Google monetises its user’s data, Aphy charges a fee after twelve months: 14.99 francs per month or 11.99 francs per month if you pay for a year. The MC02 is set to receive software support for at least four years.

The MC02 or Apostrophy home screen is intentionally kept in black and white. This is intended to reduce power consumption, as is the fact that data isn’t constantly transmitted to Google.

Large selection of app stores

Apostrophy has its own app store, the Aphy Store. However, it offers virtually no apps. But with just a few clicks, you can add the catalogues of alternative app stores such as F-Droid or Aurora, known as repositories.

If you need access to the Play Store, you can install it on the MC02 too – including Play Services via MicroG. The GSM Wizard ensures you download the apps anonymously and Google doesn’t receive any other data – it’s only shared with the apps you use.

That sounds good to me, but my skills don’t extend to checking where what data goes. Also, the best way to protect your data is to use as few apps as possible and to be online as little as necessary. Google and other large corporations don’t just collect data via their direct services; they also have a large presence through their advertising platforms.

VPN with three locations

Apostrophy’s paid offering includes a VPN service called Digital Nomad. In the app, I can choose between three locations with just one click: Germany, the USA and Japan. This works when I try it out briefly, and I can watch US content that I wouldn’t otherwise be able to. Checking the IP address shows a location in the Dallas area.

Define ledger app permissions using the dial

Ledgers are another special feature in Apostrophy. They’re available for every app, I just have to press and hold an app logo until the selection menu appears. Using the dials, I can regulate the permissions and energy consumption of each app.

The dial offers me five data protection levels – from «All requested permissions granted» to «All requested access permissions denied». Small text next to it tells me which accesses I’m allowing and which I’m not. There’s a small design flaw: the text is cut off at the end. But I can still manage the permissions individually via the app information, just like on any other Android device.

The second dial allows me to regulate the extent to which an app can access background data and battery, i.e. whether it can run in the background. Below that, I can even see the mAh value the app used on a given day – unfortunately, only as a bar chart with different scales. It’s interesting to see, but it could be presented more clearly. For example, I’d also find direct comparisons between apps interesting.

Hardware shortcomings

Punkt is asking a hefty price of around 700 francs/euros for the MC02. For that, you’d get an expensive mid-range or cheap top-of-the-range smartphone from other manufacturers. The Galaxy S24 springs to mind immediately. My problem is that I’d find the smartphone’s hardware disappointing even if it were a cheap entry-level smartphone. It makes using Apostrophy no fun.

The display isn’t bright enough

It starts with the 6.67-inch IPS display. The resolution of 2400 × 1080 pixels is OK, but the refresh rate of 60 Hertz is outdated. What’s really annoying is the low brightness of 400 nits. That’s enough for notebooks, but not for a smartphone I want to use outdoors. Even when there’s cloud cover, I find it difficult to see anything on the touchscreen.

Good battery life

For me, the fact that the low brightness ensures longer battery life is no justification. That’s no use to me if I can hardly see the smartphone. The MC02’s battery already has a slightly above-average capacity of 5,500 mAh. Using the PCMark 3.0 battery test, I measured a battery life of 10 hours 51 minutes with the display at full brightness. That’s seriously good. Not all smartphones achieve that, but others with brighter displays do. When charging the battery, I measured a maximum of 16 watts. But as other devices rarely reach the maximum specified by the manufacturer, I estimate the nominal value of the MC02 to be 25 watts. Not superfast, but OK.

Feels slower than test results suggest

The built-in Mediatek Dimensity 900 and the six gigabytes of RAM by its side make the Punkt MC02 seem slow. Or maybe the interface animations aren’t as fast to save power. Whatever the reason, I don’t like it.

Compared to other chipsets in the entry-level or mid-range segment, the Dimensity 900 doesn’t do too badly. Still, I remember the other smartphones being significantly faster.

In Geekbench, which measures the performance of the CPU and GPU, the Dimensity 900 performs better than the ageing Snapdragon 695 in the Moto G84. The Dimensity only performs worse in PCMark Work 3.0 – which simulates various everyday scenarios. The newer mid-range Dimensity 7200 Pro in the Nothing Phone (2a) and Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 in the Xiaomi Redmi Note 13 Pro 5G outperform the 900 less convincingly than I expected. The Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 even performs worse when it comes to the GPU.

Only take photos in daylight, please

The MC02 has three cameras on the back: a main camera with 64-megapixel resolution, an 8-megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera and a 2-megapixel macro camera. There’s also a 24-megapixel front-facing camera for selfies.

In the camera app, I notice how cumbersome it is to switch between cameras. You can’t do it when zooming; you have to go to the «More» section and activate the ultra-wide-angle camera there. You also have to go back, except that the main camera is under «Medium». On other smartphones, I only have to activate the macro camera at most.

In daylight, photos from the Punkt MC02 are half-decent. The level of detail’s enough for a smartphone screen, but colours appear washed out. The high resolution’s no advantage here. As soon as I enlarge the photo a bit, it becomes a mess of pixels.

The camera can handle contrasts, but a closer look reveals a lack of clarity and sharpness. This despite the fact that the MC02 delivers its full resolution of 64 megapixels and doesn’t use pixel binning. In other words, it doesn’t combine pixels that are next to each other. This isn’t only intended to improve image quality, but also to make files smaller.

When it’s dark, I have to go through the hassle of selecting a night mode. In my opinion, it’s not worth it, it doesn’t change the poor image quality. I actually like automatic mode a bit more.

The ultra-wide-angle camera has a low resolution and performs similarly to the others.

Selfies look pale. I still look sharp on the smartphone display, but the background is already pixellated – not just blurred. If I zoom in a bit, I quickly become a jumble of pixels.