A prominent feature of gaming today is the ability to record your gameplay for yourself or to share with others. SmartPixel screen recorder by GoPlay stands as one of the best options if you’re looking for an app to record what you’re doing on your phone or tablet.
Overview
SmartPixel is said to be compatible with all Android 4.0 devices and up, although I have not tested on the latest Android 6.0.1. When the app is launched, a small icon is shown where ever you are in your phone to quickly activate the screen recording. From this icon, you can instantly start recording, open up the main app, or head straight to watching your recent recorded videos, which is also included in the main app. Recording whatever you’re doing is quick and simple, but unfortunately the small logo you press to activate recording is still present in the finalized video, which can be annoying for serious game streamers. However it’s not uncommon for a free app to show just a little bit of pride for their service.
Once you have you’re video recorded, you’re directed to the “Upload Video” section of the app that allows you to trim the video as well as name it, tag the game and give a brief description for when you upload to GoPlay, a video streaming service dedicated to game streaming and interaction between gamers. As you begin to upload your video (should you choose to), you can bind your GoPlay account to YouTube and Facebook in the process for quick sharing between your accounts. I was surprised by how easy and quick it was for the video to go live on GoPlay and be viewed by other gamers interested in the game you tagged.
In comparison…
But how does SmartPixel compare to other screen recording apps? A brief answer to this would be quite well, but it’s not the best. The top screen recording app on Google Play, AZ Screen Recording, offers a few more features, including the ability to select your video’s framerate before recording, which is something I really like. By default, SmartPixel records videos in “HD” 640p, slightly below the standard 720p HD. Nonetheless, you can bump up the recording resolution to what the app calls “Ultra HD” 720p. This can be misleading due to the confusion of what Ultra HD is, but it certainly doesn’t mean 720p.
But the main problem is not being able to record at a higher 1920x1080p resolution (if your phone has this screen resolution) and choose a higher framerate, like you can in AZ Screen Recorder. Much of today’s smartphone hardware is more than capable of recording at higher resolutions and framerates than what SmartPixel allows. For a sample of how videos look in 720p with this app, hit the link here for a quick test video I made playing Contre Jour
Overall, SmartPixel does exactly what it needs to do, and is an excellent companion app to GoPlay’s video streaming service.
What we like
- Minimal steps to record video and upload it
- No ads
- Easy to use interface
What could be better
- Option for higher resolution and framerate recording
- Poor audio quality without the option to increase it
- Not as many features as competition
You can download SmartPixel screen recorder for FREE at the Google Play Store here.
