Blu Products has done some interesting things in the affordable smartphone market. Oftentimes, you will hear Blu devices described as "great for the money" because the value that you get from them is rather surprising. Even on the lower end, I have found that Blu can do what I need a smartphone to do: make calls, check email, and use Hangouts. Ever since the Vivo 5 and Vivo XL, priced at $199 and $99 respectively, released earlier this year, Blu has really upped its game on its core value proposition. Recently, we saw the Energy XL, a mammoth of a phone with an equally large battery, for $299 that turned out to be quite a competitor in the market.

Today, Blu is announcing the newest device in the higher-end portfolio: the Pure XR. The Pure line, not having seen a new member since the Pure XL released last fall, is certainly getting what sounds like a worthy addition. Encased in full aluminum, this phone looks to pack equally solid specs into a 5.5" body.

It sports a 1080p SuperAMOLED display with Gorilla Glass 3 and 3D Touch, an octa-core MediaTek Helio P10 (6755) CPU and the Mali-T860 GPU, 64GB of internal storage, 4GB of RAM, a 16MP shooter and a 8MP selfie-cam, a front-mounted fingerprint sensor, a USB Type-C port, and a 3,000mAh battery. If that 64GB is not enough for you, the Pure XR also has a microSD slot that supports up to a 64GB card (officially). Software-wise, the phone will ship with Android 6.0 Marshmallow.

Blu is quick to point out the enhanced sound features from DTS and the MediaTek fast charge capabilities included in the device, too. These specs, as well as the overall design and build quality, seem to be an outstanding new trend starting in the mid-range market.

Now, we get to the price. You get all of this phone for $299 unlocked in either grey or gold (no fancy color names here — we hope) from either Amazon or Best Buy, and Blu says that you can use it on AT&T, T-Mobile, and MetroPCS. Review units should be sent out soon, so be keeping your eye out for a much closer look at the Pure XR.