It’s 2018, but Alcatel has new devices on the market powered by the nearly two-year-old Android Nougat, an operating system that was first released in August 2016. This isn’t the only surprise, though.
At the ongoing MWC 2018, Alcatel has unveiled three phones powered by Android Oreo, one with Android Go and two with Nougat. The company has also announced two tablets powered by Android 8.1 Oreo.
Here’s the rundown:
Alcatel 1 series
The Alcatel 1X and 1C are the first devices in the company’s new 1 series and the 1X also happens to run Android Go. This should give you a hint about the phone’s specs and features.
Alcatel 1X
On the official Alcatel 1X page, the company notes that “specs & color may vary in different countries” because, well, there are multiple variants of the 1X. Some models come with single-SIMs and others have dual SIMs. Even more interesting, some variants of the Alcatel 1X have no fingerprint scanners, but Alcatel has what it calls “Face Key” to take care of that.
As for pricing, the single-SIM variant will be priced at €100 while the dual-SIM variant can be yours at €110. Availability begins in April.
Alcatel 1C
Like the 1X, the Alcatel 1C also sports the new 18:9 design, but it’s bigger in size and rocks a brushed aluminum body. Also, this model runs a full-on version of Android Oreo and is generally more superior to the 1X. Here’re the specs:
Alcatel 3 series
As the names suggest, these three are just variants of the same phone. This also means you get the same design and specs, but their sizes are quite different. The trio has the same chipset and supports facial recognition. Here’re the specs:
Alcatel 3
The Alcatel 3 comes with a 5.5-inch 18:9 display with HD+ resolution and a single-lens camera on the back.
Alcatel 3X
The Alcatel 3X has a bigger 5.7-inch panel with the same specs, but for some reason, it has Android Nougat out of the box.
Alcatel 3V
The Alcatel 3V gets an even bigger 6-inch panel with full HD+ resolution and like the 3X, you also get a dual-lens camera on the back, which the standard Alcatel 3 misses out.
It’s strange that Alcatel chose Android Nougat OS for the 3X, but hopefully, the phone at least gets an Oreo update. As for pricing, the Alcatel 3 will have a price tag of €150, the 3X at €180 while the 3V will set you back €190. Availability begins next month.
Alcatel 5 series
Unlike the other categories, the Alcatel 5 series has only one model, at least for now. It’s the costliest, but this doesn’t mean it has premium specs. The design gets rid of the bottom bezel but leaves a big one at the top in what Alcatel calls a limitless design.
The curved unibody houses an 18:9 display screen with a 5.7-inch panel, but you get a disappointing HD+ resolution and Android Nougat out of the box. On the brighter side, the Alcatel 5 gets a dual selfie camera alongside feature such as USB-C, fingerprint scanner and 4G LTE connectivity, as shown below.
The Alcatel 5 has a price tag of €229.99.
Alcatel 1T Tablets
Alcatel did not stop with the smartphones. There are two tablets for you as well, which, just like the phones, have modest specs and thus affordable price tags. Both the Alcatel 1T 7 and Alcatel 1T 10 are powered by the newest Android 8.1 Oreo, quad-core MediaTek chipsets and 1GB RAM. The main difference between the two slates is their display screens, where the 1T 7 has a 7-inch 1024 x 600 panel while the 1T 10 has a 10-inch 1280 x 800 panel. The pair will be priced at €70 and €100, respectively.
Alcatel 1T 7
Alcatel 1T 10
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