Alcatel announced that two of the better budget phones to show up at Mobile World Congress 2018, the Alcatel 1X and Alcatel 3V, are on their way to the U.S.
We don’t know exactly when the two phones will launch in the U.S., but the very fact that they are coming is interesting to see. Alcatel doesn’t always launch its devices stateside, especially when it comes to its budget phones. Still, the phones should introduce a little more variety in the low-end.
The Alcatel 1X is actually a pretty interesting offering. Why? It’s one of the first sub-$100 devices to offer an 18:9 display aspect ratio, which helps make it look slightly more modern than it otherwise wouldn’t. Apart from the 18:9 display, you also find a MediaTek MT6739, coupled with 1GB of RAM and 16GB of storage. The 18:9 display only has a resolution of 480 x 960 — but that is to be expected from such a cheap device. The camera on the device comes in 13 megapixels, with the front-facing camera coming in at 5 megapixels. Last but not least, according to Alcatel, the U.S. variant of the 1X will come with a fingerprint sensor.
When it comes to software, the phone is an Android Go device — so it offers a stripped-down version of Android with stripped-down apps — all built specifically for phones with less RAM and low-power processors.
The Alcatel 3V is a little more high-end. It’s actually Alcatel’s first dual-lens phone to come to the U.S. Under the hood, the phone offers a MediaTek MT8735A processor, along with 2GB of RAM and either 16GB or 32GB of storage. The rear-facing camera on the device sits in with a dual 12-megapixel sensor, while the front-facing camera offers five megapixels. Like its less expensive sibling, the phone has an 18:9 aspect ratio display, but the resolution comes in at 1,080 x 2,160. The phone also comes with Android Oreo — but its the full version rather than the Android Go version.
Alcatel hasn’t said exactly when the phones will be available in the U.S. beyond telling us that they will be available unlocked in “coming months.” We will update this article when we get more information on pricing and availability.