Google announced last year that it was developing a version of Android and some key apps that would be optimized for low-cost smartphones. Now TCL is introducing one of the first phones designed for the Android Go platform.
The Alcatel 1X is a budget phone with kind of crappy specs… but the point is that its not supposed to need high-end specs to offer a decent experience. Instead the emphasis is on value: the Alcatel 1X is expected to sell for under 100 Euros (about $120).
Like all of the new Alcatel smartphones coming in 2018, the Alcatel 1X has an 18:9 (2:1) aspect ratio display. But this model has a pretty low-res screen, at 960 x 480 pixels.
Other features include a MediaTek MTK6580 quad-core ARM Cortex-A53 processor, 1GB of RAM, 16GB of storage, a 2,460 mAh battery, an 8MP rear camera with 720p video capture support, a 5MP front camera, and support for 802.11n WiFi, Bluetooth 4.2, and 4G LTE.
There’s no fingerprint sensor, but the phone does have a face unlock feature if you’d rather not use a PIN or passcode for security.
Early indications are that you shouldn’t expect stellar performance on a phone with low-end specs just because it’s running specially optimized software. But hopefully Android Go can deliver on its promise of at least offering a better experience than similarly-priced phones that aren’t running specialized software.
I hoped for a smaller phone, too bad… that thing is huge (147mm vs 121mm).
I’m quite happy with my Pixi 4″ despite it’s limitations, but don’t see a replacement in their new line-ups.