Alcatel’s new 3L and 1-series are budget conscious phones with big features

Even though CES is more aimed at consumer electronics, TCL has announced a new range of Alcatel phones full of features, but aimed at the budget conscious consumer.

The new range, which includes Alcatel’s first 48MP triple camera smartphone as well as their first Android 10 (Go edition) smartphone, will appear in Australia in Q2 this year, though timing, partners and pricing are yet to be announced.

Alcatel 3L
The flagship for this release is the Alcatel 3L, and while the inclusion of an AI enabled triple-camera setup sounds like a premium feature, Alcatel will be aiming at the ‘value seekers’ says Peter Lee, General Manager, Global Sales and Marketing at TCL Communication.

The Alcatel 3L includes three camera sensors, which includes a 48MP main sensor that uses 4-in-1 pixel technology to deliver clear photos and videos in low light conditions, by stacking the images into a final 12MP shot. To back this sensor up, a 5MP sensor sits behind a 115° super wide-angle lens for awesome wide-angle shots, and a 2MP macro sensor will help take close-up photos in incredible detail. There’s also an 8MP selfie camera on the front which leverages the  6.22-inch HD+ Vast LCD display as a flash when in low-light conditions.

The AI enabled camera app allows the phone to identify up to 22 scenes and automatically adjust settings for an optimal result

The phone is powered by an octa-core processor, with 4GB RAM and 64GB built-in storage and Alcatel are also including a large all-day battery on the phone.

For the launch of the 3L, Alcatel has introduced a new colour-shifting technology called Aurora, which uses micro texture laser etching over a shimmering gradient for a spectacular shifting pattern that resembles the Aurora Borealis.

Alcatel 1S
If the budget won’t stretch to a 3L, but photography is still your jam, then the Alcatel 1S also offers a triple camera array on the rear of the phone, with Alcatel also including AI scene detection on board to optimise your photos in 22 types of scene.

The triple camera array includes a 13MP main sensor, with a 5MP camera for bokeh effects for stunning portraits with background blur. Alcatel also includes a 2MP macro sensor for the 1S for stunning up close photography.

The 1S also gets an octa-core processor to run the phone, with Alcatel also promising all day battery life.

Alcatel is also including their Aurora design combined with an elegant S-curve design on the 1S phones for a premium look and feel.

Alcatel 1V
Alcatel is also offering the 1V for users looking to get a big display, with the phone sporting a 6.22-inch HD+ resolution Vast display for full screen immersion when viewing media.

The phone is stylish with a distinctive feather-patterned finish with non-smudging design to eliminate fingerprints and has curved sides meeting with the 2.5D front glass for a solid grip that fits right in the palm of your hand.

There’s not a lot of details on the internals for the Alcatel 1V, but it comes with a dual-camera with AI scene detection, and Alcatel says the phone will have a ‘power-efficient core processor’ which is ‘made to support heavy tasks, such as playing games, streaming HD content including photos and videos’.

The hidden gem for this phone though is the dedicated Google Assistant button. Located on the side of the phone, the Assistant button will help you get things done in a flash by asking Google to do it for you.

Alcatel 1B
Finally, the ultimate in budget devices, the Alcatel 1B. Running Google’s Android 10 (Go Edition) which is optimised to run on devices with as little as 512MB of RAM, Alcatel will feed 2GB of RAM into the phone along with a quad-core processor to make this budget phone sing.

Alcatel has included a big 5.5-inch HD+ display on the phone, which combined with the 3,000mAh battery should give you peace of mind to carry the phone all day without looking for a charger.

There’s also a dedicated Google Assistant button on the side of the Alcatel 1B, letting you get things done fast.

We’ll find out more about the availability of all four phones in the coming months as Alcatel nails down the details with local retail and carrier partners. We’ve always seen sharp pricing from Alcatel on their range, and we expect to see the same when they launch in Australia.

[ces20]