Customers looking for a new phone have no shortage of options these days. Phones range from the traditionally expensive models that began the smartphone craze to the new more affordable models that make concessions in areas that don’t normally matter to the average consumer. Many of these budget-minded brands have sprung up out of India and China over the last two years and have made a significant impact on the market, bringing down the cost of the average smartphone while simultaneously raising the lowest common denominator in the spec race. $150 or so buys quite a bit nowadays as we’ve seen from plenty of phones that we’ve reviewed lately.
Intex is a name that’s likely familiar to many residents of India, but one thing that’s been missing from Intex’s portfolio is a device with 4G LTE support. Up to this point Intex’s phones have only featured up to 3G HSPA technology, sometimes referred to 4G because of the speed rather than the actual tech generation. Intex’s newest phone, the Aqua 4G+, is making its debut today at all major mobile retailers in India and is looking to make some waves when it debuts at INR 9,499 (about $150). This price may come at a surprise to customers who are used to only 3G radios and aren’t looking to spend more just to get a faster network connection.
Intex isn’t skimping on the rest of the specs for the phone either, packing a 5-inch 720P display on the front and a MediaTek MT6735 64-bit quad-core processor. 2GB of RAM is a perfect amount of RAM for this resolution and should provide more than enough to never see apps reload when multi-tasking. Running the show is Android 5.0 Lollipop, a relief to start seeing in more budget-minded phones, as well as 16GB of internal storage and microSD card support. A 13MP rear-facing camera is included as well as a 5MP front-facing camera, and the camera software is being touted as pretty advanced. This includes the ability to use filters and a picture-in-picture mode with both front and rear facing cameras in the same shot among other things. A 2,300mAh battery will power the experience and there’s a power saving mode for when it starts running low. Look for the black and white models to be sold at retailers immediately.