Alcatel at CES 2017 today announced the launch of their new A3 XL smartphone. Which among other things, marks the launch of an entirely new range of smartphones aimed at those looking for a premium smartphone experience, but at an affordable price. The A3 XL is the first in this range and comes in phablet form, due to the A3 XL coming equipped with a 6-inch display. Alcatel has confirmed that Asia Pacific, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America will see availability commence during the first quarter of 2017. This will then be followed by a gradual rolling out to Europe in the second quarter of this year. At present, there is no confirmation on when, or if, the Alcatel A3 XL will become available to consumers in the US.
In terms of the general specs, and as mentioned, the Alcatel A3 XL comes loaded with a 6-inch display. One which makes use of a 1280 x 720 resolution. Inside, the Alcatel A3 XL comes loaded with 1GB RAM, 8GB internal storage and is powered by a MediaTek (MT8735B) processor. Cameras come in the form of an 8-megapixel rear camera, which is coupled with a 5-megapixel front-facing camera. There is also some additional features worth noting, like a fingerprint scanner and support for LTE Category 4 connectivity, while a 3,000 mAh battery powers the Alcatel A3 XL. Interestingly, this one is scheduled to come to market with the latest version of Android, pre-installed – Android 7.0 (Nougat).
While Alcatel has signaled this as an affordable smartphone, Alcatel has yet to provide any firm details on how much the Alcatel A3 XL will actually cost when it does become available. Likewise, while this is confirmed as the first of the new Alcatel ‘A’ Series of smartphones, Alcatel has not provided any further details on how the A Series will grow and expand going forward. Although, it is clear that the Alcatel A3 XL is designed for consumers looking for a competitively-priced, larger than usual smartphone, with some additional functionality and a greater level of security. Therefore, it stands to reason that the rest of the Alcatel A range will look to continue in a similar vein.
