TCL Communication on Tuesday launched the Alcatel 1X in India, confirming its first Alcatel-branded Android Go device will be released in the South Asian country this spring. Originally unveiled at CES in January before being officially announced at MWC last month, the Alcatel 1X is meant to compete in the entry-level segment of the market and is specifically targeting first-time smartphone owners who have so far opted against purchasing cheap contemporary handsets in favor of more reliable feature phones. Being part of Google’s Android Go program, the Alcatel 1X is meant to make the most of its modest hardware specifications by launching with a highly streamlined version of the operating system accompanied by lightweight editions of popular apps such as YouTube, Maps, Gmail, and Google Assistant.
No official release date has yet been attached to the Alcatel 1X in India, with TCL hinting the device will go on sale by early April. While its pricing details also remain unknown, the handset is unlikely to be priced at over Rs. 6,000 ($92). The Alcatel 1X features a 5.34-inch display panel with an FWVGA+ resolution of 960 by 480 pixels amounting to an elongated aspect ratio of 18:9. The handset is powered by MediaTek’s MT6739 chip boasting four cores clocked at 1.28GHz and sports 1GB of RAM and 16GB of internal flash memory expandable via a microSD card by up to 128GB. With Android 8.1 Oreo (Go Edition) running out of the box, the Alcatel 1X also boasts support for Google’s Project Treble, though it remains to be seen whether TCL ends up taking advantage of it to push out timelier security updates to the handset. Dual-SIM capabilities are also part of the package, as is support for NFC, 4G VoLTE, GPS, and Bluetooth 4.2.
The rear camera of the Alcatel 1X is of the 13-megapixel variety, whereas its front sensor is an 8-megapixel affair, with both being supported by their own LED flash units. The device is fueled by a 2,460mAh battery that promises to last for a day on a single charge. Besides India, the Alcatel 1X is likely to be released in a number of other developing countries this spring.