Cricket Wireless has picked up another exclusive smartphone, this time from Alcatel. It’s the Alcatel Onyx, and it launches today for $119, and is available both in-store and online.
The Alcatel Onyx is definitely a low-end smartphone, though the $119 price tag likely gave that away. When it comes to specs, it does sport an 18:9 aspect ratio display, but it’s a 1440×720 resolution stretched across 5.5-inches.
Alcatel is also using a MediaTek chipset here instead of a Qualcomm. With the MT6739WW quad-core chipset powering the show. It is paired with 2GB of RAM and 32GB of storage inside. As with most smartphones in this price range, it does also come with a micro SD card slot that can fit up to 128GB of additional storage. Alcatel tossed in a 3000mAh capacity battery, as well as a micro USB port for charging. So if you were hoping to get a new phone with micro USB so you wouldn’t need to buy new cables, this one fits that bill. And surprisingly in 2019, it also has a headphone jack.
The cameras on the Onyx aren’t too impressive, but they will get the job done. On the front, there is a 5-megapixel sensor. While the rear has a 13-megapixel main sensor and then a 2-megapixel secondary sensor. Likely being used for depth sensing. Alcatel didn’t skimp on security though, as there is a fingerprint sensor on the backside.
Onyx does not feel or look premium, and at $119, that is not a surprise at all. It is made of plastic and does have capacitive buttons on the front. Which makes it look like something from a few years ago. However, those that are looking for a cheap smartphone and are on Cricket Wireless, this might be the phone to get.
Here in the US, there isn’t many devices with MediaTek processors, so its tough to gauge how well this one might perform. But it should do decently. The 2GB of RAM is definitely on the lower-end side these days, though Alcatel does use a fairly stock version of Android, so on the bright side, it should be pretty lightweight.
Cricket is an MVNO that runs on AT&T’s network – unlike most other MVNO’s out there, Cricket is actually owned by AT&T. So these lower-end smartphones are exactly what they need to get customers in the door and sign up or get a new phone. Since Cricket is a prepaid carrier, it does not do financing or any type of contract. So essentially when you buy this phone, it is yours. You could leave Cricket at any time, and not owe them money for the phone – service, however, is another story.
Over at Cricket, you can get some pretty cheap service. If you just need talk and text, that’ll be just $25 per month. However, data plans range from $30 to $60. There are two unlimited plans at $55 and $60. The regular unlimited plan caps speeds at 3Mbps, while Unlimited Extra does not cap your speed, and you get unlimited 4G LTE speeds with that plan.
