Last year, Alcatel started to turn heads and raise eyebrows w/ their Idol 3 flagship device. It was a great Android device w/ power on a budget of only $250. It sold really well globally as well as here in the US - especially on Cricket Wireless. This year, they decided to step things up a bit w/ their 4th iteration of the Idol series.
Welcome to the Idol 4S: a new premium take on their affordable flagship device. This time around instead of just focusing on a great smartphone device, they wanted to add more value to its package. For those of you who pick one up, you get a screen protector, a phone case, JBL earbuds, and a VR headset. Now it's time to see if this can help Alcatel retain/enhance its spot in mid-range smartphone market. Let's find out.
Hardware
For 2016, Alcatel wanted to step things up for their flagship. A new body style and new materials while beefing up the internals and keeping the things that made you love the Idol name.
Premium on the outside and just above mid-range on the inside.
The Idol 4S touts a combination of glass & metal unibody construction w/ very little logos and the fingerprint scanner on the rear. Along w/ the Power + Volume buttons, you have the BoomKey which is an additional button that can be customizable to launch apps or a different action. It is an overall clean and high-end look for Alcatel's latest.
The Idol 4S offers a 5.5inch QHD AMOLED display, powered by an octa-core Snapdragon 652 CPU, running Android 6.0.1, 3GB of RAM, 32GB of storage expandable via microSD card slot, a f/2.0 16MP camera w/ phase detection auto-focus + dual LED flash, a f/2.4 8MP front-facing camera, dual front-facing speakers pumping Hi-Fi audio, and a 3000 mAh battery. Giving you everything you need for a smartphone - on paper. Now to see how everything actually works.
Performance
The 5.5inch QHD AMOLED panel is quite the beauty. It is super bright, lots of clarity, and colors that just pop. You would think Samsung put this display together for them as its really that good. Especially for a device w/ a $399 price tag on it.
Even though it wasn't utilizing an 820 processor, the Snapdragon 652 CPU still performs like a champ. It has 4GB of RAM and a lightweight UI to handle gaming, streaming and whatever else you can throw at it. Be mindful that being a body made of glass + metal, it can get on the warm side w/ heavy tasking. The 3000 mAh battery is non-removable but offers a nice size to keep anyone using this going all day long. I was able to get 11-16 hours of juice on a single charge via low-to-heavy usage.
Kudos to Alcatel for minding the bloatware. It is more or less their take on stock Android which is always welcomed in my book. Not sure how long it will be before it gets Android 7.0 though but in the meantime, you shouldn't have any qualms w/ their software. The always fun Music (still w/ the 2 turntable UI) and Waves MaxxAudio apps remain as they are joined by a VR suite of apps/games and Fyuse camera app. More on those two in a bit.
With front-facing speakers popping up on more devices these days, it's nice to see someone treating it w/ care rather than a gimmick. The Idol 4S is equipped w/ Hi-Fi audio thanks to 3.6-watt JBL speakers. They're designed to pump audio through both the front & rear of the device. Giving you big sound that can be tuned to your liking.
Camera
Alcatel made sure to beef up their shooters from last year. They've upped the megapixel count while lowering the f-stop (or aperture). The Idol 3 has a 13MP rear shooter while the Idol 4S has a f/2.0 16MP rear shooter. It retains the 8MP front-facing shooter but this time around has a f/2.4 aperture.
For a $399 device, you might think that the camera might be subpar but it is better than you think. It great lighting, you can achieve some beautiful shots. When you loose light, the noise begins to show a bit and of course, as you go into low-to-no light, it will be very noticeable. Mind you budget phones used to be terrible to shoot with as they're definitely getting a lot better.
For a f/2.0 aperture lens, you can grab some great shots. Of course, it won't excel in low-light but it won't be as terrible as you might expect it to be. A lower aperture would boost the overall performance as well as in low-light.
VR
Alcatel's VR headset is a mesh of Google Cardboard in function and Samsung's Gear VR in looks. The VR headset is quite the comfy fit as its made of plastic w/ padded straps. You have the Back + Select buttons but no way to focus, though. You have the VR content but the experience isn't as good as the Gear VR so be mindful of that. It's not terrible but would love them to fix a few things for next time, though.
Alcatel knows how to make budget Android phones look/perform good.
