Alcatel 5, we have tested it

The Alcatel 5 is a mid-range phone with a large screen in 18: 9 format that can already be purchased for a price of 199 euros.

We are facing a 5.7-inch panel, dual front camera , fingerprint reader and the Android 7.1 Nougat operating system as standard.

Although on a performance level it is not a spectacular model, overall it offers excellent value for money and quite good photography results with the cameras.

Here we go over the important features and functions of the new Alcatel 5.

Alcatel 5 design: large screen and metallic finish

The most striking thing about the Alcatel 5 is its 5.7-inch panel , with hardly any side edges, which occupies almost the entire front. It does not have a notch at the top, so we find a metallic upper edge where the double lens of the front camera stands out.

Another aspect of the design that should be noted is its elegant metallic finish . The phone is available in black or shiny gold.

On the back we find, aligned in the center, the following elements: the main camera lens, the LED flash and the fingerprint reader.

The card tray is on the left side, while the right side is for the power and volume buttons. On the upper edge we find the miniJack port for headphones, and on the lower edge is the USB Type-C port and the double speaker .

Display Features

The Alcatel 5's 5.7-inch screen has HD + resolution, with 720 x 1440 pixels , with a density of 282 pixels per inch.

The panel is particularly appreciated for its 18: 9 panoramic format , ideal for enjoying multimedia content. And the sharpness of the colors is also quite good, even with HD + resolution instead of FullHD.

It is also appreciated that it has almost no side edges , which greatly improves the user experience when watching videos.

Processor and operating system

The new Alcatel 5 smartphone is powered by a Mediatek MT6750 octa-core Cortex-A53 processor: four of them running at 1.5 GHz and another four running at 1.0 GHz).

With this processor, you do not have to expect a very high performance, but it is enough to use the most common apps without problems.

Power tests offer very valuable information on this detail. In the Geekbench 4 app, the mobile scored 607 points in Single-Core performance and 2513 points in Multi-Core. They are somewhat low figures that are also noticeable in the daily use of the telephone.

As for the operating system, this smartphone comes standard with Android 7.1 Nougat with hardly any additional modifications, so we can enjoy almost pure Android and without too many additions from the manufacturer.

Alcatel 5 - Data sheet

Characteristics of the Alcatel 5 cameras

Considering the price of the phone, the main attraction of the terminal is, without a doubt, its camera. Or rather "his cameras", in the plural, because it offers quite good results both with the main one and with the selfies.

The rear camera is made up of a single 12-megapixel lens , with f / 2.2 aperture and autofocus. In addition, it has a dual-tone dual LED flash and can record video in Full HD (1080p) quality.

The selfie camera is dual , composed of:

• A 13 megapixel main lens and f / 2.0 aperture.
• A second 5 megapixel lens with depth sensor, to achieve the bokeh effect  (blur) and improvements in the capture of portrait mode.
• LED flash.

In addition, with the front camera we can record video in Full HD quality (1080p) and take selfies with a wide angle , ideal for capturing large groups in a single photograph.

One of the advantages of the terminal is that, despite the large size of the screen, the camera application can be easily operated with one hand. For taking selfies, for example, just press the fingerprint sensor on the back with one finger to trigger the shot.

Camera modes on the Alcatel 5

• Auto mode , Auto HDR adjustment, white and gray balance, flash.
• Panoramic photography (main camera only).
• Timelapse video (time interval): the camera captures several photos every certain number of seconds to later pass them at a rate of 24 frames per second obtaining the effect of movement. Available for the rear camera.
• Slow motion video : only available in the rear camera.
• Light trail (rear camera): to capture trails of light made with a flash, wave or waterfall movement, or car headlight movement at night.
• Wide angle selfie (front camera only). This is one of the interesting points of the mobile. It comes with a very complete double front camera for taking group selfies. In fact, in front of the main sensor (13 MPx with f / 2.0 aperture) it carries a six-lens system. Next to it is the 5MPx sensor. Thanks to this, we have a 120 degree angle for everyone to fit into the photo.
•  Night mode , in the main camera. It is the best way to obtain good results for photographs at night, although it is advisable to use a tripod to avoid blurring the final image.
• Social Mode (in both cameras). With this function we can create collages, multi-shot photos or photos in square format to share instantly on social networks such as Instagram.

In addition, in the Alcatel 5 camera we can configure the flash, the HDR mode (to balance the differences in lighting between different parts of a scene), the timer or the beauty mode for selfies.

Storage, SIM cards and other connections

The Alcatel 5 has 32 GB of internal storage , which can be expanded by external microSD card of up to 128 GB.

The Alcatel 5 is available in black and gold in its Dual SIM version. It is good to note that the card tray has two spaces : we will have to choose between using two nanoSIMs simultaneously or a SIM with a microSD storage card.

The Alcatel 5 smartphone has a WiFi connection, Wifi Direct and Bluetooth 4.2. The USB port to connect it to other devices and to recharge the battery is type C.

Phone highlights

On the smartphone we find some game demos pre-installed, as well as basic utilities: calculator, sound recorder, compass, weather application , download manager, etc.

And as a plus, it is worth highlighting the FM radio and Alcatel's own phone manager to optimize the battery and free up RAM memory by closing applications that are not being used.

Another very useful pre-installed tool is OfficeSuite , to create and edit spreadsheets or text documents from your mobile.

Finally, in terms of security and blocking, the Alcatel 5 has a fingerprint sensor and also with the option of unlocking by facial recognition .

Alcatel 5 battery

The Alcatel 5's battery is 3,000 mAh, a fact that has almost become an industry standard for many mid-range phones.

In fact, this ALcatel 5 is optimized so that, with normal use, the phone lasts without problems and without having to recharge a full day.

Price and conclusions

The Alcatel 5 is available in Spain in different stores. Its official price is 199 euros.

We are, therefore, before a very good quality / price ratio, since the phone has a metallic finish, a panoramic screen, quite good cameras and Android 7 Nougat as standard.

In addition, we have the possibility of using two nanoSIM cards and we have 32 GB of internal storage , a more than reasonable capacity to be able to have many applications installed.

Among the possible points for improvement on the Alcatel 5, one should mention the battery life and performance.

Considering all the above, we can say that the Alcatel 5 is an inexpensive and perfect mobile for those who do not use the mobile too intensively or for those who only need some functions such as Internet browsing, WhatsApp, calls and camera.