It is Alcatel's most cutting-edge mobile for this year. The Asian corporation TCL (based in Hong Kong), in 2017 bets on its Alcatel Idol 5 smartphone to seduce advanced mobile users with good design.
This Idol 5 follows the line of its predecessor, the Idol 4, but with new materials and improved performance. The Alcatel Idol 5 with an aluminum body, less than 8 mm thick and curved glass follows the general trend in mid-high range terminals.
As for its functions, we can anticipate that it carries an interesting 13 MPix camera that adds curious functions such as the possibility of creating Time Lapse videos or photos in a Collage. Another point to highlight has to do with the fact of being able to clone apps. This allows us to keep the sessions open in various personal and work accounts of each social network. So we can go from one to another easily.
We tell you below all its features and news.
Alcatel Idol 5
| screen | 5.2 ″ IPS FullHD with 2.5D glass | |
| Main chamber | 13 MP dual-tone LED flash 1080p video recording | |
| Camera for selfies | 5 megapixels, interpolated at 8 1080p video recording at 30fps | |
| Internal memory | 16 GB | |
| Extension | Micro SD | |
| Processor and RAM | MediaTek MT6753, Octacore, 3 GB RAM | |
| Battery | 2,800 mAh | |
| Operating system | Android 7.1 | |
| Connections | LTE, WiFi, Bluetooth | |
| SIM | Dual nanoSIM | |
| Design | aluminum | |
| Dimensions | 148 x 73 x 7.5 mm, 155 grams | |
| Featured Features | fingerprint reader | |
| Release date | September 2017 | |
| Price | 240 euros |
Aluminum for the new from Alcatel
The design of the Alcatel Idol 5 is not very similar to the previous Idol 4 , this time the construction materials change. Now aluminum reigns. We recall that previously, the Idol 3 was built in polycarbonate, and the Idol 4 had a glossy glass finish. The truth is that aluminum suits you very well, it makes it very premium and elegant. Although glass looks amazing on Idol 4, it is a magnet for fingerprints. On the rear itself we find a lens in the left corner that practically does not protrude from the edge, accompanied by a dual-tone LED flash. Just below, the rounded fingerprint reader. In addition to the Idol logo.
And where are the plastic strips to receive the signals? These are at the top and bottom, running along the edge and with the same finish as the back. In the black model the stripes are barely noticeable, while in the white version we can see them on both edges.
On the front we find few news . Here we do find glass covering the entire front. Unfortunately, the French firm now belonging to TCL Mobile has decided not to implement minimum frames on its front. At the bottom we do not find anything, the buttons are directly on the screen. At the top we find a speaker for calls, sensors, a selfie camera and an LED flash.
The frames are also made of aluminum. In the right area we find the volume up and down button and the on off and lock. On the right, we find the tray for the SIM card. In the lower area we find the connector for charging and the 3.5 mm Jack for headphones.
Alcatel Idol 5, MediaTek processor inside and Software with many options
The Alcatel Idol 5 mounts a 5.2-inch panel with FULL HD resolution (1920 x 1080 pixels). Inside, we find an eight-core 1.3 GHz MediaTeck 6753 processor, with a Mali-T720 MP3 GPU and accompanied by 3 GB of RAM and an internal memory of 16 megapixels. Regarding the cameras, the rear of the Idol 5 is equipped with a 13-megapixel lens, while the front is 5-megapixel. On the other hand, it has a 2,800 mah battery and Android Nougat with different Software options
Alcatel has decided to implement a customization layer to its new device called "Joice". It is a different customization layer from Android Pure, but it incorporates an equally colorful palette, and without neglecting the touches to Material Design, we see them in the folders, the icons, inside the applications and in the animations. Alcatel's renewed personalization layer includes new options, such as the ability to clone an application, for example, Instagram. In this way, we can have two accounts on the same device. Another of the Software options is a kind of floating button, which allows us to quickly access different actions, such as the split screen, take a video capture on the screen or open a specific app.
13 megapixel camera with many options
On the other hand, the firm has put a lot of effort into its camera, following a 13 megapixel rear lens (16 interpolated) with an aperture up to f / 2.0 and a pixel of 1.12μm . In addition, the rear camera incorporates PDAF + CAF technology, that is, automatic focus detection. This makes the focus much faster, and therefore we will get sharper photos. It also includes the possibility of taking pictures in HDR. As for video recording, it allows us a quality of up to 1080 P 60 fps, and has a stabilizer. The camera application allows us to switch between different modes, being able to choose from an automatic mode, to the possibility of making video clips or collage with our photos.
Other of the outstanding functions that we find in the Alcatel Idol 5, is the possibility of incorporating two nanoSIM cards . In the system settings, we can configure the preferences of both cards. It also includes 4G LTE, Bluetooth 4.2 and OTG connectivity. We cannot forget the fingerprint reader, located on the back, and which allows up to the five-finger configuration.
Price and availability
The Idol 5 will go on sale during this same month of September. It has a price of approximately 240 euros . The colors available are silver and black. We remember that its predecessor, the Alcatel Idol 4 went on sale for an approximate price of 320 euros. So we found a difference of 80 euros less between the Idol 4 and the Idol 5.