itel has been marketing entry-level smartphones in South Africa for several years. Building on its success in the region, the brand has continued to enrich its range of new editions year after year. For its latest round of updates, itel has introduced five new smartphones in South Africa, including the P40, A60S, A60, A04 and A18.
The Chinese mobile phone maker was founded in 2014, introducing a host of new entry-level smartphones to the market. After achieving reasonable success in the region, it quickly expanded to other emerging markets, including India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Pakistan, before hitting the African continent. Thanks to its success, itel has consolidated its position as the benchmark brand for entry-level smartphones in these territories. And with a well-established market share, the introduction of new ranges each year can begin. Let's review the latest itel smartphone introductions of this year.
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Presentation of the itel P40 Smartphone
First on the list is the itel P40 smartphone, its flagship. The device comes with many essential features for smartphone users, despite its price of 1,999 euros. It is therefore an extremely affordable smartphone.
The itel P40 packs plenty of features into a sleek, refined design. It is equipped with an octa-core chipset (x8 1.6GHz Cortex-A55) and a PowerVR GE8322 GPU. Although there are several variants, the top model includes 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of internal storage. Its performance is increased thanks to Memory Fusion technology. This helps improve multitasking and application loading, while stabilizing overall performance and battery life.
In addition, it offers autonomy for several days thanks to its 6,000 mAh battery. This is one of the largest batteries built into a smartphone and can keep you up and running for up to three days between charges. For people who aren't power-hungry, the device can easily last more than a week on a single charge. Additionally, it also offers 18W fast charging support, which allows you to use the device for half a day in just 10 minutes.
Additionally, it features a 6.6″ display with a resolution of 720×1612 px and a pixel density of 269ppi. What's great about this device, despite its low cost, is that it offers a plus to gamers thanks to its 120 Hz refresh rate.
Finally, the device is equipped with a 13-megapixel dual camera, which supports video capture at 1080p@30fps. It also has an 8-megapixel selfie camera.
Affordable entry-level smartphones with the itel A04 and itel A18
When it comes to entry-level options, you have the itel A04 and the itel A18. Both of these smartphones are great entry points into the smartphone game. They were launched last week alongside the itel P40.
The itel A04 has a 6.3″ FW+ Waterdrop screen. Its screen has a resolution of 720x1280px at 294ppi. That's a very reasonable return, which also includes a 4,000mAh battery, as well as 2GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage. Additionally, it is equipped with a 5MP dual-lens camera, which supports video capture at 1080p@30fps. To improve performance and battery life, it runs Android 12 (Go edition).
Then there is the itel A18. This smartphone was designed for those on a very tight budget. It has a retail price of R899, but it offers adequate features to get the job done. It includes a 5″ screen with a resolution of 480x854px, a removable 2400mAh Li-Ion battery and a 5MP dual camera. It is equipped with a 1.3 GHz quad-core processor, Mali 400 MP2 GPU, 1 GB RAM and 32 GB memory.
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The itel A60S and itel A60 in perspective
Finally, we have the itel A60 and A60S smartphones. They have not yet been launched but will soon arrive on South African shores.
Both smartphones feature a 6.6″ Waterdrop HD+ display, with a resolution of 720x1600px at 266ppi. They also have a 5,000mAh battery, 4GB RAM and 64GB internal storage space.
The difference between the two devices lies in their SoC. The itel A60S is equipped with an octa-core processor (x4 1.6GHz Cortex-A55 and x4 1.2GHz Cortex-A55) and a Mali-G52 GPU. The A60 is equipped with a quad-core Cortex-A53 processor clocked at 1.3 GHz and a Mali-G820 MP1 GPU.
Price and availability
Launched in South Africa last week, the itel P40, itel A04 and itel A18 are all available today. You can purchase any of these three devices at various retail stores across the country, including Mr Price and PEP stores. The itel P40 is available for 1,999 euros, the A04 for 1,299 euros and the A18 for 899 euros.
The itel A60S and itel A60 will both be available from July 2023. Prices are R1 699 and R1 499 respectively.