alcatel 1x (2019) hands-on

The alcatel 1x sequel was just unveiled at CES, a little under a year after the original (which made its debut at the MWC). The phone is bigger and better than before, but it is the same at its core – a simple value for money proposition.

The alcatel 1x (2019) has a 5.5” 18:9 screen, offering about 8% more screen real estate. The real upgrade is that this is now a 720 x 1,440px panel, increasing the pixel density to 292ppi – a noticeable jump from the 480 x 960px display on the original.

A larger 5.5-inch screen • One-handed mode is available if that's too much for you

The screen is covered with 2.5D glass, Dragontrail specifically. Anyway, TCL claims an 83% screen-to-body ratio for those of you keeping score.

The other improvement in the 2019 edition of the alcatel 1x is on the back – it features a 13+2MP dual camera. The secondary sensor enables real-time bokeh effects. The main camera can record 1080p video.

The alcatel 1x (2019) sports a 13+2MP dual camera • Testing the selfie camera

The 5MP selfie camera now supports face unlock, which was missing from the original 1x. Unfortunately, this means that the fingerprint reader has been dropped. The LED selfie flash is gone too.

Note: while the unit we handled lacked a fingerprint reader, alcatel will offer a separate model that does have a reader on its back.

The new 1x uses the same chipset as the old 1x – a MediaTek MT6739. It’s an old 28nm chip with only four Cortex-A53 cores. It’s running Android 8.1 Oreo.

The alcatel 1x (2019) runs Android 8.1 Oreo

The back of the phone features a soft touch finish that’s quite grippy and hides fingerprints quite well.

The new model is available in Blue and Gray

The battery capacity of the phone grew to 3,000mAh, however, charging is done via an old-school microUSB port. On the plus side, there’s a 3.5mm headphone jack on top.

microUSB port for charging • 3.5mm headphone jack on top

The alcatel 1x will be available this quarter at $120/€120 in North America, Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa.