Alcatel is hoping to bring its first 5G smartphone to Australia in the first part of 2020, and it could even launch as a prepaid device. While initial 5G handsets are set to be quite pricey, Alcatel Australia Managing Director Sam Skontos is hoping to sell the company's first 5G phone - the Alcatel 7 - at a more accessible price point. While it won't be as cheap as Alcatel's main range, Skontos wants to ensure the device is still available "for the masses".
"Today the premium on 5G is significant, hopefully next year it won't be as bad," said Skontos. "The early adopters are always going to pay more, pay a premium, but [this time it's a] much higher premium than ever before."
While the Alcatel 7 won't be available until late this year in some markets and early 2020 in Australia, Alcatel has already detailed expected hardware. This includes a 6.5-inch 1080p+ screen, a Snapdragon 855 processor, a 48MP + 16MP + 5MP triple rear-facing camera setup, and a 4,000mAh battery. Storage and RAM have yet to be confirmed. Of course, plenty could change given the phone isn't due to hit stores for a while.
The processor and camera configuration suggest the Alcatel 7 is a lot more high-end than a typical Alcatel device, which tend to be far more modest in terms of specifications. This has meant Alcatel's smartphones have typically sold for under $300 in Australia. At this stage, Skontos wasn't able to say much about the price of the Alcatel 7, other than it will be cheaper than the competition.
In the more immediate future, Alcatel is bringing the Alcatel 3, Alcatel 3L, and Alcatel 1 to Australia. Read more about these here. Read more about 5G here.
Alcatel Australia contributed funding toward WhistleOut's trip to Barcelona for Mobile World Congress.
Alex Choros
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