Alcatel 3 Review

Budget smartphones are a difficult premise. There is the expectation for them to perform like their pricier counterparts but for a significantly lower cost. If you're hoping to get super fast speeds and great photography from a phone you'll generally need to pay more than $300, if however you need something that is primarily a communication device then you can get away with a cheap handset.

Too often people are disappointed because their expectations don't align with reality. For a $279 phone the Alcatel 3 does everything that it should how you would expect it to do it. If you're looking for a device that can handle games or hefty apps then keep looking, but if you need a dependable, safe handset then risk the gamble on the Alcatel 3.

Look and Feel

Every sub $300 phone has a tell, something that hints to the outside eye that this smartphone is more bang-for-buck than bang - for the Alcatel 3 it’s the plastic back.

While the gradient design is high sheen, reflective and downright eye-catching in the right light, it is also prone to fingerprints and smudges. If that’s something that matters to you then be sure to grab a case to cover up the back.

Apart from the back cover the Alcatel 3 has an impressive poker face. Small bezels and a tear drop camera notch give the 5.9-inch display room to breath. The HD+ display is vibrant and relatively sharp without the haze that can come with handsets at this price point. The side buttons aren’t overly large and the handset itself is slim and lightweight.

All in all the Alcatel looks and feels like a flush, when you’re really pocketing a pair of 8s. 

Performance and battery life

For day to day use the Alcatel runs smoothly enough, but if you have too many applications running at once expect some delays.

During the initial set up I was disappointed. While downloading apps in the background the rest of the handset was practically unusable. It kept crashing and freezing under the pressure. Even basic functions wouldn't work while the downloads were taking place. However, once the apps were installed and I went back to general use the processing speeds picked up dramatically.

In saying that these improvements didn’t bring mind-blowing results, there’s still some wait time while opening an app or snapping a picture. It’s not painfully slow but the delay is palpable. If you’re most likely to use your handset for phone calls, messages and the occasional app then the Alcatel will more than do the trick. 

Battery life on this device upped the ante. At 3,500mAh the capacity isn’t as ample as others for around this price such as the OPPO A52 but it more than goes the distance. With moderate use you’ll go through around 20% every 6-7 hours but fiddling with the battery saving options could yield a bigger pot. I easily made it 24 hours between charges and had 30% left to spare.

Performance wise it’s hard to complain for the price of the Alcatel 3. It’s not the smoothest ride but it’s not a flop either. At less than $300 you’re trading zippy performance for a great battery so if you’re happy to make that trade then place your bets.

Photography and camera samples

Despite a couple of cameras and some computational photography trickery the Alcatel isn’t made for smartphone photography but it doesn’t claim to be either.

For what is now seen as a modest set up, you’ll get a dual rear camera set up (13MP main lens + 5MP depth lens) and a single 8MP selfie camera. Despite having more megapixels than the latest iPhone SE the software behind it isn’t enough to create striking pictures.

Alcatel 3 (2019) camera samples

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These photos were taken using the Alcatel 3.

Even still shots are going to look a little grainy but moving subjects or anything shot in low light can be especially troublesome. The processing delay when snapping a photo is enough for you to miss the shot, or your hand to move and ruin it. This might come as a motion blur or a strange focus point but luckily there is the option to take a continuous shot, so you can hedge your bets.

Although the Alcatel does have scene detection the quality unfortunately just isn’t enough to win this hand. It’s hard to capture the vibrancy of flora and fauna, faces can look quite washed out in portrait mode, and animals tend to move so we have the speed issue again. 

Despite best efforts you just won’t get clear, crisp lines on any of your pictures with the Alcatel. Sorry. But budget smartphones aren’t known for photography and really they don’t have to take glamorous shots. Even though some cheap phones are coming with upwards of four cameras that doesn’t mean that they can perform in the way that even a mid-tier device would, or that we should expect them to. For under $300 the photos that the Alcatel 3 takes are fine. You’ll be able to capture moments in time and look back at them, but maybe use the continuous shot just in case.

Alcatel 3 - Final Thoughts

If you're looking for an affordable smartphone, you can put your chips on the Alcatel 3. Not all of them of course, but it’s a safe bet. This sub $300 handset will do everything you need it to do as long as your needs aren’t too demanding. I couldn’t recommend this for anyone gaming on their phone or using more demanding software, but if you tend to cycle through 4-5 apps, make calls and send texts then the Alcatel 3 is a solid choice.

Anula Wiwatowska

Offsite Editorial Lead | Instagram

Anula is the Off-Site Editorial Lead for WhistleOut Australia, and an award winning tech journalist. She has been writing about the Australian telco industry, and consumer technology for over five years, and has been known to tell her Uber driver which phone they should upgrade to next.

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