These days, customers in Pakistan are spoiled for choice when it comes to smartphones. The introduction of new brands battling it out at the lower ends of the market means getting value for money has never been easier.
Hoping to stand out in this crowded segment, Alcatel launched the Pixi 4 Plus Power recently. We bring you an exclusive review of this device which features a monstrous 5000 mAh battery.
Unboxing
Unlike the famous Samsung plain cardboard box, Alcatel has a much more decorated and colorful box which is pleasing to the eye. It has a picture of the phone on its top, specifications of the right side and description of the company on the back; in short, the box has a much more complete look.
Upon opening the box, you will be greeted with the Alcatel Pixi 4 Plus Power device covered in plastic wrapper with a sticker on the screen for added safety.
Removing the device from the tray of the box and further digging into it, you will find all accessories wrapped which include:
- 1 Pair of Earphones
- 1 USB cable
- 1Â Power Adapter
- 1 Charge Out Cable
- 1 Screen Protector
- United Mobile Card / Information Booklets
Display and Build Quality
Compared to the other 5.5-inch screen smartphones available in the market, the Pixi 4 is more compact with an impressive 70% screen-to-body ratio.
Given the budget-focus of this phone, it is made entirely out of plastic. However, it does not feel too cheap. Backside of the device has a rough textured feel which helps with grip.
In a unique design choice, Alcatel has foregone the rounded corners and has instead opted for a slight groove that runs along the left and right side of the device adding a bit of flair and purchase for the hand.
The volume rocker and power button are also plastic and feel extremely comfortable while pressing. The travel distance of these buttons is slightly more than we expected and take some time to get used to.
The Pixi 4 is equipped with a custom IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen with a 720 x 1280 resolution.
The display is crisp enough and is visible under direct sunlight. Touch response is very accurate.
The only drawback would be that the navigation buttons do not have backlight so navigation in dim light is a slight issue.
Software and Performance
Smartphones which are equipped with 1GB RAM often tend to lag and/or heat up. However, we were surprised that the Pixi 4 Plus Power posed no such problems in our testing.
Using the music player, downloading in the Chrome mobile browser and using Whatsapp simultaneously, there was no lag. The only time any lag was seen was when the 9th or 10th app was launched, but that is to be expected. The phone has been well optimized by Alcatel to perform well on just a single gig of RAM.
Comparing side to side, the multitasking performance of Pixi 4 Plus Power is better than most phones in the same price bracket, which include likes of Microsoft Lumia 435, LG K5 and Lenovo A5000.
All those who are interested in comprehensive performance of this device can consult the benchmark score. For reference, LG K5 has an AnTuTu benchmark score of 18965.
Battery and Power Bank
Battery life is the star feature of the Pixi 4 Plus Power. The device is powered by a 5,000 mAh battery, which is capable of lasting 4 days with moderate usage. On standby, the phone can go on for weeks. Needless to say, we couldn’t perform strenuous testing of the standby battery draw since we had to return our review unit and the Pixi 4 Plus was not running out of juice any time soon.
On consecutive usage, i.e. continuously using the phone without turning off the screen, it easily lasts 12 hours over WiFi browsing and video playback. You can even play music using the phone for 5 straight days.
If that isn’t enticing enough, the Pixi 4 Plus Power also offers Quick Charge tech. It’s just a fancy name for quick charging but its inclusion in a phone at this price range is a very welcome surprise. You can charge the phone from 0 to 100 % in just 1 hour and 47 minutes. Astounding for a battery of this size.
The Pixi 4 Plus Power is also capable of acting as a charging source for other gadgets, making its large battery size and quick charging even more useful. Alcatel definitely took the words “With great power comes great responsibility” very seriously.
So your Pixi 4 Plus Power obviously wont be running out of juice but with this feature, you can help your friends keep their devices charged as well.
System UI
For anyone who has used an Android phone in the past will feel extremely comfortable using the Pixi 4 Plus Power. The device runs a customized Android 6.0 and its interface is very user-friendly. As we mentioned before, Alcatel has done good work with the Pixi 4 Plus Power as far as software is concerned.
The default status bar is a bit different to vanilla Android. The battery icon is much bigger – seemingly to compliment the monstrous 5,000 mAh battery of the device. Moreover, the clock is displayed in the centre of the screen as well.
On lock screen, the shortcuts are managed under the notifications, which we thought was much more convenient.
The app drawer is split in two distinct categories; Apps and Most Used Apps. In addition to Google Play Store, Alcatel also has its very own App Store with some unique and exclusive apps.
The Featured App folder, as the name suggests, prompts a direct download link to all the top applications. Similar to Alcatel Apps store, checking multiple applications allows them to be downloaded in the background.
Camera
The Pixi 4 Plus Power is equipped with an 8MP rear camera and a 5MP front camera, both accompanied by an LED flash. Compared to its predecessor, the photo quality has improved drastically. Outdoors, the camera shows some very saturated colors, albeit with a yellowish tint. There’s lots of noise too but the picture quality can be called pretty good for an 8MP camera. However, pictures taken indoors are still very washed up and dull. The video quality is reasonable, which is nothing new in this price segment.
Here are some photos taken outdoors without flash and with HDR off:
The following picture is taken indoors under a normal tube light, without using the flash.
With HDR off
With HDR on
There are other various photo modes such as Portrait, Sport, Night and so on. Overall, the result is pretty average but can get the job done especially when using the camera outdoors in daylight.
Verdict
The Pixi 4 Plus Power does a good job of combining all the features of midrange smartphones into a low-budget phone. The build quality of the phone is a bit on the cheaper side but texture, the youthful colors and a detailed phone design compensate for it in terms of feel and looks. The 5.5-inch screen is only 720p but with the monstrous battery size, it means it just keeps going for days without needing a charge.
The quality of the speakers is on par with all the other smartphones in the same price bracket. However, Pixi 4 Plus Power gets the edge as it is equipped with Arkamys optimized speakers. Another factor going for the dual-SIM phones which have a removable back, like the Pixi 4 Plus Power, is that you don’t need to carry the pin for opening the SIM slot.
Overall, for under Rs. 13,000, Pixi 4 Plus Power is a remarkable addition in the market and definitely warrants a detailed look if you’re in the market for a new phone at this price range.
Alcatel Pixi 4 Plus Power Specifications:
- CPU:Â Quad core 1.3GHz
- GPU: Mali 400, 500MHz
- Chipset: MTK MT6580
- OS:Â Android Marshmallow 6.0.1
- Supported Networks: 2G, 3G, 4G
- Dual Sim: Yes
- Display: 5.5-inch, 720×1280 IPS LCD, 267ppi
- Memory:
- RAM:Â 1 GB RAM
- Internal:Â 8 GB
- Card slot: microSD, up to 32Â GB
- Cameras:
- Primary:Â 13 MP, autofocus, LED flash
- Secondary: 5 MP, LED flash
- Battery Capacity:Â 5000 mAh Non-removable Li-Ion Battery
- Connectivity: Wi-FI 802.11 b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot, Bluetooth v4.1
- Colors:Â Black, White, Blue, Orange, Green
- Price:Â Rs. 12,750
An auto and football enthusiast, you can contact Syed Zarar at [email protected]. For more discussions, contact him on Facebook (fb.com/TacticallyInept). He tweets at: @TacticallyInept.
Worst Camera. Overall a normal phone.
What abt display? N how is it compared to infinix hot 4 which is of same price?
Don’t know why such post sharing on ProPakistani,Maintain some standard- in this era still 1GB RAM?
what they think about Pakistan? Poor or extreme third rated country.
That’s a purely biased remark. It isn’t the ‘era’ of Nokia phones either but people still own them. We’re highlighting a phone with some terrific features in the price range of < 15K.
I am not sure what the argument is here. Thanks for dropping by and leaving a comment regardless.
What abt display? N how is it compared to infinix hot 4 which is of same price
Personally I thought that maybe the brightness was slightly low but overall, the experience has been very good. Under direct sunlight, it was rather easy to use compared to the Zuk Z1, which I use.
I haven’t used Infinix Hot 4 so I cannot compare them both.
Thank you. I guess it’s good in such price.
dear please confirm if it is 4g supported? because the specs available on net shows it’s only 3g not 4g. please confirm.
lol presenting cheap phones in a country means the country is poor ?? lol now i see why trump became president he have allot of ROHAANI doppelgängers in this world :D
I saw what you did there ;)
Every one giving bad comments, Please share what you think is best in this price range.
Instead of fighting you can simply say, “XYZ Phone has better camera, better battery, better everything and it costs only 13.5k.”
This type of comment will for sure help others. JazakAllah.
And trust me it is not hard to comment without getting furious. Just try. go go try
Precisely. Thank you for a well-assessed remark, sir.
What, Touchwiz UI? Touchwiz is propreitary Samsung skin, why would it be on an Alcatel device?
Perhaps the ‘writer’ has no idea about Touchwiz or maybe they ‘think’ a custom UI is called Touchwiz.
I don’t see anything about Touchwiz in the article, may be chupke se edit hogayi hai post :-)
Yep, stealth edit.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/c88a23f6b5bd92dda8b515aad5f70c3645798cb5bced4cdfc116b3774ddb5a95.png
5000mAH battery is plus point of this phone, otherwise in such price Amazon Fire Phone is better option.(in my opinion)
4.7-inch screen though and the secondary camera isn’t good either. Massive difference.
1 GB, 8GB ? I mean seriously?
It’s a budget phone. What else are you expecting?
It costs 13k. It’s not a budget phone. What was I expecting? How about 2gb of RAM for starters, like every other phone in this price range?
I think if you’re going to come out and make such blunt statements then at least get your facts right. Not ‘every other phone’ offers 2GB RAM in this price range. Here’s a list on top of my head:
Huwaie Y5II, Infix Hota 4, Infix Hot Note, Samsung Galaxy Core Prime, Lenovo A5000 and A6000, LG K4, Moto E. (Some phones worth 14K and 15K even offer 1GB RAM)
Qmobile has been the only company that has been constant releasing 2GB RAM phones in this price range, primarily to make up for other very ordinary features.
It is about trade-off. It’s dependant on each and every customer, not one Taha Najam in ProPakistani’s comment section.
Lol, why are you taking this so personal? Got an ulterior motive for promoting this product so blatantly? Or is it buyer’s remorse?
Oh and thanks for listing all those phones. Dunno what you were trying to do there, but you ended up just reinforcing my point. Ten phones off the top of your head like you said. If you don’t know, that is exactly what “every other” means.
And right, I should get my facts straight, while you keep believing this phone has Samsung’s Touchwiz skin LMAO.
About you last point, skimping on RAM is not exactly a trade-off. It’s the first thing people look at. At least 2GB is basic requirement for a phone to be usable nowadays. Otherwise, there’s no point getting a 13k phone, no matter how big a battery it has, if it cannot keep up with your day to day usage. Besides, it’s not as if adding an extra GB would considerably increase the manufacturing cost of this phone. Mobile Ram is one of the cheapest components inside a smartphone.
So yeah, try as you might to convince people to get this, in the end it’s a pretty mediocre entry by Alcatel in the saturated smartphone market. Next please.
No ulterior motives. Just not a fan of people spreading negativity for their own fun.
You do realize that iPhone 5 series is 1GB too, right? It’s more about how the manufacturer puts it to use. Bold to make remarks that it’s not good enough when you haven’t even used it.
It’s limitations are clearly stated in the above article. I don’t see what the problem is apart from you trying to waste everyone else’s time.
Last bit is your opinion and you’re entitled to it. As you were.
ProPakistani!!! Please don’t do this, you are ruining yourself.
Will you please elaborate ?
Thank you
4G support, Marshmallow, 5000mAh are the plus points of this phone.
However, Infinix Hot 4 Pro, Huawei Y6 are far better than this but it will take 2000 more to that Price ;)