Budget phones are a hit or miss, making it a risky purchase. Clear your concerns by reading our insightful Alcatel Avalon V review.
The Alcatel Avalon V smartphone was released in April 2019. There’s absolutely no shame in buying a low-range smartphone. If you’re selective enough, you could find a considerable steal at a low price.
Before you make your purchase, it’s advisable to do some solid research. Some smartphones are worth the penny, while others come off disappointing. One example is the Alcatel Avalon V smartphone.
The device is attractive from the price point itself. But does it have the specifications needed for optimal usage? What if the phone is far below our expectations?
Answer your inquiries by checking out our Alcatel Avalon V review. This review takes you on an in-depth look into the phone from different kinds of angles and perspectives.
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Key Specs
Alcatel Avalon V specifications:
- Weight: 156g
- Dimensions: 148.1 x 69.3 x 9.4mm
- OS: Android 8.1
- Screen size: 5.34-inch
- Resolution: 960 x 480
- CPU: 1.4GHz Quad-core, Qualcomm Snapdragon 425
- RAM: 2GB
- Storage: 16GB
- Battery: 2,460mAh, Non-removable
- Rear camera: 5MP
- Front camera: 2MP
Design
The Alcatel Avalon V has a design that resembles most stock budget phones. It’s nothing above ordinary, and there’s no premium aesthetics to boast. The subtle design might do well for users who are looking for a simple-looking design. Build-wise, this is a light and slim phone that we can easily carry around with one hand. It’s portable enough to be easily put in our pockets.
The front side features the phone’s display screen, surrounded by bezels. The top and bottom bezels are notably thicker than the left and right ones. We noticed that the phone’s navigation bar is placed on-screen instead of the bezels. The bottom bezel appears to serve no purpose, but it’s optimal space when we hold the phone horizontally.
The Alcatel Avalon V’s back cover is kept pretty minimalistic. On the top center, we have our single rear camera accompanied by its LED flash. The back cover is made out of plastic, layered with a suede finish. Not only does this look chic, but the suede material allows a better grip on the phone as well.
Just like the back cover, the rest of the phone’s sides are not too crowded. There are keys for volume control and lock/unlock function. At the moment, the phone only comes in gray. It’s not the most vibrant choice, but we wouldn’t expect many design options from a budget device.
Display
The Alcatel Avalon V has a 5.34-inch display screen to display the smartphone’s graphics. In all honesty, it’s not too bad of display size. It gives us the primary screen space we need to use the phone comfortably. Just don’t expect the phone to have a wide-size display screen that provides cinematic viewing pleasure. But with a screen-to-body percentage of 71.67%, we’re getting a reasonably decent amount of display size.
The phone has an aspect ratio of 18:9, meaning that we can still stretch the screen. Despite the phone’s small body, the phone comes installed with a Full View Display. This allows us to minimize the borders around the screen and maximize the content on our screen. We no longer have to worry about squinting our eyes just to use the phone.
The Alcatel Avalon V has a resolution of 960 x 480. It also comes equipped with FWVGA+ technology, also known as Full Wide Video Graphics Array. This technology makes sure the phone does not crop any graphics when we stretch its contents. However, the technology still retains the quality of pictures.
Topped off with Dragontrail Glass, the display screen is protected from any damages. Its durability promises to keep the phone in-tact from possible scratches. The screen is also coated with oleophobic material for extra protection.
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Camera
The Alcatel Avalon V has two cameras, a 5MP rear camera, and a 2MP front camera. Frankly speaking, these megapixels aren’t the best quality. We have seen other phones at this price range with at least 8MP on the rear camera. The 2MP front camera is merely lacking and will not do justice to providing quality selfies.
Unfortunately, there is only one rear camera. Some other low-range phones offer dual-camera setups, so buyers should keep that in mind. The 5MP rear camera is paired up with an LED flash. It uses a fixed focus technology to make sure our subjects stay visible and sharp. Unfortunately, unlike Phase Detection Auto Focus, the phone cannot automatically readjust its focus settings.
There is nothing much to say about the 2MP front-facing camera. While it comes with a low megapixel, we noticed there are nifty features installed. The camera comes with an LCD and screen flash. This could help take pictures under low-light situations.
Both cameras can be used to take videos. The rear camera captures videos up to 720p at 30 frames per second. This can be very helpful when taking videos using the phone’s time-lapse mode. Additionally, we can use the phone to make video calls with our loved ones.
Storage
The Alcatel Avalon V employs internal storage up to 16GB. The device is pre-installed with bloatware that already takes up space. Because of this, we can only access up to 7GB of internal memory. It’s a huge bummer as certain apps can take up more than 2GB. We also still have photos, audio, and other files to keep.
As a consolation, we have the option to expand the phone’s memory. To do this, we will need to insert a microSDTM card. The phone lets us add up to 32GB of memory. It’s not a huge addition, but at least there’s more space to put stuff inside.
Performance
The Alcatel Avalon V uses a Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 processor to ensure that the system runs well. The chipset is commonly found in most low-range phones. Despite its affordability, the processor promises decent performance. Entry-level phones can run their essential functions with the chipset.
The chipset, tuning on a CPU Clock Speed of up to 1.4GHz, provides advanced and efficient computing. It fine-tunes other phone features such as images, sensors, and audio. We can expect smooth graphics that move fluidly. The processor might not have any outstanding features that leave an impression, but it is doable.
Our Alcatel Avalon V review would not be complete without a look into its RAM. The smartphone has a RAM size of 2GB, which is the bare minimum. It’s not surprising considering that it’s an inexpensive phone. However, having 2GB wouldn’t get us much, especially with the range of heavy-duty apps available today.
There are ways to alleviate the situation and avoid apps from crashing in the background. We can clear the phone’s cache to make sure the 2GB RAM works smoothly. This takes some time and effort, but isn’t that the case with all phones? Smartphones, no matter what type they are, require some form of maintenance.
To operate the Alcatel Avalon V smartphone, we have Android 8.1 doing all the work. The current operating system, sometimes referred to as Android Oreo, has some sweet features. One instance is Google Lens, a camera-based search engine that looks upon information based on photos.
Unfortunately, the Android 8.1 operating system has its own flaws as well. The OS is designed as a slimmed-down version of most systems. Due to this, some features are commonly found in other phones but are not included in this one. The operating system might not be as massive as others, but it is missing a feature or two.
The Alcatel Avalon V requires sensors to make sure they can detect a user’s movements. We found four sensors in the device: an accelerometer, GPS, ambient light, and proximity sensor. The accelerometer counts the number of steps we take and how fast we’re going. Meanwhile, the proximity sensor prevents us from making accidental touches on the screen.
We have the ambient light sensor to thank for those who are wondering how adaptive brightness works. It is the sense that detects the phone’s surroundings and quickly readjusts to them. Lastly, GPS uses satellite technology to keep track of our real-time location in the world. We’ll never get lost with this phone.
Connectivity
The Alcatel Avalon V only accommodates up to 4G network. Besides that, the phone can receive both GSM and UMTS coverage. Unfortunately, the phone could only receive limited bands. In the event we’re going to some isolated location, we’ll probably have trouble finding reception. We will need to insert a Nano 4FF SIM card on the phone single card slot to reach a network.
But if we ever find an Internet hotspot, we can use the phone’s Wi-Fi. Similarly, we can turn our device into a mobile hotspot to let others stay connected. The phone can connect up to 10 devices at the same time. For wireless data transfers, we have the phone’s Bluetooth version 4.2 to rely on.
Battery
The Alcatel Avalon V is powered by a battery capacity of 2,460mAh. It’s not the largest battery capacity we’ve seen, but it still works. The battery lasts up to 350 hours on standby time. In other words, we can watch videos for up to 9.6 hours and call for 18 hours. It’s not too bad for users who don’t spend so much time on the phone.
Sadly, the phone does not accommodate fast charging. A full charge will require less than 3 hours. It’s still a lot of time to wait for the phone to get fully juiced up. We better find something else to do until the phone has a 100% charge.
Is the Alcatel Avalon V a good phone?
The Alcatel Avalon V is a modest entry-level phone packed with all the essential features. However, we encourage browsing through other phones in the market. A phone with all the essentials is indeed a complete phone. But even the basics need some fine-tuning to make it appealing.
Selling at a retail price of $99.99, we believe you can find something better at the same price. Ending our Alcatel Avalon V review, we’d like to give a few suggestions. Try finding a device that has a larger internal memory and higher camera megapixels. A healthier battery is recommended, especially if you’re using the phone for a long run.
Alcatel Avalon V Pros
- Portable build
- Decent processors
- Full View Display screen
Alcatel Avalon V Cons
- Low camera megapixels
- Low storage space
- Fast charging unavailable
