Want to know what you can get in a phone priced around $40? Find out in this Cricket Influence review. It has a fingerprint reader at a low price.
Cricket Influence smartphone was released in January 2021. There’s no sort of option for budget phones in the market. This phone is one of them.
Cricket Influence is a 6.2-inch display with HD+ screen quality. It boasts the Android 10 operating system, which is the latest version circulating on most budget phones today. The phone has a decent battery too.
To keep up with recent camera demand, Cricket Influence provides users with a dual camera. You will get a combination of a 13MP camera plus a 5MP camera. All packed at an affordable price.
To make sure that it’s a good phone for you, we present this Cricket Influence review. We dug deep into the phone’s specs to find out if it’s a real deal.
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Key Specs
Cricket Influence specifications:
- Weight: 185g
- Dimensions: 160 x 76 x 8.9mm
- OS: Android 10
- Screen size: 6.2-inch
- Resolution: 1520 x 720
- CPU: 1.8GHz Octa-core, Qualcomm Snapdragon 460
- RAM: 3GB
- Storage: 32GB
- Battery: 3,300mAh, Non-removable
- Rear camera: 13MP + 5MP
- Front camera: 5MP
Design
Cricket Influence has a physical measurement of 160 x 76 x 8.9mm. It can be considered a big phone. However, compared to many other phones today, this size is quite average. For its weight, this phone is not heavy at 185g.
This one adopts a full-screen display which only leaves a notch at the top. On the bottom part of the display, there is still quite a thick bezel. Depending on your taste, this either can be a distraction or something normal.
We got the color black. The back cover has a glossy finish which we like. It is less susceptible to grease and fingerprint marks than a matte finish. On the back cover, we spotted the dual came on the top, along with the fingerprint scanner.
It’s an overall simple design. Nothing stands out about this phone if we’re strictly talking about its appearance. However, we think that’s the beauty of this phone. Its simplicity means a no-fuss approach for a phone that means to be affordable and practical.
As for the materials, you probably have guessed it. It’s made from polycarbonate plastic which is expected on a phone at this price. It is sturdy enough for daily use.
Display
The 6.2-inch display of Cricket Influence is one of the highlights of this phone. We like the big screen. It provided us with a lot of space for various activities, especially the one that’s more enjoyable on a bigger screen.
We’re talking about playing games, watching movies, and social media. We are not disappointed with the quality as well. This phone has an HD+ screen with a resolution of 1520 x 720. Things look sharp on the screen. It’s not the best display on the market, of course. But for this price, we could not ask for more.
The display is curved on all of its four edges. We like how the notch seamlessly blends with the display. We don’t feel like it gets in the way or looks awkward.
Cricket Influence display also features a Corning Gorilla Glass 3 coating. This extra protection shields the display from daily wear and tear. You can leave a screen protector if you want because this phone technically doesn’t need it.
This last feature is what surprised us. Because this phone is cheap, so display protection felt like a huge bonus.
Camera
The dual camera on Cricket Influence consists of one 13MP lens paired with a secondary 5MP lens. The camera is another aspect of the phone which is our favorite. Alongside the cameras, you’ll spot the LED light too. For selfies, Cricket Influence is strapped with a 5MP front-facing camera.
A dual camera has been increasingly popular even on budget phones. The camera in this phone is equipped with a feature called Fast Motion. As you might have guessed already from its name, this feature allows you to capture fast-moving objects. The phone makes it possible to record a smooth 1080p video during a sports game.
The result is pretty good. Like in many budget phones, the best result comes when lights are abundant, especially natural lights. Although occasionally struggling, the Cricket Influence camera does a good job most of the time.
For low light photos, you can get a decent picture as well. But it’s more because of the AI than the camera itself. In a low-light condition, the Night Mode will automatically turn on. This mode helps enhance the picture digitally.
Meanwhile, the second camera functions as a depth camera. It allows you to take photos with portrait mode and to add sharpness to the result.
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Storage
Coming with a 32GB internal storage, Cricket Influence boasts an abundant space to store user files. We couldn’t agree with that. With increasingly large app data these days, a 32GB runs out faster than you think. We felt like manufacturers should increase minimum storage to 64GB.
Your solution, for now, would be external storage. Fortunately, this phone allows up to 128GB of external storage. Every time you take a photo you can set the camera to automatically save the result to the SD card. This trick also applies to downloaded files. That’s how you can preserve your phone’s internal storage capacity.
Performance
Running on a 1.8GHz Octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 460 processor, Cricket Influence promises a speedy phone operation as well as a great user experience. The processor runs alongside 3GB RAM. For the software, this phone runs on Android 10.
We had few complaints about the hardware lineup of this phone. The processor is fast enough for everyday use, although it’s not for heavy apps. The RAM capacity is not the highest out there. Occasionally we detected slight lags when switching from one app to another.
There are undoubtedly some limitations in performance, but it’s to be expected with an entry-level phone. The good news is, other features compensate for the phone’s performance flaw. One of them is the fingerprint sensor.
Upon spotting the fingerprint reader for the first time, we immediately thought this phone is worth more than the price. A fingerprint reader does not only mean extra security. In modern phones, it also adds convenience. You can unlock the phone quickly. It can be used to take pictures too like a camera button.
Another highlight is Android 10. This version of the mobile operating system is pretty recent and boasts a lot of improvements. Even better, buyers will get the raw vanilla version, without unnecessary custom apps and features.
Navigating the phone feels pleasant and smooth. The UI was looking good with sleek icons and a clean-looking design. It doesn’t feel confusing even for someone unfamiliar with Cricket Influence.
It’s worth mentioning that Android has plenty of features that help users a lot with their daily life. Pre-installed apps like Google Maps is a perfect app to combine with this phone’s big display. The battery saver and Android phone optimization help compensate for what the phone lacks in hardware performance.
The ease-of-use doesn’t just stop at the UI. This phone features the Google Assistant, as it’s customary with any Android phone. Cricket Influence is also rated for hearing aid devices (M4/T3).
Our Cricket Influence review is overall positive performance-wise. As long as you don’t use the phone for demanding tasks, it won’t disappoint you. Make sure to tame your expectations. It is a budget phone for a reason.
Connectivity
Cricket Influence is a 4G LTE compatible phone. Although released this year, sadly it doesn’t offer 5G. Apparently, it’s still an exclusive feature reserved for flagship phones.
Don’t worry, 4G on this phone is already fast enough. With it, we got uninterrupted call conversations and speedy internet browsing. The Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g/n) on this phone also didn’t give many issues. Connecting to a network is quick and there are no issues like lost signals.
Bluetooth on this phone comes in its latest version (Bluetooth 5.0.) This version is better than the predecessor due to its wider range and less pairing issue. For data transfer via cables, also enjoy the faster USB Type C. We’re glad to find out this port type is becoming more common among budget phones.
Battery
Cricket Influence comes with a 3,300mAh non-removable battery. It’s not a lot of capacity because there are a lot of phones who offer more than that, even within the same price range. However, for this phone, in particular, the battery is capable enough to get you through the day.
We noticed that optimizing the battery saver feature from the Android 10 enhanced battery life. Another thing that helps is to keep your phone activities casual. It means no hardcore gaming or hours-long movie streaming.
We didn’t see any additional features here like fast charging. Regardless, charging was quick enough. It’s worth mentioning that it’s probably because the charger is already a USB Type-C one.
Is the Cricket Influence a good phone?
Our Cricket Influence review concludes with an assessment of the phone’s price. This phone is sold for $109.99. For Cricket’s new customer, you will only need to pay $39.99. It’s super cheap considering the perks buyers will get. Among the few are a big screen, a dual-camera, and a fingerprint sensor.
We believe this is a great phone for casual users. You will get all the latest technology without making a hole in your pocket. The only downside we think is significant is the small internal storage capacity. We also think the battery could be better. Overall, we believe the pros of this phone far outweigh the cons.
Cricket Influence Pros
- Dual camera
- Big HD+ screen
- Fingerprint sensor
- A very affordable price
Cricket Influence Cons
- Small battery
- Small internal storage
