Following the success of Chinese smartphone-makers in India, especially in the affordable and mid-range segments, a lot of smartphone brands from that country have ventured into the Indian market. One such brand is Itel Mobile, owned by China-based Transsion Holdings, which also owns the TECNO and Infinix brands.
Itel Mobile, which is the second-largest mobile phone player in India according to a CMR report, is now set to launch a new series of 18:9-aspect-ratio full-screen smartphones in the country by mid-March.
Like all other Itel smartphones, the new phones will be launched in the affordable category and will be priced between Rs 5,000 and Rs 10,000 — ideal for budget buyers who are looking for a near-bezel-less smartphone under Rs 10,000.
According to sources, the company could launch as many as five smartphones in the series. One of the phones from the portfolio — Itel S42 — is said to come with a 5.5-inch display with 18:9 aspect ratio, providing 180-degree wide-angle viewing experience.
The flagship S42 smartphone is expected to sport a dual-camera setup and feature face unlock technology, making it the most affordable smartphone to offer these features as well as an edge-to-edge display. The S42 will be the first smartphone in the industry to offer face unlocking in the sub-Rs 10,000 segment.
The rest of the specifications of the S42 are also quite impressive. The dual-SIM device is said to run Android 8.0 Oreo out of the box and will be powered by a 3,000mAh battery. The front camera of the device is said to feature bokeh mode for better selfies. It will also come equipped with a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner for added security.
The upcoming smartphone range is also rumored to come in two variants, either with 2GB or 3GB RAM.
Itel has already teased one of the phones in a leaked image. However, we can see only the back, and this one does not have a dual-camera setup.
As mentioned earlier, the highlight of the smartphones in this series is said to be the 18:9-aspect-ratio full-screen displays.
Itel forayed into the Indian smartphone market in April 2016, and has already launched a couple of smartphones — a dual-camera smartphone for Rs 5,999 and another ultra-affordable 4G VoLTE-enabled smartphone — in partnership with Vodafone India.
