alcatel 3-series phones unveiled: sub-€200 price tag for 18:9 screens and dual cameras

There are three phones in alcatel's new 3-series and each has its own strengths. As with the others, these go all-in on 18:9 screens and leverage TCL's TV-building know-how. And unlike the alcatel 5, two of the 3-series phones have dual cameras on their backs.

All three models have fingerprint readers on the back, but also feature alcatel's Face Key feature that can unlock the phone with a glance in half a second (this feature is based on Android's standard Face unlock capabilities so don't put your hopes too high).

alcatel 3V

The 3V is the only one in the new line-up with a 1080p+ screen - a 6" IPS panel laminated with 2.5D glass. This also makes the 3V the tallest of alcatel's new phones, measuring 162 x 76 x 8.05mm.

The alcatel 3V uses its dual cameras - 12MP + 2MP - for real-time bokeh effects. The main camera has 1.25µm pixels and f/2.2 aperture and features Electronic Image Stabilization. On the front, there's a 5MP selfie camera with an LED flash.

The company pre-loaded its phones with fun camera features. Photo Booth snaps four photos in a roll (one shot per second) while Social Square splits the screen in half - one one half is the viewfinder so you can keep taking photos while reviewing them on the other half.

alcatel 3V in Black, Blue and Gold

The 3V runs Android Oreo, giving it a leg up on its siblings. Its one weak spot is the quad-core processor (MediaTek MT8735A chipset) and relatively little amount of RAM available - 2GB.

On the storage side there's 16GB or 32GB so you may need to make use of the microSD slot. At least the 3,000mAh battery will last for quite a while with this chipset.

That aside, the screen and camera are quite good for a €190 phone. The alcatel 3V is available immediately in select markets in Black, Blue or Gold (with a glossy or matte finish, it's region-dependent).

alcatel 3X

The alcatel 3X is mid-sized with a 5.7" screen (720p+ resolution), but it keeps the 3,000mAh battery of its bigger sibling.

The dual camera has 13MP + 5MP sensors, but this time around the second cam has a 120° wide-angle lens. The primary camera (78.4°) offers the same goodies as the 3V, including EIS and Photo Booth. And you still get a 5MP camera with selfie flash.

alcatel 3X in Black, Blue and Gold

The alcatel 3X runs an older OS version, Android Nougat, on a similar chipset - MT6739 with a quad-core processor. Interestingly, you can get more RAM - 3GB on the 32GB model - while the base version is still 2GB/16GB (and a microSD slot, of course).

The 3X is coming out next month (in select markets) at a price of €180 (and a similar color scheme).

alcatel 3

The base model of the series, yet the alcatel 3 also runs Android Oreo on the same chipset as the 3X (although the only memory option here is 2GB/16GB). The 3,000mAh battery is still on board too.

alcatel 3 in Black, Blue and Gold

This is a €150 phone (coming out next month), so it loses the dual camera. Instead, it has one 13MP sensor (1.12µm, f/2.0) on the back (with EIS) and a 5MP selfie cam with flash on the front.