Apple and Samsung would have you believe quality smartphones should cost the many millions of shillings you must sacrifice to obtain their rarefied devices. But in recent years, the march of time has made that notion obsolete. In 2013, a UGX 250,000 device was nearly unusable as even a used iPhone 3Gs by then would go for approximately UGX 400,000. But now? Sharp screens are cheap, and fast processors are even cheaper.
Inexpensive smartphones have been pretty good for years! with Transsion brands holding the green flag And so, the 250,000shs ITEL A32F is the latest in the Itel mobile’s line of devices serving as a harbinger of the inevitable: Pretty good might be good enough for everyone. Sure, it’s missing a few niceties and looks like a generic slab of plastic, but those faults are easy to ignore for a budget-friendly smartphone. Did I mention it has a fingerprint sensor? Ohh yes, its the only under 300,000shs piece gifted with the eruptive feature.
The Itel A series of smartphones represent the company’s low-range tier, which means you can expect a slightly smaller and affordable device. However, a budget-friendly device remains a limited feature smartphone meaning you get what you pay for. So let’s run through the Itel A32F specifications you’ll be faced with if you decide to head low cost wise.
Model: Itel A32F
Colors: Midnight Black
SIM: Dual SIM (Micro-SIM)
OS: Android 8.1, Oreo (Go Edition)
Network: GSM, WCDMA, GPRS, EDGE, HSPA, 2G/3G
Display: 5.0″ / 854 x 480 pixel
CPU: 1.3 GHz Quad Core Cortex A53
Memory: 8 GB ROM, 1 GB RAM, Memory card Expandable by up to 32 GB
Camera: 5.0 MP AF rear camera, 2.0 MP front Camera
Sensors: Fingerprint, Accelerometer, Proximity, Light, Compass
Battery: 2050 mAh Li-Ion
The A32F, running Android 8.0, has a metallic body with a plastic back cover making it easy and light to carry around. Its solid power button and volume rocker are tactile enough as they need to be. However, the device feels like a glass variant with a low handheld size that gives you the extra comfort away from phablets and a whole line of huge screen smartphones in production these days.
Camera
Itel’s A32F is currently the successor to the A31 which lied between a poorly featured device to its low camera resolution given the fact that it had 8MP rear camera. Well, for the time i had the A32F its selfie camera amused me to try and place my bald head out for a test if it could blur my funny selfie for a showdown on Instagram. However, as the quality is fairly great, you can compare the A32F camera to an old fashion point and shoot camera gifted with a fancy design.
The device’s got 2 Cameras both the rear and front cameras as the latter has a 5MP lens compared to the front 2MP, although both cameras offer advanced filters and photo effects to spice up your mobile photography game. However, as the camera app supports an assortment of features like filters the color effects. Your photos won’t make any great impressions in the dark, and so-so low-light performance means your images will be grainier than you’d prefer given the front LED flash bumped to the A32F front facing camera. It’s also pretty sluggish in capturing photos, and the slight delay from tapping the shutter button is too long for my liking even though the quality outmatches that of the A31 with a great improvement from what we knew about Itel A-series devices.
Fingerprint sensor
Similar to any other fingerprint sensor-enabled smartphone. The Itel A32F has loads of gesturing features and tricks you can pull off by simply twisting and maneuvering through the sensor settings like stopping alarms and answering calls in a single tap. Just like any mid-range smartphone, The A32F smartphone with its trailing slogan “fingerprint for everyone” indeed defends the yard with a super effective sensor that only requires you to have your favorite finger registered to the device as one of the 5 acceptable fingerprints.
I gave the device’s fingerprint sensitivity by receiving a call using my registered fingerprint. And Hell yeah, Itel gifted an effective sensor to a low-range device that tempts to also focus on the incall speaker which in turn makes you forget any other disappointing features and reclaim the glory in owning the cheapest fingerprint sensor-enabled smartphone on the market.
Performance & Display
Display wise you can play Call of Duty Ops III (on the lowest graphical setting) and whatever other game captures your fancy, but what you should not expect are any stunning visuals. In addition, expect a scorching hot phone after a few minutes of stalking opponents through the open yards. Super Games designed to run at the more common 16:9 aspect ratio suffer from justification to the left of the display on the 5inch A32F as you should expect to remain with a single battery bar if you successfully play 2 or 3 phases of the game.
To the Display. Itel’s A32F can manage to sustain low demand games like Candy Crush or Temple run if you are to avoid any sluggish performance on the other hand. Also to the lighting aspect of the device, it doesn’t emit enough light during day meaning you may have to squeeze a section of your eyes in sunny conditions in order to view whats on your screen or else hold up to your fingerprint sensor just in case of an incoming call.
Storage
It sounds like I’m ripping on the device, but those gripes are compared to low-range devices. The A32F is actually pretty good at being a pocket-friendly smartphone, especially for the price. An effective fingerprint sensor, enough room for apps and photos, and OTG support add up to a smartphone that seeks to excel at what people care about most and focuses on the fundamentals before adding (or not adding) on extras. There’s 8GB of built-in storage to work with and some breathing room thanks to a microSD card slot and the Android Go Oreo OS. There’s a USB micro B to the device’s bottom lane as with a headphone jack to the top, two popular interfaces your thousand-dollar iOS device doesn’t have given the new trend.
I’m not saying the ITEL A32F should be your next smartphone. But If you’ve got the cash, get yourself something with more oomph with these ever-evolving mid-range brands if you prefer to live an iPhone life on a low budget. However, the A32F is the perfect smartphone for those existing in a liminal space, who would rather avoid using an old fashion feature device until their glorious ship comes in.
Verdict
Some of the things We like about the Itel A32F include its effective fingerprint sensor and promising picture quality produced by both its front and rear cameras. However, What I disliked about the A32F is that it will slow down in a situation where you need it most. For example, if you install heavy applications to the smartphone, slowing down everything will be the charismatic belief to follow including the proclaimed fingerprint sensor. Therefore, you should not expect swift performance using the smartphone even when it can double app as you perfect git pack since its one of those amazing low-cost smartphones to look out for.
Well If you haven’t compiled enough savings yet to buy your favorite smartphone yet? Get an A32F for the start. Did your mom drop her feature phone while on her way from a Visit? Send her an A32F instead of a dictionary filled with consoling words. Your young sibling cant afford a smartphone yet but wish to acquire them, Gift them an A32F until they manage to collect enough savings for that mid-range dream device. Or else, with the latest Android Go Oreo edition shipped with a brand new Itel, you will surely appreciate the comfort of an operating system that consumes 1/2 the space used by Android Nougat.
All in All, the A32F is a great smartphone for the starters if you focus doesn’t lie between taking glorious extended shots and Swaggering around with a Phablet in your pocket attracting all sorts of goons to thrill your day.
