Itel’s A32F smartphone was unveiled earlier this year and it sparked off the Itel mobile Android Go journey. Months down the road, the Itel S13 is the latest release also shipping in the operating system after the previous P32 smartphone that we recently tested on a mid range scale.
We received a unit of the Itel S13 2 weeks ago for a deep feature highlights overlook. However, the device seemed more like another P32 in a silent red sealed Box to a point that both phones share the same rear camera structure. Well, here are the contents shipped into the S13 a little beyond its battery series companion by a 13MP front camera.
Accompanying Itel’s S13 smartphone in a mid sized portable box, a charging brick, USB cable, a single sided back cover and headsets are the minimal accessories proving the manufacturer’s less for more slogan. Unlike the S12 which had a sleek metallic back face, the S13 is simply a Camera focused phone with no redundant accolades to its model proving the Itel mobile S-Line focus given the device usual specifications teasing full-feature centric capabilities.
Itel S13 Specifications
Announced: 2018, August
Available: 2018, September
Model: itel S13
Colors: Champagne Gold, Elegant Black, City Blue
SIM: Dual Micro-SIM
OS: Android™ 8.1.0 (32 bit Go Edition)
Network: GSM, WCDMA, GPRS, EDGE
Display: 5.5-inch 480 x 960px IPS, multi-touch touchscreen, 16M colors
CPU: MediaTek MT6580 Quad-core 1.3GHz, ARM Cortex-A7 Mali-400 MP Processor
Memory: 8GB ROM, 1GB RAM, microSD, up to 32 GB (dedicated slot)
Camera: 5 MP (2560 x 1920) + 5MP (2560 x 1920) dual rear cameras, auto-focus, dual-LED flash, 13MP (2560 x 1920) front Camera with LED flash
Sensors: Accelerometer, Ambient Light, Proximity, Fingerprint
Battery: Removable Li-Ion 2400 mAh battery
Camera
A flashback to the P32 memories in a lane, Its dual rear camera lenses turned out to be a design fill as we couldn’t tweak any of them independently. Well, the S13 is no way different to the dilemma as the lenses still don’t shrink or tie up for some excellent photography beneath two 5MP + 5MP merged lenses.
The 5MP dual rear cameras have autofocus and shoot at a resolution of 2560 x 1920 pixels. However, we couldn’t verify if both rear cameras are 5MP or if it’s just one since the device has no lens switch options available. More so, whatever magic lies beneath the 2 rear camera lenses, we’ve not discovered it yet given the fact that they produce similar bokeh as compared to singular like devices as we tried taking a few sample pics with the Amazing S13 around all corners both in low light and well-exposed zones.
Build & Display
At first sight, the Itel S13 reminds you less of the itel S12. From the gentle band texture at the head where the dual cameras and LED flash reside at the back on the S13.To the Fingerprint sensor that proves how ubiquitous this technology has become with all Android Go releases shipping it. What’s even better the same sensor tricks apply for almost mindless unlocking of the device, In addition to a single soft sound speaker at the right bottom line.
The front features a 5.5-inch Full-screen display which is impressive for its 480 x 960-pixel density. Topside is the 13MP Selfie Camera and a single LED flash. The body of the itel S13 is made of a cheap polycarbonate build. It has a non-premium feel perhaps given its size and weight. The back cover is removable and so is the battery therein. The dual SIM slots are hidden in there, as is the microSD card slot for expandable memory.
Software & performance
With the Era of Android Go teasing maximum limits for manufacturers to unveil less system space on smartphones, Itel mobile seems to have liked the sweet side of this particular OS which was featured all the way from the A32F to the P32 and now the S13.
The itel S13 runs a MediaTek MT6580 Quad-core 1.3GHz, ARM Cortex-A7 Processor alongside a Mali-400 MP Graphics (GPU) Processor. From a significant point of view, this full rank processor is now an industry standard for entry-level Android Go devices. The likes of Tecno Spark, itel A32P, itel P32 all run the same MediaTek MT6580 under the hood pitching similar performance results even at different price levels.
While the Itel S13 runs all high demand applications like games on a smooth scale with no sluggish movements. 1Gb of dedicated Ram is surely optimized to co-drive the amazingly mid fast 16GB Rom that allowing you more to do more undercover activities on the device’s Android 8.1 Oreo Go edition. Therefore, the S13 didn’t disappoint each time we triggered any functions up on to the screen, but instead smoothly utilized the strength of a quad-core processor.
Our Verdict
In the budget friendly zone comprising of Itel mobile as the market leader, the battle to high-quality camera releases could be favoring the brand as compared to its competitors like Fero mobile. In our review of the self proclaimed 13Mp selfie camera S13 smartphone, the device didn’t disappoint even when we didn’t fully appreciate the image quality, but its standard for the start and one of the best on the market.
Given its UGX 290,000 price tag, the Itel S13 is definitely quenching the budget-friendly podium since it features Android Go and is a perfect rookie smartphone for those who prefer a sleek size to full features in a single package. Henceforth, on the few things we didn’t like about this particular S-Line release, the fair functionalities dominated the outcry we had with its low battery and poor low light image quality.
What We Liked
- The 13Mp front camera
- Super Performance powered 1gb of RAM
- Enhanced storage with Android Go
What we didn’t like
- Low camera focus points
- Poor rear camera quality
- The 2400mAh battery is not fair enough for a quad-core processor
