Amazon's in-house smartphones could've been better, but that's not stopping the online retail giant from selling discounted handsets as a way to promote its premium Prime service.
Amazon Prime members can now save big on five new Android phones, including the Moto E4 and the newly announced Nokia 6, courtesy of Prime Exclusive Phones.
In addition to the savings, Amazon's phone lineup comes unlocked, granting buyers the option to go with whatever applicable carrier suits their needs.
However, what you save on cash is made up with built-in ads and pre-loaded Amazon apps, similar to what Amazon offers with the proprietary Fire tablet.
While some may not want their handset riddled with personalized offers, others may be willing to bear it to save between $50-$70 — especially if they're already entrenched in Amazon Prime's premium membership.
What are the phones?
The most notable of the handsets coming to Prime Exclusive Phones is the Nokia 6, which was just announced for the US earlier this week. It's on sale for $179.99 with Prime — $50 off its normal asking price. The Nokia 6 runs a Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 octo-core processor, 3GB RAM, and 32GB of internal storage.
Next is the Moto E4, a decent budget Android phone from Motorola that costs just $99.99 with Prime, down from $129.99. This handset features a Snapdragon 425 quad-core processor, 16GB of internal storage, and a 5-inch HD display.
Finally, three models of Alcatel phones were added to the Prime lineup, including the Idol 5S for $199.99 (reduced from $279.99), the A30 Plus for $79.99 and the A50 for $99.99 (reduced from $129.99 and $149.99, respectively.)
As you can probably guess from the price, the Alcatel Idol 5S is the most powerful of the bunch, sporting a Snapdragon 625 processor and 32GB of storage. The A30 Plus and A50 feature 2GB RAM and 16GB of storage, but lack higher-end doodads like a fingerprint sensor.
At the time of writing, all five phones are advertised as compatible with AT&T and T-Mobile, with the Moto E4 also supporting Verizon and Sprint's networks. Support for additional carriers is expected for certain phones, according to Business Insider, and all five handsets come loaded with Android Nougat.
