Alcatel 5 review

Verdict

The reaction of people we showed the Alcatel 5 to during our review testing was almost exactly the same across the board – it was dismissed as ordinary and nothing special, until we revealed the price, at which point there was a lot of eyebrow raising.

That really sums up our own feelings about the phone after several days with it. Across the design, interface and camera, you get more than you would usually expect for the price. It's a champion in its own niche, and at the same time it's very average.

Our major disappointments were with the battery and occasionally with the performance of the phone, but again it's hard to quibble when you're getting so much bang for your buck.

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Who's this for?

If you think spending a big chunk of cash on a smartphone is a ridiculous use of your hard-earned money, the Alcatel 5 will give you all the basics in a solid frame for a decent price.

Those who don't spend much time on their phone each day – a little social media, some web browsing, some emails – will find the handset well suited to them.

On the other hand, if you need a handset that's going to run and run, and cope with everything you can throw at it during the day, then you'll have to dig deeper into your pockets to get something several rungs further up the smartphone ladder.

Should you buy it?

For those on a tight budget the Alcatel 5 is definitely worth considering – we'd say it's even better value for money than a knocked-down older flagship phone. 

Spend double the price of the Alcatel 5, and it's by no means guaranteed you're going to get twice the performance and polish.

Be aware of the shortcomings before you go in though: battery life isn't great, the camera is so-so, and while performance was fine enough for us (even on games), that will probably degrade as time goes on and you get more apps on there. 

The Alcatel 5 is a good buy for budget shoppers, but check out all the options first.

Need more budget options? Check out the three alternative phones below:

Moto G6

Motorola has been nailing the mid-range-to-budget line for some time now, and the Moto G6 is the latest of its handsets to look good, perform well, and not cost much at all. Like the Alcatel 5, it has a 5.7-inch, 18:9 aspect ratio screen, though it ups the pixel resolution and the internal specs are slightly better, as our benchmarks show.

As with the Alcatel 5, it's not waterproof, and the camera isn't the best you're going to come across, but it gives you plenty of bang for your buck.

• Read our full Moto G6 review

Nokia 6 (2018)

The relaunched Nokia brand is quickly making a name for itself under the guidance of HMD Global, and the Nokia 6 (aka the Nokia 6 2018 or the Nokia 6.1) epitomises the new Nokia – quality hardware at very competitive prices.

One of its best features is the clean and uncluttered version of Android that's installed, a big improvement over the Alcatel 5.

It doesn't have as big a screen as the phone we're reviewing here, but it is running Android 8, and comfortably outscores the Alcatel 5 in benchmarks. Your choice is probably going to be based on the price you can find these handsets for online.

• Read our full Nokia 6 (2018) review

Honor 9 Lite

With its sub-brand Honor, Huawei is doing a rather impressive job of catering to both the high and low ends of the market, and the Honor 9 Lite packs in a lot of phone for the money. We like the design, the performance, the camera setup... and like the Alcatel 5 it goes for the fashionable 18:9 aspect ratio.

There aren't many weaknesses to talk about, though for the time being this isn't available in the US or Australia, so that's going to rule it out for some of you. If we had to quibble, the EMUI Android skin that Huawei uses can be rather frustrating.

• Read our full Honor 9 Lite review

First reviewed: July 2018