Forget version 2.0: Diesel’s new smartwatch is so advanced, it’s version 2.5

Diesel has made some of the most distinctive fashion watches out there. If you wear the Mr. Daddy 2.0 watch, with its 57mm case, it’s obvious you’re not afraid to make a statement. We love the brand for this wrist-based madness, and were pleased some of it permeated into the design of the On Full Guard smartwatch, released in 2017. Now, Diesel’s back with the On Full Guard 2.5, its second full-touch smartwatch with Google’s Wear OS, and this time it’s more than just a pretty face.

Technical jump

We know what you’re thinking, did you miss the On Full Guard 2.0? Why is this called the On Full Guard 2.5? In an email to Digital Trends, Andrea Rosso, Diesel’s head of licensing, said it’s “because we made an incredible update on it, taking it to the next level, and we wanted to make it clear starting from the name.”

Bold words. Can it live up to a statement like that? Let’s look at the specification. The 1.39-inch screen has a 454 x 454 pixel resolution, displaying Google’s Wear OS operating system, and powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 2100, 512MB of RAM, and 4GB of internal storage. This is the same as the first On Full Guard, and the alterations come with the addition of a heart rate sensor, on-board GPS, NFC, and a high degree of water resistance. The battery also has a one-hour quick charge feature, and is expected to last for a day. Two of these features are standouts for Rosso.

“I am particularly happy of our NFC payment technology, and also of our swim-proof technology that allows you to shower, swim, and dive up to 3 ATM, [while wearing the watch.]”

The first On Full Guard, like most fashion-inspired smartwatches of its time, was relatively light on technology. Adding new features to the sequel, Rosso intimated, was essential.

“In general, I’m proud that now our wearable technology and features match our bold design, and make us competitive in the wearables market.”

Diesel design

The On Full Guard 2.5 is a typical Diesel watch, in that the case is large at 45.5mm and just over 11mm thick. The design is not drastically different from the first On Full Guard — check out the oversize buttons and crown, the big horns, and the chiseled looks — and crucially takes plenty of inspiration from traditional Diesel watches.

“The sculptured shape is one of our key features, something from a traditional watch that we have applied to the new smartwatch as well,” Rosso said.

Interestingly, little was fundamentally changed from a traditional watch to create a smartwatch, as Rosso said the team just “adapted the dimensions to fit the circular touchscreen, and reduced weight to compensate” for the heavy digital parts. While the Diesel On Full Guard 2.5 is made from the same basic materials as the first, including leather, metal, and rubber, Rosso revealed Diesel is “exploring new materials for upcoming watches.”

One size fits all

When you see the On Full Guard 2.5, it’s impossible to ignore its size, and how it’s likely unsuitable for those with small wrists. We asked Rosso if there was interest or discussion in making smaller watches, particularly for women. His answer was surprising, and gave us an insight into how the watch industry differs around the world.

“We’re constantly talking to our customers to make sure our products align with their needs,” Rosso said. “We found out that many female customers, especially in the Asian market, wear bigger watches [even the aforementioned 56mm Mr. Daddy watch, apparently], despite having smaller wrists.”

The decision to not make a specifically female-friendly smartwatch, at least not yet, seems to be because the brand’s signature style appeals across the board.

“When designing our Diesel watches, we design them for the Diesel customer, whether that’s male or female,” Rosso continued. “In fact, some watch designs that would traditionally be considered for men, have female design elements into them, and vice versa.”

Personalization

One design aspect we loved on the first On Full Guard were the iridescent watch faces. What can we expect from the On Full Guard 2.5? Rosso said the most exciting new watch face is the neon Flicker dial, “which changes color automatically throughout the day,” as well as the interactive heart rate dial, “which creates a rippling water effect with the tap of a finger.”

The new On Full Guard 2.5 smartwatch will come in four styles, a matte steel with black leather strap, a gunmetal case with a brown strap, a matte black steel case with a black silicone strap, and finally a gunmetal steel case with a three-link gunmetal bracelet. All On Full Guard 2.5 watches cost $325, apart from the gunmetal version with the metal link bracelet, which costs $350. You’ll be able to buy the new Diesel On Full Guard 2.5 from October.

While the On Full Guard 2.5 will be powered by Qualcomm’s Wear 2100 processor, there are rumors Qualcomm will finally unveil a new successor to the processor that should provide much improved battery life and other features, and we’ll likely learn more at Qualcomm’s September 10 event.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Techy and trendy? That’s the new Emporio Armani Connected smartwatch
• Let Google’s A.I. make a mini version of you with Minis for Gboard
• The latest version of MacOS now supports storing your messages in Apple’s cloud
• Microsoft Office’s new redesign puts web and desktop versions on equal footing
• Less glitz, more tech for Michael Kors and its new Access Runway smartwatch

Skagen’s new Falster 2 smartwatch comes with built-in GPS, heart-rate tracking

Back in January, Skagen debuted its first-ever touchscreen smartwatch, the Skagen Falster. Only one day ahead of IFA 2018 in Berlin, the company announced the launch of a new smartwatch to add to its lineup, and it’s called the Falster 2 — complete with even more features.

In terms of design, the second-generation smartwatch features a fully round touchscreen display and stainless steel case. But this time around, the company has added two additional pushers to allow for more customization when accessing specific apps. The case is also swim-proof, giving users the ability to track laps in the pool and also hop in the shower without ruining the watch.

While not much has changed aesthetically, the Falster 2 brings far more functionality than its predecessor. With a built-in heart rate sensor powered by Google’s Wear OS, it will automatically track your heart rate throughout workouts. And NFC is now integrated into the device, allowing users to make hands-free payments.

For those who like to leave their smartphones at home during their workout, the Falster 2 also includes built-in GPS. You’ll be bale to leave your phone at home during runs, bike rides, or walks, and still have the ability to track your route without having to stay tethered to your phone.

Unfortunately, the Falster 2 comes with the same 300mAh battery as the Falster — which we experienced really poor battery life with. The addition of heart-rate monitoring and built-in GPS, will only cause the battery to deplete even faster. Skagen says its new smartwatch does include “battery-saving watch dials,” but whether the smartwatch can power through an entire day with all those features packed into it is yet to be seen.

Under the hood, is Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Wear 2100 chipset which has been around for almost two years now. Interestingly enough, the Falster 2 is launching on September 12 — around the same time Qualcomm is rumored to be launching its new wearable chipset. For now, there’s no details on what we can expect if the company does launch a new one.

Additional features on the Falster 2 include smartwatch notifications, activity tracking, and customizable watch faces. The magnetic steel-mesh strap is also interchangeable for those who want to switch up their look. As for the price, the Falster 2 will start at $275 and will be available for purchase through Skagen’s website.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Techy and trendy? That’s the new Emporio Armani Connected smartwatch
• Less glitz, more tech for Michael Kors and its new Access Runway smartwatch
• Fitbit Charge 3 hands-on preview
• Forget version 2.0: Diesel’s new smartwatch is so advanced, it’s version 2.5
• Fitbit Charge 3: Everything you need to know

The upcoming Acer Predator Triton 900 laptop has a display that flips

Although it wasn’t included in Acer’s product announcements during the IFA 2018 show in Berlin, the company provided a sneak peek for a gaming laptop called the Predator Triton 900. We don’t know any hardware specifics just yet, only that it sports a unique display frame that enables you to “flip” the screen 180 degrees.

Technically, the Predator Triton 900 isn’t a 2-in-1 device, but rather a laptop with a unique display hinge. For instance, you’re not going to use this device in Tent and Stand modes, and given the laptop’s cooling design, you likely won’t use it in Tablet mode either. If anything, the hinged screen brings the visuals closer to your face, or flip the screen, turn the laptop around and grab a controller for up-close-and-personal action in a Drive-In Theater-like mode.

According to Acer, the CNC-machined hinge will support a G-SYNC display at a 3,840 x 2,160 resolution, powered by a discrete GeForce graphics chip and an Intel processor. Given this is a “sneak peek,” we’re going to presume this mobile gaming monster could rely on Nvidia’s new GeForce RTX 20 Series although Nvidia has yet to announce its new GPUs for laptops. What’s inside will depend on when Acer actually launches this laptop.

Other tidbits provided in Acer’s tease include a new fourth-generation AeroBlade 3D fan design. The CPU and GPU will reside in the area between the screen and the keyboard underneath an intake vent. A fan will reside on each side of the CPU/GPU pair, pulling in air from the keyboard area rather than through the bottom. Hot air is then jettisoned out the back and sides as usual. This is a great design given that your legs won’t block the air intake, but not ideal for a Tablet mode scenario.

The tease also shows that the Predator Triton 900 will include a low-profile RGB backlit mechanical keyboard, and a switchable trackpad located on the right side of the keyboard. With one touch, it transforms into an LED-illuminated number pad. Meanwhile, dedicated media keys appear above the top-left corner of the keyboard, and there also appears to be a front-facing speaker mounted on each side of the keyboard as well.

Port-wise there appears to be plenty although we currently don’t have a definitive list. You can clearly see USB-C and USB-A ports, an Ethernet port, an SD card reader and more along both edges while a few others reside at the back. A glowing power button seemingly sits on the right edge, possibly including a fingerprint scanner.

Unfortunately, we couldn’t get Acer to cough up any additional information. A representative said more details will be specified when each region announces the laptop. That said, all we can do for now is drool and read hands-on views stemming from the IFA 2018 show in Berlin.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Acer crams a Ryzen 7 CPU, discrete RX Vega 56 graphics into a 17-inch laptop
• Acer Aspire E 15 review
• Acer Spin 5 review
• Nvidia GeForce RTX GPUs are coming to Alienware and Predator gaming desktops
• HP Spectre x360 13 (Late 2017) Review

Apple Releases Safari Technology Preview 64 With Bug Fixes and Feature Improvements

Apple today released a new update for Safari Technology Preview, the experimental browser Apple first introduced over two years ago in March of 2016. Apple designed the Safari Technology Preview to test features that may be introduced into future release versions of Safari.

Safari Technology Preview release 64 includes bug fixes and feature improvements for Custom Elements, Web API, Media, JavaScript, Storage Access API, Web Inspector, WebDriver, CSS, WebGL, Safari Push Notifications, and Safari Reader.

The new Safari Technology Preview update is available for both macOS High Sierra and macOS Mojave, the newest version of the Mac operating system that’s currently being beta tested by developers.

The Safari Technology Preview update is available through the Software Update mechanism in the Mac App Store (or in System Preferences in Mojave) to anyone who has downloaded the browser. Full release notes for the update are available on the Safari Technology Preview website.

Apple’s aim with Safari Technology Preview is to gather feedback from developers and users on its browser development process. Safari Technology Preview can run side-by-side with the existing Safari browser and while designed for developers, it does not require a developer account to download.

Tag: Safari Technology Preview
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Apple Says Latest macOS Supplemental Update Addresses Audio and Kernel Panic Issues on 2018 MacBook Pro

Apple on Tuesday released a macOS High Sierra 10.13.6 Supplemental Update 2, exclusively for 2018 MacBook Pro with Touch Bar models, but the release notes only mention improved stability and reliability.

When contacted by MacRumors for clarification, Apple said the Supplemental Update improves system stability and reliability across a number of areas, and addresses several issues, including crackling audio and kernel panics. Apple said it recommends all users install the update on their MacBook Pros.

The 1.3GB update hasn’t been available long enough yet for any conclusive evidence from affected users, with mixed reports across the Apple Support Communities, Reddit, and our own MacRumors discussion forums.

Apple Support Communities user takashiyoshida, for example, claimed his MacBook Pro “no longer outputs the crackling noise” after updating.

“This evening, I set the microphone and speaker’s sampling format to 44100 Hz and began playing back music on iTunes,” he explained. “Before the update, I would normally hear the noise in about an hour. I left my MacBook Pro to play music for about three hours and so far I am not hearing any noises.”

Reddit user onceARMY, however, commented that he was “still getting audio crackling noise while playing YouTube content on Safari.” He did note that there were “no issues with the Spotify app” after installing the update.

As far as kernel panics are concerned, a handful of users have reported experiencing at least one since installing the Supplemental Update.

“Installed today’s update… and then it happened,” wrote MacRumors forum member King724, referring to a kernel panic. He shared a log indicating a system crash related to bridgeOS, the device firmware on the logic board that controls many functions on the 2018 MacBook Pro, including the Apple T2 chip.

Last month, Apple said it was looking into a small number of indirect reports about the kernel panics, but wouldn’t say if the T2 chip was to blame.

Similar reports of kernel panicking began last year with the iMac Pro, which is also equipped with the T2, so it did—or perhaps still does—seem to be a potential issue with the chip, or the bridgeOS firmware that manages it. There was some speculation that the T2 chip was also to blame for the crackling.

For context, the T2 chip integrates several previously separate components, including the system management controller, image signal processor, audio controller, and SSD controller. It also features a Secure Enclave coprocessor for secure boot, encrypted storage, and authenticating Touch ID.

Prior to yesterday’s Supplemental Update, Apple support representatives provided customers with a wide variety of potential solutions to mitigate these issues, ranging from disabling FileVault to turning off Power Nap, but none of the workarounds appeared to permanently fix the problems.

Apple also asked some customers if they would be willing to send in their MacBook Pros so that its engineers can look into the issues. Some customers were apparently told that fixes were in the works, and at least based on what Apple told us, they are included in the Supplemental Update.

This is the second macOS High Sierra Supplemental Update for the 2018 MacBook Pro in as many months, with the first addressing a bug that contributed to excessive throttling of clock speeds under heavy thermal loads.

The Supplemental Update is not available to macOS Mojave users, but the issues could be resolved in future beta versions.

Related Roundups: MacBook Pro, macOS High SierraBuyer’s Guide: MacBook Pro (Buy Now)
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Former Mophie Employees Launch New Eco-Friendly Charging Accessory Brand ‘Nimble’

A trio of former Mophie/Zagg employees today launched a new accessory brand called “Nimble,” which is aimed at crafting smartphone and tech accessories that are environmentally friendly (via CNET).

Those behind Nimble include Ross Howe (Nimble CEO), Jon Bradley (creative director), and Kevin Malinowski (brand marketing), who were all originally part of Mophie when the company merged with Zagg in 2016. The creators of Nimble say they didn’t mesh with the company following the Zagg merger, and left in March 2018.

Now, the Nimble brand will sell products that are similar to Mophie’s devices, including wireless charging pads, portable battery packs, and charging cables. All of Nimble’s products will be available on Amazon and its own website, but the company is avoiding retail outlets to reduce prices and compete with budget brands like Aukey and Anker, although they won’t be quite as cheap.

Nimble products won’t be cheaper than Anker’s products but CEO Howe says they’re better. “With this model, we can make more premium accessories with premium features that cost less.” It’s something he wanted to do with Mophie but just couldn’t quite pull off.

Nimble products include a 10,000 mAh Portable Charger at $49.95, 13,000 mAh at $59.95, 20,000 mAh at $69.95, and 26,000 mAh at $99.95. Each of these support fast charging for iPhone with 18W power delivery, can charge multiple devices at once, and include a magnetic cable management system that attaches to the bottom of the charger.

The other main product line is a series of wireless charging pads, including the Wireless Pad for $39.95, Wireless Dual Pad for $49.95, Wireless Stand for $49.95, and Wireless Travel Kit for $59.95. These can wirelessly charge an iPhone at 7.5W, but Nimble gives no mention of official Qi compatibility as of yet.

Other Nimble accessories include a Dual USB Wall Charger for $19.95, USB Wall Charger for $9.95, and USB-C Cable 2-Pack for $12.95-$17.95. On the bottom of every product page, Nimble highlights how much the devices would be if sold at retail in its attempt to be as transparent as possible in regards to its pricing structure.

On its “Why We’re Different” webpage, Nimble mentions working only with “thoughtful suppliers” who share its values on workers’ rights and sustainable materials. The company also says it supports eco-friendly packaging, better materials to reduce its carbon footprint, and a “one-for-one” tech recovery project. In regards to that project, Nimble sends a pre-paid return envelope with every device you buy, allowing you to send old or obsolete electronics directly to its e-waste recycling partner.

Nimble’s website supports Apple Pay during the checkout process and offers free shipping and returns to customers in the United States.

Tags: Mophie, Nimble
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PlayStation Vue Expands Local Broadcast Stations With 200 New Additions Across the U.S.

Following DirecTV Now’s addition of numerous local stations for its customers, Sony this week announced the addition of around 200 new local network affiliates for PlayStation Vue users in cities across the United States. These include affiliate partners with ABC, FOX, and NBC in cities like Buffalo, Honolulu, Memphis, Austin, and many more.

ABC affiliates on PS Vue now include Cincinnati, Ohio (9 On Your Side); Columbia, South Carolina (ABC Columbia); Corpus Christi, Texas (KIII-TV 3); Lafayette, Louisiana (KATC TV 3); and Baton Rouge, Louisiana (WBRZ 2). A few Fox affiliates include Bangor, Maine (FOX 22); Denver, Colorado (FOX 31); Eureka, California (FOX 28); and Jackson, Mississippi (FOX 40). Lastly, some NBC affiliates include Alexandria, Louisiana (KALB); Anchorage, Alaska (KTUU); Fargo, North Dakota (KVLY); and Lima, Ohio (WLIO). Check out PS Vue’s FAQ page for the entire list of new local stations.

PS Vue head Dwayne Benefield made the announcement on the PlayStation Blog:

I am excited to announce that PS Vue users in select markets will gain access to local broadcast stations at no extra cost, starting today. With this expansion, PS Vue now offers more than 450 local ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC stations, in cities all over the US – from Buffalo, NY, to Honolulu, HI.

As we gear up for football season and Fall TV premieres, now over 97% of the US population has access to at least one major broadcast station from ABC, CBS, FOX, and/ or NBC.

Unfortunately, there are many local stations that are restricted from recording shows through PS Vue’s cloud DVR, including every station listed above and what appears to be every station added onto the service this week. The company says this restriction is “due to streaming rights,” and it also extends to certain on demand channels, HBO, Showtime, and Cinemax.

With the expansion, Sony says PS Vue now supports “more than 450 local stations” from ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC. Like other OTT services, PS Vue lets users stream live television through apps available on iOS, Android, Apple TV, and PlayStation consoles, starting at $44.99/month. Features include being able to stream on up to five devices at once, a cloud DVR, on demand content, and more.

PlayStation Vue is one of the major live TV streaming services along with DirecTV Now, Hulu With Live TV, Sling TV, and YouTube TV.

Tags: Sony, PlayStation, PS Vue
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Sonos Launches New Sonos Amp and Partners With Sonance for New Architectural Speakers

Sonos today announced the launch of the Sonos Amp, a new audio hub that’s designed to replace the existing Connect:Amp. The Sonos Amp is able to connect to traditional home audio speakers and integrate them into a Sonos home sound system.

According to Sonos, its new Sonos Amp is twice as powerful as the Connect:Amp with the ability to power four speakers with 125 watts per channel, up from two. It supports AirPlay 2 and more than 100 streaming services, in addition to including an HDMI Arc port to connect to TVs and line-in ports to connect devices like turntables, CD changers and other audio components.

Two Amps can be paired together for surround sound, and using the aforementioned HDMI Arc port, it can be used to add stereo sound to a TV or wireless rears to a home-theater setup.

Sonos is pricing the Amp at $599, $100 more than the previous Connect:Amp product. It will be available to professional installers in the U.S. and Canada starting in December, with global availability coming in February 2019.

The Amp is part of a new three-prong approach to better integrating Sonos into smart homes, which also includes speakers created in partnership with Sonance and new platform APIs.

Sonos is partnering with Sonance for three new architectural speakers, including in-wall, in-ceiling, and outdoor, which will be able to be paired with the new Sonos Amp. The three new speakers will be marketed and sold by Sonos and will launch in early 2019.

Starting in September, Sonos plans to open up its developer platform to all potential partners, and it will introduce a new set of Control APIs that will make it easier to integrate Sonos products into smart homes run by systems like Control4 or Crestron.

The new Control APIs will include support for line-in switching to allow line-in components to be selected within a third-party control interface, volume pass-through for easier volume control, the ability to add Sonos playlists using a third-party interface, and as a preview option, capabilities to provide notifications and alerts from third-party devices like doorbells through Sonos speakers.

Tag: Sonos
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Born to hug: 6 of the weirdest, most outlandish robots humanity has ever created

Whether it’s carrying out search and rescue missions or performing life-saving surgery, there are some astonishing robots in existence that promise to change the world as we know it. But for every mainstream Atlas robot, there are plenty of other, more unusual creations — and they’re every bit as worth celebrating.

Here are six of the wackiest robot concepts we’ve covered here at Digital Trends:

A robot for ruining Where’s Waldo?

Remember how much fun you had as a kid scouring the pages of Where’s Waldo? books, looking for the elusive Waldo with his red-and-white-striped shirt, bobble hat and glasses? A lot has changed since you were a kid — and nothing underlines that fact more than “There’s Waldo.”

The brainchild of creative technologist Matt Reed, “There’s Waldo” is a robot that’s capable of finding Waldo in a packed crowd in less than 4.5 seconds. After identifying the character using its impressive image recognition capabilities, it reaches out a silicon hand and points out Waldo’s location.

Why? We guess for much the same reason we spent so long as kids staring at packed crowd drawings, searching for Waldo in the first place: Because it’s a fun challenge.

Shoe-tying robot

If you don’t have time to tie a pair of laces a couple of times a day, you probably don’t have time to wait for a robot to spend four minutes tying each shoe. But that didn’t stop engineers from the University of California, Davis’ College of Engineering from building a robot that’s capable of a pair of tying shoelaces.

While it’s difficult to think of too many real world applications for a robot such as this (although we guess it could be a useful accessibility tool), it’s nonetheless an impressive example of robot dexterity. And with just two motors and an imposed budget limit of just $600, it manages this within some fairly hefty constraints.

Stone-skimming robot

Created by former NASA engineer-turned-YouTuber Mark Rober, this unusual robot was designed with one goal in mind: to skip stones better than anyone has skipped them before.

Skippa was created by modifying a clay pigeon thrower, and then adding customized wooden throwing arms and a box base to give it more stability. Rober’s niece and nephew finally stepped in to give it the final, all-important stylistic flourishes in the form of a colorful paint job and googly eye makeover. You know, the ingredients ever self-respecting robot needs!

A robot serenader

It’s every movie-loving tech geek’s dream: a ukulele-plucking robot that can sooth your tired soul at the end of each day with the theme from The Godfather. That’s what the Polish engineers behind UkuRobot have built with their latest robotic creation, and it is pretty darn awesome.

“It’s controlled via Bluetooth by software of our own design, that allows us to compose and play any song we want,” the UkuRobot team member known only as Jakub told Digital Trends. “The user is also able to play separate notes and chords — so it’s like playing the instrument traditionally, but using only your computer mouse. Excellent choice for fans of live music.”

A robot powered by… popcorn?

Call it Cornell’s kernels if you want: this unorthodox robot from engineers at Cornell University is powered by popping popcorn kernels. In a recent demonstration, the researchers showed that it’s possible to power a robot gripper by heating popcorn either with microwaves or direct contact using a hot Nichrome wire.

While popcorn kernels can’t be unpopped, thereby giving this a big disadvantage over existing batteries, they are biodegradable and cheap enough to be easily replaced. Maybe not such a wacky idea after all!

A robot that gives you hugs

A smart speaker might play you the right song at the right time, but it’s never going to give you a comforting hug when you’re feeling down. However, that feature is most definitely offered by HuggieBot, a robot created by researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Stuttgart, Germany.

At present, HuggieBot takes the form of a modified PR2 robot covered in softy layers of foam, polyester, and other materials. Its hugs can be modified according to the firmness of embrace you prefer (thanks to a pressure sensor), and you even have the option of a heated hug for special occasions.

The researchers think HuggieBot could eventually have therapeutic applications, and are actively investigating ways for the robot to determine how users are feeling so as to know when to make its presence felt.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Cornell’s popcorn-powered robots are far more practical than they sound
• Forget Roomba, your most important house robot could be the one that hugs you
• Forget flying cars: This shoe-tying robot is proof that the future is here
• Meet Fusion: A helpful robotic ‘parasite’ that lives on your back
• Look out, bartenders: This cocktail-making robot is coming for your job

The Alcatel 1 is a low-powered Android Go phone for just $80

Looking for a cheap phone that does everything you need, but doesn’t put a huge dent in your wallet? Then you might be interested in Alcatel’s newly released super-budget phone, the Alcatel 1. With a super-low price of just $80, and running on the low-impact Android Go operating system, here’s everything you need to know about the Alcatel 1.

Take a quick look and you’ll probably agree the Alcatel 1 shares a lot of its style points with the Alcatel 1X — but there are differences. The Alcatel 1 comes with a smaller 5-inch LCD screen, though it keeps the 18:9 aspect ratio and 960 x 480 resolution from the 1X. The back panel comes with the same soft touch texture, but the camera lens has been moved from the center of the phone to the top-left of the rear — and there’s no fingerprint sensor.

Don’t expect a powerhouse of a phone either. The Alcatel 1 is powered by a quad-core A53 processor with just 1GB of RAM. The Alcatel 1X had a similar setup, but with slightly more power, though it still exhibited sluggish performance, so don’t expect too much of this hardware.

There’s not much room on the Alcatel 1 either, with just 8GB of onboard storage available. However, you’ll be able to expand that by up to 32GB with a MicroSD card — and since cloud storage is so popular these days, you might not need to store much on your phone anyway.

You likely won’t be storing too many high-quality snaps on the Alcatel 1, as it’s equipped with a single 5-megapixel lens on the back, and a 2-megapixel selfie shooter around the front. Alcatel’s camera tech isn’t bad, especially the Social Square option — but don’t expect this to be a phone for shutterbugs, as the lack of optical image stabilization will make it tough to get good shots without being as still as possible. Still, it shouldn’t be a terrible camera — we got some decent shots from the Alcatel 1X during our time with it, so the Alcatel 1 may surprise you from time to time.

You’ll find Android 8.0 Oreo on the Alcatel 1, but as the stripped-down Android Go. Android Go is a version of Android specifically made for lower-powered phones, and it comes with a smaller install and smaller apps to compensate for the smaller storage options on such phones. Our initial impressions of Android Go haven’t been great — but don’t rule out optimizations and improvements from Google changing that over time.

The Alcatel 1 is powered by a 2,000mAh battery that should power the phone for at least a day with these low-powered specs. It’s charged by a MicroUSB port at the bottom, and you won’t get any fancy fast-charging or similar tech.

The Alcatel 1 is currently available from Amazon for just $80, and is compatible with AT&T and T-Mobile’s networks. Don’t expect this phone to set the world on fire, but if you’re on a budget, or just need a decent secondary phone, the Alcatel 1 could be the right phone for you. Otherwise, check out our list of the best cheap phones for more options.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Alcatel 1X review
• MetroPCS Alcatel 7 boasts a dual-sensor camera and FHD+ screen for $180
• Asus bringing super-budget ZenFone Live (L1) to the U.S. for $110
• Nokia 3.1 review
• Essential PH-1 Phone: Everything you need to know