Ultra-low-cost smartphones can be a bit hit-or-miss in terms of their build quality and overall usefulness, but ZTE is attempting to change that with the new ZTE Tempo X, a phone that ships with Android Nougat out of the box and costs a quite reasonable $80.
You might not expect to get much for $80, but as it turns out, the Tempo X isn’t all that bad for the price. The phone also comes with 8GB of storage, which is expandable by up to 32GB using the built-in MicroSD card slot. You’ll also get 1GB of RAM, coupled with a Snapdragon 210 processor.
The 5-inch display on this phone comes in at 854 x 480 pixels, and the battery has a capacity of 2,200mAh. The rear-facing camera is 5 megapixels and is complemented by a 2-megapixel front-facing camera. The phone also features, an FM radio, a headphone jack, and more.
With those specs, it’s easy to see that this isn’t an ultra-powerful phone — but it’s not built to be. It’s built for people who need something to make calls and send texts, browse social media, and occasionally use Google Chrome. It’ll be able to run apps, but don’t expect to take advantage of the latest Android-based games.
So where will you be able to get the device? It’s launching on Boost Mobile, where it’ll face some serious competition. For starters, the Samsung Galaxy J3 Emerge is also available through Boost, and it’s currently on sale for $70 — $60 off the original price. The Galaxy J3 is better than the Tempo X in almost every aspect — offering a more powerful processor, larger battery, twice the amount of storage, and a little more RAM. Even the display resolution is better, coming in at 1,280 x 720.
Still, some might prefer to stick with the ZTE brand or have another reason to go with the new phone over the Galaxy J3. If that’s you, you’ll be able to get the phone for yourself from the Boost website starting today or you can head to the ZTE website to learn more about the device.
