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Archos' two new phones are rugged and stylish — but not at the same time

IFA 2024
This story is part of our coverage of IFA Berlin 2024

Archos’ latest phone lineup leaves a bit to be desired, however a couple of the phones are very interesting indeed. The new devices, which come only a few days before IFA this year, are called the 55 Diamond Selfie and the 50 Saphir, and come with a design unlike most other Android phones out there.

The 50 Saphir, for example, is being touted as “unsinkable,” and is aimed largely at those who like to enjoy the great outdoors. The look of the phone is extremely rugged, and probably not what you would call “sleek.”

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On top of the interesting look, the phone features a 5-inch display and a hefty 5,000mAh battery. Under the hood we see a MediaTek MTK6737 processor coupled with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage. The rear-facing camera is 13MP, the front-facing camera 5MP, and the display is 720p. Sure, the specs are decidedly underwhelming, but they’re most certainly not the point of this phone.

When it comes to the 55 Diamond Selfie, things are a little more high tech. The phone seeks to offer a “chic design,” something that shows when it’s put side-by-side with its more hefty sibling. The phone is 5.5 inches, and the device is only 7.7mm thick, however it still features a decently sized battery, sitting at 3,000mAh. It also offers a pretty nice 4GB of RAM, 64GB of internal storage, and a 16MP rear-facing camera/8MP front-facing camera combination. Unfortunately those specs aren’t very well backed up with the decidedly mediocre Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 — not a bad processor, to be sure, but not one that you would expect on a phone with otherwise fairly decent specs.

The Archos 50 Saphir and 55 Diamond Selfie each cost a reasonable 200 euros, which equates to around $223. The 50 Saphir will be out in October, and the 55 Diamond Selfie will debut in September.

Christian de Looper
Christian de Looper is a long-time freelance writer who has covered every facet of the consumer tech and electric vehicle…
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