Alcatel Flash2 hands-on, first impressions

The Alcatel Flash2 comes in a premium packaging which is unlikely for a mid-ranger phone. Alcatel is putting up a good impression even before you unbox the device. The green and white box is stacked over the other using a thick, hard cardboard-like material.

Inside is the handset, a free flip-cover case, the USB cable and charger as well as the earphones.

The Alcatel Flash2 is a 5-inch mid-range smartphone that runs on an ARM Cortex A53 1.3GHz octa-core processor paired with 2GB of RAM. Just like the Flash Plus, the positioning of the Flash 2 is a decent mid-ranger with special attention to camera features.

This is evident with the presence of a front-facing LED flash and another set of dual-tone, dual-LED flash at the back (one white and one amber color). Alcatel is putting a bright green circular marker around the lens of the rear camera to identify the series so we’re expecting future generations to sport the same camera marker.

The Alcatel Flash 2 has a nice, unique design which reminds us of the old Xperia X10 body, less the physical buttons. The multi-layer wedge-shaped body is made of solid polycarbonate material with a glossy silver trimming around it.

The power button and volume controls are found on the right side along with a dedicated camera shutter. The 3.5mm audio port is up top and the micro-USB port is at the bottom end.

The large capacitive buttons at the bottom corner are backlit and takes a significant amount of space due to the large markings.

The back side has a thin removable back cover. The unit we have on hand has a volcanic gray variant with a rough sandpaper texture that’s similar to the ones used by the OnePlus 2.

The front-facing camera has a 5-megapixel sensor that is paired with a single LED flash. The flash can also be easily adjusted to 3 levels of brightness, depending on the amount of light you will need for your selfies.

Alcatel used a Samsung ISOCELL sensor with a 13MP rear camera with Phase Detection Auto Focus.

Image quality of the Flash 2 is very close and oftentimes even better than the ones taken by the Flash Plus (will post sample photos and videos once they’re completely uploaded).

The Flash 2 uses a power efficient ARM Cortex A53 processor with 8 cores, each running at a maximum clock speed of 1.3GHz. AnTuTu benchmark gave it a score in the range of 36,000+ which is within the vicinity of the scores of the Nexus 5 and LG G3.

The 3,000mAh battery can be accessed from the back side when you peel off the cover but can only be detached by removing two micro-screws that hold them in place. With the Cortex A53 powering the device, we’re looking at a really good battery life in our final tests.

Running Android 5.1 Lollipop, the Flash2 has a simple UI and almost negligible customizations done that it’s practically running Android Vanilla UI. The octa-core processor and 2GB of RAM allows for smooth navigation and responsive over-all experience.

Alcatel Flash 2 specs:
5.0-inch IPS LCD @ 1280×720 pixels
Asahi Dragontrail Glass
Mediatek MK6753 1.3GHz octa-core processor
ARM Mali-T720 GPU
2GB RAM
16GB internal storage
Up to 64GB via microSD card
3G, HSPA+, LTE Cat. 4
Dual-SIM, dual LTE
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, dual-band
Bluetooth 4.0
GPS with aGPS support
13MP AF rear camera, f/2.0 24mm, with dual-LED, dual-tone flash
5MP front-facing AF camera with LED flash, 1/4″ sensor size
3,000mAh Li-Po battery
Android 5.1 Lollipop
Volcanic Grey, Mica White

The Alcatel Flash2 will retail for only Php6,190USD 105INR 8,942EUR 100CNY 768 and will be available exclusively from Lazada Philippines on September 30. You can purchase it by visiting its page here.

You can also read our interview here: 5 Questions we dare ask about the Alcatel Flash2.