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Transsion Holdings is a brand which is holding a proper folding of smartphone brands in India. They are having different brands for different segments like Itel, Tecno, Infinix, Spice, and Oraimo. Itel is more likely to the offline-only brand which is aiming more towards urban customs by there featured phones. Recently they came up with their latest smartphone in Indian Market which is Itel S42.
The new Itel S42 is the brand’s current flagship smartphone and is priced at Rs. 8,499. As of now the competitor for the device is Xiaomi Redmi 5. So, let’s check it out how Asus Itel S42 is going to work in real-world usage.
Itel S42 Specification
| Name | Itel S42 |
| Dimensions | 153 x 73.55 x 8.25 mm |
| Weight | 157 g |
| Display | 5.65-inch IPS LCD (720 x 1440 pixels) |
| Processor | Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 |
| GPU | Adreno 308 |
| RAM | 3 GB |
| Storage | 16 GB |
| Primary Camera |
13 MP |
| Secondary Camera |
13 MP |
| Battery | 3000 mAh battery |
| Operating System |
Android 8.0 (Oreo) |
| Sensors | Fingerprint (rear-mounted), accelerometer, proximity sensor, compass, Face Unlock |
| Connectivity | GSM/HSPA/LTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n |
Box Content
- Itel S42
- Manual
- USB Cable
- Charging Brick
- Cover
- SIM Ejector Pin
- High-Quality Earpods (loved these)
Design & Built
Coming to the built part of the phone; here we get great metal built all over. The back panel is non-removable and gives you premium metallic brushed feel all over. The device consists of 5.65″ HD+ Display that feels so handy while using it in a single hand. It fits perfectly in your hand and the premiumness of the phone can be seen very easily.
Starting with the design part; at the front top we get a 13-megapixel camera beside it whole has a whole lot of sensors and a LED notification light which is a multi-color notification LED. Beside it, we also get an earpiece and a Dual Front LED flash which works well while taking a selfie in low light.
Coming to the lower side we get a 5.65-inch HD+ Display which is covered with 2.5D curved glass. Nothing about gorilla glass is being mentioned by the brand. The curve glass gently melds in along with the curved sides, thus making it a joy to hold in the hands without any fatigue.
Coming little bit down we get on screen back keys which we can edit as per our usage by going into the setting panel.
Turning the phone to the downside here we get a properly crafted two speaker grills out of which left one is having a primary speaker output and the right one is having a primary MIC in it, between them houses a micro USB port which supports OTG and no fast charging.
Coming to the right side of the phone here we get Power lock key and a volume rockers which are made up of metal. The power lock key also has a pattern feel on it which add up a small premium feel to the device.
Turning to the other side here we get triple tray slot which means you can add dual SIM’s at the same time you can also insert a MicroSD card that too up to 128 GB.
Further moving to the top side of the phone here we get a single vent for 3.5mm audio jack and nothing much which we need to explain over here.
Finally coming to the back side of the phone here we get a 13-megapixel camera with a support of single tone LED flash. Below that we get a Fingerprint sensor which is quite fast and took about 0.2 seconds to unlock the device. We also get a feature of face unlock which works quite well when we compare the pricing of the device. The back panel is made up of metal and also has a brushed metal finish all over which adds up a premiumness to the phone. The upper part and the lower part of the phone is made up of plastic which is used as network antenna to the device.
Display
Display of Itel S42 comes with a 5.65-inch HD+ Display with a resolution of 720 X 1440. The display gives you the ratio of 18:9, which means we get proper infinity display to watch movies or videos. The colors on the display are sharp and playing games look great. While watching a movie on to the phone give immense experience. The Sunlight legibility is also good because of its really great brightness. When we compare the brightness with some other phones like Xiaomi Redmi 5 this one works really well in sunlight legibility.
Viewing Angle is good, and blacks are decent enough. While watching movies from odd angle won’t affect you in any way. Overall no complaints with the display still I was expecting an FHD+ Display from them.
Performance
The phone comes with the Snapdragon processor which is Snapdragon 425 processor which features a 3 GB Ram. This combo makes the device a decent performer. Out of 16 GB of internal storage, you get about 9.5 GB free after that you can also expand it to up to 128GB as the phone support dedicated tray for Micro SD Card.
We get Antutu Score of 42441 and these scores on a budget device are decent enough to work with. With this screen size and a good camera on the back as well as on the front. The thing which I don’t like the most is that they have removed almost all sensors which are these days necessary for anyone. We only get Accelerometer sensor, light sensor, proximity sensor and sound sensor rest all sensors like gyroscope sensor, orientation sensor, magnetic sensor are being removed by the brand. I think they should have placed gyroscope and orientation sensor in the device which will help users to use VR and Maps in a better way.
Coming to the gaming part, we can play almost all games. In my use, I have not seen any lag or frame drops even in Asphalt 8 extream on high setting. I tried playing PUBG the latest games with high-end specs but found a bit frame drops on it as it only has Adreno 308. Rest, you can play almost every game, you cannot aspect more with price device. In my test, I have not found any heating issue on this device.
Camera
Moving on to the cameras on the Itel S42, the phone comes with a 13MP camera setup with a single LED flash. By the is there anyone who uses flash for photos, it is mostly being used as a torch. The photos capture using Itel S42 is above average but in great lights, you can take some good shots out of it. When the same scenario comes under night it just fails to do so.
Portrait mode on Asus Zenfone Max Pro comes up really good. You get proper focus and proper bokeh effect. In daylight, you will love the camera. One thing which I noticed if you can any premium application the camera will perform way better when we compare the same with the default snapdragon camera application.
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Coming to the front-facing camera we again get a 13-megapixel camera with a support of dual single tone flash. The photos that we capture using this selfie camera is above average in normal lighting condition but when we change the same with some good lights than we can get some great shots out of it. Attaching some of the sample photos captured in almost all lighting condition, it will help you to understand the proper camera quality of Itel S42.
Camera Samples
Face Unlock
After an OTA update on Itel S42, we get the feature of face unlock in it, which works quite well in it. I won’t be comparing the same with iPhone X and other Android devices like Oneplus and Vivo but still, it works well in normal light, low light as well as good light. If there is not light it is quite difficult for the software to recognize your face which is not in the case of high-end devices.
Overall at this price you are getting proper face unlock feature than it is a manageable point for anyone using this device.
Battery
The battery on the smartphone is 3000mAh allowing you to sail through an entire day. After that, you’re surely going to need a power bank or a charger. You can use the device very aggressive usage still it will give you the battery life of about 1 day as the display we get is HD and software is optimized according to it. It will take me approx 2 Hours to charge from 0 to 100% using its default charger.
Rest, if they can add a 4000mAh Battery, it can be a game changer to them.
Verdict
Overal, if you don’t want the device to be bought from the online market and want proper retailer service from the brand then this device is for you.
Pros
- Built
- Face Unlock in this price
- 18:9 Display (infinity Display)
- Triple tray slot
- Snapdragon processor
Cons
- Pricey compared to some online brands
- The battery can be improved
- The display can be FHD
