IFA 2019 officially kicks off from September 5th and will run through September 11th in Berlin, Germany. Most of the world’s major tech brands will be in Berlin for IFA to introduce a range of consumer electronic products. Strategy Analytics has a team of analysts from our devices teams in attendance to cover key news and device introductions.
On the second pre-event day we saw many interesting new launches from multiple vendors. Here are few of the most interesting ones.
Motorola One Zoom
Motorola announced and upgrade to Moto Z4, which was launched in May, at IFA 2019 called Moto One Zoom. Internals are quite similar compared to the Moto Z4. Display, design, engine, memories are all the same but the biggest difference comes from the imaging side. Instead just one 48Mpix sensor like in the Moto Z4, One Zoom comes with four sensors. The device has the same 48Mpix main camera but adds three additional sensors to the array. In the One zoom there is: 8Mpix telephoto module, 16Mpix ultrawide module and 5Mpix ToF depth sensor. Needless to say the device is the most advanced imaging device Motorola has ever launched. The imaging is one of the big differentiator areas nowadays as our clients can read from our recent Imaging report.
Nokia 800 Tough, Nokia 2720 Flip and Nokia 110
HMD launched three feature phones at IFA 2019. HMD still sells mostly feature phones so adding new devices to that lineup makes perfect sense.
HMD is once again playing with legacy designs by introducing successor for one of the most popular flip phones ever (Nokia 2720 Fold). The new device is named Nokia 2720 Flip and it continues the path of other legacy models 8110 and 3310 by being 4G instead of just 2G/3G. The device runs on smart feature phone platform KaiOS and has access to services such as WhatsApp and Facebook as well as Google Assistant. Google Maps is on board as well (with a GPS+GLONASS receiver) and you can grab more apps from the Kai app store. Price is set at ~US$100.
The Nokia 110 is a basic feature phone and is likely the cheapest phone with a camera a just USD$20. The device will be available in mid-September and is positioned slightly above Nokia 105.
The old Nokia 3310 is a star of countless memes and jokes due its reputation as being nearly indestructible. Nokia 800 Tough builds on that reputation and this time the phone actually may well be indestructible as the Nokia 800 Tough has an IP68 rating and is MIL-STD-810G certified. Just like 2720 Flip, the device is 4G and runs on the same KaiOS software which means all the same apps and functionalities are available. Other unique features of the phone are extra loud speakers and super bright flashlight so this device is perfect fit for extreme conditions. None of this comes cheap and the phone is priced at ~US$120 in retail which makes it more expensive than many entry tier smartphones.
Nokia 7.2 and 6.2
HMD launched also two new smartphones the Nokia 7.2 and Nokia 6.2. on the outside both devices look identical, but there are some differences inside. The 7.2 is like a “Pro” version of the 6.2 with slightly better cameras and faster processor. Processor in the 7.2 is Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 whilst the 6.2 runs with Snapdragon 636, both have 4GB/64GB and 4GB/128GB (RAM/internal) memory as variants but 6.2 adds a cheaper 3GB/32GB to the mix. On the camera side 7.2 has 48Mpix sensor as the main camera but user of 6.2 has to do with only 16Mpix main camera. Secondary and third cameras are the same 8Mpix ultrawide and 5Mpix ToF depth sensor. As with all Nokia smartphones one of the biggest differentiators is the guaranteed support for fast updates of the software for 2 years.
TCL PLEX, Alcatel 1V, 3X
TCL-Alcatel announced three devices TCL PLEX, Alcatel 1V and 3X. TCL PLEX is first device they are launching with TCL brand and for a midranger it has decent specs with 6.53-inch display, Snapdragon 675 chipset and triple camera setup. The display itself uses some of TCLs expertise in the display domain and has its NXTVISION display and camera optimization software built in. The 24Mpix front camera is located behind the display with a punch-hole design, a rarity in this price range. On the imaging side the device has AI enhanced 48Mpix as camera as well as 16Mpix ultrawide and 2Mpix depth sensor.
In addition to its first TCL-branded phone, TCL is also bringing more affordable devices from the Alcatel brand with the new 1V and 3X smartphones. The Alcatel 1V is targeted to the budget minded consumers in Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Latin America. Device has Unisoc SC 9863A chipset and 1GB RAM with 16GB internal storage. Its single rear camera is only 5Mpix similar as the front camera. Display has only qHD resolution which is rather low for a modern smartphone. The retail price however is even cheaper than Nokia 2720 Flip at US$86.
Alcatel 3X is an improvement over 1V with better chipset (Helio P23), 6.5 inch HD+ display, triple camera setup with 16Mpix main, 8Mpix secondary and 5Mpix ultrawide sensors. Memory is basically quadrupled over 1V and stands at 4GB/64GB which is already enough for most. Despite improvements price has been kept rather reasonable retailing at US$163 across Europe and Latin America.