Top features of budget smartphone itel A45

Display: Taller 18:9 aspect ratio display

The itel A45 sports a 5.45inch HD+ Full view IPS laminated display which offers a screen resolution of 720 x 1440 pixels. The display is fairly bright and shows balanced colors without animating the objects. The sunlight visibility is also fairly decent and users will not have a hard time reading content on the display outdoors. The display settings offer Blue-ray eye protection mode, which minimizes blue light production so that the display is less straining on the eyes in pitch dark environment.

Design: Compact form factor for easy one-hand operation

The itel A45 features a matte textured rear panel and has a compact form factor which makes it comfortable for one-hand use. Despite featuring a 5.45-inch display, the smartphone fits perfectly in the palm and is easy to operate even with one hand. The compact form factor makes sure that our fingers reach every nooks and corner of the display without any difficulties, which gives a smooth user experience in everyday routine.

The device also has a fingerprint scanner mounted at the rear of the device and it is placed ideally where your finger will rest naturally. This makes it easy to unlock the device in a jiffy. As for the placement of keys, the volume rockers, as well as the power key, is placed on the right panel, whereas, the key present at the left panel is used to turn on the flash and also the bike mode, another interesting feature that we will talk about in a whileThe bezels surrounding the display are narrow but not as much as you can see on the other budget smartphones. Overall, the compact form factor and the matte textured rear panel gives the device an appealing look and good ergonomics.

Camera: Dual-rear camera setup

The itel A45 follows the latest trend of dual rear camera setup. The smartphone sports a 5MP (5-micron) primary lens and a 0.3MP secondary lens. There is also an LED flash to help the device capture images in low light situations. Considering that the device features an entry-level camera setup, the image quality captured is of decent quality. The luminance level, as well as the details captured by the rear camera, is satisfactory. The device, however, struggles a under challenging light situations.

Up front, there is a 5MP camera to capture selfies and to make or receive video calls. The device doesn't support Face unlock feature which is quite disappointing considering that most of the devices available today feature the Face Unlock. You can secure your handset with fingerprint, Pass-code and pattern lock.

Hardware-software:

The itel A45 is powered by a 1.3GHz quad-core MediaTek MT6739WA SoC which is paired with 1GB of RAM and 8GB of onboard storage. Thankfully, the internal storage is further expandable up to 128GB via microSD card. For graphics, there is an entry level PowerVR GE8100 graphics card that would suffice for basic casual games and 720p video streaming.

One of the major highlights of itel A45 is the dedicated microSD card slot which means you can use two SIM cards at a time without compromising on the storage and connectivity. A dedicated microSD card should be a standard feature across the devices as it comes quite handy in everyday routine.

Android 8.1 Oreo (Go Edition) and Bike Mode

To simplify the mobile user experience, itel ships the A45 with Android 8.1 Oreo (Go Edition) out of the box. Due to stock Android nature of Android Go, the UI on itel A45 is pretty basic and neat which will not give you a hard time using it. The apps load instantly and the software is very well optimized for a lag-free software user experience. Overall, the device performs decently and can handle basic to moderate tasks without any performance issues.

The Bike mode was first introduced by Samsung back in 2016. Since then many smartphone manufacturers have embedded this feature with their devices. As for the functionality, when a user activates this feature the calls and messages will not go through on their smartphones, rather the caller will be notified by an automated answering machine that the user is riding a bike and cannot receive calls. This is a nifty feature which comes in handy while riding the bikes.

Conclusion:

itel A45 seems like a value for money deal in the budget price segment. The smartphone ships with stock Android and does not force you to compromise on storage and connectivity as it boasts a dedicated microSD card slot. The low price tag and decent specs make it a suitable device for the beginners and for those who are looking for an entry-level smartphone. You can also check out some some other options such as Xiaomi Redmi 5A, 10.or D or Infocus Vision 3 in the budget price segment