itel A62 review: Balanced budget smartphone with 18:9 screen, dual cameras

The itel A62 is a budget smartphone with dual rear cameras, a face unlock feature, a multi-functional fingerprint scanner and a modern 18:9 aspect ratio screen

Transsion Holdings, a Chinese manufacturer behind the smartphone brands like itel, Infinix and Tecno, may have a limited visibility in the online market in comparison to behemoths like Xiaomi and Samsung, but it is a fastest growing company in the offline space. The company recently launched the itel A62, a budget smartphone with dual rear cameras, face unlock feature, multi-functional fingerprint scanner and a modern 18:9 aspect ratio screen.

For a budget smartphone, the itel A62 has a solid build quality. It does not have a metallic or the glass build of the current generation smartphone, yet the laminated plastic unibody of the phone feels sturdy and has a solid touch to it. The phone’s front is covered by a 5.65-inch HD+ screen in 18:9 aspect ratio. The screen looks colourful and has good viewing angles. The tall aspect ratio makes it ideal for multimedia content playback such as videos and photos.

On the back, the phone sports a dual camera set-up, which looks similar to the camera set-ups seen in current generation Xiaomi devices. Even the network antenna lines are shaped identically to the one seen in the recently launched Xiaomi Redmi Y2. Overall, the back looks clean and offers no-frills design that is in line with other budget smartphones.

Coming on to the performance of the smartphone, the itel A62 is not a powerhouse but has enough resources to keep it going without any hiccups. The phone boots Android 8.1 Oreo covered under an unknown skin. The operating system runs smooth and has ample customisations option. The user interface looks neat and the phone performs consistently in day-to-day tasks.

For a budget smartphone, the phone’s face unlock mechanism is smooth and it unlocks the phone swiftly in well-lit environments. In low light, the fingerprint scanner on the back comes handy and it unlocks the phone much faster than the face unlock mechanism.

Priced at Rs 7,499, the itel A62 makes a balanced proposition in the entry-level budget smartphone segment. It has a great build quality and a modern 18:9 aspect ratio screen. Importantly, the phone goes on sale through companiy's offline retail channels, making it easily available for purchase. The phone also comes with a replacement warranty under which the company promises to replace the phone for any manufacturing defects within first 100 days from the date of sale.