This new Cricket phone will ‘outlast’ your existing handset at a fraction of the price،
Are you proud of that new mid-range phone you bought before the holidays and the amazing deal you scored during Amazon’s recently concluded Prime Day sale? Prepare to doubt yourself (at least) when you see what Cricket Wireless is selling for the low price of $109.99.
The AT&T-owned prepaid wireless provider and budget phone master appears to have launched a device called Cricket Outlast at some point over the past few days without much fanfare. While we can’t know for sure which company is behind the actual manufacturing of this ultra-affordable bad boy, making it difficult to guarantee its reliability, long-term durability, and software support, that It’s virtually impossible to compete with the spec sheet right now in the sub-$150 US market segment.
Everything is pretty standard…apart from the battery size
The jumbo-sized 6.8-inch Outlast comes with a decidedly modest 1640 x 720 pixel screen resolution, an unspecified but respectable 2.2GHz octa-core processor, a decent 4GB of RAM , no less than three rear-facing cameras (one of which has a 50-megapixel count), a surprisingly mediocre 2MP selfie shooter, preloaded Android 13 software, and last but not least, a 6,000 mAh battery.
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, this ultra-discreet Cricket-branded mid-ranger packs a bigger battery than… any other handset available in the
United States at the time of writing. This includes all the best Android phones from the likes of
Samsung, OnePlus, and Motorola (yes, even the ultra-high-end phones that cost $1,000 or more), although in other countries around the world you can find some of midsized. high-end models with exactly the same cell capacity, like the Samsung Galaxy M34 and Moto G54 Power Edition.
When it comes to actual battery life, it’s certainly a little odd that Cricket isn’t making grandiose two- or three-day advertising claims, but while we’d normally find something like that grossly exaggerated, it’s by no means a “normal” phone, and even with its surprisingly smooth 90Hz screen, its endurance between charges (fast 18W) should be a total knockout.
The other new Cricket phone doesn’t look great on paper
The same obviously cannot be said of the Cricket Debut S2, which is another low-cost android phone which appears to have debuted recently (pun intended) with absolutely no hype… and a woefully modest 3,000mAh battery under its hood.
This device is naturally even cheaper than the Cricket Outlast, at $79.99 for new and existing Cricket Wireless customers, but it’s hard to recommend it as a wise buy these days with a notched 6.1-inch HD+ display also in tow, as well as a MediaTek MT6761 chipset, a single 8 MP rear shooter, a single 5 MP front camera, 64 GB internal storage, 10W charging capabilities and Android 13 software (with probably no chance of seeing a major OS promotion).
Surprisingly or not (given the year we’re in, but also how incredibly cheap these smartphones are without a contract, mandatory monthly installment plan, device trade-in, or number port), the Cricket Outlast and the Cricket Debut S2 both come without 5G. support, and if history is any indication, their availability will never extend to AT&T’s postpaid subscribers, let alone other major (or minor) US carriers.
Also based on the history of budget models like the Cricket Ovation 3, Innovate E 5G and Magic 5G, these two new apparent bargains are expected to become even more accessible to the general public in the near future, possibly going as low as 0 $ with an eligible number. port-ins from competing operators. Whether or not it makes sense to wait for these inevitable deals is ultimately up to you…
