Itel is set to launch its flagship device in Kenya – the itel S23+. It brings with it some impressive features rarely found in the under 25K smartphone market in the country.
The main highlight is the 6.78-inch curved AMOLED screen with 99% DCI-P3 colour saturation, smaller bezels, 500 nits brightness, a resolution of 1080 by 2400 pixels and protected by Gorilla Glass 5.
Sadly the refresh rate is capped at 60Hz.
It also has an Always-on display.
The display has a 93% screen-to-body ratio which gives the phone a premium look. The back is also curved and has an iridescent look that shines in different colours when held up against the light switching between light and dark blue.
Itel S23+ comes with face unlock and an in-display fingerprint reader for biometrics.
Powering the phone is Unisoc Tiger T616 processor paired with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of onboard storage. It runs on Android 13 and itelOS 13. You can expand the RAM with up to 8GB of Virtual RAM to increase the performance.
ItelOS 13 has features like the dynamic bar for accessing notifications and Aviana GPT voice assistant among other features.
For optics, it comes with a 32MP selfie camera and a 50MP dual primary camera setup with a VGA complementary lens. The main and front-facing cameras support shooting video up to 1080p 30fps. It also has nice features like the Portrait Lite to take good-looking portraits and the large aperture comes through when taking photos in lowlight.
Inside is a 5000mAh battery with support for fast 18W Type-C charging. And like the big premium brands, iTel has ditched the charging brick that usually comes included in the box. You only get a Type-A to Type-C charging cable.
It doesn’t come with a headphone jack. The good thing is that you get Type-C earphones inside the retail unit. It also supports dual nano-SIM cards with no slot for expandable storage but the 256GB will be sufficient for most people.
Itel S23+ weighs 178g and its slim profile design makes it standout.
PRICING AND AVAILABILITY
Itel S23+ will go for Ksh 22,400 and considering its features, that’s a good deal. The company adds a 36-month warranty period and a 6-month free screen replacement for the phone.
