Alcatel Pop 4 review: Plans | Pricing | Specs

Alcatel’s Pop 4 is an inexpensive phone, and while it’s no superstar, its general performance is acceptable for its asking price.

Alcatel’s main forte is in affordable phones for the general audience, rather than show-stopping premium handsets that wow with features but take your breath away with high price points. The Pop 4, which was exclusive to Optus in Australia, exemplifies this thinking, with a price of only $119.

Design

• Basic but inoffensive
• Android 6.0 remains a good choice for budget handsets

• Read more on the Alcatel Pop 4's design

  

  While you won’t fool anybody that you’re rocking the latest and greatest premium phone, the Alcatel Pop 4 doesn’t commit too many offences against reasonable taste and style. Its plastic frame is broadly reminiscent of Nokia/Microsoft’s many Lumia phones, and that’s no bad thing.

  The Pop 4 is similarly solid on the software side. Buying a cheap phone from the Pop 4's era often meant getting Android 5.0 or earlier, but the Pop 4 runs on Android 6.0 ("Marshmallow"). Though there have been numerous updates to the operating system in the years since, Android 6.0 remains a capable package more than suitable for a budget handset.

  One frustrating factor for Aussies considering the Pop 4 is the fact that while Alcatel produces it in a variety of eye-catching colours, Optus only offered it in grey, grey or (you guessed it) grey.

  Buying the Pop 4 through Optus also meant it was locked to the Optus network, limiting your overall carrier choices until you had it unlocked. If you recharged the Pop 4 with $80 or more, this is a free process; otherwise it would incur an $80 fee.

  Nevertheless, it's worth reiterating the appeal of the Pop 4's low price. Sure, this may sound like a one-note tune, but the key appeal of phones like the Pop 4 is that they’re remarkably inexpensive. You can buy cheaper handsets than the Pop 4, but not many with this feature set.

Camera

• Basic functionality very much in line with its price tag

• Read more on the Alcatel Pop 4's camera

  

  It's no surprise that you get what you pay for with the Pop 4's camera. Focus is relatively slow, and colour representation is decidedly mediocre. The Pop 4 is also somewhat unique in that while you can launch the camera from the lock screen, it’s the only phone we’ve ever hit that doesn’t include the camera app on the default launcher main page. It’s Android, so it’s not tough to add it, but that’s just plain weird.

Performance

• Generally weak performance all around
• Multi-tasking tends to bring it to its figurative knees

• Read more on the Alcatel Pop 4's performance

  Alcatel makes some noise about the quad-core processor in the Pop 4, but the reality is that you’re getting what you pay for, which is to say not much. General app performance is on the sluggish side, and this is borne out with the Pop 4’s Geekbench 3 scores. Here’s how it compares against a range of affordable phones:

  Handset	Geekbench 3 Single Core (higher is better)	Geekbench 3 Multi Core (higher is better)
  LG G4	1190	3313
  Oppo R9	867	3303
  Google Nexus 5X	1188	3198
  Oppo R7s	696	2980
  LG Stylus DAB+	470	1418
  Alcatel Go Play	453	1368
  Samsung Galaxy J2	315	1044
  Alcatel Pop 4	289	945

  Benchmarks aren’t the be-all and end-all of smartphone performance, but unfortunately for the Pop 4, they are broadly indicative. For single tasks, it’s an adequate performer, but as soon as you load up anything even passably intense, you’ll experience delays and shuddering performance.

  The same story plays out in game terms, with the Pop 4 only just beating the worst performer for 3D performance in 3DMark’s Ice Storm Unlimited test. While we wouldn’t expect it to compare with phones costing eight or more times its asking price, if you were thinking of buying a Pop 4 for your games-obsessed kids, be aware that it won’t offer them all that much high-powered fun.

  Handset	3DMark Ice Storm Unlimited Result
  LG G5	29597
  Apple iPhone SE	29276
  Samsung Galaxy S7	28903
  Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge	28402
  Apple iPhone 6s	28171
  HTC 10	27392
  Sony Xperia X Performance	26125
  Google Nexus 6P	24703
  Sony Xperia Z5	19197
  Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge Plus	17981
  Huawei Mate 8	17947
  HTC One X9	16877
  Oppo R9	11053
  Oppo R7s	8390
  LG Stylus DAB+	4321
  Alcatel Pop 4	3863
  Samsung Galaxy J2	3469

Battery life

• Easy all-day battery thanks to its low-power components

• Read more on the Alcatel Pop 4's battery life

  The Pop 4’s processor isn’t particularly powerful, which has implications for its overall performance, but this, combined with Marshmallow’s gentle approach to battery usage means that the Pop 4 has very good battery life. Here’s how it compares against a range of more affordable handsets for battery life using Geekbench 3’s battery life test with screen dimming enabled:

  Handset	Geekbench 3 Battery Test Duration	Geekbench 3 Battery Score
  Samsung Galaxy J2	10:05:20	2689
  Alcatel Pop 4	9:20:30	2490
  LG Stylus DAB+	8:11:40	3278
  Alcatel Go Play	7:21:10	2941
  Google Nexus 5X	7:14:20	4062
  Alcatel OneTouch Idol 3	5:42:00	2276
  LG G4	5:27:50	3224
  Huawei P8 Lite	4:39:40	2768

  That's a very respectable battery duration, although it is somewhat clarified by the Geekbench battery score, which measures performance while testing the battery. In order to reach that battery life duration, the Pop 4 isn't actually working all that hard, but that could be fine for those who only use their phones lightly during the day anyway.

Verdict

• A plain and simple phone for those on a budget

• Read our full Alcatel Pop 4 verdict

  The Pop 4’s market is quite clear. It’s a phone that you’d buy if you were cash-strapped, or if you wanted a handset for those with minimal phone needs or for those who were likely to lose or break a phone. At $119, it was never going to be a world beater, and it isn’t, but it’s equally perfectly suitable value for that price. You could consider phones like Samsung’s Galaxy J2 in the same kind of price positioning if you want to explore other budget alternatives. If you wanted to stay within the same brand, consider the highly durable Alcatel Go Play.

Pricing and availability

Alcatel Pop 4

Simple and affordable

The Alcatel Pop 4 is a low-cost handset for those who only need basic smartphone functionality.

Buy Now

• You can find the Alcatel Pop 4 selling for around $100 on eBay.