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Telstra is Australia's largest telecommunications provider, and while it does offer phones from brands such as Apple, Samsung, Sony and LG, it's also got a range of its "own" branded handsets to pick from.
Telstra's phones have been manufactured for it by a variety of companies, including Huawei, LG, HTC and ZTE.
What to consider when choosing a Telstra phone
Given that you can pick up a wide range of premium and mid-range brand name handsets from Telstra, you might be wondering why the nation's biggest telco bothers with its own-brand handsets as well.
The answer here is that it pitches these phones largely at the budget and specific tradie niches, and in doing so, enables itself to cover just about every phone user and price point. While its premium brand name offering suits those who want the latest from the likes of Apple and Samsung, there are plenty of Australians who trust Telstra as a brand in its own right.
At the time of writing, Telstra's own-brand range isn't substantial, thanks to the near-collapse of Chinese manufacturer ZTE. At the time of its US-based controversy, ZTE was the primary maker of Telstra's own-brand phones and its cessation of trading hit Telstra's own-brand phone business hard. Telstra took the decision to take most of its handsets off the market with the exception of those not made by ZTE. Still, you may be able to find one of them second-hand and there's always the possibility that Telstra will resume with another OEM stepping in to make new phones for it.
Telstra doesn't want to compete in the premium space and that means that the vast majority of its own-brand handsets have had low levels of onboard storage, even for its mid-range "Signature" series phones. You're more playing in the 8GB-16GB space here rather than 32GB or 64GB, although that's very much reflected in the asking price outright, or indeed your contract payment obligations.
Like most budget phone lines, Telstra's previous and current range of handsets tends towards the smaller size range. As an example, its Telstra Signature 2 handset – actually manufactured by LG but customised with Telstra logos and software – features a 5.3 inch 1080p display, which is fine in its price range but not really exceptional. Telstra's ZTE phones were, likewise, relatively small phones, although there's certainly also a market that appreciates that kind of smaller display, because it does mean a smaller phone.
While Telstra sells access to its network at premium prices – and argues strongly that it's Australia's best network – when it comes to its own-brand handsets, budget sensibilities have always been at the forefront. While the loss of ZTE saw a lot of Telstra handsets removed from sale, they were typically sold under $200 outright, to be matched up with Telstra SIM-only plans on a prepaid or 12 month contract basis.
Even the surviving Telstra Signature 2 isn't a particularly expensive handset. While Telstra doesn't offer it for outright sale at the time of writing, it's a freebie on just about any contract plan except the cheapest "S" plan. Even there, at $5 per month over 24 months, it's only going to cost you $120 above your plan costs anyway.
It's becoming common in the premium space to eschew a headphone jack in favour of additional battery capacity or improved cameras, but it's rare for budget or mid-range phones to miss out. While Telstra is currently down to just a single handset at the time of writing, its headphone jack is very much present.
If you're buying a low-cost handset, you can't expect much in the way of additional security features, although you can sometimes be surprised. The Telstra Signature 2 is a low-cost phone without a doubt, but it does feature an integrated fingerprint sensor, making it both more secure and easier to unlock in a hurry than most budget phones.
You just don't get great cameras on budget handsets and the focus on affordability for Telstra's own-brand phones has generally meant that they've only ever been adequate for their price, if that. This is a very common tradeoff for low-cost phones. It's rare that we see a cheap phone with a camera that really impresses us.
Telstra's mobile network boasts the fastest speeds of any in Australia at a technical level and its breadth of coverage in regional areas is one that its competitors keep chasing. While its own range of phones is generally 4G-capable, don't look for record-breaking speeds on those particular handsets, with typically low category speed ratings. That being said, specific previously available models, including the Telstra Tough Max phones were often "Blue Tick" rated for superior regional coverage.
Wireless charging and quick charging are typically features still reserved for premium handsets, or at least high mid-range models. To date, it's not a feature we've seen on any of Telstra's own-brand handsets.
Budget phones such as those that Telstra sells under its own brand usually don't have great processors, but they're often solid when it comes to battery life as a result. Running an older or slower processor simply doesn't tax a battery the way that a high-end processor can.
We've certainly seen that in the Telstra handsets we've tested, where they tend to score low Geekbench 4 battery scores (indicating they're not working terribly hard), but with decent actual battery stamina. That's arguably more important for most budget handset buyers.
IP-rated water resistance is a true rarity in the budget space, but it's an area that Telstra has played in previously for its own-brand handsets.
Phones such as the Telstra Tough Max 2 were pitched direct at the tough tradie crowd, including a level of water resistance at affordable prices.
Telstra may sell itself as the premium network for speed, but you can't really accuse its own phones of being notably fast, even compared to other budget phones. The typical reasons for this in the budget space are just as apparent as they are for other manufacturers, with low RAM counts, slow processors and older versions of Android at play. If you associate Telstra with being premium across the board, you do need to lose that association when it comes to its own phones. Telstra does sell premium handsets for use on its network, but not with its own brand in place on them.
Looking for a Telstra phone on a plan?
Telstra only offers a limited number of its self-branded phones on plans, preferring instead to sell them outright alongside its prepaid plans. Currently, the only Telstra handset available on contract is the Telstra Tough Max 2. You can compare plans for the phone below:
A multi-award winning journalist, Alex has written about consumer technology for over 20 years. He has written and edited for virtually every Australian tech publication including Gizmodo, CNET, PC Magazine, Kotaku and more. He has also been the Editor of Gizmodo Australia, PC Mag Australia, CNET.com.au and the Tech and Telco section at Finder. Alex has a Bachelor of Arts from the University of New England and a serious passion for retro gaming.
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