Optus X Power: Plans | Pricing | Specs

Where to buy

Budget phones tend to be compromised devices because they're built to a specific price point. That doesn't leave much room for unique features to speak of. The Optus X Power doesn't hide its primary selling point, which is the inclusion of a very large battery for superior endurance.

Design

• 5.5-inch display
• Headphone jack

• Read more on the Optus X Power's design

  At 5.5 inches, the Optus X Power has a mid-sized, 1,280x720 pixel display, which is just a little larger than many phones in its price range. At 152mm x 75.8mm x 8.3mm it's equally mid-sized with a predictably plastic build. We have seen some elements of style creeping into budget phones in recent times, but the overall look of the Optus X Power is undeniably ordinary.

  One feature that's still present on the Optus X Power but which is dropping away from more premium handsets is a standard 3.5mm headphone jack. You're also free to use Bluetooth headphones with the Optus X Power if that's your preference.

Camera

• 8MP rear and 5MP front cameras

• Read more on the Optus X Power's camera

  Smartphone camera specifications never tell the whole story, but the very basic specifications of the Optus X Power's cameras don't leave it a whole lot of room to impress. With an 8MP rear and 5MP front camera, you can expect very rudimentary photos out of the Optus X Power, and not much more besides. However, that's totally par for the course for cheaper smartphones because prime photographic power remains the province of more expensive phones than the Optus X Power.

Performance

• 1.1GHz processor will provide slow performance
• Android 7.1 onboard
• Locked to the Optus network

• Read more on the Optus X Power's performance

  The internal specifications of the Optus X Power are, to put it finely, very basic. It's using a 1.1 GHz Quad Core processor paired with just 1GB of RAM, which isn't going to make it a notably fast smartphone by any measure.

  It runs on Android 7.1, which means it's using by default an older version of the Android operating system. The odds of seeing upgrades to Android 8 seem low, although it's not impossible. What we're seeing more of in this space are phones running the specially optimised Android Oreo Go, based on Android 8, but that's not a feature of the Optus X Power.

  When you buy it, the Optus X Power is locked to the Optus network. If you did want to use it with other carriers, you'd need to unlock it first. We've got a guide to unlocking phones on the Optus network right here for you to read.

Battery

• 4,000mAh battery

• Read more on the Optus X Power's battery

  The Optus X Power isn't called the Optus X Power because it's got a powerful processor. Instead, it's because it's built with a 4,000mAh battery built in. That's quite a lot larger than you'll find in just about any smartphone available at this price point. Combine that with the lower-power processor and that mid-priced screen, and there should be no issue with the Optus X Power lasting through your working day.

  The one catch here is that a bigger battery will take longer to charge, so while it's got more endurance, it's also going to need a longer overnight breather on your charger before setting out the next day.

Pricing and availability

• Price: RRP $129
• Where to buy: Amazon | Target | eBay

Alternatives

The Optus X Power is clearly pitched at consumers who are happy on the Optus network and want a simple smartphone with a focus on battery life. If you're happy with Optus's own in-house phones, you could alternatively consider the Android Oreo Go based Optus X Start:

Optus X Start

Simple and affordable

The Optus X Start is a low-cost prepaid phone with the advantages of Android Go.

Buy at eBay

If you want something even simpler and cheaper, consider the Optus X Lite:

Optus X Lite

A no-frills phone for the budget-conscious

The Optus X Lite is a simple, streamlined mobile phone free of the complicated features inherent to modern smartphones.

Buy at eBay

Specifications

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