Optus X Start: Plans | Pricing | Specs

Where to buy

Most of the big networks in Australia have their range of affordable, self-branded handsets for those on limited budgets. The Optus Start X is one of Optus's cheapest phones, but it could be the right match for your needs thanks to the use of Android Oreo Go. That's the slimmed-down, performance-enhanced version of Android that allows lower-power devices to really make the most of their limited resources for selected applications.

The Optus Start X sells itself on its price; if you're in the market for a simple smartphone on a very tight budget, it should be suitable, but there's a lot of competition in this space.

Design

• 5-inch display
• Low resolution screen
• Headphone jack

• Read more on the Optus X Start's design

  The Optus X Start is a smaller handset by 2019 standards, with a 5-inch LCD display, sporting a relatively low resolution of just 480x960 pixels. This would have an impact on your daily usage if you wanted to watch a lot of streaming video, such as Netflix, because it wouldn't look that great on such a low resolution screen.

  However, it's very much a function of what you're paying for the Optus X Start. If your budget is more expansive, you could bump up to a phone with a 720p or 1080p display, but there really aren't too many of those at the sub-$100 price range.

Camera

• 5MP rear and 2MP front cameras are rudimentary, but that's in line with a budget phone

• Read more on the Optus X Start's camera

  The Optus X Start's camera specifications are very basic, with a front-facing 2MP "selfie" camera paired with a rear 5MP camera. That's low by any standards, and while the lower resolution screen of the Optus X Start might not show up the imperfections in its camera all that much, you'd definitely see them if you shifted them to a better display or chose to print them.

  Again, this is a familiar story. Low-cost phones never have great cameras, but for the target market of this highly affordable device, that's a sacrifice you'd largely have to live with.

Performance

• Quad Core processor with 1GB RAM is ordinary
• Android Oreo Go makes the most of what the Optus X Start has
• Locked to the Optus network

• Read more on the Optus X Start's performance

  The Optus X Start runs on a quad-core 1.8GHz processor, which might sound fancy and high-powered. In 2019, it simply isn't, and the combination with only 1GB of RAM speaks to compromised performance. Again, it's a phone that's built to a specific price.

  Where the Optus X Start does have some advantage is in the fact that it's one of only a few phones to use Android Oreo Go. Based on Android 8, this is a specially optimised version of Android suited to low-power phones. You can run – or try to run – any app you'd care to name on the Optus X Start, but a select number of specific Android apps are supplied as "Go" editions, heavily optimised so they run faster, even on lower-power hardware.

  You should be aware that, like so many other self-branded handsets on a given network, the Optus X Start is locked to the Optus network. We've got a guide to unlocking phones on the Optus network right here for you to read.

Battery

• 2,000mAh battery

• Read more on the Optus X Start's battery

  The Optus X Start features a mediocre battery capacity at just 2,000mAh. That's not high, even by budget phone standards. Still, that lower-power processor and the optimisations available in Android Oreo Go should keep its power usage moderate. For the target market, and especially if you're only a light phone user, a single day's battery usage should be feasible. However, if you live 24/7 on your phone, that might not be true.

Pricing and availability

TargetAustralia PostBig W

Alternatives

The phone is priced to sell, but Optus has plenty of other options if you want a low-cost phone on its network. If what you want is a very simple phone, you could consider the Optus X Lite.

If you wanted a little more battery power, you could consider the Optus X Smart.

Specifications

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