When you think of a new smartphone, “flagship” usually means a hefty price tag. But what if a budget-friendly phone showed up looking like a premium model set to debut next year? That’s exactly what Itel, a brand known for making phones with modern designs and big batteries without breaking the bank, has done with its new A100C. This device surprisingly sports a look similar to the upcoming OnePlus 15, expected in late October 2025.
Itel is part of Transsion, a Chinese company that also owns TECNO and Infinix. While the A100C might share a design cue with a high-end phone, it aims for a different crowd. This phone is for folks who want solid performance, battery life that goes on forever, and a price that’s easy on the wallet. It’s all about getting the essentials right for everyday use.
The A100C boasts a generous 6.6-inch screen. It shows clear pictures with 720 by 1612 pixels and supports 8-bit colors. Moving images look smooth thanks to its 90 Hz refresh rate. The display gets bright enough at 400 Nits and fills up 90% of the phone’s front. For snapping photos, there’s an 8-megapixel camera on the back and a 5-megapixel camera for your selfies.
Under the hood, this affordable phone runs on the Unisoc T7100 chipset, released this year. It’s built using 28-nanometer tech and has an octa-core CPU. This brain processes tasks at speeds up to 1.60 GHz, using ARM Cortex A55 cores.
It comes with 4 GB of physical RAM, which gets a boost from another 8 GB of virtual RAM. This means it can handle up to 12 GB of RAM in total. You also get 128 GB of storage for all your apps and files. The phone operates on Android 15 Go Edition, a version Google made specifically for entry-level smartphones to run smoothly. Itel then puts its own Itel OS 15 software on top.
The Itel A100C packs a hefty 5,000 mAh battery, perfect for long days. You can charge it using a USB Type-C port. Itel says this battery can last an incredible 32 days on standby. You could talk for 27.7 hours straight or play games for 8.5 hours. All this power fits into a surprisingly slim body, measuring just 8.49 mm thick.
Beyond the basics, the Itel A100C includes some neat tricks:
- UltraLink: This feature lets you make calls or send texts via Bluetooth. No Wi-Fi or cellular connection needed.
- Face Unlock: Unlock your phone quickly with just a glance.
- DTS Audio: The sound quality is tuned to DTS standards, giving you cinema-grade audio.
- Military-Grade Durability: The phone meets MIL-STD-810H standards. This means it can handle very high temperatures, lots of humidity, and repeated drops from 1.22 meters (about 4 feet).
The Itel A100C comes in four snazzy colors: Pure Black, Titanium Gold, Blaze Blue, and Silk Green. Details on pricing are expected from the brand soon.