The A60s is a budget smartphone from iTel. The phone arrived as an upgraded version of iTel’s A60. Both the A60s and the vanilla A60 share the same screen, the same battery specs, and the same operating system, which is Android 12.
However, the A60s have the upper hand. Aside from having a larger 4GB RAM with either 64/128GB ROM, the A60s also enjoys a faster 8-core UNISOC SC9863A1 CPU, up from the quad-core SC9832E used on the A60.
By the way, if you are asking if the itel A60 and the A60s support a 4G network? The answer is yes. Both devices have 2G, 3G, and 4G data networks. Lucky for you, I tried out the A60s, and here is my detailed review.
As mentioned above, the iTel A60s is powered by the Unisoc SC9863A1 processor, and it has 4GB of RAM, with 128GB of storage. It has a 6.6-inch HD+ display, a dual-camera system with an 8MP main sensor a 0.3MP depth sensor, and a 5MP front-facing camera.
Design and Display
- Glass front
- Plastic body
- 6.6-inches HD+ screen with 720 x 1612 pixels
The itel A60s has a plastic body with a textured back panel. It is available in three colors: blue, black, and green. I got the green color variant in my case, which looks very beautiful design-wise.
The phone comes with a traditional button and port layout that includes power buttons and volume rockers on the right, an a3.5mm audio jack on the head, a triple card trail (dual nano-SIM + SD card) to the left, and a single microphone, USB 2.0 and the loudspeaker in the basement.
Interestingly, the phone is quite compact and lightweight, making it easy to hold and use. I had to recheck the battery specification to be sure it had a 5000mAh battery due to how light the device was.
Another thing that adds to the design of the A60s is the bold dual camera module. This module is where the dual rear camera, the camera LED flash, and the phone’s physical fingerprint scanner are kept. I like the fact that the shiny back panel and the the glossy-glassy camera lid do not pick up noticeable smudges.
As for the Display. You are looking at a 6.6-inch HD+ IPS LCD panel with a resolution of 720 x 1612 pixels. The display is bright and clear, and it is good for watching videos and browsing the web. It also does have a dewdrop on the head, which adds to the beauty of the device.
But on the negative side, the display lacks vibrancy and sharpness. Icons and text are visible and readable, but they are just there. I’ve reviewed other itel phone which has the same screen panel, but a lot better vibrancy and sharpness. The iTel S17 has a lot better screen than this A60s. Another downside with the A60s is the absence of adaptive display
Performance: Hardware and Software
- 4GB hardware RAM + up to 4GB virtual RAM (Memory Fusion)
- 64GB ROM, expandable up to 256GB
- Octa-core SC9863A1 CPU clocked at 1.6GHz
- PowerVR GPU
The itel A60s is powered by the UNISOC SC9863A1 processor, which is an octa-core processor clocked at 1.6GHz. The processor is paired with 4GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. The phone is not the fastest, but it is good enough for basic tasks like browsing the web, checking emails, and using social media apps.
It can also handle light gaming, but you may experience some lag if you try to play more demanding games. I did play an online Stickman arrow shooting game, and it ran smoothly most of the time, save for the times of network negotiations.
Coming down to the software segment, the itel A60s is preloaded with itel OS V8.6.0, which is based on Android 12. The OS is reach, and it tries to offer the users, the experience and interface that comes with Infinix’s XOS and Tecno’s HiOS.
The OS is fast enough for a smartphone of sub 50K, and that is good. The phone also comes with a few pre-installed apps, but you can uninstall them if you don’t need them.
But certain optimizations are still needed here and there. For example, even though I did an offline setup, I had to wait a long deal before the device fully booted up.
In fact, after going through the setup, and waiting for minutes, the device failed to boot up properly, instead force-restarted itself automatically, and I had to go through the setup process again and wait for other minutes before the phone’s home screen finally appeared.
I also mentioned the lack of adaptive display earlier. Initially, I thought this was accidentally left out, so when I saw a prompt to update the phone, I quickly jumped at it. But even after applying the update of above 300MB, the adaptive display was still not included.
itel needs to push adaptive display updates to this device as soon as possible as it helps mitigate indoor and outdoor use of the screen.
Affordable smartphones are left in the hands of children most of the time, and without an adaptive display, the screen may not be friendly to their little eyes, especially during indoor use.
I could go on and on, but the message will still remain the same: itel, please push adaptive display to the A60s as soon as possible.
Camera
- 8-megapixel main sensor + QVGA depth lens on the rear
- 5-megapixel selfie shooter on the front
The itel A60s has a dual-camera system on the back, consisting of an 8MP main sensor and a 0.3MP depth sensor. The cameras are good enough for taking decent photos in good lighting conditions.
However, the photos can be grainy in low-light conditions. The summary is, if camera is the reason why you are buying this device, I’d suggest you look elsewhere.
itel A60s rear camera samples
The same story applies to the front-facing camera. itel said it is a 5-megapixel sensor. But the quality looks like an interpolated 2-megapixel, just as the rear 8-megapixels look like an interpolated 5-megapixel.
But thanks to the included AI optimizations, you can still get decent images both indoors and outdoors on both lenses.
itel A60s front camera samples
Battery
- 5000mAh battery
- 5V/2A charger (10W)
The itel A60s has a large 5000mAh battery, which is one of the best features of the phone. The battery can easily last for a full day on a single charge, even with heavy use.
In addition to the power-efficient capability of the SC9863A1 CPU, the A60s still comes with itel’s dedicated battery lab, and this does improve the phone’s overall battery life, depending on your setup preference. You have a 10W charger to refuel the phone when the battery is out.
Review conclusion and alternative
The itel A60s is a good budget smartphone that offers a good balance of features and performance. The device looks very captivating and attractive at first sight, and the battery does last long.
Nevertheless, it misses out on performance. Also, itel still needs to give a few optimizations touch to the OS on the A60s for a better user experience, and the cameras can be definitely better.
So if you are looking for a budget smartphone with a good physical appeal and a good battery life of around 50,000 Nigerian Naira, the itel A60s is a good option to consider. However, if you are looking for more value for your money, you might need to check out our review on the Redmi A2+ from Xiaomi.
