The Alcatel Idol 4S coming to T-Mobile (US) on November 10 is quickly garnering interest as more information leaks out. Besides the street date and price for the phone we can also now share the pre-installed VR apps and full specs.
Like the Android Idol 4S, the Windows 10 Mobile variant has a focus on VR. Alcatel makes the shipping box for the Idol 4S double as the VR headset, which is a great twofer. (You can watch the unboxing of the Android version below to get an idea of what to expect).
What's interesting though is the fact that up until now Windows 10 Mobile has never had much of a VR game, but that is evidently starting to change. Here is what is pre-installed related to VR on the Idol 4S:
- VR 360Gallery
- VR 360Video
- VR Gallery
- VR Launcher
- VR Store
- VR Video
It makes sense that Alcatel would have a few VR apps on hand to demonstrate the power of the feature, so while not surprising it's still nice to see.
Combined with the recent VR push by Microsoft last week and the announcement of new VR gear, we should begin to see more UWP-based VR apps in the coming weeks and months.
Also, we received a more detailed specifications sheet, which we'll use to update what was already known:
Alcatel Idol 4S with Windows 10 Mobile
| Category | Features |
|---|---|
| CPU | Snapdragon 820 | Quad Core CPU @2.15 GHz |
| Display | 5.5-inch FHD AMOLED Dragontrail 2.5D Glass 180-degree viewing |
| Memory | 64GB ROM 4GB RAM microSD |
| Camera | 21 MP Rear 8 MP FF Dedicated camera button |
| Video | 4K @ 30FPS 1080P @ 60 FPS |
| Battery | 3,000 mAh Quick Charge 2.0 420Hrs Standby 15Hrs Talk |
| Continuum | Yes |
| VR | Yes |
| Windows Hello | Yes (Fingerprint) |
| Audio | Dual speakers with Hi-Fi surround sound |
| Dimensions | 153.9 x 75.4 x 6.99 mm |
| Data | 4G LTE T-Mobile Extended Range LTE |
| 3G/4G Band | I, II, IV, V |
| LTE Bands | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 12, 20 |
| HD Voice | Yes |
| VoLTE | Yes |
| Wi-Fi | 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi Calling 1.0 |
| Bluetooth | BT 4.1 A2DP, OPP, HFP, AVRCP, PBAP |
Of note is the inclusion of HD Voice, VoLTE, and Wi-Fi calling, which are must-haves for many T-Mobile customers. Unfortunately, there does not appear to be support for T-Mobile Video Calling.
It's also great to see 60 FPS video recording at 1080P, which is something the Elite x3 cannot yet do.
The only serious feature that the Idol 4S is missing would be Qi wireless charging, but the inclusion of Qualcomm's Quick Charge 2.0 will go a long way to ameliorate that deficiency.
The T-Mobile Alcatel Idol 4S with Windows 10 Mobile comes out Thursday, November 10 with a full-retail price of $469.99. It is not yet known if the phone will be sold non-carrier branded or in other parts of the world.
Neither Alcatel nor T-Mobile have announced this phone yet, so information could change.
