[Real Users] My Alcatel Idol 4S Detailed Review

[RumoredNow]

But that camera.......the one glaring sore spot.

I agree. I went out this evening for some dedicated pics and videos. I took my 1020 and 1520 along. That's what I have them for.

However, the Idol 4S Windows did play a part in the shoot. It absolutely was my go to for a tricky shot. I just had to deploy it... So I took the Alcatel from my pocket, turned on flashlight and tossed it on the floor at the foot of my subject to help light it up for my 1020. :winktongue:

 

[editguy]

I agree. I went out this evening for some dedicated pics and videos. I took my 1020 and 1520 along. That's what I have them for.

However, the Idol 4S Windows did play a part in the shoot. It absolutely was my go to for a tricky shot. I just had to deploy it... So I took the Alcatel from my pocket, turned on flashlight and tossed it on the floor at the foot of my subject to help light it up for my 1020. :winktongue:

I hope you didn't literally toss it! :shocked: :winktongue:

 

[badelhas]

Not really detailed impressions first day of use.

Display: Fantastic ... Great blacks. Very responsive to touch (not using glove mode).

Speakers: Wow. Outstanding. Loud. Great clarity. Rich.

Battery: Very impressive. 100% charge at 7am ... 78% full at 4:30pm ... moderate use (for me) ... 950/XL would be approx. 65% for me at this time.

Bluetooth connected to my cars Microsoft SYNC, works well ... no problem

Double tap to wake seemed a bit slow sometimes.

Using fingerprint wake up very responsive and speedy.

Camera: Slow to take a picture. Results are very satisfactory -- no OIS so holding steady is a must. Not a bad camera at all.

No discernable heat from the phone while using Edge, FeedLab, News, Infinity for reddit, myTube, Grin, Liveleak+, Windows Central .....

Windows 10 runs smooth --- no hiccups at all so far (that I can tell)

This phone needs to sell unlocked/carrier-free ... this is a very very nice device.

Those are some nice tips and info, thanks!

Cheers

 

[PFSP]

Alcatel Idol 4S review
I have owned the phone for two weeks now.
Bought it through the Microsoft store
I am using Cricket as my carrier
My previous phone was a Lumia 630

Because I have only had it for about two weeks, this is mostly initial impressions but here goes.

The screen looks great and feels good to hold. The Glass back makes it a little slippery but I have never felt like I would drop it. I currently have not bought a case and am debating weather I will. It is such an attractive phone I don't want to cover it up with a case. I have seen some reviews complain that the glass back is a fingerprint magnet, I have not found this to be the case for me, yes after use it is not as shiny as when perfectly clean but I do not see distinguishable finger prints on it just a slightly duller appearance. The back continues to look great at least for me

The size is just about perfect. I really like 5.5 inch display, makes the screen large without the phone being too huge. For me coming form the 630 the bezel on the screen takes some getting used to, grabbing the phone I occasionally launch some apps. I think this will stop in time so it is not an issue I just need to adjust.

The button placement is pretty good but I would prefer a few changes. I like that the power button is opposite the volume controls (it makes taking a screen shot easier) however I need to adjust to the different positioning as I have taken a couple of accidental screen shots. The button I would like moved is the camera button. I like having one, but it is not of great importance to me, but this sits where my old power button was and right where my thumb normally rests. I think a little further up the phone would be a better spot to ease up on accidental pushes and make working the camera better. But again this is something I think I will get more used to over time.

The antenna strength is great probably better than my old 630 which never had an issue connecting to cellular antennas. I am in a pretty good area but I get better reception than a lot of friends and colleagues.

The phone performance has been fantastic. Apps load quickly, the screen display is beautiful. The battery life has been fantastic and the quick charge is great.

I only tried the VR headset once, so I do not really have a comment. I did not buy this phone for VR and I don't see myself using it much. The one time I tried it I found getting the buttons to press on the headset was a little difficult.

Bottom line is I highly recommend this phone, there are some minor things I would change but over all it is a great Windows 10 phone. Its nice to have a quality phone like this available for Windows mobile. I hope Alcatel sells enough of them to encourage more Windows offerings.

 

[nate0]

Who here has tried their IDOL 4s on a Wireless Charger just to try? I am curious what your results were, as I tried this with my EP-PG902i Samsung wireless charger yesterday. I could only conclude what Samsung states here on this page When does LED on Wireless charger blinks ?. Just wondering why the phone even got a reaction from the charger to begin with.

 

[nate0]

I have owned this device for about a week, bought through the Microsoft online store. Saw it posted then on Amazon for cheaper and so returned the one to the Microsoft store, ordering it again through Prime on Amazon. Saved over 50 dollars. Slick phone. I love the size and feel. The screen is great. I do not know what it is about this screen that jumps out more than other windows 10 phones. It could be the default color calibration, and the 2.5D slightly curved glass. Different experience for me while viewing it and I like it. Performance is excellent. However I saw more loading screens than usual at first, most likely needed a hard/soft reset which I had not done. Battery life is very good for 3000 mAh. It is usually off the charger at 6 or 7am and not back on it until 12am. Typical usage is I run 4 email accounts with automatic sync, run screen brightness at suggested or higher, using the phone over 4-6 hours on screen time, with moderate use overall. Any other phone would struggle to go beyond a full day on that much of a battery capacity. The Idol 4s can perform well consistently with that.

Few things that could use fine tuning or work and Alcatel/Microsoft probably know this and I hope they do try to improve the user experience here...Finger print scanner accuracy is not all there, but it works well enough. Only two Windows 10 Mobile phones on the market have the finger print scanner that I know of. So it is not surprising they are a work in progress. I'd say about the same as the Elite X3 as far as accuracy. It is smaller and hard to feel for at first but not an issue over time as I used it. I did notice though while setting it up the print the first time out of the box I entered the same finger more than once, which I was banking on helping the accuracy. It seemed to actually help. The second time after a reset it I set it up with multiple trials of the same finger like before, but the windows hello seemed not to like this process the same way it did the first time. I got more failed attempts with the scanner during daily use after the reset then I did when I set it up the very first time out of the box. Maybe the Windows Hello service is not made that way, just thought I would share that experience. The camera department could use some love too. The camera is not the first thing I jump on when I look at a mobile device, but for such capable hardware, Alcatel left it hanging in my opinion but not sure if that is by choice or to keep the price down... Other than that the phone is great.

I really can say I prefer the Alcatel Idol 4s over the x3 which as hinted above I also owned previously.

I personally cannot handle a phone with as much girth to it as the x3. To get the same performance experience from a smaller phone I am more comfortable using and fits the bill is good selling point. The speakers easily out perform the x3. I am not a camera buff, but the camera even though middle ground and carrying similar quirks, does better than the x3 in my opinion. I'll add that I fall back on an iPhone when I need and the plus model dimensions which is even smaller than the X3's are my max as far as comfort. The idol 4s is lighter, with less of an overall footprint than those and most other 5.5" screen phones. This phone fits more my style and need. The screen even though not as bright does really well. The x3 I never could get it dim enough in dark settings which was weird and an issue for me. The Idol 4s is pretty bright even on the highest setting but the color it generates I think helps it a lot to perform well. Not as bright as the x3 but does well enough. Good thing is that it dims low enough too. The X3 speakers don’t compare to the Idol 4s. The speakers/sound on the Idol 4s is above average and sound great.

The double tap is great. Combined with print scanner this is good. Obviously useful for looking at information without picking up the phone too. Glove mode I have toggled but not sure of the difference if I never use gloves, but it is there. There are other things the Idol 4s has going for it that I am still checking out, but for now the basic features it has are good ones to have and they work.

As far as features/capabilities the idol 4s is lacking in nfc and QI compared to the x3. I don't use nfc yet so that is an obvious win for me. QI is good in a pinch, but the USB C quick charge helps a lot with compensating for not having that. It really is a worthy newer windows 10 mobile phone.

 

[PFSP]

Updated Review

I gave a review after the first couple of weeks with the phone, and now have been using it daily for about 6 weeks and wanted to share my updated review.

Some quick notes about my usage...
I am on the release ring of updates (so no insider/fast ring updates for me). I only use one phone at a time so I stick with the regular release cycle. (thank you to all of you who do get the insider builds and provide feedback to MS).
I use Cricket as my carrier (AT&T towers).
I am in Maryland, so cell reception is generally pretty good for all carriers.


The Great:
Build Quality: This is one area that I personally think can't be overstated. This phone looks and feels as good as any other phone I have seen and better than most. I like it much better than the iPhone 6's I've seen and held, and better than the Samsung's as well.

Display: What can I say, the 5.5" screen is right in the sweet spot for size, the display colors and sharpness are fantastic. Additionally the screen size to phone size is outstanding, my phone is only slightly larger than a lot of 5" screen phones.

Responsiveness: With the Snapdragon 820 and 4GB RAM, this phone is quick. I have not noticed any lagging.

Reception: I live in a pretty high reception area, but this phone does an excellent job. The building I work in is notorious for poor cell phone reception, I get the best of any of my colleagues.


The Good:
Camera: I am not a big photography guy... But for me in every day use it more than gets the job done. It takes pretty detailed and clear pictures. I do think the shutter speed when taking a picture could be improved, hopefully we get a firmware update for that.

Speakers: They are definitely an upgrade over my last phone, and have performed well in calls and watching some videos.

Button Placement: I like having the power button and volume buttons opposite of each other, makes for easy screen captures. Using double-tap to sleep keeps me from accidental screen shots as I don't use the power button to put the phone to sleep.



The OK/Complaints - Admittedly some of these may be more Windows 10 issues than Idol 4s issues.
Camera Button: Having this button in the middle of the phone is not optimal. Maybe the position makes more sense in the Android version where it has more uses... But in the end this is not a big deal, just a minor nit.

Step counting: This is my biggest complaint. I do not have band (MS, Fitbit, etc..) and I don't really want one. But having my phone count steps for me was a feature that I used daily on my Lumia. I really wish this phone supported it.



Bluetooth: This may be a Windows 10 thing, but... Cortana when connected to my car Bluetooth will offer to read text messages, I use it a lot. However on my Lumia (Win 8.1) if I were to receive multiple messages at the same time it would read one and ignore the other. On this phone and Win 10 Cortana talks over herself and offers to read both, or offers to read the other while I am still listening or replying to the first. This then horks the entire process and no more automatic reading will occur until the call ends and a new message comes in. This can be very frustrating.

Fingerprint Scanner: When it works it is great, but I'm guessing my hit rate is somewhere around 60%. It fails to unlock my phone often enough for me to be bugged by it. I should probably re-register my fingerprints and try again. One other nit is I wish it would wake the screen when Windows Hello is blocked.

Overall:
I give this phone a very high rating and would definitely recommend it. To me this is one of the best phones on the market and you can't go wrong getting one.

 

[anon(50597)]

The position of the camera button may be my biggest complaint. If that's the worst thing then things aint bad!

Sent from my Alcatel Idol 4S

 

[editguy]

The position of the camera button may be my biggest complaint. If that's the worst thing then things aint bad!

Sent from my Alcatel Idol 4S

It's an odd placement, but I would prefer that over none at all.

 

[anon(50597)]

It's an odd placement, but I would prefer that over none at all.

Well, can't argue with that.

Sent from my Alcatel Idol 4S

 

[meattray]

Updated Review

I gave a review after the first couple of weeks with the phone, and now have been using it daily for about 6 weeks and wanted to share my updated review.

Some quick notes about my usage...
I am on the release ring of updates (so no insider/fast ring updates for me). I only use one phone at a time so I stick with the regular release cycle. (thank you to all of you who do get the insider builds and provide feedback to MS).
I use Cricket as my carrier (AT&T towers).
I am in Maryland, so cell reception is generally pretty good for all carriers.


The Great:
Build Quality: This is one area that I personally think can't be overstated. This phone looks and feels as good as any other phone I have seen and better than most. I like it much better than the iPhone 6's I've seen and held, and better than the Samsung's as well.

Display: What can I say, the 5.5" screen is right in the sweet spot for size, the display colors and sharpness are fantastic. Additionally the screen size to phone size is outstanding, my phone is only slightly larger than a lot of 5" screen phones.

Responsiveness: With the Snapdragon 820 and 4GB RAM, this phone is quick. I have not noticed any lagging.

Reception: I live in a pretty high reception area, but this phone does an excellent job. The building I work in is notorious for poor cell phone reception, I get the best of any of my colleagues.


The Good:
Camera: I am not a big photography guy... But for me in every day use it more than gets the job done. It takes pretty detailed and clear pictures. I do think the shutter speed when taking a picture could be improved, hopefully we get a firmware update for that.

Speakers: They are definitely an upgrade over my last phone, and have performed well in calls and watching some videos.

Button Placement: I like having the power button and volume buttons opposite of each other, makes for easy screen captures. Using double-tap to sleep keeps me from accidental screen shots as I don't use the power button to put the phone to sleep.



The OK/Complaints - Admittedly some of these may be more Windows 10 issues than Idol 4s issues.
Camera Button: Having this button in the middle of the phone is not optimal. Maybe the position makes more sense in the Android version where it has more uses... But in the end this is not a big deal, just a minor nit.

Step counting: This is my biggest complaint. I do not have band (MS, Fitbit, etc..) and I don't really want one. But having my phone count steps for me was a feature that I used daily on my Lumia. I really wish this phone supported it.

View attachment 134132

Bluetooth: This may be a Windows 10 thing, but... Cortana when connected to my car Bluetooth will offer to read text messages, I use it a lot. However on my Lumia (Win 8.1) if I were to receive multiple messages at the same time it would read one and ignore the other. On this phone and Win 10 Cortana talks over herself and offers to read both, or offers to read the other while I am still listening or replying to the first. This then horks the entire process and no more automatic reading will occur until the call ends and a new message comes in. This can be very frustrating.

Fingerprint Scanner: When it works it is great, but I'm guessing my hit rate is somewhere around 60%. It fails to unlock my phone often enough for me to be bugged by it. I should probably re-register my fingerprints and try again. One other nit is I wish it would wake the screen when Windows Hello is blocked.

Overall:
I give this phone a very high rating and would definitely recommend it. To me this is one of the best phones on the market and you can't go wrong getting one.

Great review. Very interesting to see thoughts coming after a good amount of time with the phone.

Thanks for sharing

 

[editguy]

Well, can't argue with that.

Sent from my Alcatel Idol 4S

I'm sure there's someone who would. :smile:

 

[fatclue_98]

It's an odd placement, but I would prefer that over none at all.

I have yet to fire up the camera by accident. I guess my time with a Priv conditioned me for this phone.

 

[editguy]

I have yet to fire up the camera by accident. I guess my time with a Priv conditioned me for this phone.

I did the first week but, since then. I've never done it again.

 

[anon(50597)]

I did the first week but, since then. I've never done it again.

I think it was more the case I was using. Once I changed cases it hasn't happened nearly as much.

Sent from mTalk on my SP4

 

[Mmazeo]

Can this phone be restarted? Twice now I have lost sound for some reason, on all apps including text/email notifications so I had to restart. But I'm not seeing a restart option so I have to totally power down then start. A little annoying.

 

[fatclue_98]

Can this phone be restarted? Twice now I have lost sound for some reason, on all apps including text/email notifications so I had to restart. But I'm not seeing a restart option so I have to totally power down then start. A little annoying.

Press and hold the power button until you feel the vibration then let go.

 

[mark233]

Can this phone be restarted? Twice now I have lost sound for some reason, on all apps including text/email notifications so I had to restart. But I'm not seeing a restart option so I have to totally power down then start. A little annoying.

You can also try toggling Quiet Hours. Sometimes this will take care of it.

 

[badelhas]

Alcatel Idol 4S review
I have owned the phone for two weeks now.
Bought it through the Microsoft store
I am using Cricket as my carrier
My previous phone was a Lumia 630

Because I have only had it for about two weeks, this is mostly initial impressions but here goes.

The screen looks great and feels good to hold. The Glass back makes it a little slippery but I have never felt like I would drop it. I currently have not bought a case and am debating weather I will. It is such an attractive phone I don't want to cover it up with a case. I have seen some reviews complain that the glass back is a fingerprint magnet, I have not found this to be the case for me, yes after use it is not as shiny as when perfectly clean but I do not see distinguishable finger prints on it just a slightly duller appearance. The back continues to look great at least for me

The size is just about perfect. I really like 5.5 inch display, makes the screen large without the phone being too huge. For me coming form the 630 the bezel on the screen takes some getting used to, grabbing the phone I occasionally launch some apps. I think this will stop in time so it is not an issue I just need to adjust.

The button placement is pretty good but I would prefer a few changes. I like that the power button is opposite the volume controls (it makes taking a screen shot easier) however I need to adjust to the different positioning as I have taken a couple of accidental screen shots. The button I would like moved is the camera button. I like having one, but it is not of great importance to me, but this sits where my old power button was and right where my thumb normally rests. I think a little further up the phone would be a better spot to ease up on accidental pushes and make working the camera better. But again this is something I think I will get more used to over time.

The antenna strength is great probably better than my old 630 which never had an issue connecting to cellular antennas. I am in a pretty good area but I get better reception than a lot of friends and colleagues.

The phone performance has been fantastic. Apps load quickly, the screen display is beautiful. The battery life has been fantastic and the quick charge is great.

I only tried the VR headset once, so I do not really have a comment. I did not buy this phone for VR and I don't see myself using it much. The one time I tried it I found getting the buttons to press on the headset was a little difficult.

Bottom line is I highly recommend this phone, there are some minor things I would change but over all it is a great Windows 10 phone. Its nice to have a quality phone like this available for Windows mobile. I hope Alcatel sells enough of them to encourage more Windows offerings.

Meeting too. We really need that. And thanks for your input!
Cheers