Modular phones aren't quite dead yet, but the Alcatel A5 doesn't impress

Modular telephones have been presupposed to be the subsequent huge factor in cellular. However curiosity in telephones with swappable elements waned as corporations like Google and LG deserted their pet tasks.

All hope is not misplaced, although. Lenovo's nonetheless staying the modular course with its "Moto Mods" for the Moto Z phones, and now you possibly can add Alcatel's A5 to a particularly small record of system's with customizable elements.

Alcatel's A5 is "modular" in the identical sense the Moto Z is: it presents one thing extra like augmentation than a full system overhaul. 

Pop off the A5's again cowl and you may swap in different "customizable again covers" (CBCs) to reinforce it. For those who're considering this all seems like a much less elegant model of the Moto Z, which does not require any cowl to be eliminated, you are proper.

Hell, the CBCs Alcatel confirmed off for the A5 are all nearly the identical. One in every of them is a speaker with a kickstand that provides barely extra bass and louder sound and one other is a three,00zero mAh battery pack.

In contrast to the Moto Z's "Mods" that snap proper onto the telephone's again, you actually need to make use of a fingernail to pry the A5's covers off. I struggled to efficiently take away the covers a couple of occasions.

One factor I did recognize is that the telephone does not flip off once you swap in a brand new cowl. 

Specs-wise, the A5 isn't very thrilling with mid-range hardware: 5.2-inch 720p show, 1.5GHz octa-core MediaTek 6753 processor, 16GB of inner storage, 2GB of RAM, 2800 mAh battery, Eight-megapixel rear digital camera with LED flash and 5-megapixel selfie digital camera.

It is a complete snooze-fest for anybody who likes nerding out over the newest and biggest telephone tech, however, hey, modular telephones aren't technically lifeless... but.

Given the specs, hopefully the telephone and covers will a minimum of be low cost.