Itel’s back with another budget phone. This time it’s the A100C—a trimmed-down version of the A100 they launched a while back. The weird part? Turn it around and it looks like they straight-up copied the OnePlus 15’s camera design. But flip it back to the front and you’ll instantly know this is a cheap phone.
Design Philosophy
Look, Itel’s been pulling this move forever. They’ve made a whole business out of copying Samsung designs. The regular A100? Total Galaxy S25 ripoff. But with this C variant, they switched targets and went after OnePlus instead.
That circular camera bump on the back is almost pixel-perfect to the OnePlus 15. From a distance, you might actually confuse the two. But that’s where the similarities end. The front of the phone—with those thick bezels and plastic-y finish—immediately gives away what you’re dealing with.
What’s the Screen Like?
They went with a 6.6-inch IPS panel. Smaller than the regular A100, which isn’t necessarily bad. The 90Hz refresh rate is probably the best thing about this phone. Scrolling through apps actually feels smooth, not choppy like those awful 60Hz screens budget phones used to have.
Resolution sits at 720×1612 pixels. Is it sharp? Not really. But it’s fine for everyday stuff. You’re not gonna notice individual pixels unless you’re really looking for them. Videos look decent, text is readable, and that’s about all you need at this price.
Brightness? 400 nits on a typical day. Indoors, no problem. Take this phone outside on a sunny day and you’re gonna struggle. You’ll be doing that thing where you cup your hand over the screen to see what’s on it.
Itel claims 90% screen-to-body ratio. There are bezels, yeah, but they’re not enormous. The screen uses 8-bit color depth—nothing special, just standard stuff. Good enough for TikTok and YouTube.
How Fast Is It?
Not very. They stuck a Unisoc T7100 processor in here, which is a downgrade from the regular A100. This chip handles the basics—messaging, calls, browsing—but push it any harder and it starts wheezing.
Wanna play games? Maybe Candy Crush. Anything more demanding like PUBG or Genshin Impact is completely off the table. Multiple apps running at once? The phone will struggle. Video editing? Forget about it.
Here’s where it gets interesting though. Itel paired this weak chip with Android 15 Go Edition. Google built this version specifically for low-end hardware like the A100C. It’s lighter, faster, and way more optimized than regular Android. So even though the processor is slow, the phone doesn’t feel as sluggish as you’d expect.
RAM and Storage Situation
The box says 12GB RAM. That’s technically true but also misleading. There’s only 4GB of actual, physical RAM inside. The other 8GB is “virtual RAM”—the phone borrowing storage space to fake having more memory.
Does it work? Kind of. You can keep a few more apps open before they start closing in the background. But it’s nowhere near as good as having real 12GB RAM like a proper mid-range phone would.
Storage is 128GB though, which is legitimately useful. You’ve got plenty of space for apps, photos, and videos before running into “storage full” warnings.
Build Quality and Durability
There’s no IP rating, so don’t get this wet. No using it in the rain, no bathroom usage, definitely no dropping it in the sink.
But Itel does claim military-grade shock resistance up to 1.22 meters. In practical terms, this means dropping it from your hand or pocket probably won’t shatter it immediately. Will it survive forever? No. Will it handle everyday drops better than phones without any protection? Yeah, probably.
Special Features Worth Mentioning
UltraLink is built in. That’s the feature Infinix and Tecno have been promoting—lets you make calls to other compatible phones without using cellular network. Useful when you’re in a dead zone but have WiFi.
There’s an IR blaster on top, which is honestly pretty cool. Your phone becomes a universal remote for your TV, AC, set-top box, whatever. Most manufacturers ditched this years ago, so seeing it on a budget phone is nice.
Fingerprint sensor is in the power button. Works fast, placement feels natural. No complaints there.
Speaker has DTS certification. Basically means the audio has some processing to make it sound better than a basic smartphone speaker. Still only one speaker though, so don’t expect miracles.
Camera Performance
Set your expectations to zero. The main camera is 8MP. That’s barely adequate for daylight photos. Shoot indoors or at night and you’ll get grainy, blurry messes that look terrible.
Front camera is even worse at 5MP. Selfies only work if you’re outside in good lighting. Otherwise, forget it.
These cameras are fine for quick social media posts where image quality doesn’t matter much. Anything beyond that? Not happening.
Battery Life
5000mAh battery. Pretty standard for budget phones nowadays. Most people get through a full day easily. Texting, social media, some YouTube, calls—you’ll make it to bedtime with juice left.
Heavy users streaming video constantly might need to charge by evening. Light users could push it to two days.
Charging speed is unknown. Itel didn’t mention it, which usually means it’s painfully slow. You’re probably looking at 10W, maybe 15W tops. Expect to leave it plugged in for 2-3 hours.
Price and Where to Buy
No official price announced yet. The regular A100 costs Rs 22,999 in Pakistan. This cheaper C variant should land somewhere around Rs 18,000-20,000. That’s our best guess until retailers start listing it.
Should You Buy It?
Depends on what you need. First-time smartphone buyer? Sure. Need a backup phone? Works fine. Want something that just handles calls, messages, and social media? The A100C does that.
But understand what you’re getting. The processor is slow. Cameras are garbage. Build quality is budget-tier. If you need anything beyond basic smartphone functions, save up for something better.
If your budget caps out at Rs 20,000 though, and you just need something functional that won’t die in six months, this’ll do the job.
