Elephone S1 and S1 Plus balance design and affordability

Elephone launched the Elephone S1 and Elepehone S1 Plus this year as their budget-friendly entry level devices. Instead of putting a lot of importance towards its affordability, the rising Chinese company chose to emphasize design and performance, all the while keeping them incredibly affordable and balanced. With Samsung starting off a new-found love for sleek, glass designs with the Galaxy S6, the Elephone S1 and S1 Plus reflect the glossy new design language that seems to have convinced everyone out there.

The Elephone S1 and S1 Plus feature dual-glass designs with smooth, glossy finishes that aim to appeal to all types of Android fans that want a premium-looking smartphone without having to pay a fortune for it. Of course, performance won’t be stellar for $70, seeing as that’s how much these devices will cost once they hit the international market.

Speaking of the international smartphone market, these two budget-friendly smartphones aim to storm it. Elephone had the best success with the Elephone P8000, appealing for its long autonomy and good performance. The Elephone S1 and Elephone S1 Plus aim to be what the HTC One A9 was supposed to be: a cheap but overwhelmingly stylish and premium smartphone. Considering the HTC One A9 costs $500 unlocked, there’s a huge difference we’re looking at. The price difference combined with the sleek design will surely make the Elephone S1 duo pretty appealing to western crowds.

The Elephone S1 will sport a smaller form factor with a 5-inch display while the Elephone S1 Plus will go down the phablet road with a big 5.5-inch screen. 2.5D glass is going to wrap around the phone, making it glossy and beautiful – and most likely a fingerprint magnet, but people don’t seem to be bothered by that nowadays, even though it used to be something people frowned upon.

Under the hood, the budget-friendly handsets will sport Mediatek MT6580 chipsets, which are considered to be mid-range processors. Most likely, although unconfirmed at this point, they will sport 2 gigs of RAM and 16 GB internal storage, 13 MP main cameras, 5 MP secondary cameras and batteries between 2500 and 3500 mAh. Elephone has not yet confirmed all the specs for these two phones, but we’re looking forward to finding out more.

Elephone is busy right now because they are launching their uber-cheap QuadHD smartphones, the Elephone Vowney and Vowney Lite. These are going to be on the expensive side, but will still be super-affordable and the most affordable QuadHD smartphones out there, with their prices between $230 and $300. These two can be pre-ordered if you’re after a flagship, but if you want a cheap, yet premium phone, the Elephone S1 and S1 Plus will be the ones for you.

The release date for the Elephone S1 and Elephone S1 Plus are anticipated to be scheduled for this month, although a December release for the holiday season could also be possible. Seeing as we know the prices and a few of the specs already, the handsets are bound to be interesting new additions to the company’s vast portfolio of affordable devices. We are looking forward to finding out more about these budget-friendly premium smartphones and we will update you guys once we get more info on the matter. Until then, do you think making an entry-level phone with a high-end design will convert Android users?