Alcatel OneTouch Idol 4s sees the light of day, rebranded as Vodafone Smart Platinum 7

Remember the Alcatel OneTouch Idol 4s? It was announced at MWC 2016 back in February, but then Alcatel went silent, and we didn't hear anything about the phone for a long time. Well, it's finally coming out in the UK, although under a different moniker. British mobile provider Vodafone has unveiled a shiny new flagship device, called the Smart Platinum 7, that's actually a rebranded Idol 4s.

The device sports a 5.5-inch 2K AMOLED display with a resolution of 1440 x 2560, encased in a sleek glass and aluminum body that keeps things slim with at 0.27” (6.9mm) and a total weight of 5.46 oz (155g). Gorilla Glass provides protection for both the screen and the back of the device, while an all-around metal frame lines the edges – complete with knurl-textured buttons – and spills into the upper and lower front bezels to shape two nests for the front-facing stereo speakers. On the back of the Smart Platinum 7, there are a fingerprint reader and a 16-megapixel camera accompanied by a single LED flash, while the front houses an 8-megapixel shooter along with a small, dedicated flash for selfies in the darkest of places.

Under the bonnet, there's a more than apt octa-core Snapdragon 652 keeping things speedy, backed with 3GB of RAM and a 3000 mAh battery with support for Quick Charge 3.0. In terms of storage, the device offers 32GB of expandable memory, with some 22GB available to users out of the box, but amends this with support for microSD cards of up to 128GB. The phone is running an almost stock Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow with little to no bloatware, apart from a “light set of enhancements” – such as the ability to launch custom apps straight from the lockscreen – or so the provider promises.

The Smart Platinum 7 launches next week for £300 without contract, and Vodafone will throw in a free VR headset if you pre-order the device. That's good and all, but let us remind you that Alcatel was planning to sell every Idol 4s bundled with a VR headset in the first place. The phone is also available for free on contracts starting from £28, offering unlimited minutes and 1GB of mobile data.