Cricket launches new affordable Android phones under its own brand

Cricket quietly launched two new affordable smartphones under its own brand. The Cricket Icon 6 and Cricket Debut S3 are sequels to two cheap handsets the carrier released last year.

Although both phones are major upgrades over the previous models, they still cost less than $100, which makes them somewhat interesting for those looking to buy a very cheap Android phone.

Currently, the Cricket Icon 6 is available for purchase for just $90, while the Cricket Debut S3 is priced to sell for $80. Obviously, considering their price, these phones are pretty much devoid of any premium features.

The slightly more expensive Cricket Icon 6 sports a large 6.75-inch HD+ display with 90Hz refresh rate and a 5,000 mAh battery with 10W wired charging support. Also, the phone is equipped with a low-end MediaTek Helio P35 chipset, paired with 4GB RAM and 64GB RAM (expandable via microSD).

On the back, the Icon 6 features a dual camera (50MP + 2MP), while in the front there’s a secondary 8-megapixel camera for selfies. Other highlights of the entry-level phone include NFC (Near Field Communication) support, fingerprint reader, 3.5mm audio jack, and USB Type-C port.

The slightly cheaper Cricket Debut S3 comes with the same MediaTek Helio P35 chipset and amount of memory – 4GB RAM and 64GB internal storage (expandable via microSD).

However, the Debut S3 sports a smaller 6.6-inch HD+ display with 90Hz refresh rate, and a smaller 4,000 mAh battery. The camera configuration is also on the lower end: 13MP main + 2MP macro. Also, the phone has a 5-megapixel secondary camera in the front and a side-mounted fingerprint sensor.

Just like the Icon 6, Cricket’s new Debut S3 affordable smartphone features NFC support, 3.5mm audio jack, and USB Type-C port.

While these phones are certainly less interesting for tech-savvies, they have their own audience, otherwise Cricket would have stopped churning out Icon and Debut phones a long time ago.