MWC 2016: Blackview A8 $43 phone with iPhone camera and R7 flagship


blackview a8

Joining the likes of Huawei, and Oppo at MWC is Blackview who were showing off their entire current range of phones along with a couple of new devices.

The Blackview A8 is a budget 5-inch HD phone with simple configuration that designed to keep the cost to a minimum. The phone has a quad-core Mediatek MT6580 chipset, 1GB RAM and 8GB memory, hardly the stuff of dreams but there are a few nice details.

blackview a8

For starters the Blackview A8 as a metal frame to which helps the feel of the phone, and on a technical side both the front and rear cameras are 8 mega-pixel shooters. The rear is apparently the same 8 mega-pixel camera as the iPhone 5S.

blackview a8

Other details include a 2000mAh battery, removable back cover, backlit capacitive buttons, front and rear LED flash, Android 5.1, dual SIM support and space for a micro SD. The budget phone only supports 3G networks, but then again it only costs $43!

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If the plain white phone with silver metal chassis doesn’t do it for you then Blackview also plan to offer the A8 with jewels in the frame for an additional $1 (thats $44).  There is also word of a Blackview A8S in the works too with LTE, but details weren’t provided.

Blackview A8 hands on video

Blackview A8 Gallery

Blackview R7

blackview r7 mwc 2016

For those of us who prefer higher specifications then there is also the Blackview R7. Unfortunately Blackview only had a dummy phone to show us at their booth but they didn’t confirm some of the hardware.

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blackview r7 mwc 2016

The Blackview R7 will ship with a Mediatek P10 chipset, 5.5-inch FHD display, 4GB RAM, 32GB memory, 5 mega-pixel front camera, 13 mega-pixel rear and Android 6.0 Marshmallow.

Expect the Blackview R7 to be released in April.

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Previous MWC 2016: Doogee P1 Projector hands on
Next MWC 2016: Spreadtrum SC9860 16nm chipset announced

29 Comments

  1. Tajwar
    February 23, 2016

    Hmm…

  2. Assefa Hanson
    February 23, 2016

    i would buy this just to see how long it lasts

  3. afghanPower
    February 23, 2016

    This’ll probably cost around $60 after the resellers have had their cut.

    • No Name
      February 24, 2016

      no need, it will be quite affordable 😉

    • techguy
      May 6, 2016

      OUKITEL C3 is the first 5 inch MT6580 devices to take Android 6.0 Marshmallow. No need to wait for updating. It features a 3D diamond design for the back cover which is quite special.

      C3 features HD IPS display with 1280*720 resolution and for touch screen, and , it is using AUO brand screen for the display which is the same display as iPad mini. Carrying the MT6580 Quad-core chip set with 1GB RAM and 8GB ROM, C3 can manage multi-tasks freely.

      It gets a 8MP rear camera and a 2MP front camera for wonderful shooting experience. Though the battery is only 2000mAh battery, OUKITEL make the battery lasts longer due to the intelligent power saving management system. All can snap up this handset with $39.99 at 17:00pm May 9th (GMT+8) : http://goo.gl/Y3n6Oz

      • afghanPower
        May 6, 2016

        With “All can snap up this handset with $39.99”, you mean the first twenty people, right? All != 20;

  4. Steven Fox
    February 23, 2016

    What`s the point of bringing dummies to a convention??? Honestly these brands are laughable.

    • balcobomber25
      February 23, 2016

      Yea they weren’t the only ones either, quite a few booths I visited today had dummy phones.

      • Steven Fox
        February 23, 2016

        Pathetic to say the least.

        • balcobomber25
          February 23, 2016

          It makes me think several of them were lying, especially oens that claim to have a SD820 or Helios X20 but have a dummy phone that doesn’t work.

          • Steven Fox
            February 24, 2016

            Right on, bloody liars is what they are!
            I don`t believe a word Dooge,Ulephone,Elephone say for a year now.
            All they do is make a good looking photoshop and put some made up specs to draw attention to themselevs and then it never happens.

            • trapchan
              March 1, 2016

              but Ulephone Paris is not a lie …

    • Muhammad Yasir
      February 24, 2016

      same opinion !

  5. balcobomber25
    February 23, 2016

    Blackview has been aggressively expanding throughout Asia, this phone makes sense for markets like Cambodia and Myanmar.

    • willysson
      February 23, 2016

      Do you have any opinion on a company called BQ? The phone announced today (Aquaris X5 Plus) seems interesting. Their website also.

      • balcobomber25
        February 23, 2016

        My only experience with BQ was using the first Ubuntu Phone. The phone itself was not that great but it was also a budget phone so I don’t really hold that against them. I would love to use one of their flagships.

  6. Twister12
    February 23, 2016

    “The rear is apparently the same 8 mega-pixel camera as the iPhone 5S.”

    What does it mean exactly? Same camera lens? Sensor? Same optimization like the IPhone 5S?

    • No Name
      February 24, 2016

      same camera lens and sensor, with the same oiptimization exactly the one which used in iphone 5s

  7. greg
    February 23, 2016

    Any hope those devices have 3G/4G bands for America?

    • No Name
      February 24, 2016

      blackview always produces selectable bands for users in different regions in the world, 3G/4G? will be the must-have functions

  8. Wandering Android
    February 24, 2016

    guys how many of you have tried buying from gearbest and have it shipped to the US? how long do they take to arrive and what shipping method did you use?

    • No Name
      February 24, 2016

      Hi, as far as i know, gearbest has no problem with sending parcels to the US. How long do they take? it’s really depends on which courier you choose, but they said it’s around 6-14 business days the most.

      • Karly Johnston
        February 24, 2016

        It’s more like a month.

        • Wandering Android
          February 24, 2016

          so one month should be the max if you use those free shipping method. not as bad as i thought.

  9. Сергей Латухин
    March 1, 2016

    Blackview holding spring sale !!

  10. Mosquetero
    March 6, 2016

    Buenas noches, por lo que podemos leer en la web oficial de blackview, http://www.blackview.hk/new-products/ este Blackview A8 estará a la venta el próximo 25 de marzo, haber que tal resulta el terminal porque tiene muy buena pinta y el precio es insuperable.

  11. Сергей Латухин
    May 24, 2016

    Blackview “reissued” its recent product – the model A8 – now not only new colors – but the scope has become visually – and even flash (front) became more visible + got a whistle – a diffuser!

  12. Batman
    October 19, 2016

    BlackView ROCKS

  13. DanBan
    November 15, 2016

    Watched at Blackview A8, as at the excellent smartphone for excellent money a floor a year ago. Now smartphones with much best characteristics with the price are slightly higher. Ordered Uhans A101S.