Amsterdam-based electronics company Philips on Wednesday expanded its product portfolio with the launch of a new budget-friendly handset, called the “Philips X596” in the Chinese tech market. The Philips X596 comes in variants based on its internal storage capacity: Philips X596 with 32GB onboard storage and Philips X596 with 64GB onboard storage. As for pricing, the Philips X596 with 32GB internal storage variant has been launched in China with a price tag of CNY 1,299 (approximately Rs. 12,700), while for the top-spec variant with 64GB internal storage, you have to pay CNY 1,499 (approximately Rs. 14,650).
Both the variants are now available for pre-order on the Chinese e-commerce website JD.com and the same will be going on sale in China starting November 5 in Black colour option. The key highlights of the new smartphone are its mammoth 4000mAh Battery, aviation grade aluminum alloy material chassis, 16MP rear camera, 16MP selfie camera and Android 7.1.1 Nougat OS. As of now, Philips has not revealed exactly when the Philips X596 will be launched in the Indian market nor there is any information about its international availability.
Talking about its specifications, the new Philips X596 sports a 5.5-inch full-HD display with a screen resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels and a scratch resistance 2.5D curved glass coating on top of the display. Under the hood, the device is powered by a 1.4GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 435 octa-core processor with a dedicated image processing unit to handle the graphics. In terms of memory, the Philips X596 is backed up by a 4GB of RAM and 32GB /64GB of internal storage, which can be further expanded via a micro SD card. On the software front, the Philips X596 runs on Google’s Android 7.1.1 Nougat operating system out-of-the-box.
For photography, the Philips X596 sports a 16-megapixel rear-facing camera with autofocus, and an LED flash module. Talking about its selfie camera, the smartphone bears a 16-megapixel resolution front-facing shooter for capturing selfies and making video calls. The rear-facing camera is also capable of recording full-HD (1080p) resolution videos at 30fps. For biometric authentication process, the smartphone also features a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor that is housed on the rear panel of the device, just below the camera module.
In terms of connectivity, the Philips X596 offers various connectivity options including Dual-SIM, 4G LTE, Wi-Fi, GPS/A-GPS, Bluetooth, a 3.5mm Audio port, and a MicroUSB 2.0 port for charging and other connectivity. Sensors on the smartphone include an Accelerometer, Proximity sensor, Ambient light sensor, and Fingerprint sensor. On the battery front, the smartphone comes packed with a massive 4,000mAh battery that supports fast charging using a 9V/2A adapter. Dimensionally, the handset measures 156.4 × 77.4 × 8.35 mm and weighs 177.8 grams.
