Smartphones from 219 euros: Telekom now offers inexpensive T phones

With two of its own models, Deutsche Telekom is putting new pressure on the already very competitive market for entry-level smartphones.

Smartphones from 219 euros: Telekom now offers inexpensive T phones

With two of its own models, Deutsche Telekom is putting new pressure on the already very competitive market for entry-level smartphones. The T Phone should only cost 219 euros, the T Phone Pro 249 euros. What do you get for it?

Deutsche Telekom is now competing with smartphone providers in Germany with its own 5G devices. The Bonn-based company announced the launch of the T Phone and T Phone pro models. The entry-level devices cost EUR 1 per month with a MagentaMobil tariff plus a one-time fee of EUR 40. Without a contract you pay 219 or 249 euros.

The T phones are coming to Germany at a difficult time for many smartphone providers: After years of growth, sales are shrinking. According to calculations by the market research company Canalys, global sales fell by a good 17 percent in the final quarter of last year. While previous figures indicate continued good sales for the market leaders Samsung and Apple, competition among smaller providers is intensifying.

The smartphones are based on devices from the in-house US brand Revvl, which has been available for several years and which T-Mobile US developed together with Android provider Google. The heart of both T phones is a MediaTek Dimensity 700, a lower mid-range 5G chip. The Pro has a 6.8-inch LCD, the display of the standard variant measures 6.5 inches. Both screens offer the resolution HD with 1640 or 1600 x 720 pixels.

The standard Telekom smartphone has 4 gigabytes (GB) of RAM and 64 GB of flash memory, the Pro version has 6 and 128 GB. The batteries of Telekom smartphones have 4500 or 5000 milliampere hours (mAh). Both smartphones come with Android 12.

A main camera with 50 megapixels (MP) sits on the back of the T Phone Pro. There is also a 2 MP camera for depth measurement as well as a macro and micro camera, each with 2 MP. The front camera of the Pro model has a resolution of 16 MP. The standard device lacks the micro camera and the front camera is only 5 MP.