The Indian smartphone market has been witnessing a shift in its mass segment. The 20K segment is brimming with feature-packed budget phones from competitive brands like Motorola, Oppo, Redmi, etc. It will be interesting to see if the French consumer electronic brand Alcatel is able to make a place for itself after its re-entry in the market via licensing route with NxtCell. Featuring in this review is the V3 Ultra from the V3 series. A budget smartphone with a cool display, a design that breaks the monotony and a smooth stylus, let’s find out if these features make this smartphone an attractive pick for consumers.
Design
The Alcatel V3 Ultra embraces a candybar form with a flat 2.5D glass design and measures just under 8mm in thickness. At 196g, it manages to stay fairly comfortable to hold even during long usage. The Hyper Blue variant I tested has a unique appeal — glossy meets matte in a surprisingly elegant way. While some may find it a bit flashy, it does break the monotony of matte-only finishes seen in many other budget devices.
What really adds a design twist here is the side button layout. The power button sits neatly alongside the right edge, accompanied by a volume rocker and the Nxtpaper shortcut slider — a feature not commonly found in phones, doubles up as a fingerprint sensor. On the left is the SIM + microSD card tray, and support for eSIM brings rare flexibility in this price bracket. A USB-C port, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and dual speakers with DTS 3D Surround finish off the bottom edge.
Stylus
Bundled in the box is a smooth, responsive stylus — a feature we typically don’t expect under ₹20K. Whether it’s doodling, signing PDFs, or simply navigating the UI, the stylus experience is genuinely useful. It docks into the back of the protective case, making it easy to carry.
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Alcatel V3 Ultra design | Photo Credit: Haider Ali Khan
Compared to the Motorola Edge 60 Stylus variant, which offers slightly better latency and stylus-based features, the V3 Ultra stylus still holds its ground for regular use. It’s a thoughtful addition that boosts the phone’s creative appeal.
Display
Alcatel V3 Ultra’s 6.78-inch FHD+ Nxtpaper display (1080 x 2460 pixels) is its biggest USP. Built with anti-glare AG etched glass and IPS paneling, the screen looks and feels like paper. It supports a 120Hz refresh rate and is surprisingly sharp and smooth despite its matte texture — a first in this category.
Alcatel offers four display modes, each tailored for different use-cases: Regular, Max Ink (for deep reading sessions), Ink Paper (an E-ink-like grayscale interface), and Colour Paper (for reduced glare with soft colour tones). The intuitive slider on the side lets you toggle between modes quickly, making it ideal for readers and long-screen users. Compared to the shiny glass slabs flooding the market, this panel feels comfortable, distinctive, and thoughtful.
But not all is perfect. Brightness levels under direct sunlight are just average, and certain users might find the muted icon contrast a bit jarring, especially coming from AMOLED screens. Still, for eye comfort, this display is a winner.
OS
Alcatel ships the V3 Ultra with Android 14 out of the box — a clean, near-stock Android experience with no bloatware in sight. While this minimal approach helps keep things fluid, Android 16 is already out, and Alcatel hasn’t yet offered clarity on long-term software updates. That’s a red flag for those hoping for a future-proof buy.
Performance
The V3 Ultra is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 6300 chipset paired with up to 8 GB RAM (plus 8GB virtual RAM expansion) and 128 GB storage. While this processor is quite dated in 2025, it still performs fine for daily tasks — browsing, YouTube, emails, and even some light multitasking felt lag-free.
The UI is fluid, thanks to the clean software, and there’s no excessive animation to slow things down. On Geekbench, the phone returned a Single-Core Score of 702 and a Multi-Core Score of 1914, which makes it look average. The GPU score of 1400, though not stellar, handles casual gaming like Subway Surfers or COD Mobile (on medium settings) without serious frame drops.
That said, this isn’t a phone for gamers or power users. It does get slightly warm with extended use, and intensive apps like Lightroom or Farlight 84 are best avoided unless you’re okay with some lag.
Camera
Despite the big 108 MP + 8 MP ultrawide + 2 MP macro rear camera setup and a 32 MP selfie camera on paper, the V3 Ultra’s camera output is underwhelming. Daylight shots are soft, oversaturated, and lack dynamic range. HDR tries to fix this but ends up blowing highlights more often than not.
Alcatel V3 Ultra camera sample | Photo Credit: Haider Ali Khan
Low-light photography struggles as well — Super Night Scene mode adds noise rather than detail. The 8MP ultrawide sensor is usable but suffers from edge distortion. The macro lens is more of a checkbox addition than a functional tool.
Alcatel V3 Ultra camera sample | Photo Credit: Haider Ali Khan
Even the 32 MP selfie camera, which could’ve redeemed the setup, delivers soft, filtered results. In fact, one rarely feels inclined to open the camera app, which is disappointing at this price point when brands like Samsung, iQOO and Realme are pushing much better imaging systems.
Battery
The phone comes packed with a 5,010 mAh battery. Light to moderate users will easily get through a day and a half without charging, and heavy users can still expect a full day of screen time. However, the 33 W charger, though faster than older 18 W standards, takes around 80–90 minutes for a full charge — slightly behind some Realme and Redmi phones that offer 44 W or even 67 W fast charging in this price segment.
Verdict
Alcatel V3 Ultra is a bold offering targeting the design-savvy and reader-first audience. With its matte Nxtpaper display, practical stylus, and a clean UI, it brings some genuinely unique elements to the mid-range segment. But in a market flooded with all-rounders that offer superior performance, better cameras, and faster charging at similar prices, the V3 Ultra feels like a niche pick. It’s ideal for someone who wants to reduce screen glare, focus on reading, and enjoy the luxury of a stylus — not for someone expecting flagship-grade performance.
So, can Alcatel reclaim its spot in India’s hyper-competitive mid and budget space? Maybe not just yet — but it’s certainly made us look its way again. Alcatel V3 Ultra starts at ₹19,999.
