[Alcatel Idol 4S Guides, News, & Discussion] okc_car_dude:
Pricing Actually on Par w/ U.S. Unlocked Competition

You may be right, but if so, then Asus has shot themselves in the foot as well. They will have three versions of the Zenfone 3, with the bottom tier unit starting at $299. And overall, you honestly getting better specs from the Zenfone 3 compared to the Idol 4, because you get the 2016 Snapdragon 625 (on the newer, more efficient 14 nm finFET process), the same camera sensor used in the Idol 4S, a bigger battery, a larger display... and what at least the higher Idol 4S should have, a fingerprint sensor on all models this year! However, I'm here to tell you I'm a huge audiophile, and I would still rather get the Idol 4 over the Zenfone 3!

Also, the Asus Zenfone 3 Premium will be priced at $499, but will have the Snapdragon 820 processor and a 24mp camera, but those 24 mp are squeezed onto the same sensor size. Meaning, smaller pixels, which don't let in as much light; only good pictures in adequate lighting.

My guess for the Idol 4 will be between $249 - $299 (but my bets are closer to $279), and I'm truly hoping for a price of $399 for the 4S, but I'm expecting more like $449, with the possibilities of going as high as $499.

On its competition, which is offering more bang for the buck, I wouldn't worry about it all too much. Last year on paper and in benchmarks, the Asus Zenfone 2 offered more bang for the buck (WAY better CPU and GPU, most thought a better camera, and had an option to come with 4x the storage of the Idol 3 w/ twice the RAM for +$50 comparatively.), but most YouTube reviews I saw comparing them went for the Idol 3 5.5". There's just something about the Technicolor display paired with those JBL speakers. =) Although, I really think Alcatel shot themselves in the foot to not include a fingerprint sensor (a lot of people expect that from mid/high-end phones these days... but IMO, the reason they didn't include it is because they already had the details lined up for the body a long time ago, and they were originally not expecting to go this premium for the 4S.)

---------- Post added at 04:58 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:38 PM ----------

If a great camera and good headphone output are what you desire, then I am failing to see why you are even here. You are representative of the masses and obviously don't care about the main point of having such a phone.

Since way back when, all high-end smartphones were pretty much on par with each other except for their cameras. The camera, for a long time, dictated which phone was better. Even I bought my first two smartphones based on camera quality alone. (Samsung Memoir & HTC One S [One X, but with an aluminum body and a smaller AMOLED display.]). But back then, there were Huge differences between the flagships and everyone else's cameras. Basically, only the flagships gave you good camera quality, and everything else was crap. Now, you can get decent quality for around $100 or even pretty good camera quality from several $200 phones. Since then, I have realized that I so very, very rarely ever take pictures that matter, and even most mid-range cameras are more than sufficient for me.

So, what do I do on my phone on a daily basis that matters to me? Watch videos, listen to music, and play games. Therefore, JBL Idols all the way!

For the camera Geeks, The Idol 4S actually has the Sony Exmor IMX298, which is the successor to the sensor used in the Galaxy S6 and has the same pixel size and area (even though it's a newer and more compact sensor @ 1/2.8"). It's newer tech is even capable of capturing full framed images at 30fps, vs the S6 sensor's 24 fps (this is if you were taking a 16 mp [4.6k 4:3] video, basically)... Although yes, without the experience and electronic giant R&D Departments of LG or Samsung... while it is a quality sensor and lens, it is true that you will not even get S6 quality with this sensor on Alcatel camera software. BUUUUUUUT... that was never what the Idol 4/4S was about and anyone who knows these phones knows that...

Which is why I question what you're even doing on this forum, other than trolling?