Skip to main content

Alcatel’s Hero 2+ will run Cyanogen OS, and sell unlocked for $300 this spring

Alcatel OneTouch HERO 2+
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Alcatel is treading into OnePlus territory (minus the invite system) with the OneTouch Hero 2+, an unlocked 6-inch phablet that will run Cyanogen OS and be available to consumers in the U.S. and Canada for $300 in the second quarter of 2015. The OneTouch Hero 2+ is a refreshed OneTouch Hero 2, a phone Alcatel announced in September at IFA 2014.

The Hero 2+, announced at Mobile World Congress 2015, will sport a six-inch 1080p display with stylus support It will also feature a MT6592 2GHz octa-core processor, a 13-megapixel rear camera, 5-megapixel front camera, 1080p video capture, 2 gigabytes of RAM and 16GB of storage (expandable to 32GB via MicroSD). The LTE-enabled smartphone will measure in at 160.5mm x 81.6mm x 7.9mm (6.3” x 3.2” x 0.3”).

Recommended Videos

The intriguing part of the Hero 2+ is Alcatel’s partnership with Cyanogen to bring Cyanogen OS 11 to the phablet. The brief partnership with Cyanogen to bring CyanogenMod to the OnePlus One, another budget-friendly phone, met an unfortunate demise, which led to OnePlus building OxygenOS.

“We’ve joined forces with Alcatel OneTouch to push the limits of what a great user experience looks like, beginning with their latest phablet for North America, the Hero 2+,” said Vikram Natarajan, senior vice president of Global Partnerships and Distribution for Cyanogen. “Our partnership is reflective of our deep commitment to driving innovation and meaningful differentiation for users; with enhanced privacy and security features.”

Alcatel notes that the Hero 2+ marks the first device brought to North America as part of its partnership with Cyanogen, and it has plans to bring more devices to the market together this year and beyond.

Jason Hahn
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Jason Hahn is a part-time freelance writer based in New Jersey. He earned his master's degree in journalism at Northwestern…
We’ve got our first big clue about the Galaxy S25’s arrival
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra in Titanium Gray in hand.

The Samsung Galaxy S25 has had a tentative early 2025 launch date for months now, but we might finally have an actual date to look forward to. Samsung will hold its next Galaxy Unpacked event on January 23, according to FNNews, a South Korean website, with the Galaxy S25 series as the star of the show. It's the most precise date we have seen yet for the speculated Galaxy S25 announcement.

Take this news with some skepticism, though, as Samsung has not confirmed any dates for its Unpacked event yet. The report also states San Francisco is "a strong candidate" for the city to host the event. The last Galaxy Unpacked event was held in Paris in July.

Read more
I tried a new Android phone that puts some of the best smartphone cameras to shame
The rear camera setup on the Oppo Find X8 Pro.

It’s been a few years since I was surprised by a smartphone camera’s zoom performance. With Samsung offering 100x zoom on its Galaxy S Ultra lineup, little has shocked me with smartphone cameras — until now.

The Oppo Find X8 series is the successor to the Find X7 series from last year, and alongside several other improvements, there’s also been a significant upgrade in one area: the 30x zoom. Oppo and OnePlus have great cameras at shorter zoom distances, and at a recent briefing, I discovered that we can now add the 30x zoom to the list.

Read more
The best Apple iPhone 16 Pro cases for 2024
Someone holding the iPhone 16 Pro.

The iPhone 16 Pro has been released alongside Apple's 2024 lineup, which includes the iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, and iPhone 16 Pro Max. This model features several highly anticipated advancements, such as Camera Control, support for Apple Intelligence, and the new A18 Pro chipset, among others.

As is typical with iPhones, the iPhone 16 Pro comes with a premium price tag. To safeguard your investment, consider purchasing a protective case. Here are our top recommendations.

Read more