itel Zeno 300 launched in India at Rs 9,649

itel's pitch for the Zeno 300 fits in one line: a big battery and a body that can take a fall, for under Rs 10,000. The Transsion-owned brand launched the phone in India on Friday at Rs 9,649 for a single 4GB RAM and 64GB storage version.

It comes in Lavender Purple, Silver Mist and Classic Black. itel is also offering a free one-time screen replacement within 100 days of purchase, a useful cover in a price band where a cracked display can cost a good chunk of the phone's value to fix.

Battery and build come first

The Zeno 300 carries a 6,000mAh battery with 18W charging over USB Type-C. itel says the phone has been tested to MIL-STD-810H, a US military testing standard for drops, vibration and everyday wear. That is a certification of test procedures, not a promise that the phone will survive any specific fall, and itel is leaning on it heavily in its marketing.

The display is a 6.56-inch HD+ LCD (720 x 1612 pixels) with a 90Hz refresh rate and a waterdrop notch. Inside is Unisoc's T7100 octa-core chipset, a 12nm part with two Cortex-A75 cores, six Cortex-A55 cores and a Mali-G57 MP1 GPU.

Memory is modest. The 4GB of physical RAM can be topped up with up to 8GB of virtual RAM, which itel markets as 12GB of "effective" RAM. Virtual RAM borrows storage space and is much slower than the real thing, so buyers should treat that figure with caution. Storage is 64GB of eMMC 5.1, expandable through a microSD slot.

Software and extras

The phone runs Android 16 Go Edition, Google's lighter version of Android meant for entry-level hardware. Go Edition trims memory use and ships with lighter apps, which suits a 4GB phone better than full Android would.

Cameras are basic: an 8MP rear camera with LED flash and a 5MP selfie camera. Audio gets DTS processing and there is a 3.5mm headphone jack.

A few practical touches stand out. There is an IR blaster for controlling TVs and air conditioners, USB OTG support and a side-mounted fingerprint sensor alongside face unlock. itel's UltraLink Free Call feature is meant to help with calls in weak-network areas. The phone supports dual 4G VoLTE, dual-band Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5.2. There is no 5G.

Where it fits

Arijeet Talapatra, CEO of itel India, said the company wanted to build around "what consumers truly value", pointing to the battery, the military-grade durability claim and the effective RAM figure as the reasons to buy.

The Zeno 300 follows the Zeno 200 from earlier this year. Oddly, the older model had a larger 6.75-inch 120Hz screen and 128GB of storage, so the new phone is not a straight upgrade on every line. Its gains are the bigger battery, faster charging and a newer Android version.

The sub-Rs 10,000 segment is crowded with 4G and budget 5G phones from Xiaomi, Realme, Samsung and itel's sister brands. For buyers who want a second phone, a phone for a parent or something that can last two days on a charge, the Zeno 300 makes a clear case. Those who want 5G or a better camera will have to look elsewhere.