Itel unveils City 100 smartphone with DeepSeek R1 AI-powered features and infrared remote control

Itel has unveiled the City 100 - a budget-friendly, feature-packed smartphone for the African, Asian, and Middle Eastern markets.

Transsion is a Chinese maker of smartphones targeting emerging markets with smartphones priced under $100 under brands like Itel. It was ranked fourth in global smartphone sales after shipping 106.7 million units in 2024.

The City 100 is powered by an 8-core Unisoc T7250 CPU, which is roughly the same as a Snapdragon 680 in performance, and runs Pure 14.5 OS, the company's customized version of Android 14. Although not very fast, the Unisoc is sufficient for daily web browsing and social media use. The 6.75-inch LCD display is uninspiring due to its low resolution of 1,600 x 720, though it has 700 nits of brightness and supports 90 Hz refresh rates.

The phone comes in various configurations with 4, 6, or 8 GB of physical RAM, supplemented by virtual RAM for a total of 12, 18, or 24 GB of usable RAM, respectively. Storage comes in 128 GB or 256 GB configurations. The 24 GB RAM with 128 GB ROM model in fairy purple, pure titanium, or navy blue has an MSRP of 1,399,000 Indonesian Rupiah (~$85).

The City 100 comes with many expected features, including a large 5,200 mAh battery with 18-watt quick charging, IP64-rating for dust and water resistance, 1.5 meters (4.9 ft.) drop resistance, a slim 7.65 mm body, rear magnetic mount, a 13 MP rear and 8MP front camera.

The phone comes with DeepSeek R1 AI integrated into the one-touch access button on the side, enabling features such as text translation, image-to-text OCR, and writing and shopping assistance. Apps, calls, and music can be controlled by touch-free hand gestures.

Rare among current phones, the City 100 also includes an infrared (IR) remote control feature that allows users to change TV channels, adjust AC temperatures, and make settings changes to other IR-controlled devices. A limited number of Itel MagSpeakers will be included for free with each purchase while supplies last.

Itel doesn't sell its phones in America, so readers there will have to settle for budget Nokia smartphones (sold here on Amazon).