Having been in the country for just over a year now, Vivo has partnered with MTN to launch the company’s most accessible phone to date. The Vivo Y1S has dropped in South Africa and is available through MTN and only MTN. If you’re in the market for a budget smartphone you should probably be paying attention as Vivo has claimed that the Y1S is one the most accessible in the country, which is a pretty bold claim when you take into account loads of other budget smartphones released in the last year. Still, let’s hear them out.

If you’re interested in getting on the Vivo Y1S, you’re looking at settling into a 24-month contract with MTN where you’ll be paying R200 a month for the device. That’s not a bad price at all and we’d be even more stoked if it weren’t a 24-month contract but I suppose that’s how they keep the costs down. Still, keep in mind that you’re getting what you pay for and this offer is really for those looking for a cheap alternative to the droves of expensive flagship devices. So what exactly is the Y1S?

Vivo? Is it me you’re looking for?

The Vivo Y1S sounds like a fairly enticing budget smartphone with that does what it can without offering all those bells and whistles that drag the price out. It comes with a 6.22-inch IPS HD+ display with 720 x 1520p resolution. It also comes stuffed with a fairly chunky 4,030mAh battery which should last for a decent amount of time and includes a 5MP selfie camera and a 13MP main camera round back. Nothing all that amazing but they’ll probably get the job done.

Christopher Hopkirk, General Manager for Devices at MTN SA says “Offering vivo products on our network is in line with our commitment to offer all South Africans the benefit of a modern connected life. There is no doubt that vivo smartphones will complement our award-winning network which we have invested over R55 billion into in the past five years.”