Do you need a budget touchscreen Android that looks like a Nokia clone from 2004? Not exactly. But it's cheap enough that you can keep one stashed in case of an emergency. It's also advanced (and simple) enough that just about anyone, from a young child to a grandparent, can use one. If there isn't a Citrus L05 hiding in your car's glove box, you're doing it wrong.
-
Design
-
Display
-
Performance
-
Camera
-
Battery
-
Value
Exactly where the Citrus L05 came from is somewhat of a mystery for Stuff. It just magically turned up at our offices, in a box with no contact details, one day. At first glance, it’s a very cheap (less than R300 counts as ‘cheap’, right?) dumbphone. Look again, and there are a few surprises inside.
The first of these is the presence of three slots behind the phone’s removable battery. Space for two SIM cards and a microSD card are options we’re not used to seeing in any phone. But it’s not the most surprising thing about this mysterious, cheap little phone.
Baby Android
The Citrus L05 looks like a vintage Nokia knockoff, right down to the unlock sequence used by the phone’s physical keys. The T9 keypad layout, screen proportion, even the charge port and headphone jack locations scream ‘this phone comes from 2004.’ So does the aforementioned battery and the removable back panel. But the charge port is USB-C, and there’s a little dedicated charging adaptor permanently bonded to a two-prong plug in the box.
That’s just the first sign of modernity. At a glance, though, you’ll struggle to spot it straight away. Part of that is because, like the phone’s arrival at Stuff, the Citrus L05’s origins are also mysterious.
Hardware… somewhere
The L05 seems to only be sold in South Africa. Data on its internals have been cobbled together from a) the box and b) various places where this Citrus is sold. There’s a MediaTek processor inside, a quad-core MTK6739 that runs on 1GB of RAM and 8GB of internal storage. Of the latter, only 3GB is available. That would be ridiculous for a dumbphone, but this thing is, very technically, smart.
It runs Android Go 12, for starters. If you’ve ever used the low-resource operating system, you’ll know that it’s far from speedy. It seems to handle well enough on the Citrus L05’s 2.8in 320 x 240 touchscreen display, but you’ll need to be prepared for reduced functions. Using it was challenging for us. The touchscreen is functional, so swipes and pokes do what they should. But the form factor activated decades-old muscle memory, and we found ourselves defaulting to the physical keys and central directional button.
That’s surprisingly handy, if you use the L05 the way we’d expect. It’s the perfect device for someone whose last encounter with modern tech took place in 2004. The keyboard is a little narrow for thicker fingers, but most folks will find their way around.
Token camera
There are, believe it or not, two cameras living in this thing. A rear 0.3MP snapper takes care of everyday work, while a front-facing lens will let you conduct video calls. These are possible via Wi-Fi or cellular data — the Citrus L05 supports up to 4G. Basic apps — YouTube, WhatsApp, Facebook, and Chrome — are preinstalled. For the price you’re paying, the L05 is surprisingly competent in that line.
Images are… look, it’ll take photos, okay? You’re unlikely to post them on social media, but they should help to confirm whether you’ve found the correct item at the grocery store (as long as there’s no need to read small text).
The removable 2,500mAh battery lasts for ages on standby, just like the T9 handsets from days gone by. Actually put the wireless connections to use, and it’ll need to return to its charger more often. Charge it, turn it off, and leave it in your car, and you’ll have a handy backup in case of emergencies. It would even suit an older child. Even if they encounter one of the internet’s more disgusting corners, there’s only so much trauma possible at a 320 x 240 resolution. It’s not impossible… but it won’t be in HD.
Citrus L05 verdict
The main drawcard here is the price. The Citrus L05 launched at R300, but you’ll find it at lower prices right now. As a standby backup or a phone for an older (or younger) user, it’s perfectly serviceable. It’s also almost disposable, though we’d rescue the battery if at all possible. There’s one drawback, though. This hyper-budget dual SIM phone’s first SIM slot is reserved for the Telkom card you’ll get in the box. As faults go, that’s not much of one. The L05 isn’t high-tech, by any means, but it’s also a long way away from high-priced. You should probably own one, based purely on how little it costs. It doesn’t matter if you don’t need it right now. Someone will, eventually. And then you can just… hand it over.
