Here's what ~$65 could get you: a 6,000 mAh battery and a large 120Hz display

The Mobile World Congress (MWC) is the talk of town – there are some truly outstanding devices being presented, but there's more to the mobile world than just flagships and foldables.

What about ultra-budget-friendly phones? I'm talking about that sub-$100 category.

Enter the Ai+ Pulse 2

Users in India will soon be able to get the just-presented Ai+ Pulse 2 phone. That's a handset that offers a 6.75-inch HD+ display with a 120Hz refresh rate. For reference, basic iPhones were stuck at 60Hz until recently. A refresh rate of 120Hz assures that the visuals are smooth and silky. The display panel itself on the Pulse 2 is far from being very bright at 450 nits, but if you don't use your phone under direct sunlight, it'll be fine.

The Pulse 2 has a modest Unisoc T7250 octa-core chipset that's built on a 12nm process. You simply can't expect miracles out of this silicon, now that we're in the era of 2nm chipsets (like the Exynos 2600 in the Galaxy S26). As a rule of thumb, the lower the nm figure, the more advanced, powerful and energy-efficient the chipset is.

The camera setup consists of a dual 50 MP rear setup and an 8 MP selfie. The battery is solid at 6,000 mAh of capacity with 18W charging speeds. The phone ships with Android 16 and is sold at ~$65 for the first 24 hours, then it goes to ~$90.

Who is it for?

This one is designed for people who care more about price than performance. I see this phone as a cool way to introduce your elderly relatives to smartphones and you're not sure if they'll become fond of it. Why go spend hundreds of dollars on a new device if they won't use it? In markets like India, where affordability drives volume, phones in this range often sell in huge numbers.

It is also a practical choice as a backup device or for parents buying a first phone for their child (if you trust your child with a phone in the first place). The goal here is reliability and screen size at the lowest possible cost, not gaming power or flagship-level photography.

I don't expect this one to be launched in the US, but it's an interesting little fella nevertheless.