First National Bank has debuted the second generation of its own-branded smartphones. The ConeXis X2 and ConeXis A2 will be available for R69/month for the base model and R199/month for the premium model, and will be offered free to consumers who are on eBucks rewards level 5.

The launch of the new smartphones comes just over a year after the bank launched its first smartphones. Like the originals, the ConeXis X1 and A1, are made by ZTE.

FNB said it has sold about 76 000 of the original models.

The premium X2 is a 4G smartphone featuring 32GB of flash storage and 3GB of RAM. It features dual cameras on the back — one is 13 megapixels, the other 2MP — and a 5MP front-facing camera. The phone, which runs Android Nougat, supports tap-and-pay at the point of sale through FNB’s Pay service. It has a 5-inch screen, 2 800mAh battery and a fingerprint scanner. It also has an eight-way processor and supports virtual reality applications.

It costs R199/month (up from R150/month for the X1 at launch), and comes with a monthly 25 minutes of calls and 100MB of data on the bank’s own FNB Connect network, a “virtual” mobile operator that piggybacks on Cell C’s infrastructure. A R1 500 deposit, refundable after 24 months, is payable upfront. People on different eBucks tiers get between 10% and 100% off the price.

The second phone, the ConeXis A2, is a 3G phone with a 4.5-inch display, 8GB of flash storage and 1GB of RAM. With a 2 000mAh battery and a quad-core processor, it costs R69/month (up R10/month compared to the A1 model’s launch price) and comes with a monthly 15 minutes of voice and 50MB of data. eBucks level discounts also apply; a R500 refundable deposit is payable.

Both phones, which are available from 2 October, are network locked to FNB Connect, meaning they can’t be used on other South African networks. They can be unlocked after 24 months. — © 2017 NewsCentral Media