We unbox the Cherry Mobile Cubix Cube!
During the launch of the Flare X, Cherry Mobile also unveiled a brand new, sub-brand: Cubix. The Cubix lineup is meant to be a wholly separate line of phones, with its own branding, brand identity and distribution channel. Cherry Mobile is positioning the Cubix lineup as an online exclusive series of phones, selling the devices primarily through Lazada which allows the company to cut the prices aggressively to compete with other, similarly specced products of their competitors.
Cherry Mobile Cubix Cube specs
- 1.4GHz octa-core processor
- 2GB of RAM
- 5-inch IPS On Cell Full Lamination display, 1280 x 720 resolution
- 16GB of storage, expandable via microSD up to 64GB
- 13-megapixel rear camera with flash
- 5-megapixel front camera
- Dual-SIM
- 3G
- WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS
- 2000mAh battery
- Android 4.4 KitKat
- Php 4,490
The Cube is the first of the Cubix phones, sporting a very good set of specs and a rock bottom price. Today we’ll be unboxing the Cube and give you guys our first take on it.
Packaging and contents:
Remember when we said that Cherry Mobile is trying to position Cubix is a completely different brand? Well, a glance at the retail packaging of the phone shows zero trace of Cherry Mobile branding. Only the Cubix logo and the name of the actual product is shown in the box.
That extends to the accessories inside the box, as well as the user manual. The usual bevy of accessories (USB charger, USB cable, and headphones) are in the box, as well as a screen protector.
Initial impressions: Nice looking plastic build but smudges like crazy
When we first saw the Cubix Cube, we were reminded of Cherry Mobile’s previous Razor line of phones, especially the Razor 2. The Cube has a primarily plastic body that makes it lightweight and easy to hold. The sides of the phone are curved to facilitate easier use with one hand though that’s hardly a problem since the phone sports a smaller 5-inch display than most of the phones in Cherry’s roster.
The phone sports a glossy, pearlescent gray back that shines when light hits it the right way. Two white strips on the top and bottom of the back of the phone add a bit of visual variety. The 13-megapixel camera is located on the upper left side of the phone. Much like other phones, the back cover can be removed which reveals the 2000mAh battery, SIM slots, and the microSD expansion card slots. The power and volume keys are on the right side of the phone (with the phone facing you) while the 3.5mm and USB slot are located on the top.
The only issue we have with the Cube is that the back of the phone smudges like crazy. It was apparent during our initial time with the phone during Cherry Mobile’s event and is going to be an issue moving forward.
On the specs front, the Cube sports MediaTek’s MT6592M processor, paired with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of storage. While we’ve seen that spec loadout before in countless other phones, the killer here is that the Cube has all of those specs in a package that’s far cheaper than most similarly specced phones. Priced at a mere Php 4,490, it undercuts the prices of budget octa-core devices of a lot of brands (even Cherry Mobile’s). Simply put, there is no other phone that comes close to the value for money proposition that the Cube gives you, especially at its price point.
The only issue that we see (for some) is that the Cube is a Lazada exclusive – meaning you’ll never see one being sold in Cherry Mobile’s stores. It also makes handling the phone a bit difficult before purchase, unless you know someone who already owns one. Cherry Mobile should put a demo phone or two in their stores so prospective buyers can at least handle it before shelling out cash.
