We go hands-on Cherry Mobile’s newest Flare devices!

Whenever we talk about Cherry Mobile’s Flare series of phones, the term game-changer gets tossed around a lot. Why shouldn’t it? Cherry Mobile’s offerings, specifically the Flare series has almost always been game-changers in the local market: the Flare 3 shattered the illusion that a quad-core smartphone with 1GB of RAM should be priced higher than 4K and the Flare X managed to successfully challenge the bang-for-the-buck offerings of international brands. It’s no surprise then that the company is rolling out two new phones that challenge the term bang-for-the-buck, and if what we’ve seen so far is any indication, both of these phones are the very epitome of the term.

Cherry Mobile Flare S4

• 1.3GHz MediaTek MT6753 octa-core processor
• 2GB of RAM
• 5-inch HD IPS display, Dragon Trail glass protection, 1280 x 720 resolution
• 16GB of storage, expandable via microSD up to 32GB
• 13-megapixel rear camera, BSI
• 5-megapixel front camera, BSI
• Dual-SIM
• 3G, LTE
• WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, A-GPS
• 2100mAh battery
• Android 5.1 Lollipop
• Php 4,999

Cherry Mobile Flare 4 specs

• 1.3GHz MediaTek MT6753 octa-core processor
• 2GB of RAM
• 5-inch HD IPS display, Dragon Trail glass protection, 1280 x 720 resolution
• 16GB of storage, expandable via microSD up to 32GB
• 13-megapixel rear camera, BSI
• 5-megapixel front camera, BSI
• Dual-SIM
• 3G, LTE
• WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, A-GPS
• 2100mAh battery
• Android 5.1 Lollipop
• Php 4,999

Initial Impressions: unbelievable combination of specs, build quality and materials

When you start moving into the realm of 5K budget smartphones, you usually have to start making compromises – important ones – to be able to reach the price point you’re shooting for. Either you skimp out on the specs to get a phone that’s nice to look at, or you go with cheap, generic plastic bodies and max out the specs. Cherry Mobile has seemingly done the impossible with the Flare S4 and the Flare 4 – they’ve managed to offer elegant, premium-looking phones that have the same specs as the already stellar Flash 2 and in a price that’s usually associated with LTE-less octa-core smartphones.

While the Flare S4 and the Flare 4 are different devices, that’s only the case on the outside – the Flare S4 has a more masculine, angular build while the Flare 4 has a nicer, curved exterior. Whatever phone you choose, both devices utilize metallic frames that have beveled edges for a cleaner, more elegant look, and both phones use physical capacitive keys for navigation.

There are minor differences, of course – the Flare S4 for example, has the volume rocker and power button on the right side, while the Flare 4 has the power button on the right and the volume rocker on the left. The Flare S4 splits the 3.5mm jack and USB port to the top and bottom of the phone, while the Flare 4 has both of them up top. Unlike their bigger brother, the Flare S4 and 4 have removable backs and batteries.

[UPDATE: Cherry Mobile has updated the back of the Flare S4 with a premium designed back, similar to that of ASUS’ Zenfone 2 Deluxe.]

Both devices use MediaTek’s MT6753 octa-core processor running at 1.3GHz paired with 2GB of RAM. The more eagle-eyed among you will notice that this is the same configuration for Alcatel’s Flash 2. The phones also have LTE on board, and have 16GB worth of storage that can further be expanded by a microSD card. Both phones are also running on Android 5.1 Lollipop.

As far as actual use, both devices are quick and responsive, and there’s little bloatware to slow the phone down. While we were unable to run AnTuTu benchmarks on them, you can expect them to score around the same as the similarly configured Flash 2.

At Php 4,999, Cherry Mobile’s new budget Flare phones are the new benchmark for phones at the Php 4,999 mark. The company has managed to offer a no-compromise device at a very, very compelling pricepoint that’s hard to ignore. We’ll have to see in our full review if there’s a catch somewhere, or if these two phones are truly hype-worthy.