We go hands-on with the One G1!

Today Cherry Mobile officially launched the One G1, the company’s newest entry to the Android One initiative, which was launched last year. While the first batch of Android One devices managed to scratch the itch when it comes to an affordable phone with pure Android on board, some found that the small display and dated processor not to their liking. Cherry Mobile’s One G1 represents an upgrade to the initiative, bringing top notch, mid-range specs for cheap.

Cherry Mobile One G1

• 1.2GHz Snapdragon 410 processor
• 2GB of RAM
• 5-inch HD display, Dragontrail scratch resistant glass, 1280 x 720 resolution
• 16GB internal storage, expandable via microSD
• 13-megapixel rear camera with flash
• 5-megapixel front camera
• Dual-SIM
• 3G, LTE
• WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, A-GPS
• 2,500mAh battery

Initial impressions: a bigger, better, faster Android One phone

The One G1 is quite an upgrade compared to the first offering to the Android One initiative. One of the biggest complaints to the original phone was the small, 4.5-inch display and dated MediaTek MT6582 processor powering it. While the specs of the G1 is aimed at the mid-range segment, it still represents a significant upgrade to the previous iteration.

Overall the phone looks identical to the device launched in Turkey dubbed the General One, with a few differences. Gone is the synthetic, hard leather back, replaced by a matte black back that’s slightly soft to the touch. While the G1’s bezels aren’t what you’d call thin, they’re not too large either. Overall the size of the G1 is comparable to the Moto X (2014), and is slightly thinner width-wise compared to the Cubix Cube. There’s two small silver strips running on the side of the phone to help give the device a bit of visual flair.

The One G1 gets a display size bump from the One last year, as well as increased resolution this puts the One G1 on par with other smartphones in its price range. The One G1 also sports 2GB of RAM as well as 16GB of storage which can further be expanded via a microSD card.

Powering the One G1 is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 processor, running at 1.2GHz. It’s a dated, but reliable processor, which doesn’t suffer from overheating issues that Qualcomm’s other offerings seem to be plagued with. Essentially you are trading a bit of performance for stability and better thermal characteristics, which is a tradeoff that we’ll glady take. The phone also has LTE compatible with both networks.

As far as actual performance is concerned, the One G1 blazes through Android 5.1 Lollipop which isn’t surprising at all considering that Google had a hand in optimizing the phone to run their OS. Just like the One before it, the One G1 is slated to receive Android M as soon as its launched this year, though neither Google nor Cherry Mobile gave us a definite release date or time frame when that will happen.

So, that’s it for this hands-on. The One G1 is obviously a huge step up compared to the previous device, and gives Cherry Mobile another weapon to dominate the sub 10K price range that the Flare X is already playing in. We’ll see if we can snag a review device to play with later on, and as always keep tuned to see our full review of the G1 in the coming days.

The One G1 will be sold at the end of the month.