Earlier this week, we talked about our first impressions of this 5.7-inch phablet. From the grandiose name itself, Cosmos Three, I was under the impression I’d be experiencing a phablet that would rock my smartphone universe. But does it deliver that?
To start off this review, we should talk about something that’s often ignored in phone reviews: the packaging. After all, first impressions last. To that end, the Cosmos Three came in a surprisingly compact box that was simple yet eye-catching. This simplicity added to the premium feel of the device, and it was complemented by the three-layered structure of the box (slipcover, box cover, foam top) and the hard, spongy foam material that held the phablet itself.
Upon opening the box of the Cherry Mobile Cosmos Three , you will get:
– Cherry Mobile Cosmos Three (1 pc)
– USB Charging Cable (1 pc)
– Travel Charger (1 pc)
– Earphones (1 pair)
– Cosmos Three User Manual (1 pc)
I’m ambivalent on the outer design of the Cherry Mobile Cosmos Three. While I do like the metallic finish and the slightly-rough texture of the back, the plastic-esque white bezels of the front put me off. Aesthetically, the stark contrasts between the front and the back simply don’t feel like they blend well together. Maybe it’s just a matter of taste, all things considered. Personally, the plastic front-versus-metallic back look did not impress.
Speaking of the front, there are no buttons on the bottom bezel. The home and back buttons are on the screen itself. Thus, it seems pointless to even have a bottom bezel that’s this large. Conversely, the top bezel features the front camera.
On the back, we can see the main camera and the flash to its left. More importantly, however, below the main camera is the circular fingerprint sensor. There’s a headphone jack at the top, and the bottom sports the USB-C port and the speakers. The only thing I did not like about the outer layout would be the latter. Having the speakers on the bottom part of the phablet results in awkward audio moments when playing games on it. When I tested out the gaming capabilities of the Cosmos Three, sometimes I unintentionally blocked the speakers with my hands. This made the audio either sound much, much lower, or muffled it entirely.
Can handle multiple apps, but not necessarily at their best. Performance wise, we’re looking at a 2.11GHz MediaTek Helio X20 deca-core CPU with the Mali-T880 GPU for graphics. Memory-wise, we get 3GB RAM and 32GB ROM. The processor’s speed and efficiency can be immediately felt the moment I tried scrolling through the phone for a few minutes. There’s virtually no lag, and switching between apps feels absolutely fluid. Which is strange when you get some moments of noticable lag when playing games on it, like Dead Trigger 2. Upon spending about 30 minutes going through the introductory levels of Dead Trigger 2, there were points of noticeable (but not terrible) lag, mostly occuring during action scenes involving multiple zombies. Of course, everything was still playable, but surprising considering the powerful specs of the Cosmos Three.
I also need to mention the small amount of pop-up ads that would come up every now and then, directly from Cherry Mobile. While I myself did not mind them, other users who have no idea that their phones could do this should, at least, be aware. It did not feel obtrusive, however, as they usually only came up when the Cosmos Three was unlocked after some time.
On the bright side, graphics-intensive games look crisp and great when displayed by the Cosmos Three. There’s a bit more ‘oomph’ and pop to everything. In general, I would recommend the Cosmos Three for most games, but caution against any action-heavy games with top-shelf graphics, as you may notice a bit of lag at times. I also have to applaud the LTE 700 Mhz capabilities of the Cosmos Three. Definitely, the browsing speed in general felt faster, and there was less waiting time in between loading websites. Additionally, calls made to and from the phone were clear and crisp.
For cameras, we’re looking at a 13-megapixel main camera with LED flash, and an 8-megapixel selfie camera with flash as well. The pictures taken with the Cosmos Three looked good, all things considered. Colors popped, and no color looked muted. My only complaint comes in the detail. With normal magnification, the pictures appeared crisp, brimming with detail. However, all that disappears when you try to zoom in. But of course, this might just be me nitpicking, as the cameras should be good enough for the casual user.
100% cropped
This phablet also rocks a 3,500mAh battery, which actually sounds a little small considering the kind of power it packs, and the size of the device itself. Comparatively, it’s only 500 mAh more than the Flare S5 Plus’ 3,000 mAh battery, and 100 mAh less than the Cherry Mobile M1 battery. The battery is also non-removable, which I personally did not like as it makes it harder for users to replace batteries that bloat, stop working, or malfunction.
In terms of actual practice, we were able to get a little over 9 hours of use from the Cosmos Three, with the Wi-Fi turned on. This gets cut in half if you plan on binging Netflix or a few television shows; with constant video going on, the battery life gets reduced to a little under 5 hours. Charging, during our test of the Cosmos Three, took a little over three hours to get it fully charged, from zero percent. All in all, the battery life impressed me, considering I went in expecting the Helio X20 processor to be a battery vacuum.
Final thoughts: for the price of PHP 9,999, the Cherry Mobile Cosmos Three comes off more as a budget phablet stacked with powerful specs, instead of a true flagship device. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing! Does it have ‘the power of the Cosmos’ in a single device? Well, no, but at least consumers can now buy a fast, reliable, big-screen device for under 10k. And that’s always great, in my book.
+ Big screen
+ Powerful processor and accompanying specs
+ Fast, mostly lag-free performance
+ A heavy-hitting device, with a budget price
+ Decent battery life
+/- Camera is okay, but could be better
+/- Can handle heavy-graphics games, but gets lag during some moments
– Weird and awkward speaker positioning
– Unimpressive outer shell design
– Non-removable battery
Cherry Mobile Cosmos Three Specs
| OS | Android 6.0 |
| Processor | 2.11GHz MediaTek Helio X20 deca-core CPU |
| GPU | Mali-T880 |
| Memory | 3GB RAM |
| Display | 5.7-inch IPS LCD @ 1929 x 1080 pixels, 386ppi |
| Storage | 32GB ROM |
| Camera | 13-megapixel autofocus rear camera w/ dual-tone LED flash + 8-megapixel front camera w/ LED flash |
| SIM | Dual SIM |
| Battery | 3,500mAh battery |
| Bluetooth | Bluetooth 4.0 |
| Price | PHP 9,999 |
| Others | Fingerprint Sensor, LTE Ready |
More photos of the Cherry Mobile Cosmos Three
