The Cherry Mobile family of phones is as large as it’s ever been this 2017, but each unit has a certain characteristic that separates it from the rest. With that said, I think it’s time for the Cherry Mobile Flare J1 to get its own day in the limelight. So what separates the Flare J1 from its smartphone siblings? For starters, we have the durable display on top of its low price point. However, is this enough to sell the phone to the casual user?
Upon unboxing the Cherry Mobile Flare J1, you get:
- Cherry Mobile Flare J1 (2017) (1 pc.)
- USB Travel Charger and Charging Cable (1 pc.)
- A pair of earphones (1 pair)
- Quick Start Guide (1 pc.)
Build and Construction
In the old days, when phones still had keypads and the best mobile game you could play was Snake, cellphones were indestructible. That’s definitely not the case with today’s smartphone displays. Did you just drop your iPhone screen-first? Hope you enjoy the new scratches and cracks. Forgot to buy a screen protector for your Samsung? You might end up with a display covered in nicks and gashes. Not the case with the LCD display of the Flare J1, however.
At first glance, the 5-inch TFT FWVGA display looks no different from other displays. However, with closer inspection, you will find a bit of glass wedged above the actual display itself. It gives a sense of thickness, and this thick part presumably protects the rest of the display from damage.
For the outer shell, the back side features a ripped texture that feels like material used to make suitcases or leather bags. Not exactly a finish that you will find on competitor phones. In fact, the last phone I used that had a similar back texture was an old budget phone from Starmobile. Honestly, it’s not a bad touch and it actually helps make the Flare J1 feel even stronger.
Underneath this leather-esque outer shell, the phone contains two SIM slots and a microSD slot, as well as the removable battery. On the top, the 8-megapixel rear camera sits alongside the AF and LED flash. Furthermore, you will see the power and volume rocker on the right side, with the 3.5mm jack and micro-USB port on the top part. The speaker grille sits at the right of the camera module. Finally, the top right front camera stands alone, with no accompanying LED flash.
OS, UI, and Apps
The phone runs Android 6.0 Marshmallow, in a stock form. It presents itself like most of the other budget Cherry Mobile handsets when it comes to the OS, honestly. But that’s not a bad thing. In fact, this might just be the right move to make, considering that budget phones often target a casual market. Even more so with the lower amount of bloatware present.
We only get the usual set of pre-loaded Cherry apps, including the Fun Club, Cherry Play, and Cherry Prepaid. On the other hand, it does bother me that we basically get 4.5GB of internal storage left for apps and files out of the 8GB total. It actually made me wonder if they really needed almost half of the storage space, or if it was due to inefficiency.
Camera
There really isn’t much to say for the cameras of the Flare J1. First and foremost, this device never advertised itself as either a photography camera or a selfie cam, so our expectations are different. Overall, the 8-megapixel rear shooter isn’t the worst I’ve seen, but any kind of image quality reflects the low price point. The pictures display muted colors, uneven lighting, and minimal detail. On the bright side, while this camera setup isn’t Instagram-worthy, it might just work for your daily Facebook needs.
Conversely, the 5-megapixel front cam lacks a flash, and really, you should only be using this particular shooter for video chat or maybe for a few harmless selfies. Do not expect a strong selfie camera with this phone.
Cherry Mobile Flare J1 Sample Photos:
Performance and Benchmarks
The phone runs a passable 1.2GHz Spreadtrum SC7731 quad-core processor paired with 1GB of RAM. In layman’s terms, this device isn’t going to impress everyone. Focusing on its positives, at least basic Android apps and services will run fine. Unfortunately, we cannot say the same for those hoping to game on the Flare J1. The lags were noticeable during our sessions of Power Rangers Legacy Wars and Dead Trigger 2.
This shortcoming occurs in part due to the Mali-400 MP2 GPU. Simply put, this particular GPU seems to struggle in the face of a graphically demanding app. However, if you’re just planning on using the Flare J1 for texting, web surfing, and some less intense apps like Facebook and Instagram, you should be just fine.
In addition, here are the benchmark scores for the Cherry Mobile Flare J1:
- AnTuTu Benchmark — 21,094
- Geekbench 4 — 381 (Single), 919 (Multi)
- 3DMark — 1,246 (Ice Storm Extreme)
Battery Life
I wasn’t expecting much out of the battery of the Flare J1 either, especially considering it only had 2,300 mAh. Considering that the internal specs weren’t built to optimize the battery, either, we knew the phone would die quickly. Fortunately, the Flare J1 manages to survive for almost 8 hours on a full charge, with the data on and moderate usage. Meanwhile, our video loop test yielded a little over nine hours at 9 hours, 17 minutes. Finally, from zero percent, fully charging the Flare J1 takes a little over two hours. It’s a servicable phone, at least, and it won’t die on you while you’re at the office, most likely.
In addition, you do get the ability to change the battery as the original one is removable. So, be sure to buy a spare battery in the event you need the phone for an extended period of time.
Conclusion
The Flare J1 (2017) delivers the minimum with its Php 2,699 price point. Normally, at any other, higher price, this would be a travesty, and something I’d never recommend to anyone. However, we have to keep in mind that Cherry Mobile aimed at the casual, mainstream market with this budget device. With only its durable LCD and cheap pricing as its selling point, it’s obviously not geared towards people who already have smartphones.
Instead, what we have here might be perfect for younger people or older folks who are looking into buying their very first smartphone. That’s right, the Cherry Mobile Flare J1 perfectly fits the needs of someone who has never had a smartphone before, or have only ever had really basic phones in the past. Consider it the perfect, affordable Christmas gift for a relative who’s never had a smart device.
POSITIVES
+ very low price point
+ good durability
+ serviceable specs
+ runs social media apps well
NEGATIVES
– basic specs
– below average cameras
– half of the given internal storage is already used
– not recommended for gaming apps or heavy graphics apps
Cherry Mobile Flare J1 (2017) Specs
OS | Android 6.0 Marshmallow |
Processor | 1.2GHz Spreadtrum SC7731 quad-core processor |
Memory | 1GB RAM |
Display | 5-inch TFT display, 854 x 480 resolution |
Storage | 8GB expandable via micro SD |
Camera | 8-megapixel rear camera with AF, LED flash + 5-megapixel front camera |
SIM | Dual SIM |
Battery | 2,300 mAh |