In 2018, bezels are becoming slimmer and screens are getting taller. In fact, the trend has become so prolific even local brands have joined in on the fun. Indeed, the general public continues to witness the stream of budget phones with huge screens and ample specs. The Cherry Mobile Flare P3 Plus, for that matter, serves a good example, and we explore it here.
Each new purchase of the Flare P3 Plus gets you the following:
1 Cherry Mobile Flare P3 Main Unit
1 Cherry Mobile Brand Charging Adapter
1 micro USB-type charging cable
1 Cherry Mobile Brand headphones
While Cherry Mobile built the Flare P3 Plus with a plastic body, the device does not creak and feels solid in the hand. The glossy finish also helps keep a good grip. For additional stability, one might even use the fingerprint scanner on the back of the phone.
Up front, the 18:9 6-inch IPS LCD display greets the user immediately. While many would appreciate the screen real estate, it only sadly comes with an HD+ (720 x 1440p) resolution. Pixels look more noticeable and colors don’t pop as much, but that’s a shortcoming LCD displays come with, as opposed to the more common AMOLED.
Sitting above it are the camera, earpiece, and other sensors. Some may even notice about half-an-inch each of the “forehead” and “chin.” This makes the phone taller, but it’s narrow enough to hold comfortably. One-handed use might be a bit of a challenge for some people, though.
Despite the considerable chin, Cherry Mobile opted not to add physical buttons in front of the phone.
Right off the bat, the 13MP camera itself tends to lag and drop frames. Autofocus and shutterspeed slow down considerably with indoor, evening lighting. Even with flash turned on, some photos may appear blurry as the device doesn’t get enough time to focus. Some users may also struggle with the UI, as the record video and shoot photo come in a single button.
With evening indoor lighting, 5MP the selfie camera produces darker shots with muddled details. It tends to come out blurry, as the camera seems to open the shutter longer to let more light in. The user also can’t adjust focus through the default camera app. Some third-party apps may permit this, however.
Out of the box the Flare P3 Plus runs Android Go through a MediaTek MT6580 chipset, Quad-core CPU, and 1GB RAM. Designed for entry-level smartphones, Google touts Android Go as a lighter version of the operating system. It may not run as smoothly as the regular Android flavor, but it comes with ‘Go’ versions of default Google apps. Among these include Google Go, Maps Go, and YouTube Go, as well. Google designed the apps to take up less space and less resources, so that’s a bonus.
So far, this entry-level Php 3,000 smartphone performs at par with its price. It may not come with the best cameras, but it performs well enough for average use. For first-time smartphone users on a budget, this seems like a good option so far. We explore the phone more in-depth in our full review.
