Update: Cherry Mobile Flare S5 Review
The Flare S5 stands as one of the newest smartphones from the Cherry Mobile brand. Upon first unboxing the device, I noticed the smooth, shining finish on it that really made the product feel premium. The silver, textured look feels smooth on my hands, as if there was a clear plastic layer over the actual metal.
Upon unboxing the Cherry Mobile Flare S5, you will get:
- Cherry Mobile Flare S5 (1 pc)
- USB Charging Cable (1 pc)
- Travel Charger (1 pc)
- Earphones (1 pair)
- Flare S5 User Manual (1 pc)
- Cherry Fun Club Brochure (1 pc)
Side note: I applaud Cherry Mobile for the efficient packaging of the Flare S5. No space or material is wasted, as evidenced by the compact nature of the box. Cherry Mobile also made the right call, using gray and a dull red as the primary colors. It added to the ‘premium’, serious feel of the product.
Physically speaking, the phone is a delight to look at. The finish of the back isn’t too shiny, nor is it too flat. Also, I liked the layer of clear, plastic-like material as it prevented the body from being dull.
As to the outer layout of the phone, the front features a bottom and top bezel, and on the bottom bezel you can find a physical home button and two other icons on the left on the right. Upon trying the phone out, the physical home button struck me as a bit too ‘squishy’. However, it seemed to be something you can get used to over time. At the top bezel, on the other hand, you can find the front camera. For the bottom of the phone, we’re looking at a charging port for USB-C, and the phone speakers. On that note, I do like the design of the Flare S5’s phone speakers, which are minimalist in nature. There are five small dots on the left and the right side for the speakers, making it look neat and organized.
For the back of the phone, we have the main camera and the flash to its left. In our previous articles, we’ve seen the rundown of the specs of the Flare S5, so that means for this unit, the main camera is 16-megapixels. Meanwhile the aforementioned front camera rests at 8-megapixels. Further discussion on how good the image output will look once we do a full review.
In terms of initial performance, the Flare S5 definitely beats out older Cherry Mobile models. For example, the Cherry Mobile Zoom clocks in at 1.0 GHz (Quadcore). However, the Cherry Mobile Flare S5 trumps this with a 1.3 GHz Octa Core Mediatek 6753. Additionally, it also sports 3GB RAM, 16GB ROM, and rocks Android 6.0 Marshmallow out of the box. For the battery, we’re looking at 2,400 mAh, non-removable. Whether or not this will translate into flawless performance, however, remains to be seen. Fortunately, the first few minutes of flipping through the phone interface promises a smooth experience.
Will the Cherry Mobile Flare S5 prove itself to be a worthy member of the Cherry Mobile brand? Be sure to check out the full review of the Flare S5 soon.
Cherry Mobile Flare s5 Specs
| Operating System | Marshmallow 6.0 |
| Display | 5-inch HD 720x1280 IPS Screen |
| Processor | 1.3 GHz Octa Core Mediatek 6753 |
| GPU | Mali T720 |
| RAM | 3GB |
| Storage | 16GB, microSD up to 64GB |
| SIM | Dual Micro SIM |
| Camera | Rear: 16MP BSI, Front: 8MP BSI |
| Battery | 2400mAh Non Removable |
| Sensor/Navigation | Light Sensor, Proximity Sensor, G-Sensor, Fingerprint Sensor, GPS/AGPS |
| Interface | USB Type C, 3.5mm Audio Jack |
| Others | LTE 700 MHz Ready |
| Price | Php 5,699 |
