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| Cherry Mobile Flare 4 Review, More Than Expected |
INTRODUCTION:
Cherry Mobile is a well-known local brand in the country in terms of producing devices that are really great value for money, one good example is the Flare 4, a 64-bit octa core LTE-capable Android phone for only Php4,999.
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| CPU-Z Information |
The Cherry Mobile Flare 4 was released around 4th quarter of last year and yet, it is still one of the fastest moving smartphone in their inventory. And, it is not hard to see why, as it offers a remarkable specs-to-price ratio.
UNBOXING:
Cherry Mobile Flare 4 Video Unboxing and Hands-On
The retail package consists of the unit, battery, USB cable, charger, headset and user manual. To learn more about its physical appearance, you can watch the unboxing and hands-on video above
DISPLAY:
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| Display |
It has a 5-inch display sporting an IPS panel for better viewing angel topped with Dragontrail Glass as protection against scratches and day-to-day knocks and bumps. The screen resolution is 720p, giving it a pixel density of 294 PPI, while, multi-touch support is up to five fingers. The color reproduction is good and can be tweaked based on your taste in the settings through MiraVision. It is not the best device under direct sunlight, but what is on the screen can still be read accurately.
SENSORS:
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| Sensors |
The phone is equipped with basic sensors namely accelerometer, proximity and ambient light, all of it are working properly without issue or problem encountered.
BENCHMARKS:
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| Benchmarks |
The device is equipped with a 64-bit MediaTek MT6753M, which is an octa core chipset having 8 Cortex-A53 CPU cores clocked at 1.3GHz each combined with Mali-T720MP3 as its graphics processing unit. These internals draw good results on different benchmark applications starting with Antutu 5.6 giving it a score of 34214, Antutu 6 with 35658, PC Mark at 3697, more than 22K in Quadrant, 55.2 fps in Nenamark 2, 2732, 1000 and 1520 in Vellamo Browser, Metal and Multicore respectively.
See Also: Cherry Mobile Flare Mate Announced, 6-inch Octa Core 4000mAh Battery Fingerprint Sensor
SOFTWARE:
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| Software |
The interface is basically a stock Android UI with very little Cherry Mobile customization, such in the default wallpaper with CM logo and some pre-installed third party applications like Cherry Play and Beauty Plus. Other than these differences, the interface is pretty much the same with that of the Cherry Mobile One running on Android Lollipop.
CAMERA and VIDEO:
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| Camera Interface |
Like the rest of the interface, the camera department uses the stock UI. Although some might find the interface boring, it still gives users all the familiarity they need when taking shots as it has the same old look and feel.
Sample Photos:
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| broad daylight without HDR |
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| broad daylight with HDR |
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| gloomy morning |
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| close-up |
Sample Video:
1080p sample video
720p sample video
time lapse sample video
When the quality is set to fine, it records videos in 1080p at .3gp format, while setting the quality to high will render output at 720p resolution. The above samples are taken while the phone is mounted inside the car and running at speed of about 60-100kph, and since there is no stabilization, the outputs are a little shaky.
GAMING:
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| Clash of Clans |
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| Heroes of Order and Chaos |
With the combination of 1.3GHz 64-bit octa core processor and 2GB of RAM, the Flare 4 can play tons of games smoothly, from simple puzzle and strategy titles like Where Is My Water and Clash of Clans, up to some graphics-heavy games like Asphalt 7 and Heroes of Order & Chaos. Those games that are really resources-hungry are also playable, with minimal hiccups, for example, Modern Combat 5 and Overkill 3 will choke a bit when there are plenty of moving characters on the screen.
CONNECTIVITY:
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| Connectivity |
The Flare 4 is a dual SIM with LTE connectivity that can be set to either SIM. It also has Turbo Download, which, as the name implies, let the phone download faster by using both mobile networks (4G/3G) and WiFi at the same time. Other features include hotspot or tethering, WiFi, Bluetooth, CTIA-compliant 3.5mm audio jack and OTG-capable micro USB port.
GPS:
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| Location and GPS |
It has a built-in GPS receiver, however, getting a satellite lock takes quite a while, around 7-10 minutes, even with A-GPS data pre-loaded.
Also Read: Cherry Prepaid Outs Flare Lite 2 Bundle, Quad Core Android Phone Plus SIM Plus Freebies for Only Php799
BATTERY STATS:
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| PC Mark Work Battery Life |
Based on PC Mark Work Battery Life test, it managed to last for 6 hours and 17 minutes, which can be considered as good for a device with 2100mAh battery capacity. As a secondary phone with 2 SIM cards active, a few minutes of calls, around 20 to 30 SMS and light browsing, it usually lasts for more than two days.
CONCLUSION:
The Cherry Mobile Flare 4 has definitely raised the bar for smartphones under the sub-Php5K category, it offers good physical appearance, more than capable internals, great main camera and above average battery life.
PROS:
5-inch HD display
64-bit octa core processor
2GB RAM and 16GB of ROM
LTE connectivity
Nice main camera output
Great overall performance
CONS:
Loudspeaker is not loud enough
Below average front camera quality
Some apps cannot be uninstalled
Cherry Mobile Flare 4 Specifications:
- GSM: 850/900/1800/1900MHz
- WCDMA: 900/2100MHz
- LTE: 850/1800/2100MHz
- Dual SIM, dual standby
- 5-inch IPS HD (1280x720) capacitive touchscreen display, Dragontrail Glass protection
- Android 5.1 Lollipop
- 64-bit 1.3GHz octa core Cortex-A53 CPU, Mali-T720MP3 GPU, MediaTek MT6753M chipset
- 2GB of RAM
- 16GB internal storage, expandable up to 32GB via micro SD card
- 13MP auto focus main camera with LED flash, 1080p video recording
- 5MP secondary camera
- Multimedia player
- FM Radio
- 3.5mm audio jack
- GPS with A-GPS
- WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
- Micro USB 2.0 with OTG functions
- Bluetooth v4.0
- Sensor: accelerometer, light, proximity
- Battery: 2,100mAh Lithium-Ion, removable
- Price: Php4,999