Initial Verdict: The Cherry Aqua SV 5G was a pleasant little surprise from the local brand. The specs and features are stacked plus it has a pretty attractive price tag on it too (even more so if you’re able to snag the device at its promo price of Php 9,999).

Pros

• Competitive Price Point
• Great set of Specs and Features

Cons

• So-so Speakers
• Concerning Battery Capacity

Cherry Aqua SV 5G specs

• Dimensity 810 processor
• 8GB LPDDR4X RAM
• 128GB UFS 2.2 internal storage
• 6.6-inch Full HD+ Curved AMOLED display, 90hz refresh rate
• 64-megapixel f/1.8 main camera, 5-megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera, 2-megapixel depth sensor, 2-megapixel macro camera, LED flash
• 16-megapixel main selfie camera, 2-megapixel depth sensor
• LTE, 4G, 5G
• WiFi, Bluetooth, in-display fingerprint scanner
• 30w wired charging
• 4200mAh battery
• Android 11

Cherry has been quiet as of late but they’re coming out of the gates strong as the third of 2022 comes to a close with a duo of smartphones. The one that’s caught our eye though is the Aqua SV 5G, which is their first entry into the 5G game and it’s a good one at that.

Packaging and Contents

We’re used to seeing certain elements from Cherry’s packaging and the SV 5G breaks the mold. It comes in a black box with holo branding and all the important information for the phone listed on the back.

Inside, you’ll be greeted by the device first with our unit coming in the Green colorway. Aside from that, you get the usual contents such as a bit of documentation, a jelly case, SIM ejector pin, earphones, a USB-C cable, and a 30W charging brick.

Design

One of the most surprising things about the Cherry Aqua SV 5G is its faux leather finish. Truth be told though, it does feel more like a decal than actual faux leather but we have to commend them for having a device that stands out. This is something we rarely see at this price point.

The SV also has a metal frame and Gorilla Glass 5 to protect the display so it does feel well-built.

The device also has decent ergonomics helped along by its curved display. It has a good amount of weight without being too heavy and it’s just the right size to make it sit comfortably in the hand.

As for the buttons and ports, you have the volume rocker and the red power button on the right side of the phone.

On the bottom, you’ll find the lone speaker for the SV 5G, a USB-C port, and access to the SIM tray that fits two nano-SIM cards.

Display

Another thing we weren’t expecting to see from Cherry, was the use of an AMOLED display. It measures at 6.6-inches at Full HD+ resolution and has a refresh rate of 90Hz.

As mentioned earlier, it is curved. While it does help give you a better grip on the phone, we can’t say that we’re the biggest fan of this. Hopefully, there’s decent palm rejection on this portion of the display, which we’ll report on once we’re able to make this device a bit more.

Back on the plus column for us is, of course, the picture quality. The handful of videos we’ve watched on the SV 5G looks fantastic with all the usual characteristics that AMOLED displays bring to the table.

The speaker on the bottom is a bit lacking though. It generates a lot of volumes but the K-Pop vids we’ve tested out so far had us dialing back to 50% since you’re already getting a fair bit of distortion beyond that.

The AMOLED panel also gives us access to an in-display fingerprint scanner on the Cherry Mobile SV 5G. We’ve seen phones that are quicker on the draw in this aspect but it is fairly accurate.

Cameras

As for the cameras, we’re pretty sure that you’ve noticed the twin front cameras on the pill-shaped punch hole on the screen, which consist of a 16MP camera and a 2MP depth sensor.

For the shooters on the back, the Cherry Aqua SV 5G sports quad-shooters. It has a 64MP main camera, 5MP ultra-wide, 2MP depth sensor, and a 2MP macro camera.

As of writing this article, we haven’t had the chance to take sample photos for your to check out but we’ll update it as soon as we can. We do, however, appreciate the fact that the camera bump doesn’t jut out of the phone too much.

Internals

The Cherry Mobile SV 5G is rocking a Mediatek Dimensity 810 processor, which is paired with 8GB of RAM, 128GB of storage, and a 4200mAh battery.

We’ve seen other devices rocking a similar setup and it should have enough muscle to satisfy the mobile gamers out there given its price. We are a little concerned over the battery capacity though but since the SV doesn’t have crazy refresh rates, it should be able to at least last the day.

It does support 30W charging and, while it isn’t the craziest speeds we’ve seen, that should at least allow you to get a decent amount of juice in a short amount of time.

Wrap Up and Initial Verdict

The Cherry Aqua SV 5G is a good outing for the brand in 2022. It has a lot of great features, the specs are impressive, and it has a pretty competitive price tag too. We’ll have to see if everything holds up in our full review but, for now, you can consider us impressed by this phone.

Cherry Aqua SV 5G Price Philippines

The official SRP of the Cherry Mobile Aqua SV is Php 11,999. However, you can get this device for Php 9,999 on May 8 via their Shopee Store.