The new under Php 10K contenders

Cherry Mobile has launched its new “flagship” smartphone with the Flare S6 Plus. With a below Php 10K price point, the Flare S6 Plus is an interesting model from the local brand: Aside from having 4GB RAM and an 18:9 display, it boasts of a quad camera setup. That being said, the Flare S6 Plus is a bang-for-the-buck model in the making. But how does it fare to two other bang-for-the-buck under Php 10K smartphones like the ASUS ZenFone 4 Max and the Huawei Y7 Prime? Let’s take a quick look at their specs:

 

Cherry Mobile Flare S6 Plus

• 1.5GHz MediaTek 6750T octa-core processor
• Mali T860 MP2
• 4GB of RAM
• 5.7-inch HD Plus TrueView IPS display, 720 x 1440 resolution
• 64GB of expandable storage up to 128GB
• 16-megapixel Samsung ISCOCELL S5K3P3 rear camera, 5-megapixel secondary depth camera, dual LED flash
• 16-megapixel Samsung ISCOCELL S5K3P3 front camera, 5-megapixel secondary depth camera
• Dual SIM
• 3G, LTE
• WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, A-GPS, Fingerprint Scanner, USB Type-C
• 3000mAh battery
• Android Nougat 7.0, Cherry OS
• Price: Php 9999

Read: Cherry Mobile Flare S6 Plus Hands-on, Quick Review: Budget Flagship With Quad-cameras

Huawei Y7 Prime Specs

• Qualcomm Snapdragon 435 octa-core processor
• Qualcomm Adreno 505 graphics unit
• 3GB RAM
• 5.5-inch HD IPS display, 1280 x 720 resolution, 2.5D curved glass
• 32GB expandable storage, via microSD
• 12-megapixel rear camera, f/2.2
• 8-megapixel front camera
• Dual SIM, 4G LTE, LTE-A
• WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, A-GPS
• Fingerprint sensor
• 4000mAh battery
• Android 7.0 Nougat, with EMUI 5.1
• Price: Php 9990

Read: Huawei Y7 Prime Goes Official: Snapdragon 435 and 4000mAh Battery

 

Asus Zenfone 4 Max Specs

• Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 processor
• 3GB of RAM
• 5.5-inch HD IPS display, 1280 x 720 resolution
• 32GB of expandable storage (up to 256GB)
• Twin 13-megapixel primary rear camera with PDAF, EIS, flash
• 8-megapixel front camera with LED flash
• 4G, LTE
• Dual SIM
• WiFi, Bluetooth
• GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS
• Fingerprint Scanner
• 5,000mAh battery
• Android 7.0 Nougat with ZenUI
• Price: Php 9990

Read: ASUS ZenFone 4 Max Review: Best Budget Big Battery Smartphone

Internals: Y7 Prime for processor, Flare S6 Plus for RAM and storage

While the Flare S6 Plus earns more points in this department for having the best RAM and internal storage at 4GB and 64GB, the Y7 Prime earns points for its processor as it is using a Snapdragon 435 processor, which is more powerful than the Flare S6 Plus’ MediaTek 6750T or the ZenFone 4 Max’s slightly date Snapdragon 430 processor.

 

Display: TrueView is a beauty

No arguments here: While the Flare S6 Plus’ display is technically not bezel-less, it is still a fantastic offering at the under 10K price range: Aside from its generous 5.7-inch HD+ display, it’s 18:9 aspect ratio makes it feel like using a 5.5-inch smartphone while having more screen estate.

 

Cameras: Flare S6 Plus’ quad cam setup is something

Another standout feature with the Flare S6 Plus is its camera setup. It has FOUR (!) cameras, consisting of a 16-megapixel + 5-megapixel setup for both the front and rear camera. While the hardware setup is fancy, we have to do rigorous testing with it to determine if it delivers as advertised.

 

Battery: ZenFone 4 Max is king

Given the price range, the ZenFone 4 Max is the undisputed king in terms of battery capacity, boasting of a massive 5000mAh. While having a big battery made the ZenFone 4 Max heavier compared to the Flare S6 Plus and Y7 Prime, our reviews prove that the ZenFone 4 Max can last for at least two days even on heavy usage.

 

 

Verdict: The Flare S6 Plus is an interesting offering

With the launch of its Flare S6 line Cherry Mobile is setting an example that local brands do have a fighting chance in the saturated mid-range smartphone segment. With the Flare S6 Plus in particular, Cherry Mobile has released an interesting smartphone in the under Php 10K range with all its features especially the quad camera setup and 4GB RAM.

Can Cherry Mobile claim the throne for the budget mid-range segment? With the Flare S6 Plus, we really think so.