Wileyfox Storm and Wileyfox Swift - low-cost entry-level and mid-range smartphones powered by CyanogenOS

[YamiYukiSenpai]

Article on Android Central about its announcement

First-look article on Android Central

Hands-on article on Android Central

With a quirky brand, competitive pricing, and a familiar software experience, Wileyfox has introduced the Swift and the Storm, Cyanogen OS-powered handsets costing just £129 and £199 respectively.

 

Wileyfox Swift

The Wileyfox Swift is a 5-inch device with a 720p display and dual-SIM support, powered by Qualcomm's entry-level 64-bit processor, the Swift also boasts a 13-megapixel rear camera and 5-megapixel front-facer, as well as 2GB of RAM, 16GB of storage and expandable memory up to 32GB via microSD. With these specs, the Swift looks to take on Motorola's third-gen Moto G with a differentiated software experience powered by CyanogenOS.

It seems that the king of affordable smartphones, the Moto G, has, what seems to be, a decent competition now.  The biggest pro for the Swift is its cheapest storage option, with 16GB of internal storage and 2GB of RAM, is slightly cheaper than Moto G's 16GB variant and just slightly more expensive than the 8GB variant.

 

Wileyfox Storm

At the higher end of the spectrum is the Wileyfox Storm, a 5.5-inch handset with a 1080p display. Like the Swift, it's a dual-SIM device, but the Storm stems up to a Snapdragon 615 processor with 3GB of RAM. There's a 20-megapixel Sony camera around the back, as well as an 8-megapixel front-facer. And with 32GB of internal flash and microSD support, the Storm should provide plenty of space for all your stuff.

The Wileyfox Storm is Idol 3 (5.5" variant) & Moto X Play's competitor when it comes to specs and price. And it's cheaper than the Moto X Play.  It's design somewhat reminds me of OnePlus One and Two, and OPPO Find 7.

 

AC readers may be tempted by the higher-specced Wileyfox Storm, but in our opinion the entry-level Swift is the more interesting contender. In our limited time with the Swift we've been impressed with the sheer amount of phone you get for your £129 — it's slightly ridiculous how we're already seeing a device that makes the 2015 Moto G look slightly overpriced. Wileyfox won't have the scale of a Motorola or a Xiaomi, but the company hopes to carve out a niche of "savvy" consumers in the coming months. And if our first impressions of its new phones are any indicator, it just might have a change.

 

 

I just hope they didn't sacrifice too much stuff for its price.  Hopefully it'll attract people's attention in a positive way.

[aom]

Kinda like the smaller one (Swift?) And logo is pretty nice looking, and absolutely hate the name stamp because its big and a completely stupid name

[Aruxx]

I love the design of this phone, but I learned my lesson trying to find parts (and eventually a replacement) for my lesser-known S4 Mini.  I'll stick to mainstream smartphones for a while.

 

I'm interested to see how it does!  :lol:

[dizmo]

Interesting. The second one especially, seeing as it has pretty awesome spec for the price.

However I'd like to see things like battery size.

 

Personally, I think it has the Moto G beat. Simply because of the dual SIM option.

 

I find it hilarious that they call their finish "sandstone" as well.

 

*Ah, a 2500mah battery. Touch disappointing there, especially for the screen size.

Oddly enough the Swift has the same size battery. Which definitely makes it more interesting.

 

 

 

I love the design of this phone, but I learned my lesson trying to find parts (and eventually a replacement) for my lesser-known S4 Mini.  I'll stick to mainstream smartphones for a while.

 

I'm interested to see how it does!  :lol:

How often do you really need to find parts for your phone? :rolleyes:

[KemoKa]

Depending on the overall quality of the phone this could compete head-to-head with the Zenfone 2. For the lower price tag I think sacrificing the alternative's x86 support will be totally fine for most people. Looks like a really kickass, fully-featured phone. The S6 is gonna lose more ground on this one.

Hate the name, though. Sounds like that Loony Tunes character. "Something Else" Fox would have gone down better with me.

 

Make the logo a fox loli's head.

[Tsuki]

guess ill have to keep an eye on this. it looks really interesting and could come to replace my S4 (which is currently running cyanogenmod nightlies anyways). the name stamp is a little big and they should just get rid of it, and although the logo looks cool, it looks kinda like a case badge, and might pop out a little, which concerns me a little bit.  but for that price, definately going to keep an eye on it

 

EDIT: just checked out their site, apparently they also are going to have 10,000mAH battery banks, and cases for the phones. not to mention 24/7 tech support and a 3 year warrenty. im actually really impressed.

 

prices are in £.. for those of us who arent british thats about $200 for the Swift and about $300 for the Storm. still good prices

[Aruxx]

How often do you really need to find parts for your phone? :rolleyes:

 

True, but I like having a bit of a choice in cases and et cetera.  I ended up having to go with an Otterbox for that phone and I absolutely dread their newer designs.  Plus when I destroyed the screen element in it, my phone companies "fast" replacement ended up in me getting an S4 way later than they had said.  They just couldn't find an S4 Mini anywhere.

 

No complaints though the S4's a great phone

[dizmo]

True, but I like having a bit of a choice in cases and et cetera.  I ended up having to go with an Otterbox for that phone and I absolutely dread their newer designs.  Plus when I destroyed the screen element in it, my phone companies "fast" replacement ended up in me getting an S4 way later than they had said.  They just couldn't find an S4 Mini anywhere.

 

No complaints though the S4's a great phone

Ah yes, cases.

I forgot about those. I never use them.

[deviant88]

Trash names wont buy.

[That Norwegian Guy]

I really like the storm.

 

But isn't Cyanogen just basically Android?

 

If this was Ubuntu I'd be drowning in my own saliva

[Jerakl]

Interesting. Would definitely consider the smaller one for my first phone.

[patrick3027]

I really like the storm.

But isn't Cyanogen just basically Android?

If this was Ubuntu I'd be drowning in my own saliva

It's Android with a few nifty features added.

The smaller one is a true Moto G killer. When does it launches?