The Wileyfox Swift is a great-value 5-inch Cyanogen OS 12.1 phone that should prove a serious rival to the Moto G when it hits the UK later this year, promising local support and a satisfying user experience.
Check out our Wileyfox Swift hands-on review, with full unboxing and setup video
You might not have heard of Wileyfox before, but this UK-based manufacturer is aiming to disrupt the market by offering high-value user-friendly smartphones. And its first launch, the £129 Wileyfox Swift, looks to be a seriously strong start.
Read next: Wileyfox also launches a £199 5.5-inch Moto X Play competitor, the Wileyfox Storm
The Wileyfox Swift is a 5-inch Cyanogen OS mobile boasting a 720p HD display, which matches the Motorola Moto G in terms of resolution. Performance is provided by a Snapdragon 410 processor, backed by 2GB of RAM, which should provide solid everyday performance.
The Wileyfox Swift packs a 13-megapixel rear camera and 5-megapixel front-facing lens, matching the specs of the Moto G (which boasts the same optics as the Nexus 6). Whether Wileyfox’s snapper stands up in everyday tests remains to be seen – check back soon for our full review.
Rounding off the Wilefox Swift’s specs is 16GB of storage space, expandable via microSD up to a further 32GB – the same as the Moto G. And the phone also comes with 4G and dual SIM support, good news if you want a business and personal device in one.
With Cyanogen on board – basically a super-tweaked version of Android Lollipop 5.1 – the Wileyfox Swift should prove user-friendly even to newcomers. It’s a highly customisable experience, offering a wealth of themes and a UI that can be tweaked to your liking, as well as funky features like a randomised PIN pad for enhanced security.
Wileyfox used its launch event to call out other manufacturers on their expensive handsets, lack of security and bloatware, suggesting that the new Swift handset would pack quality hardware and groundbreaking software, with no compromise on price and the ability to remove any unwanted apps.
Wileyfox also claims it can offer full local support to users – no international call centres to deal with any issues.
The Wilefox Swift will launch for just £129 here in the UK, and pre-orders will start this week with a late September UK release date. You can pre-order via the Wileyfox website and also buy the Swift there. Amazon, Ebay, Clove and other online retailers will also stock the Swift. And if you want a bit more oomph in your smartphone, Wileyfox also launched the 5.5-inch Storm handset today, packing better specs for £199.
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