Cherry Mobile Flare S6 Plus Unboxing and First Impressions
Cherry Mobile's current top-of-the-line device is the Flare S6 Plus, the first smartphone of the company equipped with an 18:9 screen and quad cameras.
Smartphones equipped with that type of setup are often expensive. But this time, Cherry Mobile made sure that the Flare S6 Plus could still be considered as affordable for its specs and features at just PHP 9,999.
If my personal memory serves me right, the Flare S6 Plus is currently the most affordable handset in the country of its kind.
Anyway, here's our unboxing and first impressions for Cherry's highly interesting flagship smartphone.
Read on!
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| Meet Cherry Mobile Flare S6 Plus |
Smartphones equipped with that type of setup are often expensive. But this time, Cherry Mobile made sure that the Flare S6 Plus could still be considered as affordable for its specs and features at just PHP 9,999.
If my personal memory serves me right, the Flare S6 Plus is currently the most affordable handset in the country of its kind.
Anyway, here's our unboxing and first impressions for Cherry's highly interesting flagship smartphone.
Read on!
Cherry Mobile Flare S6 Plus Specs
Display: 5.7-inch HD+ IPS 1440 x 720 resolution w/ 2.5D curved glass at 289 ppi
CPU: 1.5GHz 64-bit MT6750T octa-core processor
GPU: Mali-T860MP2
RAM: 4GB
ROM: 64GB expandable via microSD card slot up to 128GB
Back Camera: 16MP S5K3P3 + 5MP f/2.0 w/ AF and quad LED flash
Selfie Camera: 16MP S5K3P3 + 5MP f/2.0 w/ AF w/ LED flash
Battery: 3,000mAh
OS: Android 7.0 Nougat w/ Cherry OS
Connectivity: WiFi, 3G, 700 MHz LTE, Bluetooth 4.1, GPS, A-GPS, dual SIM (hybrid)
Sensors: Accelerometer, light, proximity, gyroscope, sound, magnetic
Others: Fingerprint sensor, USB Type-C, Cirrus CS43L36-CWZR HiFi DAC
Dimensions: 156 x 73.1 x 8.6 mm
Weight: 168 g
Price: PHP 9,999
Disclaimer: Cherry Mobile seeded us this unit for our honest take.
Cherry's packaging is beautiful, simple, and very easy to open. Moreover, it nearly has everything you need inside.
It includes the smartphone itself, 1.5A USB wall charger, USB Type-C data / charging cables, pre-installed screen protector, and some paper documents.
The special thing in its package is the inclusion of the PH version of the VE Monk Plus. In case you missed our review, the VE Monk Plus is one of the best sounding earbuds under PHP 2K today.
Cherry paired it with that great type of earphones to ensure that Flare S6 Plus users will enjoy high quality tunes out of its Cirrus Logic CS43L36-CWZR HiFi DAC.
Cherry just failed to include a free case inside. But, that's fine, I'm not complaining. This is a solid package!
Craftsmanship is excellent for the price! It has one of the best build you'll find for the price. It has an all metal unibody construction that feels premium all over. It even has sleek chamfered edges and nice curves.
In front, it highlights a 5.7-inch 2.5D curved glass 18:9 screen. There's no mention of Dragontrail, Panda King, or Gorilla Glass protection against light drops and scratches thought. Fortunately, Cherry included a pre-installed screen protector inside the package.
Overall, build is great. But, you should still be careful with your phone. Dropping it without case may case some annoying dents on the metal parts of the phone.
Design-wise, it reminds us of the great Huawei Mate 9 behind and the new ASUS ZenFone Max Plus M1 in front. It is truly beautiful and slim looking. The antenna band design is iPhone like too, but thicker.
In front, we like that it has a 2.5D glass and minimal side bezels. It has proper curves and very minimal sharp edges all over too.
However, Cherry failed to minimize the top and bottom bezels compared with other smartphones with 18:9 screen aspect ratio. The camera protrusion at the back is a bit high too.
It would have been so much better if the top and bottom bezels are narrower and if there's no camera protrusion. But again, for this price, it would be very unfair for Cherry Mobile to nitpick.
Ergonomically, the grip of this phone is decent. But, it is still considered as slippery. It would have been better if the backplate has some texture for better grip.
Anyway, we also liked that it still has a 3.5 mm headphone jack slot on top, easy to locate volume rocker and power button are easy to locate at left, and the new USB Type-C port standard below, and fingerprint scanner at the back.
It only has a hybrid SIM card tray at left though.
1. Craftsmanship is superb for the price! Easily, this is the most premium looking smartphone under PHP 10K yet! The 5.7-inch HD+ screen is bright and beautiful. It not on FHD+ yet though.
2. Inside, this device has one of the better and speedier chipsets for the price. Specifically, it has the turbo version of MediaTek's MT6750, the MT6750T. It's paired with Mali-T860MP2 graphics for casual gaming, LARGE 64GB expandable storage, and ample 3,000mAh battery.
3. Like the newer-gen Cherry phones, the Flare S6 Plus loads with Android Noguat OS with the new Cherry OS skin on top. It has several themes that looks like Huawei's EMUI, it has built-in apps for optimizations, and feature-rich camera app.
4. The quad cameras of this device are tuned by Samsung. It has a pair of 16MP S5K3P3 + 5MP f/2.0 at the back and in front. The camera software is better than ever as well. The first few shots we took are promising. However, it has no shutter speed control in the pro camera settings.
5. I personally enjoyed the fact that it has the new USB Type-C standard, gyroscope sensor, LED notification, and OTG support. The Cirrus CS43L36-CWZR HiFi DAC sounds GREAT for the price so far. It even has 700MHz LTE! However, It has no backlit physical Android keys that would have maximized the bezels below better. The fingerprint scanner works, but it isn't as fast versus some phones we tested under PHP 10K.
Related: Cherry Mobile Flare S6 Plus: First Camera Samples
So far, we think that this handset is reasonably priced at just PHP 9,999.
For our review: Cherry Mobile Flare S6 Plus Review - Quad Cameras in Style
Disclaimer: Cherry Mobile seeded us this unit for our honest take.
Unboxing / Accessories
 |
| Cherry's clean and simple box |
Cherry's packaging is beautiful, simple, and very easy to open. Moreover, it nearly has everything you need inside.
 |
| Accessories inside |
It includes the smartphone itself, 1.5A USB wall charger, USB Type-C data / charging cables, pre-installed screen protector, and some paper documents.
The special thing in its package is the inclusion of the PH version of the VE Monk Plus. In case you missed our review, the VE Monk Plus is one of the best sounding earbuds under PHP 2K today.
Cherry paired it with that great type of earphones to ensure that Flare S6 Plus users will enjoy high quality tunes out of its Cirrus Logic CS43L36-CWZR HiFi DAC.
Cherry just failed to include a free case inside. But, that's fine, I'm not complaining. This is a solid package!
Build Quality / Design
 |
| BEAUTIFUL build! |
Craftsmanship is excellent for the price!
In front, it highlights a 5.7-inch 2.5D curved glass 18:9 screen. There's no mention of Dragontrail, Panda King, or Gorilla Glass protection against light drops and scratches thought. Fortunately, Cherry included a pre-installed screen protector inside the package.
Overall, build is great. But, you should still be careful with your phone. Dropping it without case may case some annoying dents on the metal parts of the phone.
 |
| Headphone jack slot on top |
 |
| Mic, USB Type-C port, and speaker grill below |
 |
| Hybrid slot at left |
 |
| Power button and volume rocker at right |
Design-wise, it reminds us of the great Huawei Mate 9 behind and the new ASUS ZenFone Max Plus M1 in front. It is truly beautiful and slim looking. The antenna band design is iPhone like too, but thicker.
In front, we like that it has a 2.5D glass and minimal side bezels. It has proper curves and very minimal sharp edges all over too.
Easily, this is the most premium looking smartphone under PHP 10K yet!
However, Cherry failed to minimize the top and bottom bezels compared with other smartphones with 18:9 screen aspect ratio. The camera protrusion at the back is a bit high too.
It would have been so much better if the top and bottom bezels are narrower and if there's no camera protrusion. But again, for this price, it would be very unfair for Cherry Mobile to nitpick.
Ergonomically, the grip of this phone is decent. But, it is still considered as slippery. It would have been better if the backplate has some texture for better grip.
Anyway, we also liked that it still has a 3.5 mm headphone jack slot on top, easy to locate volume rocker and power button are easy to locate at left, and the new USB Type-C port standard below, and fingerprint scanner at the back.
It only has a hybrid SIM card tray at left though.
Initial findings
2. Inside, this device has one of the better and speedier chipsets for the price. Specifically, it has the turbo version of MediaTek's MT6750, the MT6750T. It's paired with Mali-T860MP2 graphics for casual gaming, LARGE 64GB expandable storage, and ample 3,000mAh battery.
3. Like the newer-gen Cherry phones, the Flare S6 Plus loads with Android Noguat OS with the new Cherry OS skin on top. It has several themes that looks like Huawei's EMUI, it has built-in apps for optimizations, and feature-rich camera app.
4. The quad cameras of this device are tuned by Samsung. It has a pair of 16MP S5K3P3 + 5MP f/2.0 at the back and in front. The camera software is better than ever as well. The first few shots we took are promising. However, it has no shutter speed control in the pro camera settings.
5. I personally enjoyed the fact that it has the new USB Type-C standard, gyroscope sensor, LED notification, and OTG support. The Cirrus CS43L36-CWZR HiFi DAC sounds GREAT for the price so far. It even has 700MHz LTE! However, It has no backlit physical Android keys that would have maximized the bezels below better. The fingerprint scanner works, but it isn't as fast versus some phones we tested under PHP 10K.
Related: Cherry Mobile Flare S6 Plus: First Camera Samples
As of the moment
The Cherry Mobile Flare S6 Plus has a stunning design for the price. It's even paired with decent specs and good set of features overall. Cherry also tuned its four cameras quite well and the Cherry OS is clean and functional.So far, we think that this handset is reasonably priced at just PHP 9,999.
For our review: Cherry Mobile Flare S6 Plus Review - Quad Cameras in Style
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