In April, Cherry Mobile announced their new Desire series of smartphones that run MediaTek processors and Android 7.0 Nougat, all under Php10K. Leading that line is the Desire R8 that feature dual rear cameras. Check out our initial thoughts about the device below.
At first glance, the Desire R8’s design reminds us of some of the popular smartphones from international brands. On the front, it reminds us of the OPPO F1s with its 5.5-inch display mounted with 2.5D curved glass.
Above it are the receiver, the sensor, the 8MP front camera and the LED flash. Down below is the physical home button which also functions as the fingerprint scanner. Placed on its sides is a couple of capacitive keys for navigation.
At the right side are the power/lock button and volume keys, while on the left is the hybrid SIM tray.
Up top we have the headset port and secondary microphone, while down below are the USB C port, loudspeaker, and the main microphone.
From the back, it’s a bit of a combination of the Xiaomi Redmi Pro with its dual rear camera setup consisting of a 13MP and 5MP sensors with protruding lenses. Placed in between is a dual-ton LED flash. The back side is curved that reminds us of the Huawei Mate 9. It’s made of metal but the but the top and bottom are plastic.
Design cues aside, the Desire R8 is an attractive piece of hardware. It’s easy on the hands, well-built, and feels premium despite its Php9,999 price tag.
Cherry Mobile Desire R8 specs:
5.5-inch Full HD IPS display
1.5GHz Mediatek 6750T Octa-Core CPU
Mali T860 GPU
3GB RAM
32GB internal storage
expandable via microSD up to 64GB
13MP + 5MP rear cameras with LED Flash
8MP front camera with front LED Flash
4G LTE with 700MHz support
Dual-SIM (micro+nano), Dual Standby
Wi-Fi b/g/n
Bluetooth 4.1
GPS, AGPS
Fingerprint Scanner
USB-C
Android 7 Nougat
3000mAh Non-removable battery
