Cherry Mobile Flare XL 2.0 hands-on, first impressions

Cherry Mobile recently sent us a few Android smartphones for review and one of them sports a 6-inch HD display, octa-core CPU, 2GB RAM, LTE connectivity and Android Marshmallow for under Php 6K — the Cherry Mobile Flare XL 2.0. Check out our first impressions below.

Right off the bat, the Cherry Mobile Flare XL 2.0 is a sleek device despite its 6-inch display. It’s tall, narrow, and appears to have thin bezels when the screen is off. Its design actually reminds us Sony Xperia C5 Ultra.

When the screen is on, it’s a bit disappointing to see that the bezels are not exactly as thin as we initially thought. On the bright side, it’s not that thick and doesn’t look bad either.

Above the screen we have the earpiece, light sensor, 8MP front camera and a tiny LED flash. Down below are three unlit capacitive buttons.

On the right we have the metallic buttons for the volume and power/lock. To the left is the hybrid tray for the SIM and microSD card.

Up top we have the headset jack, while down at the bottom are the microUSB port, loudspeaker, and microphone.

Flip it on its back and you’ll see the 16MP camera, dual-LED flash, and secondary microphone.

Design and build-wise, the Flare XL 2.0 looks attractive and feels solid on the hands. The metallic finish on the frame adds a premium feel while the back has a smooth, non-glossy, eggshell finish which feels good on touch.

What we didn’t like though is the quality of paint on the frame. Upon closer inspection, we noticed tiny bubbles which gives the device an aging, dirty look.

Software-wise, the Flare XL 2.0 comes with Android 6.0 Marshmallow out of the box. It is also pre-loaded with Google apps, Cherry Mobile’s own apps like Bonus Load, Cherry Fun Club, Cherry Play, and Cherry Prepaid. Other apps include Opera Mini, Movie Club, Xender, and TouchPal X. That said, you’re left with 11.08GB of usable storage out of the 16GB.

Cherry Mobile Flare XL 2.0 specs:
6.0-inch HD IPS Display
1.3Ghz octa-core CPU
16GB Internal Storage
2GB RAM
Expandable storage via microSD up to 32GB
16MP rear camera w/ LED flash
8MP front camera w/ LED flash
Dual-SIM, Dual-Standby
4G LTE, 3G HSPA+
WiFi b/g/n
Bluetooth
GPS
USB OTG
Android 6.0 Marshmallow
2,500mAh battery

The Cherry Mobile Flare XL 2.0 is priced at Php 5,999 and comes in black and white colors. Stay tuned for our full review.