Wileyfox Storm

[tenohfive]

Whilst browsing through a 'what phone,' thread I saw passing mention of the Wileyfox Storm, and after some digging I have to admit I'm intrigued.




Plenty of internet touting of the UK's answer to the OnePlusOne. But that's just noise. What I'm more interested in is the brass tacks.

£200.
64-bit Octa-core 1.5GHz processor.
3gb RAM.
32gb memory plus microSD (up to 128gb.) Or 2nd SIM in place of microSD.
LG 5.5" 1080p IPS display at 440ppi.
20MP Sony back camera and 8MP front camera.
Cyanogen 12.1.


Looks wise, I like it. I don't much care for the 'premium feel,' that Techradar et al bang on about, and to me it looks a bit different to the norm. Not that it'll matter much inside some sort of case or shell, but first impressions aren't bad at all.

Back to the specs, I have to admit the marketing has worked on me. Sony camera. LG screen. Qualcomm Snapdragon Octacore processor. None of those things sound cheap, and they're all trusted names in the mobile industry.

I'm seriously considering finishing up my contract then getting one on a SIM only deal. It doesn't look like an S6 beater, but if it's put together properly then it could be a lot of phone for £200.

[Chicken Chaser]

I'm interested, but its huge. Look at the size of the thing in comparison with other handsets. It's bigger than the oneplus!

[smiffy180]

I asked on the oneplus two thread but never got a response.
I'm thinking of holding out for this to be honest.

[clonmult]

tenohfive said:

£200.
64-bit Octa-core 1.5GHz processor.
3gb RAM.
32gb memory plus microSD (up to 128gb.) Or 2nd SIM in place of microSD.
LG 5.5" 1080p IPS display at 440ppi.
20MP Sony back camera and 8MP front camera.
Cyanogen 12.1.

Interesting specs, but when you can get
64 bit octa-core 1.5gHz (Same processor)
2gb RAM (which will be sufficient for most people, heck, 1gb is sufficient for most people)
16gb plus micro SD
5.5" 1080p IPS display (probably the same screen)
13mp Sony camera
(Almost stock) Android 5.0.2

For £125, the Wiley almost seems overpriced.

[Jakeztx]

I think the Wileyfox might be my next phone to be honest, but will hold out for reviews on the battery life and camera...

Currently running a 2014 Moto X but I run my phones pretty hard and it's battery life is now non existent and the camera is really not very good.

Dont see the point in shelling out £600 for a Sony or HTC when there are options like this and I always prefer to buy the device outright.

[Bill]

clonmult said:

Interesting specs, but when you can get
64 bit octa-core 1.5gHz (Same processor)
2gb RAM (which will be sufficient for most people, heck, 1gb is sufficient for most people)
16gb plus micro SD
5.5" 1080p IPS display (probably the same screen)
13mp Sony camera
(Almost stock) Android 5.0.2

For £125, the Wiley almost seems overpriced.

Which phone is this?

[Luke.]

Bill said:

clonmult said:

Interesting specs, but when you can get
64 bit octa-core 1.5gHz (Same processor)
2gb RAM (which will be sufficient for most people, heck, 1gb is sufficient for most people)
16gb plus micro SD
5.5" 1080p IPS display (probably the same screen)
13mp Sony camera
(Almost stock) Android 5.0.2

For £125, the Wiley almost seems overpriced.

Which phone is this?

As above. Clickbait wker..

[Chicken Chaser]

I'm of the opinion now that it's pointless buying a high end android when you can get such good phones at a low price. Interested myself in the £125 mystery option though!

[boyse7en]

Chicken Chaser said:

I'm of the opinion now that it's pointless buying a high end android when you can get such good phones at a low price. Interested myself in the £125 mystery option though!

I'm guessing some sort of Chinese phone bought direct from Hong Kong which may or may not do 4G, and may or may not have an english interface on arrival.

[daydotz]

the Vodafone smart ultra 6 would be my guess its £125

Edited by daydotz on Thursday 17th September 19:40

[Altrezia]

daydotz said:

the Vodafone smart ultra 6 would be my guess its £125

Locked to Vodafone though, which is a shame.

[tenohfive]

Wileyfox are doing a £129 phone too, the Swift. Stuff.tv have done a review of it:
http://www.stuff.tv/wileyfox/swift/review

It's probably better to compare the Vodafone Ultra 6 to the Swift given the near identical price.
Most of the criticism seems to be of the camera, and that seems software related i.e. fixable by an update. The Vodafone also gets a panning for it's camera, so the two still look fairly comparable.

The Storm however is looking very promising. I'd want to see some reviews before committing, and to know if the camera shoots RAW, but it certainly has potential.

I'm happy paying top whack on a monthly contract for the next big thing, but I don't think we're there yet. It's been a few years of incremental updates - faster processors, better screens etc - rather than something truly 'wow.' The appeal of something like the Storm (if it's any good) is that whilst not the best, it's more than good enough. Saving a good chunk of money in exchange for a little bit less performance. And 12 months from now on a SIM only deal with more cash in my pocket, if the Next Big Phone is out then I'm not sitting there bemoaning a 24 month contract.

[BigsimonY]

Yes I was going to get a Moto G and custom it though Moto maker but the Storm look like a good alternative. Need to see a few reviews 1st though. Been down the whole cheap phone Road before. Bought a UMI zero. Bad move, regretted it almost right away. I believe the one +one 64gb is only £229 now also!

[LordGrover]

Waiting to see the pricing of the Nexus 5 II or whatever it's going to be called.
If it's a return to the former pricing model it'll be my first choice, but if they continue premium pricing introduced with the Nexus 6 this'll be a contender.

[clonmult]

Altrezia said:

daydotz said:

the Vodafone smart ultra 6 would be my guess its £125

Locked to Vodafone though, which is a shame.

£10 to unlock. Still massively cheaper than the Wileyfox.

The camera on the wiley may well be a fair bit better, but is that worth £70?

[andy-xr]

It may have been me that threw it out there, I've been watching what they're up to with some interest as well. Will be looking to buy next month to replace my S4

I've used Cyanogen before so I'm fine with that, only thing I'm bothered about is whether the camera is any good.

I bought a cheap Chinese phone on Amazon about a year ago, on paper it stacked up but you couldnt really get anything decent out of the camera and while it had 3Gb RAM, the processor was ste so it couldnt use it. And it had an Android skin that made me nervous from a security standpoint in how leaky it might have been.

[FunkyNige]

tenohfive said:

I'm happy paying top whack on a monthly contract for the next big thing, but I don't think we're there yet. It's been a few years of incremental updates - faster processors, better screens etc - rather than something truly 'wow.' The appeal of something like the Storm (if it's any good) is that whilst not the best, it's more than good enough. Saving a good chunk of money in exchange for a little bit less performance. And 12 months from now on a SIM only deal with more cash in my pocket, if the Next Big Phone is out then I'm not sitting there bemoaning a 24 month contract.

That's where I am at the moment - 24 month contract is coming to and end and I'm wondering about a SIM-only deal and buying this phone outright. Shame it's another one of the 14cm long phones though, my current phone is 12cm and I don't want to go much bigger than that!

[clonmult]

andy-xr said:

I've used Cyanogen before so I'm fine with that, only thing I'm bothered about is whether the camera is any good.

Obligatory comment that "good" will vary on your requirements. If you want stunning low light performance, a decent flash, then there isn't a phone on the market that will count as good (LEDs are useless for stills, although they're handy for video).

The Wileyfox Storm is using a Sony 20mp sensor, which is likely similar to that used in a variety of Sony kit - maybe Z2/Z3 levels, but without Sonys lousy post processing (I'm hoping the Z5 is a return to their old form).

[andy-xr]

clonmult said:

andy-xr said:

I've used Cyanogen before so I'm fine with that, only thing I'm bothered about is whether the camera is any good.

Obligatory comment that "good" will vary on your requirements. If you want stunning low light performance, a decent flash, then there isn't a phone on the market that will count as good (LEDs are useless for stills, although they're handy for video).

The Wileyfox Storm is using a Sony 20mp sensor, which is likely similar to that used in a variety of Sony kit - maybe Z2/Z3 levels, but without Sonys lousy post processing (I'm hoping the Z5 is a return to their old form).

Roughly around the same performance as the S4/S5 sort of area. The one I bought previously, I just checked my Amazon orders

XRT Swift, 5.5 inch screen
3GB RAM, 48GB ROM
20Mp camera
Dual SIM
4800Mih battery

I dont think I've ever used a worse camera. It was interpolated up, I'd guess the actual sensor was somewhere around 5 megapixels, even on a tripod mount I couldnt get anything without a bit of shake with no zoom on it. With zoom, it was just a pixelated mess. But on paper, it had a 20Mp camera so that's why I'm dubious. Sony make great sensors, they also made some right stters as well

[Altrezia]

clonmult said:

£10 to unlock. Still massively cheaper than the Wileyfox.

The camera on the wiley may well be a fair bit better, but is that worth £70?

For me, yes. I'd pay a lot more than that for a good camera - one of the reasons I still use an iPhone as my daily.