At a launch event in London today, UK company Wileyfox announced that it will be releasing two new smartphone models, powered by the Cyanogen OS system.
Rare for devices in the UK, both include dual SIM slots. They also have a 2,500 mAh capacity battery, which is removable in the Swift but non-removable in the Storm.
The Wileyfox Swift is a dual-SIM entry-level class handset, sporting a 5â€Â, 720 x 1280 display, a 64-bit Snapdragon 410 SoC, 2 GB of RAM, 16 GB of storage, expandable via microSD of up to 32 GB, and a formidable camera combo of 13 MP for the back and 5 MP for the front snappers.
All of this is priced at around £129.
The Wileyfox Storm is a midranger, which can still hold two SIM cards. It comes with a larger 5.5″, 1080 x 1920 screen, a Snapdragon 615 SoC, 3 GB of RAM and 32 GB of internal memory, expandable via microSD of up to 128 GB.
Its cameras also have the better resolutions – 20 MP for the main snapper, and 8 MP for the selfie cam. The price-tag that will be stickied on the Storm is around £199.
The Swift will retail for £129 in the UK in September, while the Storm will sell for £199 in October. Right now, both appear to be strong entrants into the entry-level and mid-range space, with specs to challenge the latest phones from Motorola, and unique software experience and feature set thanks to CyanogenOS.
What makes these Wileyfox handsets stand out is its choice of OS. Both use Cyanogen OS 12.1, a modified version of Android 5.1 that offers more customisation and better security and privacy options than traditional Android. With hundreds of themes available, you can customise your fonts, boot animations, wallpapers and third party apps, as well as lock screen shortcuts and quick tile settings.
The dialler is also powered by Truecaller, which integrates caller ID and a spam filter, making it easier to get rid of those irritating nonsense calls. Likewise, the Privacy Guard gives you more control over your personal data, as you can determine what data you’re giving out to third party apps, while Protected Apps means you can lock certain apps away in a folder so your kids can’t get at them, for example, if you happen to share your smartphone with members of your family.
Other features include a Cyanogen camera app, which has live filters, HDR and night mode options, as well as slow mo video, burst mode. The OS supports 24-bit high-res audio in its Audio FX app as well, and its browser (new to Cyanogen 12.1) is supposedly 1.2x more power efficient and 1.69x faster than Chrome when it comes to page loading.
