UK’s Wileyfox releases their first devices with Cyanogen OS


Wileyfox is a brand new smartphone brand based in the UK, and they’re looking to enter the competitive smartphone with a big bang. Their two mid-rangers, the Swift and Storm, will have mid-range specs and low prices, but what Wileyfox hopes will differentiate their budget devices from others (like the Moto G) is that both the Swift and the Storm will come running Cyanogen OS 12.1 out of the box, a huge selling point for tech geeks.

The Wileyfox Swift is the cheaper of the two, and comes with decent enough specs. The processing package is a cheap and cheerful quad core Snapdragon 410, backed up with 2GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage, a 5-inch 720p display, a 13MP Sony rear camera, a removable 2500mAh battery and a sleek looking design highlighted with orange accents. It’ll be priced at £129, which equals to about $199. Decent enough to compete with other low-end devices like the new Moto G and the Redmi 2 Enhanced.

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The Storm is the obviously more powerful of the two. It comes with the problem ridden Snapdragon 615 processor, along with a healthy 3GB of RAM, 32GB of internal storage, a 5.5-inch full HD 1080p display, an unremovable 2500mAh battery and a powerful 20MP rear camera also supplied by Sony. The design language is similar to the swift, but the Storm will a cost much more at £199, or $307. That’s close to Alcatel One Touch Idol 3 territory, and much more expensive than similar phones like the Xiaomi Mi4i.

Both devices will have Cyanogen OS 12.1 based on Lollipop out of the box, both have support for 4G LTE across all European providers and they both also have expandable storage. Neither one comes with NFC, so that’s something to keep in mind. Both phones will only be available for purchase online right now, though the Swift will only ship in September while the Storm in October. What do you think about the Wileyfox devices? Tell us in the comments below.

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17 Comments

  1. The Special Juan
    August 29, 2015

    Don’t see any reason to go for any of these devices, as there are better specced , more attractive options at each price point…not impressed! 🙂

  2. POISON
    August 29, 2015

    I like the logo

  3. Flaat
    August 29, 2015

    Nooo not the snappy dragon! Overpriced overheating poc

  4. The Bastard Christ
    August 30, 2015

    europe seems to get fucked with overpricing. lol. the Wileyfox Swift is available in asia under a different brand for $130 usd plus its released as an android one device.

    http://www.unbox.ph/gadget/cherry-mobile-one-g1-review-the-best-android-one-phone-so-far/

    • Joe
      August 30, 2015

      Wow it does look like an exact duplicate, good catch.

    • Zoran
      August 31, 2015

      One difference between the two is that Wileyfox’s Swift is advertised with gorilla screen proctection, while this one has dragon trail, but other than that, these do seem to be very similar. Bands might be different. Why aren’t more people mentioning this, I thought it was an original brand.

      • The Bastard Christ
        August 31, 2015

        let me say this, there is no way a normal person will find ever out if it’s real gorilla glass, dragontrail or just something like it. unless you go have it tested in a lab.

        same device different brands

        india – https://www.gogi.in/micromax-canvas-nitro-4g-official.html

        thailand – http://www.siamphone.com/spec/en/i-mobile/iq_ii.htm

        • Zoran
          August 31, 2015

          Man, I thought I found a good phone for the EU, with support of EU 3G/4G bands, Cyanogen, relatively good price, with decent specs, I’m talking about the lower priced model, Swift. I know it’s stupid to even look at this, next to Redmi Note 2, K3 Note, but they aren’t entirely EU friendly now, aren’t they. I might still go for Swift, despite weaker specs. By the way I mentioned your find on this video here, these reviewers are in touch with Wiley so we’ll hear what they have to say about being a rebrand:
          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4B8-cxH2Euk

          • Fly agaric
            August 31, 2015

            Something wrong here. Pictures AIRYL provided show the navi keys underneath the screen – panel integrated, while the youtube video of Swift and One G1 pictures show on screen navi keys … WTF?
            I odnt think, I have to say which option looks better, do I?

            • Zoran
              August 31, 2015

              Look again, Wiley STORM has capacitive touch buttons underneath the screen, while Wiley SWIFT has on-screen buttons. One G1 and Wiley SWIFT seem to be the same phone. Wiley STORM is a completely different device, with different specs.

            • Fly agaric
              August 31, 2015

              Looks like AIRYL just pasted same image twice – that’s the source of my confussion …
              Suddenly, the Swift phone seems completely unattractive to me.

            • Airyl
              August 31, 2015

              It’s a glitch in the post. Sorry about that.

  5. Dante
    August 30, 2015

    class phone for the uk – judging by cyanogen but lil bit overpriced

  6. rockardgb
    August 30, 2015

    I have just had delivered today the Smart Ultra 6 from vodafone. Similar specs to the cheaper wileyfox but only at £125.
    It has a 5.5 inch 1080p screen, snapdragon 615, 2 gig ram and a 3000mah battery running nearly stock lollipop. Seems amazing at the minute and seen no overheating issues. Had been waiting for a good chinese phone but in the end I can take this back and get a new one within a day if any problems so it swung it.
    I had wanted a ulefone be touch 2 but seeing as they lie about the operating system it has put me off. (they say its android 5.1 but it has been proven its android 5.0 and they cannot get android 5.1 running on it.)

    • Sere83
      August 30, 2015

      yep wiley fox has los the plot asking £125 for a snapdragon 410 when you can by the smart prime ultra for the same price running snapdragon 615 with better spec across the board.

  7. Max
    August 30, 2015

    looks exactly like the mx base, at least from the front and side.

  8. Sere83
    August 30, 2015

    I don’t mind the design and with cyanogen performance should be good, but I think they have misjudged the specs. To charge that price for a snapdragon 410 phone is stupid consdiering you can buy a smilarly speced Vodafone smart prime 6 for £80 here in the UK. Also to chose a snapdragon 615 as well is unwise, terrible cpu. I would have much rather they did something like ZUK are doing with the Z1. Release just 1 good upper mid range-high end spec, lower priced handset. Both these lower end phones will be landfill within a year and do not build a solid legacy for the brand. They missed a real opportunity here as well to cater for people still looking for a solid 4.7-5 inch device