Cool features for not much cash? Try the Wileyfox Swift 2
The Swift 2 gives you USB-C charging, a fingerprint scanner and a 13-megapixel camera. And it's cheap as chips.
- Shortlisted for British Photography Awards 2022, Commended in Landscape Photographer of the Year 2022
With its latest phone, the Swift 2, British company Wileyfox hopes to tempt your wallet with a cheap Android phone that doesn't cut corners with its slick metal body.
While its previous phone, the Spark, was all about the budget -- it was only £80 -- the Swift 2 puts some superior hardware in the mix and starts at £159.
For that money you get a 13-megapixel camera on the back (up from 8-megapixels on the Spark) and an 8-megapixel camera on the front, all of which is wrapped up in an all-metal body. Throw in the latest USB-C charging, a fingerprint scanner and NFC to work with Android Pay and you've got a decent bit of kit for the cash. Android Marshmallow -- not the latest version, Nougat -- runs the show.
It's clear where the savings have been made though -- the 5-inch screen has a resolution of only 720p. Up close you can easily see some fuzziness around text. I'd definitely like to see a full HD screen at this price.
The phone actually comes in two forms; the Swift 2 and the Swift 2 Plus. Both phones are physically identical with the same core specs. The Plus boasts a beefier 16-megapixel camera, 32GB of storage, up from 16GB, and 3GB rather than 2GB of RAM. It'll set you back thirty smackers more at £189, putting it squarely in competition with the excellent Motorola Moto G4.
Both Swift 2 phones are available for preorder now, with shipping starting next week. Wileyfox hasn't partnered with any UK networks, so you won't be able to buy the Swift 2 on contract, or even try before you buy. Instead, you have to go directly to its website to pick up the phone.