Wileyfox Swift 2 X is a mighty metal mobile for minimal moolah
With a decent set of specs stuffed inside a comfy metal body, the Wileyfox Swift 2 X packs a lot for an affordable price.
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London-based phone maker Wileyfox only released the Swift 2 Plus in November last year and it's already back with a new addition to the series.
The Swift 2 X is a more premium version of the 2 Plus, featuring more powerful specs and a slightly higher price. The phone runs on an octa-core Qualcomm processor, backed up by 3GB of RAM, which helped the phone run smoothly during my hands-on time. Swiping around, I found the interface free of any kind of lag and apps and menus opened quickly.
The phone runs a Cyanogen version of Android 6.0 Marshmallow . Cyanogen is essentially a tweaked iteration of Android that lets you customise more of the interface including colour schemes and fonts. It looks and operates in much the same way as stock Android though, so you won't have any trouble adjusting. Wileyfox says it plans to have the Swift 2 range updated to the latest Android 7.0 Nougat software in February.
On the back of the phone is a 16-megapixel camera, which I've yet to properly test. An 8-megapixel camera sits on the front for all your grinning selfies.
The phone is wrapped in an all-metal chassis that doesn't particularly stand out in terms of looks but does feel good to hold. In my hands, the phone's 5.2-inch size hits the sweet spot between screen real estate and comfort when holding. The display itself has a full HD 1,920x1,080-pixel resolution which looks bold and sharp, although I'll reserve judgement on it until it's time for our full review.
There's also a fingerprint scanner on the back, which works with NFC to allow contactless Android Pay.
Other features include a 3,010-mAh battery, USB-C charging and 32GB of storage that can be expanded with a microSD card.
While the phone isn't going to trouble the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S7 , it's got a solid lineup of specs. And at only £220, SIM free direct from Wileyfox's website, it's very affordable to boot.