Cherry Mobile Selfie Quick Review

Cherry Mobile recently introduced a smartphone that targets users who are big fans of taking selfies and aptly named it the Selfie. Read on this quick review and find out if its dual 13-megapixel cameras are indeed effective for taking photos.

As we’ve mentioned on our first impressions with the Selfie, it carries an unconventional look and takes a break from the usual all-plastic build commonly utilized by the local company. What’s noticeable apart from its arced tips on both the top and bottom is the brushed metal that goes around the device – almost.

Cherry-Mobile-Selfie-18

The metal frame takes a break at the bottom where the plastic material from the back cover extends as the base. Over here is the microUSB port and at the top, you have the 13-megapixel camera accompanied by an LED flash for selfies.

At the right side we have a dedicated camera shutter button situated in the middle. This is how we know that Cherry Mobile is concentrating on imaging for this model.

Just above it are the dual-SIM slots while the volume rocker is located on the flip side — strategically-placed for easy access. In addition, The power/lock button is up top together with the audio jack.

The back is where the same 13-megapixel camera is located flanked by two LED flashes. The rear camera is adorned with a plate of textured chrome that positively accentuates the device. At the bottom is a speaker grille which is also emblazoned with a chrome trim.

The device has a good heft to it which I personally prefer since I feel like I would accidentally toss a phone when it’s too light. Its 4.7-inch display also sits just right at the palm and could be navigated using one hand. In terms of design, it’s refreshing to see that Cherry Mobile is investing on a more premium build.

Booting up the device shows the Selfie branding and introduces you to the startup guide. UI is generally fluid as we navigate and jump across apps thanks to its 2GB RAM and Android KitKat running the OS department. We’re happy to report that we didn’t come across any hiccups or crashes during our time with it.

We ran a couple of benchmarks as well and below are their scores:

AnTuTu: 31,733
Quadrant Benchamark: 13,743
NenaMark2: 61.1fps

(Using front-facing camera) Right - Cherry Mobile Selfie | Left - iPhone 5

(Using front-facing camera) Left – Cherry Mobile Selfie | Right – iPhone 5

The company obviously banks on the Selfie’s imaging capabilities. With 13-megapixel cameras attached both at its front and back, we snapped a couple of photos and what’s initially noticeable is its capability to compensate for brightness even on low-light situations.

The front-facing camera, based on our experience, would definitely make selfie-centric users happy with its balance of clarity, right amount of exposure, and natural-looking application of effects.

Speaking of effects, its Camera app has an included feature that softens the details on the skin, removing blemishes and oily look. The effect’s intensity could be set from 0-5 so it’s up to the users how much effect they want (or need) to apply on their faces.

We have a few more shots below so check them out and just read the description to know what situation we used it for.

[fancygallery id=”162″]

The Selfie also has ClearMotion Technology which is a video fluency enhancer. While looping a video clip to test out its battery, we noticed that movement was extra smooth during playback, almost mimicking a 120Hz refresh rate seen in some smart TVs.

As for its battery life, we only managed to squeeze out 3 hours and 5 minutes while playing videos continuously.

The Cherry Mobile Selfie is a product of today’s trend, especially here in the Philippines. As the selfie capital of the world, it’s understandable why the company designed a smartphone dedicated to imaging. The Selfie is a device with a good and attractive form factor, a fluid UI, and cameras that take good photos even in low-light areas.

Cherry Mobile Selfie specs:
4.7-inch IPS HD display @ 1280 x 720 resolution
1.7GHz MediaTek octa-core processor
Mali 450 MP4 GPU
2GB RAM
16GB internal storage
13MP rear camera with Sony lens and dual LED flash
13MP front camera with flash
Bluetooth 4.0
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
Dual-SIM
USB OTG
2300mAh Li-Ion battery
Android 4.4KitKat
Price: Php9,999

What we liked about it:

Interesting combination of metal and plastic build
Good display
Performs well
Smooth video playback (ClearMotion Technology)
Definitely for selfie users
Dedicated camera button

What we didn’t like:

Below average battery life

Kevin Bruce Francisco

Kevin Bruce Francisco is the Senior Editor and Video Producer for YugaTech. He's a Digital Filmmaking graduate who's always either daydreaming of traveling or actually going places on his bike. Follow him on Twitter for more tech updates @kevincofrancis.

http://www.yugatech.com

6 Comments

Leowenstien Tan says:

9 years ago

this cherry mobile selfie very much alike to Micromax Canvas Selfie try to research that phone.
- Reply
vin says:

10 years ago

Hi, kindly clarify caption on your group selfie comparison. On your previous review, caption says right pic is taken with iphone5, now it says right pic is the one taken with cherry.
Thanks.
- Reply
jonh says:

10 years ago

Thank goodness sayo binigay tong selfie phone na ito. I got to see more of your handsome face. you’re such a cutie!
- Reply
wired_boy says:

10 years ago

kaw ba yan @kevin bruce francisco?

crush kita hihi
- Reply
Felipe says:

10 years ago

question:
1. Non-removable battery?
2. Gorilla Glass or Dragontrail Glass?
- Reply

Keith says:

10 years ago

Battery is none removable, and the glass is Gorilla glass v3, I love the glass as it is extra smooth allowing the finger to glide effortlessly, I don’t like the shape of the phone (rounded top and Bottom), and I hate the back of the phone being plastic, its prone to slipping out my hand.

If the phone was housed in a case that of starmobile up+, I would be over the moon, as the up+ is just right in Wight and design (for me) and is a very sturdy phone, but the selfie feels like a toy to me, and it feels like it would break very easily if dropped.

Another bad thing is the second sim slot is taken up by the extra mem SD card to store all my photos, so I am unable to use a second sim card.

As for the Camera, it’s OK, but not the best I have seen, but for the price we can’t complain, the Octacore sure is snappy juggling all the apps, but I also noticed when viewing 13MP photos, it tends to jerk when scrolling around the image.

The camera needs some software updates as it could be alot better, and as for the metal banding around the edge, I personalty don’t think it is metal, in fact I am sure its just plastic with some sort of covering, as it feels to warm to be metal.

I upgraded from a Nokia N95 8gig ha ha, I know it’s ancient, but I had a hard time finding a phone that could match the cam on that phone (even though it was only 5MP), but then again I paid 38,000.00 ph for that phone.

I found the battery was too underpowered for this phone, as I was charging it twice a day just surfing and utubing every now and then.

The screen is very sharp even though it’s not full HD, I kinda like the phone but not over the moon with it, it does what it is supposed to do for the price (9,999.00 ph), if you want a better phone your going to have to look at a much higher price tag, if the up+ had the same specs and was the same price, then I would have gotten a different phone.

YugaGaming