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Wileyfox Swift 2 Plus
I have been using the Wileyfox Swift 2 Plus for a couple of weeks having picked up a cheap deal on Black Friday. So far I have been impressed for a phone that at full retail price is £189 sim free and which can be found for less than this if you keep an eye out for deals. A standard version with the same design is also available which sells for around £30 less with lower spec cameras, less powerful graphics, less RAM (2GB) and only 16GB of storage.
As the name suggests this is the second generation of the Swift from Wileyfox, a relatively young British company. Wileyfox’s aims to provide products that are more affordable than their competitors, whilst not compromising on quality.
My first impressions of the Swift 2 Plus were very positive thanks to the attractive metal chassis complete with polished chamfers and Wileyfox branding. This is a real step up previous generations of affordable smartphones including the original Swift. However, the metal case doesn't cover the whole of the body of the phone with plastic strips at top and bottom. Also, the sim caddy is not quite flush with the main body. Overall build quality is solid even though not quite up to comparison to the latest flagship phones. Nevertheless, thanks to the rounded back edges of the phone and metal chassis the Swift 2 Plus feels nice in the hand. It is also just hefty enough to seem premium without weighing down your pocket.
The Swift 2 Plus is powered by Qualcomm's latest entry level processor, the eight core Snapdragon 430. It also has an Adreno 505 graphics processor, 3GB of RAM, 32GB of storage (24GB available to the user). The storage can be expanded by up to 64GB of microSD storage although this uses one of the dual sim slots. The 5-inch screen is only 720p compared to the 1080p screens available in some other phones in this price range but despite this it looks clear and bright. The rear-mounted fingerprint scanner is a nice addition and together with NFC provides AndroidPay support.
When it comes to performance while the Swift 2 Plus has an entry level processor it is a good one and coupled with 3GB of RAM and the 720p screen it feels snappy and responsive.
At release Swift 2 runs CyanogenOS 13 based upon Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow. This runs very well on the Swift 2 and has been consistently both stable and responsive. Unfortunately, with the well-publicised question marks over the future of Cyanogen at present make the future of updates to Cyanogen somewhat unclear. Despite this Wileyfox has committed that they will find a way to ensure Swift 2 Plus will be updated to Nougat.
The Swift 2 has a 2,700 mAh battery which provides acceptable if not exceptional battery life. This may perhaps in part due the dual sims. The USB-C port, a nice addition on a phone at this price point, supports QuickCharge 3.0 which makes it easy to top up the charge quickly if you need to. Unfortunately, despite the type C connector the Swift2 only supports USB 2.0 so it won't support the high-speed data transfer possible with type C ports which support USB 3.1.
The Swift 2 Plus main camera has a 16 megapixel Samsung camera sensor with phase-detection autofocus but has a relatively small sensor and no stabilisation. The camera is pleasantly quick and can produce good images. However, it's dynamic range is poor and it struggles in less than ideal lighting due to relatively high noise levels and very steady hands are required to get sharp photos indoors and in low light. The front facing camera is a better-than-expected 8-megapixel model which is a nice inclusion at this price.
In conclusion, the Swift 2 Plus is an attractive phone at an affordable price which feels nice in the hand and performs well. I have been impressed by the amount of phone you get for your money and you should certainly consider the Wileyfox if you are looking for a phone in this price range. However, it is somewhat let down by the lacklustre camera performance, relatively low resolution screen and okay battery life and there are better options in this price range if these are important factors for you.
This review is brought to your courtesy of @mrbatwench
Author
Paul Wright