It’s been a while coming but here’s our full review on the Cherry Mobile Flare Y7 LTE. It is the company’s entry-level phone under the company’s iconic phone series, the Flare series.
| Cherry Mobile Flare Y7 LTE | |
| Display Size | 6.2-inch HD+ |
| Resolution | 720×1520 |
| Processor | Quad-core 1.5GHz Mediatek MT6739WW |
| GPU | IMG Power VR GE8100 |
| RAM | 1GB |
| Storage | 8GB internal storage |
| Expandable storage | microSD up to 32GB |
| Rear camera | 13MP LED Flash |
| Front camera | 5MP |
| Battery | 2,800mAh |
| OS | Android Go 8.1 Oreo |
| Connectivity | 4G LTE |
| WiFi b/g/n | |
| Bluetooth 4.0 | |
| Price | PHP 4,299 |
Entry-level glass-like beauty
The Cherry Mobile Flare Y7 LTE has a very stylish finish. Its use of glass-looking plastic gives the phone a higher-end feel, plus a little heft, which isn’t a bad thing at all. The downside is that the glossy finish, makes the rear of the phone a fingerprint magnet.
What’s unique to the phone are its ports (micro-USB and 3.5mm audio jack) and the buttons (volume rockers and power button).
Yes, that’s the top of the phone.
The ports of the Flare Y7 LTE are uniquely found on the top of the phone with the speaker grille at the bottom. The volume rocker and power button are positioned on the left side of the phone, while on the right is a hybrid SIM tray.
At the rear is a 13MP shooter. Its counterpart 5MP front camera is hidden away in the notch of its 6.2-inch HD+ display.
Decent but grainy camera
The rear camera can take decent photos in brighter environments. It isn’t the best, of course, but it is good enough for social media use. However, where it struggles is in the evening and when there are bright lights indoors.
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One upside to it is the HDR mode which delivers better photos but also requires a bit more time to shoot than a normal photo.
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The front camera, on the other hand, delivers even grainier photos. Selfies look better when taken in a brighter environment.
Overall performance
With 1GB of RAM, we definitely could feel the sluggishness of the phone but Android Go definitely helped a bit. It comes with very little bloatware and comes with Go versions of the usual Google apps like YouTube.
The Flare Y7 LTE will definitely require a microSD card if you want to have a few games and media files in there, as it only has 8GB of storage out-of-the-box.
One downside to the phone is its battery. At 2800mAh, heavy users, especially those who set their mobile data ON for most of the time, will find themselves re-charging a few times in a day.
Gaming and media experience
What’s a review without testing out its gaming capabilities and what it’s like to consume media on it?
Not quite a game or a video, but here’s the entire phone in all its glory
We tested Mobile Legends: Bang Bang and PUBG Lite but the latter was hardly playable on the phone. Mobile Legends, however, was a decent experience. There were some slowdowns here and there even at the lowest setting but it can hold up its own.
Because of the build of the phone which is a bit boxier than rounded, it was easy to grip. The chin on the bottom also gave a pretty hand resting spot for our thumb when watching or gaming.
Here it is again before we close out the review
Our struggle was with the speaker grill, which can be easily blocked when using the phone in landscape mode.
Photos of the phone courtesy of Rianne Ronquillo
Ram found his love and appreciation for writing in 2015 having started in the gaming and esports sphere for GG Network. He would then transition to focus more on the world of tech which has also began his journey into learning more about this world. That said though, he still has the mentality of "as long as it works" for his personal gadgets.
