Cherry Mobile Cosmos Three Review: Powerful, Yet Plain

When we talk of phones with decent specs for a good price, Cherry Mobile is a brand that usually comes out at the top of the list.

The Cosmos Three, is the newest device to join the ranks. With a sub PhP10k price tag, it also dares to be different for a reason. It sports a deca-core processor. Yep, 10 cores. But does that really make it better than the rest? Or is it all just hype? Let’s find out in this full review.

A Design that’s Perhaps, Too Simple

The Cosmos Three isn’t the prettiest looking phone out there, nor does it sport the premium look. It does have an impressive screen to body ratio though.

The huge 5.7-inch display graces the front along with an 8MP camera, and an LED flash for selfies. What’s impressive here is that they managed to significantly reduce the size of the top bezel, which makes the screen look even larger than it is. I just wished they did the same for the bottom though.

The volume rocker and power button can be found on the right side of the device, while the SIM card slot is on the left.

At the top, you’ll find the 3.5mm headphone jack, while the bottom houses the speakers (finally, someone knew where to put the speakers) and the USB Type-C port.

At the back is the 13MP main camera, a fingerprint sensor, and the usual Cherry Mobile branding.

A Decent Display

The Cosmos Three sports a 5.7-inch Full HD display which makes playing games and watching videos a treat. It’s also very bright (so bright that 50% is more than enough for me) but falls a little short on color intensity, which means less vibrancy, and somehow boring to look at. On the contrary, it does have decent viewing angles, and good visibility under direct sunlight.

Solid Performance, with a Little Quirk

• 11GHz MediaTek Helio X20 Deca-Core Processor
• 3GB of RAM, 32 GB of Internal Storage Expandable up to 128GB via MicroSD Card
• 7-inch Full HD Display
• 13MP Autofocus Rear Camera, Dual-Tone LED Flash
• 8MP Front Camera, LED Flash
• LTE, Dual SIM, 700MHz band support
• Android 6.0 Marshmallow
• 3500mAh Battery
• USB Type-C
• Fingerprint Sensor

General performance is excellent overall. No slowdown or lag even when running multiple apps. Watching videos while checking your social media account and email on the side? No problem, this thing can handle those, and many more with ease.

It’s impressive in gaming as well. We tested Mobile Legends, DJ Max Technika Q, and Asphalt 8, and all ran smoothly without any issues. If there’s anything to point out, it would be that the device heats up pretty quickly to the point that it’s almost uncomfortable. Hopefully, that’s something that can be fixed by an update.

A Decent Camera

The 13MP main camera was able to take decent photos with great sharpness and accurate colors. I would’ve liked a bit more detail though. As expected, quality took a hit in low-light, as pictures came out grainy.

On the other hand, I thought the 8MP selfie camera did a better job as selfies came out more detailed with good contrast. The opposite is true in low-light however, even with the front LED flash.

The default camera app only offers a few shooting modes,  so you may want to install a 3rd party app.

Stock Android is Fast, but a Bit Boring

The Cosmos Three runs on Android 6.0 Marshmallow out of the box, along with a few pre-installed apps, which, fortunately, you can uninstall if you don’t need them.

Apart from that, UI navigation was generally smooth most of the time. Of course, if you feel like spicing up things a bit, you can always install a 3rd party launcher.

More Power, More Drain

The Cosmos Three should be able to get you through a day’s shift, assuming you’re not continuously using graphics intensive apps. Chance are it will run out of juice on your way home. So my advice is to bring a powerbank with you. Charging the device from 0% to full took around 3 hours, which is quite a wait.

Verdict

The Cherry Mobile Cosmos Three is a great choice for anyone looking for a powerful daily driver with a reasonable price tag. It has a good display, a decent camera, runs on stock Android, and handles general tasks and gaming very well.

There are some things that might throw people off, such as the plain look, the underwhelming battery life, and the heating problem, but the sheer computing prowess of this device alone is more than enough to compensate for all of that.

The Good

• Display
• Front Camera
• Performance (General and Gaming)
• Price (PhP9,999)
• Stock Android
• Speaker Placement
• Fast Fingerprint Recognition

The Not So Good

• Design
• Build Quality
• Battery Life
• Heating Issues
• Rear Camera
• Charging Time

Emman Tortoza

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Emman has been writing technical and feature articles since 2010. Prior to this, he became one of the instructors at Asia Pacific College in 2008, and eventually landed a job as Business Analyst and Technical Writer at Integrated Open Source Solutions for almost 3 years.