When I was a kid I spent a lot of time reading all sorts of moral tales which were collected under the title Aesop’s Fables. They were the sorts of stories designed to instil good behaviour and thinking abilities into kids, a set of secular (more or less) parables about animals, people and inanimate object interacting.
There was always the cunning creature in these ancient Greek stories (some of which stem back to around 600BC – or 6000BCE if you’re not a traditionalist), a portrayal of the animal kingdom which exists to this day. The crow was frequently intelligent, the wolf was also smart but in an ‘I’m going to eat you’ way. The fox is also commonly considered to be a bright spark, as evidenced in The Fox and the Crow (though even friend Fox doesn’t always have it all his own way). You might even call him… wily. Or Wiley, because I’m going to twist this comparison until it fits.
The Orange Box
And it’s also quite attractive, if very basic in its presentation. The Wileyfox’s most eye-catching feature has to be its reflective-vest-orange box, adorned with the Wileyfox logo and the Cyanogen emblem. If you’re expecting something quite as searing from the inside of the box you’re going to be disappointed. From the front this 5-inch handset is a standard black slab, with understated plastic controls on the upper right edge. A headphone port lives on top, the charge port is at the base. It’s on the removable backplate where you’ll see some difference, a textured bit of plastic with the Wilefox fox etched into it. And the Wileyfox lettering in a more muted orange, let’s not forget.
Pieces of the Puzzle
The Swift incorporates 2GB of RAM, microSD storage (up to 32GB, only), and a 13MP/5MP camera combination. All of these are going to be considerations for the budget-conscious and the Cyanogen OS (12.1, which shows as Android 5.1.1 in the various benchmark apps) means that it’s going to be very malleable from a software level. The default colour scheme actually brought to mind Firefox’s phones. Though if Mozilla’s attempts had worked out like this, they might have had more success in the market.
Fox Hunt
If we just over the the AnTuTu benchmark then we see something quite different. The end score for the Swift was 26,074, which beats out the Moto E’s 22,000 or so and the Redmi 2’s 20,182 in the same benchmark. The climb isn’t as impressive as it looks on the surface, as the AnTuTu benchmark has changed since the initial tests.
That said, the new 3D performance category in AnTuTu didn’t net the Swift many marks. The onscreen presentation was clear, showing off the screen to its best advantage, so it’s too bad that this part of the test was supposed to be, you know, in motion. Gaming isn’t going to work that well on the Swift, is what I’m trying to say.
The Rest is Cheese
The 2,500mAh battery is another highlight, keeping the lights on for a respectable amount of time whether you’re running video, music or internet. If you’re attempting to do all three at once then, first, well done you, and, second, it’ll cut down on battery life a tad. Standard use should get you through the day with some charge to spare though. Which is a consideration for the average budget user, really.
Verdict
Wileyfox’s Swift is a speedy enough phone for not a whole lot of cash, though like the fabled fox of Aesop’s time it doesn’t always come across as the most cunning of the bunch. It’s still worth looking into and worth keeping an eye on the brand in general. Wileyfox has a beefier handset called the Storm which we’d also like to get our hands on. In the meantime, you can put this on the shelf next to the Moto G (and Friends) and then pick one of them.