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UK Android upstart Wileyfox goes into administration
When UK phone maker Wileyfox burst onto the smartphone scene in August 2015, the company positioned itself as a small company that operated on small margins, with a plan to sell powerful but low-cost Android handsets. Its first two phones -- the Swift and the Storm -- delivered on that promise, earning favourable reviews for their premium design and impressive spec sheet. The company's next releases, however, didn't fare as well. It was forced to ditch the Cyanogen operating system and build its own Android platform, which ultimately led to it offering reduced prices if you didn't mind putting up with lockscreen ads.
Wileyfox phones are cheaper if you don’t mind lockscreen ads
Wileyfox is already in the business of making affordable smartphones that prioritise value for money, and now it's started offering most of its devices for significantly cheaper, provided customers are willing to put up with ads on their lockscreen. From today, you can get as much as 42 percent off the retail price of a Wileyfox phone should you opt to pick up the "Add-X" version. Amazon has a similar scheme in the US with ad-subsidised "Prime Exclusive" phones, and in the UK you can get a tenner off the retailer's Fire tablets and some Kindle e-readers if you let Amazon stick its "Special Offers" on the lockscreen.
Amazon's Alexa is coming to Wileyfox phones
Once upon a time, Wileyfox phones shipped with Cyanogen OS, a community-driven version of Android. Cyanogen's demise means Wileyfox has been forced to go back to vanilla Android — but that doesn't mean it's now cosy with Google. Today, the company announced that all of its phones will soon support Amazon's Alexa, a rival to Google's own Assistant. Starting with the Swift 2 range later this month, customers will be able to access all of the same Alexa skills found on the Echo speaker. Wileyfox says it's the cheapest way to use Alexa on the move.
Wileyfox Swift 2 series review: Affordability upgraded
British smartphone brand Wileyfox came onto the scene in 2015, kicking things off with two distinct devices. Of these, the Swift turned out to be one of the best affordable handsets you could buy -- quite the achievement for a new, unknown company. Since then, though, Wileyfox hasn't done anything particularly exciting, but now it's back with a follow-up, or three. The recently launched Swift 2, Swift 2 Plus and Swift 2 X are all slight variations of the same core device, offering a few different options while sticking to the affordable end of the smartphone spectrum, where the original Swift excelled.
Wileyfox's Swift 2 X is its priciest smartphone yet at £219
After launching a trio of forgettable devices over the summer, Wileyfox rebounded late last year with a follow-up to the great value Swift. A couple of follow-ups, in fact: the Swift 2 and Swift 2 Plus. But both of these are 5-inch handsets, and were always destined to be joined by a sibling made for bigger paws. That's where the Swift 2 X comes in with its slightly larger 5.2-inch display at a higher, 1080p resolution. Wileyfox's latest handset is also its most expensive, as the Swift 2 X is available from today for £219.
Wileyfox returns to form with the £159 Swift 2
Wileyfox's Swift made quite the first impression when it arrived around this time last year. At launch, it was easily one of the best affordable smartphones you could buy in the UK, and from an altogether new British brand, no less. This summer, Wileyfox muddied its own name somewhat, following up on the Swift with a trio of unexciting devices. Today, however, the company has announced what could be a worthy successor to one of last year's best budget devices. Or two successors, we should say: The Swift 2 and Swift 2 Plus (or +, depending on where you look).
Wileyfox returns with three more affordable smartphones
Fledgling British smartphone brand Wileyfox debuted its first devices last autumn, and one of them ended up being seriously good value for money. Not to lose momentum following these initial launches, the company is back today with no less than three new handsets. At the most affordable end of the scale is the £90/€120 Spark, with the £115/€150 Spark + and £130/€170 Spark X making up the rest of this new family of devices.
Wileyfox Swift and Storm review: Two cheap UK phones, one worth buying
There are two ways you can go about buying a new smartphone: Either you spread the cost over a year or two with a carrier contract, or purchase the thing outright. When you're finally done paying it off, a subsidised handset often ends up costing more than it's worth. However, considering the price of new iPhones, Samsung flagships and peers, that can still be preferable to emptying your bank account in one fell swoop. Thankfully, companies big and small are addressing this conundrum with phones that offer the kind of specs and user experience customers want at prices they're happy to pay upfront. Despite an abundance of competition in contract-free handsets already, new British brand Wileyfox is one such company, and it's hoping to make its mark in the UK with the affordable £129 Swift and higher-end £199 Storm.
Wileyfox's Storm is as chic as £199 smartphones come
New smartphone brand Wileyfox arrived on the scene brandishing the Swift, a midish-range device with an agreeable £129 price tag. Last week, it followed up with the Storm, its second contract-free handset you could call Wileyfox's flagship. A flagship of sorts, anyhow, since at £199 it's only a fraction of the price of true top-tier handsets. Now, the Swift is a perfectly charming device, but it doesn't feel like it's punching above its weight to any extent. The orange accents and quirky circular earpiece give it some character, but the physical buttons are plastic, the back panel removable. There's nothing wrong with that, of course, but its compact size and general build quality are more or less what you'd expect from an affordable device. The newer Storm, on the other hand, is only £70 more expensive, and yet it feels like it's batting in a completely different league.
Wileyfox's Storm smartphone goes on sale for £199
Fresh-faced British upstart Wileyfox is hoping to make a name for itself in contract-free smartphones, joining plenty of other manufacturers searching for the perfect balance between performance and price. Its first handset, the £129 Swift, launched just last month, and today Wileyfox has announced its higher-end Storm smartphone is now up for grabs for £199. That much buys you a dual-SIM, 4G device with a 1.5GHz octa-core Snapdragon 615 CPU, 3GB of RAM, 32 gigs of expandable storage, a 2,500mAh battery, 20-megapixel rear camera with Sony sensor and an 8MP selfie snapper.
Hands-on with the £129 Wileyfox Swift
Two years ago, Motorola pioneered a new smartphone category with the original Moto G: the almost flagship. It was a device that offered close to high-end performance and design with a price-tag usually reserved for less capable mid-tier handsets. It's now the company's bestselling smartphone and few, if any of its rivals have managed to replicate its winning formula. The latest competitor to step up and take a shot is Wileyfox, a complete newcomer from the UK. Over the next couple of months it'll be launching two new smartphones which run the Cyanogen flavor of Android: the Swift and the Storm. The cheaper of the two, the £129 ($200) Swift, sits somewhere between the latest Moto G and entry-level Moto E. But it's got a lot to prove if it hopes to steal some of the company's thunder.
Meet Wileyfox, Britain's answer to OnePlus
Wileyfox isn't a smartphone brand you've heard of before. They're an entirely new player from the UK hoping to muscle into the already packed Android market with, you've guessed it, smartphones that combine "good enough" specs with competitive price tags. The company is announcing two phones today, the Storm and the Swift, which run the Cyanogen flavour of Android in sleek, but not particularly adventurous packages. The £199 (about $315) Storm is the more premium of the two, boasting a 5.5-inch 1080p display, a Snapdragon 615 processor, 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage. In the camera department, you'll find a 20-megapixel camera on the back and an 8-megapixel version up front.
