British phone manufacturer WileyFox has announced its first two smartphones, aimed at being England's answer to the affordable, high-spec Chinese smartphone OnePlus 2.
Both of the devices are running on CyanogenMod OS, a custom version of Android, and are built to be affordable yet high quality. Not only that, but the two devices are being touted as ultra-privacy-aware, able to lock down accessible apps, perfect for parents or someone who often shares their device with others.
"Our target customer values choice, security and reassurance. These savvy individuals do not want their data made available beyond their control," said WileyFox European Chief Executive Officer, Nick Muir, in a statement. "They want to be able to change the appearance of their screen, beyond just the wallpaper and lock-screen.... And above all they want great quality, premium handsets with the latest technology. Responsive, well-built, reliable, quick-charging handsets with great battery life. And that's what WileyFox is all about."
The first device is called the WileyFox Storm, which is the premium model. It offers a 20 MP rear-facing camera, a 5.5-inch display with a resolution of 1920x1080, 32 GB of storage, and 3 GB of RAM. These specs are certainly what one might find on a flagship device. Where the device falls a little short of other flagships is in the processor, offering a Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 chipset. Of course, that's pretty good considering the price of the device, falling in at £199, or around $312.
The second device is called the WileyFox Swift, and it offers a 13 MP camera, 16 GB of storage and 2 GB of RAM. It is a little smaller, with a display of 5 inches, and comes with a Snapdragon 410 processor. Again, not bad specs when you consider the fact that the device only costs £129, or around $202.
Another interesting thing about the two devices is that they both run CyanogenMod 12.1. Before the release of the two WileyFox devices, Cyanogen only had partners in Micromax, an Indian smartphone manufacturer, and OnePlus, based in China. Even OnePlus only offers its older OnePlus One with CyanogenMod, turning to its own version of Android for the OnePlus 2.
CEO Muir himself is certainly no stranger to the world of Android. He worked for Motorola for eight years, leaving his post as general manager of its European division when Google bought the company.
The two devices are available in Europe and Africa from the company's website, starting today, but it has no plans for a U.S. release.
Via: Re/Code
