Wileyfox Spark line starts from just £90, but you get what you pay for

There’s no shortage of affordable smartphones on the market right now. But plucky UK-based Wileyfox hopes it can stand out with a new family of phones that starts from just £90. Introducing Wileyfox Spark, Spark+, and Spark X.

The new Sparks come ten months after Wileyfox’s debut smartphones, the Swift (£129) and the Storm (£200). Out of the pair, the Swift was well-received thanks to its charming design, solid specs, and value for money, and it’s clear that Wileyfox wanted to repeat the performance with the three Spark phones, which cost £89.99, £114.99, and £129.99 respectively.

You do get what you pay for: the Spark features a lowly quad-core MediaTek MT6735A processor, just 1GB of RAM, and just 8GB of storage.

RAM memory in particular is commoditized in the smartphone industry, with devices routinely coming out with 4GB or even 6GB of RAM, and rumors pointing to behemoths that rock 8GB.

What’s more important is that 1GB of RAM and 8GB of storage simply won’t satisfy the needs of even average users, not to mention ensure a degree of future proofing. Sure, you can add some extra storage via microSD, but even that is limited to 32GB.

The display is a 5-inch IPS LCD and the Spark comes with 8MP cameras on both the rear and the front. A 2,200 mAh removable battery – quite a rarity these days – fits inside an 8.65-milimeter body that weighs 134.5-gram.

The Spark+ is more palatable, thanks to having double the amount of RAM memory and storage, compared to the Spark. Besides the 16GB/2GB upgrade, other specs remain the same, with the exception of the larger 13MP sensor of the rear camera.

The Spark X packs the specs of the Spark+ in a bigger body that houses a 5.5-inch 720p display and a 3,000-mAh battery.

Like their predecessors, all three Sparks run Cyanogen OS 13. Based on Marshmallow, Cyanogen OS is – according to the Spark product page – “the most evolved and advanced version of Android.” So there’s that.

Wileyfox Spark will go on pre-order today for £89.99, but we recommend waiting for the Spark+ version, or even the Spark X, both of which will go on sale at a later date.