Wileyfox Storm review

Flagship phones like the iPhone 6s and Galaxy S6 may grab headlines, but plenty of us are on a much tighter budget, and that's where the Wileyfox Storm comes in. It's a mid-range blower that packs in plenty of bells and whistles, but is that good enough to beat the likes of the Moto X? We get hands-on to find out.

The good

At £199, the Wileyfox Storm offers incredible value for money. It packs in a 5.5-inch screen that's an absolute cracker, and while it may not offer a QHD resolution, images are still pin sharp and there's plenty more to like too. Colours jump off the screen, with deep blacks that help to get the most out of your snaps or movies. At this price, there's not a lot that can match it.

It's not just the screen that impressed us, either, and we also love the quality on offer. Considering the price, the Storm is more than tough enough, feeling particularly solid in the hand.

Performance is good - it's not the fastest phone out there, but then again with it's mid-range price we weren't really expecting it to be - and the 1.5GHz octa-core Snapdragon processor and 3GB of RAM keeps things ticking over nicely. You will notice lag if you really push it, but it's more than capable during everyday tasks.

Other niceties include a cracking 20-megapixel camera, which provides images that are both sharp and vibrant. Once again, it may not be the best out there, but it's certainly better than most, and the same can be said about the front-facing 8-megapixel snapper. There's even a front-facing flash, making it easy to take selfies in the dark. Should anybody want to...

Throw in 32GB of base storage, and the ability to add more via microSD and there really is a lot to like about the Storm. The OS is pretty nice, too, running Cyanogen to keep Android fans who don't like skins happy.  

The bad

There really isn't a lot to dislike about the Wileyfox Storm. Not everybody will appreciate the Cyanogen OS, and it may not get the latest Marshmallow updates.

The 2,500mAh battery could be bigger, we'd like to see capacitive touch buttons under the screen, there's no NFC and it does look eerily similar to a OnePlus One, but it feels like we're nitpicking.

The bottom line

In short, the Wileyfox Storm is an absolute steal of a phone - both front and rear cameras are great, the screen is lovely and it's all wrapped in a design that both looks and feels good. All for less than £199. Motorola had better watch its back.