The drop-friendly 5.5-inch Full HD Flash Plus 2 is a steal at P6990: it has a fast fingerprint sensor, fast-charging 3000 mAh battery, 64-bit Helio P10 processor, 2GB RAM, 16GB expandable storage, replaceable metal rear cover, fast-shooting 13MP rear camera, 5MP selfie cam with flash, dual 4G SIM (dual standby), Android M out of the box, plus HiFi audio for music lovers.
The Flash Plus 2 is the follow up to the quickly-sold out Flash 2 which was also spec’d to be impressive given its price. It comes in two variants: P6,990 2GB RAM / 16GB ROM and P8,490 3GB RAM / 32GB ROM. Like its predecessor, the Flash Plus 2 will be offered first on Lazada and subsequently on retail. The first sale of the 2GB RAM / 16GB ROM variant happens on May 31. As of this post, the other variant is not yet available.
We had limited time with the unit but here are our first thoughts:
- It’s uncommon for a phone in the P7k price range to offer a reliable fingerprint sensor, fast charging, and Hi-Fi audio. The Cherry Mobile Flare Selfie offers a hit or miss fingerprint sensor experience. The Huawei GR5, which has a 360-degree rear-mounted fingerprint sensor, is priced at P11990. The Flash Plus 2’s fingerprint sensor is found on the home button, a set up familiar to both Samsung S7 and iPhone 6/6s users.
- Replaceable metal covers are also not common in this price range – much less have such covers come in two colors: Luna Silver and Venus Gold.
- The phone is both light, solid in the hand, but not slippery, and it’s a bit surreal to hold a P7k phone knowing it runs a Helio P10 processor. Local phone brands are bound to follow suit.
- It’s good to know that the front camera flash has been retained. We loved the front and rear cameras last year (see sample shots), and we’re eager to see if the photo image quality has been retained or improved. The Flash Plus 2 might be the next Selfie phone.
- I love the VOOC fast-charging on the OPPO F1 Plus, so I’m excited to test the Flash Plus 2’s fast-charging feature. While powerbanks are affordable and handy, not all of us enjoy holding a phone and a powerbank that’s charging it. We’re told that half an hour of charging gets you 50% charge, and and guarantees 10 hours of continuous phone calls. One and half hours of wall socket time fully charges the Flash Plus 2. That’s the beauty of a 9-volt quick charging on a 3,000 mAh battery.
- We’re also intrigued by the HiFi sound, a feature enjoyed by premium phones like the LG G5. The Flash Plus 2 features HiFi value-retained earphone acoustics, high-volume speaker effects, and MIX music editing. I can’t begin to imagine how music and movies will sound like. It should be awesome.
- Nothing about the phone, not even the plastic front part, screams that it’s a P7k budget phone.
- One last thing about the fingerprint sensor. You can program up to five fingerprints and also assign each to launch specific apps. We’re sure your fingers are taking dibs on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and a couple of games.
Flash Plus 2 Full Specs
- 5.5-inch OGS LCD display @ 1920×1080 pixels, 401ppi
- Mediatek MT6755 Helio P10 chip
- 4 x 1.8GHz Cortex A53 + 4 x 1.0GHz Cortex A53 processor
- ARM Mali-T860 MP2 700MHz dual-core GPU
- 2GB RAM | 16GB up to 128GB via microSD card
- 13MP rear camera, PDAF, with Realtone LED flash
- 5MP 84.4-degree wide angle front camera with LED flash
- Dual SIM, Dual Standby | Fingerprint Sensor
- HiFi Audio (AK4375)
- 4G LTE Cat. 6, WiFi 802.11a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.1
- GPS with aGPS support, GLONASS
- 3,000mAh Li-Ion battery, non-removable, fast charging
- Android 6.0 Marshmallow
- Venus Gold, Luna Silver
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Left to Right: Inanc Balci (CEO, Lazada Philippines) and Lei Zhang (Country Manager, Flash Philippines).
Watch the video below and visit Lazada and Flash Philippines for more info. Oh and we’re not kidding on the Flash Plus 2’s being drop-friendly. At the launch last May 24, 2016 in Makati, the host deliberately threw, not just dropped, the Flash Plus 2 being shown to audiences.
