Wileyfox Pro Windows phone review: A sad reminder of happier times

For most of us, Windows 10 Mobile died in 2022 when Microsoft announced that it was no longer "focused" on its own mobile platform, opting to bring its experiences to iOS and Android instead. Nevertheless, that didn't end one hardware maker from pursuing its dream of having a Windows ten Mobile device on the marketplace for people to buy and use. First released late concluding year, and re-released a month or so ago, the Wileyfox Pro is considered by many to exist the last Windows phone.

When the Wileyfox Pro first launched, it went on auction for close to £200 ($260), which was absolute robbery. With its recent re-release, still, it'due south now on sale for around £80, which, for what the Wileyfox Pro is, is a much better toll. So, I recently picked up one to see what it was all most and to try and figure out why Wileyfox has put its Windows 10 Mobile handset back on sale, even though the country of Windows x Mobile hasn't improved.

Earlier nosotros brainstorm, Wileyfox says the Wileyfox Pro is a business phone. It's not designed for consumers, so keep that mind.

Cheap and depression-end

Wileyfox Pro

Starts at most £80 ($104)

Bottom line: This is a low-end, cheap, zilch-thrills Windows 10 Mobile handset, and the only one yous can buy new in 2022.

Pros:

Dainty size.
Removable battery.
Capacitive buttons below the display.

Cons:

Incredibly irksome.
Poor battery life.
Terrible cameras.
Micro USB.

What y'all'll love about the Wileyfox Pro

Honestly, there'due south really not much yous'll dearest almost this device. Everything is, at nearly, fine. There's not a unmarried thing about this phone that will make you lot love it unless Windows 10 Mobile itself does that for you.

Category	Spec
Display	5-inch HD curved screen, IPS technology, Gorilla Drinking glass three
Storage	16GB (expandable)
RAM	2GB
Processor	Qualcomm Snapdragon 210
Camera	8MP rear camera with dual LED flash, 2PM front camera
Battery	2100mAh, 7.11Wh

I practice like the capacitive buttons below the screen for back, start, and search. Most Windows x Mobile device makers opted to have on-screen keys for navigation, only non Wileyfox. Having the buttons below the screen gives a reason for a large "chin" to be, and it likewise means more than content tin can be displayed on the 5-inch display.

On that subject field, I'chiliad really liking the size of this device. I've been using six-inch phones for the better role of 2022, and so when I switched to the Wileyfox Pro, it was refreshing to have a phone that I could use with one-hand again. I can do everything from swiping down the notification center to reaching across from i side of the screen to attain a hamburger menu button, all with one hand.

The build quality of the phone is not terrible. It's all plastic with a glass front, but for £80 (around $104) you're getting a well built little device. Information technology also has a removable back cover, which gains you access to the removable battery, microSD card slot, and Micro SIM slot. The dorsum cover is made of soft-textured plastic, which feels pretty nice.

The volume controls and power push on the side are also nice. They're firm and exercise their job well. They're not the clickiest of buttons, only you can definitely feel them and can tell when they've been successfully pressed.

The front of the device features Gorilla Glass three, which should go on y'all safe from calorie-free scratches and even some drops. Information technology as well comes with two years warranty, which should protect you from many bug your phone may have after yous buy information technology. Once more, this phone costs £80, which is pretty much zilch. It's super inexpensive, making it a great selection every bit a backup phone.

Information technology's also fully supported by Microsoft, meaning if you're looking for a device that will be supported until Microsoft drops Windows 10 Mobile birthday, this is the device for you. It will go along to receive security updates until late side by side year.

What you lot'll hate about the Wileyfox Pro

Micro USB is ancient and bad, and anybody using it in 2022 should feel bad. This is non a fast-charging telephone, meaning if you forget to put it on charge overnight, you lot're going to be in trouble the next morning. The washed out 720p brandish is besides not good, with bad viewing angles unless yous're looking at it directly on.

The biggest offender, yet, isn't the hardware, but the software. Windows Phone used to exist famous for how well information technology operated on low-end hardware, merely the same cannot exist said for Windows ten Mobile in 2022. On the within, nosotros're rocking a Snapdragon 210, with 2GB RAM and 16GB internal storage. The experience is not great. It took around two hours for me to fully set upwardly the device in one case I logged in with my Microsoft Account. It needed to download updated apps and update the phone itself to the latest cumulative patch.

During this time, the telephone depleted its battery to virtually zero. I had to plug information technology in to go along it live as information technology was downloading updates. What'south more, when I finally loaded upwardly the telephone with all the apps I'd exist using on it, I quickly found that the phone was struggling to keep upwardly with my workload.

For instance, I wanted to listen to some music using Spotify while browsing Twitter and pasting links into a Give-and-take document using the Word Mobile app, all while answering conversations in Slack. This is a typical workload for me on a phone, but the Wileyfox Pro couldn't do it. Or rather, it could but incredibly poorly. The music stuttered and stopped when switching between apps, and the dreaded "Loading..." screen would pop up near every time.

The Twitter app on Windows ten Mobile is now a Progressive Web App (PWA), which is pretty heavy on the system thanks to Windows 10 Mobile's incomplete PWA back up, and also eats battery life like crazy. Because of this, this telephone is not a device that will go you through the twenty-four hours hands.

The camera is awful. Photos in lit environments are passable, but low-light photography basically doesn't (or rather, shouldn't) exist on this thing.

Should yous buy the Wileyfox Pro?

No. At least not every bit a replacement for your primary phone. If yous're a Windows 10 Mobile user who refuses to leave the platform, I propose looking into used college-stop models rather than buying the Wileyfox Pro. Information technology'south just non a great phone. It struggles to handle simple workloads, the photographic camera is awful, and battery life leaves something to exist desired.

Now, if you lot're ownership one every bit a backup phone for work, with plans on just using it for stuff like SMS, email, Cortana, and other Microsoft services, so sure. For £fourscore, this is probably the cheapest you can go while even so getting a new Windows phone to practice it. Simply I worry that anyone trying to utilize this device equally their merely phone is going to run into problems very chop-chop. I judge that's why Wileyfox is selling this device every bit a business organization phone, not a consumer 1.

If y'all're a business in need of Windows 10 Mobile devices for your employees, this is probably your but option at this point. Just don't forcefulness them to utilize it equally their only phone. Oh, and make certain your employees are using Micro-SIM cards and non nano-SIM cards. I had to buy an adapter to go my nano SIM card to fit in the Wileyfox Pro.

I'd recommend looking around for a used Lumia 650 if you lot need to stick to a similar price range of the Wileyfox Pro. If you desire to spend a bit more, I'd wait for a used HP Elite x3 as that's the best Windows Phone you can purchase today.