Cherry Mobile Flare S4 Plus Price is Php 7,999, Actual Unit Photos, Key Specs and Features

Priced at Php 7,999 and hitting store shelves come the last week of October 2015, Cherry Mobile Flare S4 Plus is not just the bigger version of the more affordable CM Flare S4 but it also has better imaging capabilities as well as more powerful internal hardware -- if a bit.

This phablet was launched alongside the Flare 4 and Flare S4 via an exclusive media event held at The New World Hotel in Makati City yesterday, October 9, 2015. During the unveiling, the local electronics giant also took the opportunity to introduce its newest celebrity endorser, Miss Anne Curtis, to tech bloggers and members of the media.

As you can see in these images, the phablet's face simply looks like a larger version of the regular S4's front panel; Replete with thick strips on either ends, framing an inner black bezel. Unlike the smaller phone, however, S4 Plus has a flat scratch-resistant OGS panel protecting its 5.5-inch Full HD IPS display in lieu of a 2.5D curved screen.

The device also flaunts this thick aluminum side frame, making CM S4 Plus look durable and luxurious at the same.

The phablet's back cover is not removable unlike that of CM Flare S4 -- so you won't be able to pull out the battery and you get these trays on the left side for two microSIM cards and microSD card.

The back cover of the phablet has a glossy finish as opposed to the textured feel with diamond etches of its smaller counterpart.

Apart from the large screen, Cherry Mobile Flare S4 Plus also sports a 16 MegaPixel autofocus main camera with BSI sensor and single LED bulb flash, 5 MegaPixel front cam with BSI sensor and wide-angle lens, Full HD video recorder, 4G LTE mobile connectivity support, USB-OTG capability, and a 2,800 mAh battery pack providing more or less a whole day of uptime with regular use.

At its heart, Flare S4 Plus runs Android 5.1 Lollipop operating system with its 64-Bit MediaTek MT6753 chipset - the same as what's inside CM Flare 4 and S4 - incorporating eight ARM Cortex A53 cores clocked at 1.3 GHz and a 700 MHz Mali T720 GPU, has 3GB of RAM (versus just 2GB on the regular S4) and comes with 16GB of storage you can easily expand using a microSD card.

Cherry Mobile Flare S4 Plus, Flare S4, and Flare 4, respectively.

I think Cherry Mobile Flare S4 Plus is a great option for budget-conscious consumers who are looking for a metal-clad phablet that looks and feels luxurious all while having more than decent technical specifications. Having played with it during the launch of the trio in the photo above, I'd say the phablet certainly lives up to the 'great value for money' proposition and legacy of Cherry Mobile's very popular Flare series.