MAKATI, Philippines – Here it is folks, the successor to the phone that’s always being promoted in Lazada, the Flash Plus 2. The launch was held in the Penthouse of Lepanto Building, Paseo de Roxas, Makati last May 24, 2016.
Present at the launch is Mr. Lei Zhang, Flash Philippines Country Manager, who made the welcome message as well the one who answered the Q&A.
Alongside him are Sheree Gae Gayas, Flash Philippines Country Marketing Manager, and Kenneth Tung, Flash Philippines Business Development Manager fro E-Commerce and was also the one who presented the Flash Plus 2 and finally, Mr. Inanc Balci, CEO and co-Founder of Lazada.
FLASH PLUS 2 Technical Specifications
Before anything else, here are the specs of this new beauty:
| Description | Flash Plus 2 |
| Dimensions | 152.6mm × 76.4mm × 8.2mm |
| Weight | 157 g |
| Display | 5.5 inches Rainbow FHD 1920 x 1080 pixels |
| SIM | Micro-SIM + Nano-SIM (dual SIM) |
| OS | Android 6.0 (Marshmallow) |
| Chipset | CPU:MTK Helio P10 MT6755M |
| CPU | 64-bit 4×1.8 GHz + 4×1.0GHz Cortex-A53 ARMv8 |
| GPU | ARM Mali-T860 MP2 550MHz |
| Memory | 2GB/3GB RAM + 16GB/32GB ROM |
| Expansion | microSD, up to 128 GB |
| Camera | 13 MP rear (f/2.0) + LED flash support 60 FPS video recording, 5 MP (f/2.4) front 84 degree wide angle + LED flash |
| Battery | 3000 mAh Li-Ion non-removable |
| Features | Fingerprint sensor, 9V quick charging |
| Colors | Venus Gold, Luna Silver |
With the specs out of the way, what did actually changed with the new Flash Plus 2?
What Has Changed?
Comparing Flash Plus 2 with it’s predecessor is like comparing oranges and apples, but here there are nonetheless:
New Management
This is not actually related to the phone itself, but I thought I should mention it anyway. You may have noticed so far in my article that I haven’t mentioned Alcatel’s name even once – the reason being starting this May, the Flash brand name will separate itself from Alcatel and will run as an independent company.
So what does this mean for the Flash lineup?
Nothing too drastic at the moment, though it might mean more freedom when it comes to the development.
Metal Build Quality
Flash has joined the growing list of manufacturers who are trying to improve the look and feel of their smartphones by using a metal body casing.
Though contrary to most of them, Flash Plus 2’s back is removable or in Flash’s terms, “replaceable”. Upon looking at the device and holding it, the device definitely screams premium.
New 1080p Display
The Flash Plus 2 finally has a full hd display panel with Miravision 2.0(previous one only has a 720p panel). The 1080p panel definitely makes the screen look sharper and the Miravision technology helps protect the eyes in too strong or too weak lighting situations.
Fingerprint Scanner With a Twist
For the first time in the Flash brand is a built-in fingerprint sensor on front of the device which also acts as the home button. According to the Flash rep, it can unlock the phone under 0.5 seconds which is pretty impressive. What’s more is Flash added additional functionality to the fingerprint sensor which will allow the user to store up to 5 apps, one app each finger. When the phone unlocks and the user tried to place its finger on the scanner, it will open the app associated with the fingerprint. Pretty nice I must say.
Better Camera
The camera now adopts the integration of PDAF and contrast focusing with merely 0.1s of focal alignment, DSLR technologies that are being integrated to the phone. What these does is it helps the user focus on the objects faster. They also now have a dual color RealTone flash on the rear and a front LED flash with Color Rendering Index that definitely is useful in night photography. It also worth mentioning that the rear camera has a wider lens now.
Faster than Fast Charging capability
The Flash Plus 2 is equipped with TI BQ25896 fast-charging chip which promises better fast charging for the phone, with up to 50% of battery life from just 30 minutes of charge.
Improved Sound Quality
The device now features HiFi value-retained earphone acoustics which offer significantly improved sound quality especially if you have HiFi supported earphones. They also included a MIX music editing app which allows the users to stitch two songs together which lets you create your own mixes within the phone itself.
New and Improved SoC
The Flash Plus 2 now comes with the new MediaTek Helio P10 processor 64-bit 4×1.8 GHz + 4×1.0GHz Cortex-A53 ARMv8. Without telling you the technical side of it, it basically is a faster, more powerful chip which lets the phone run smoothly without any hiccups(or at least less of it) and plays games better than it’s predecessor, and is more battery efficient as well which lengthens the device’ battery life.
Trivia Tidbits
The reason that the Lazada CEO is present at the launch of Flash Plus 2 is because apparently, the Flash lineup has been one of the most successful products of the online reseller in the history of their company, with around “28 units per second”. Just like it’s predecessor, the Flash Plus 2 will be sold exclusively on Lazada.
The Flash Plus 2 will be available in two colors, Luna Silver and Venus Gold with either 2GB RAM / 16GB or 3GB RAM/32GB configurations starting at Php6990.00 for the 2GB RAM/16 GB option which will be available starting this May 31, exclusively on Lazada. For what it can offer, this is a seriously affordable phone for those who wants to experience a somewhat flagship experience in a phone for a fraction of the cost of these flagship devices.