In case you missed it, Cherry Mobile recently launched their first 5G handsets, one of which might be the most affordable 5G handset in the Philippines right now.  That handset is the Aqua S10 Pro 5G and one of the great things about it is while it’s affordable, it doesn’t feel like a compromise. And that’s pretty surprising given there are a lot of handsets available locally where there was a noticeable compromise to stay within the same price range.

I am coming out with a full review, so if you want to check that when it comes out, make sure to subscribe to me on Youtube. In the meantime, I have spent some time with it and here are 5 things I like about the Cherry Mobile Aqua S10 Pro 5G and one thing I hate.

Okay, so the most obvious thing I and just about everyone interested in budget smartphones will appreciate is the price. At just one peso shy of 8 thousand pesos, it’s one of the most affordable 5G handsets in the Philippine market today. Correct me if I’m wrong, and I wouldn’t be surprised if some brands would try to pre-empt Cherry Mobile’s pricing by discounting their own handsets, but I believe the next most affordable handset is closer to ten thousand pesos if you exclude any sudden discounts. 

Number two is kind of a big deal for me, but it’s the low light performance of the selfie camera. In the first few days of having the phone, one of the things I did was test the camera at a nearby park. Spoiler alert, the cameras are fine and if you’re interested in learning how well they perform, what can I say but subscribe to me on YouTube? But what really caught my attention was how good the selfie camera was, particularly in low light. 

Now, low light is different from the total absence of light, so I don’t mean to stretch the capabilities of the selfie camera in darkness. However, when I was testing the Aqua S10 Pro 5G’s selfie camera, it was closing in on sunset yet I was able to get a well exposed shot here. What’s even better is it seems to perform well in low light for both photo and video, so if you’re into vlogging, this is good news for you.

Number three is the display. At 6.78 inches, there’s a lot of screen real estate for activities. Now, keep in mind that the display’s aspect ratio is 20.5:9 so it’s actually quite tall without being unpocketable

Number four is its wireless charging. Wires can be cumbersome and annoying, so once you have a wireless charging setup, whether at home or the workspace, keeping your phone topped up becomes effortless. Yes, it’s only 10W vs the 18W it’s capable of if you use its wired charger. But it’s a great way to keep your phone continuously charged throughout the day.

And number five is its liquid cooling tech. How effective is it? Honestly, I’ve yet to test it on the Aqua S10 Pro 5G, but I have been able to experience it in the past with the Aqua S9 Max. Liquid cooling tech on smartphones is a little underwhelming on smartphones vs gaming PCs once you know how it actually works. And while it does seem a bit overhyped, it really is effective in channeling the heat away from the heat-generating components of the phone, which can help your handset perform better for longer.

Of course, no handset is perfect and at the budget segment, there’s going to be some compromise. In this case, I’m kind of bummed out that the rear quad camera setup only has two active cameras you can switch between. There’s the 48MP primary camera and the 2MP macro camera. The other two presumably are for depth sensing and enhanced contrast

Now, some folks might argue that its 4GB RAM should be a deal-breaking compromise. Now, for most casual users, I don’t imagine it will be a big deal. There are competitor’s handsets that are retailing for the same price or more and still have 4GB RAM, with quite a few of them not having ANY 5G connectivity. Would it have been nice to have maybe 6GB RAM instead? Sure? But would it be as game-changing as to offer a 5G handset at 8,999 instead of 7,999? Certainly not.

But hey, I’m just one person with an opinion and I’m certainly not all-knowing. What do you guys wish the Cherry Mobile Aqua S10 Pro 5G had at this price point? What other 5G handsets are worth mentioning below 10 thousand pesos? Let everyone know in the comments. The full review will also be out soon, so make sure to subscribe to me on YouTube and hit the notification bell so you don’t miss it.