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Wileyfox offers big discounts on its smartphones in exchange for lockscreen advertising

Wileyfox hopes to entice buyers with forty per cent off

Wileyfox offers big discounts on its smartphones in exchange for lockscreen advertising
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Smartphone maker Wileyfox is hoping to shift a large volume of devices over Christmas by offering buyers big discounts on new smartphones in exchange for advertising being pushed onto the lockscreens of their devices.  

In a move that mimics Amazon's with its Kindle and Fire tablets, Wileyfox announced today that customers can get discounts of up to 43 per cent if they opt-into receive offers and adverts on their Wileyfox handset's lockscreen.

The company's 'Add-X' platform will show 'exclusive' adverts tailored to the user's age and gender, and Wileyfox claims that through the platform's proprietary AI and machine-learning technology it will adapt to users' behaviour and serve "more of the brands and offers they are looking for". 

At launch, Wileyfox's Add-X will include offers from Dominoes, Intu and Ministry of Sound.

The company promises that, if a user opts-in to Add-X, they will still be able to access notifications, date and time. "Users need simply swipe right to unlock their phone as normal and swipe left to see more," it says. 

Wileyfox's entry-level device, the Spark Plus, will drop in price from £119 to £69 with Add-X, while the £189 Wileyfox Swift 2 Plus reduces by £70 to just £119. The devices will be available to buy from Amazon UK, Carphone Warehouse, eBay and ao.com.

Wileyfox CEO Michael Coombes said: "At Wileyfox we're committed to shaking up the competition again, to give our customers the best smartphone for their budget. 

"And with Add-X we're smashing expectations at an even higher level reducing the costs across our range upfront, while also giving the consumer even more ways to be 'wiley'."

The launch of Add-X comes as Wileyfox's long-awaited Windows Phone device, the, er, 'Wileyfox Pro with Windows 10' has been delayed yet again.

The handset was announced in August with a promised release date of 4 December, but that has since slipped to 18 December over on Amazon. 

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