The Elife E8 is by far the most premium smartphone that Gionee has come out with. It was launched in the end of 2015 with much pomp and fanfare. The company even priced it very boldly as a statement to the segment that they were looking to target. They didn’t hold any punches when it comes to letting us know that the device is a top end model. It has the specs to match that. Let us take a look at this phone today.
Gionee has worked overtime to keep the device premium and yet not make it unwieldy and they have succeeded for most part. The width of the phone has been kept in control and hence the height is a little more. It weighs a little more than most other competitors but I am not complaining given the classy and very rich feel. Even the plastic back has been crafted with utmost care and priority has been given to not have any rough edges or projections jutting out. One feels very good with the device in hand.
The fingerprint scanner on the back is very well placed is very efficient in reading prints. The gold colored rim around it gives it a brilliant feel. Very Royal if one may say that. Unlocking with the sensor was a breeze and there were no hiccups.
The E8 has a 6-inch AMOLED display with an Ultra HD (2,560 x 1,440) resolution. The display is very good. Vivid images, real colors and very nice sunlight visibility. Absolutely no over saturation or brightness issues. One of the better displays in this class of devices. Very good to look at and on the eyes too. Comes with the usual color and tone settings that are almost customary on all devices now.
The hero of this one is the 24 MP rear camera. The Elife E8’s 24-megapixel camera comes with a Pro mode where you can adjust focus, exposure and shutter speed. Then there are modes like the Magic focus, Night mode, Ultra Pixel and Picnote. The Ultra Pixel mode combines multiple shots to produce picture quality equivalent to a 120-megapixel camera, it works very well , and there are very notable detailing improvements in an Ultra Pixel image compared to a standard photo taken with the default mode. In the E8, even the basic normal mode, the photo quality is very close to perfect in daylight. The device handles color very well and is good with detail and contrast too. The low light imagery is also notably good. Overall the camera is a very impressive one and the pictures churned out are of excellent quality. Absolutely no complaints there. The 8 MP front camera with auto focus does very well with selfies too.
The device has 3GB RAM and comes with 64GB internal storage. The available storage to the user is around 51 GB and that is very generous even for power users. The usual connectivity options like 4G/3G/2G , Bluetooth, WiFi etc are present. The device supports NFC and Gionee has thoughtfully packed a few NFC stickers for you to pair the devices with ones that do not have NFC. Call quality was good. Sound quality when playing audio.video was good. The headphones in the retail package were very very good. Gionee always packs all accessories on the package and does not make you run around to buy them.
Performance of the phone was without a single stutter or lag. Anything thrown at it, like multitasking and heavy games, the phone just runs like butter. Absolutely top line performance. There is also the option to expand storage to upto 128 GB and with that, you will have everything you need right in your pocket.
The phone comes with a 3500 mAH battery and on average use, lasts a day. A video loop runs for about 7 hours and one heavy use with WiFi and all sensors on, it runs for around 7 hours.
Verdict
The Gionee Elife E8 is in all senses a brilliant top end flagship. The Camera is very good and the crafting is brilliant. Sure there are the weight and the unique aspect ratio. But if you are looking to buy a good flagship that looks and works brilliant, this is the one for you! Go for it! It is worth every rupee you pay for it!
