Gionee A1 Review: Selfie Indulgent Phone

Gionee A1 Front And Back

Selfies are all the rage and every device maker has been coming out with phones that satisfy your selfie needs. Gionee is one of the most prominent device makers that has been coming out with a series of phones that are very selfie-centric. The Gionee A1 is their latest offering in that line. Let us take a detailed look at this device today.

Gionee A1 Front And Back

Here are the key specifications of the device: 5.5-inch FHD LCD display (1080p resolution) | MediaTek Helio P10 SoC | 4GB RAM + 64GB storage (expandable to 256GB) | 13MP rear camera + 16MP front camera | 4010mAh battery | Android 7.0 Nougat with Amigo UI

Everyone is looking for that ideal phone that will serve the purpose of being their ideal companion through the average day that they go through. For some, the day is all about getting work done and running multiple apps to enable that. For others, it is the ability to play music and videos for prolonged periods of time. For many of the younger generation, there is a massive need to take selfies right through their days and post them online continually on various channels. The Gionee A1 is for the last et of people who need selfies all the time

Gionee A1 Rear View Lying Down

The design is not ground breaking or radically different, there is nothing that stands out as a unique design element when you look at the phone. It looks just like every other phone that comes out today. The non-removable uni-body finish with the antenna strips on the top and bottom of the rear. The volume rocker and the power button on the right. A fingerprint scanner on the bottom of the front. There’s a 13 MP rear camera mounted on the center of the back with a dual tone flash right below it and some branding after that. The front camera is a 16 MP snapper that has a dedicated flash that helps you take illuminated selfies. The finish is good and it feels nice to hold and use. It is not very heavy or slippery. Like we said, all the usual features and nothing that stands out in the design aspect of the phone.

Gionee A1 Back View

The phone has a 5.5-inch full HD display that supports 1080p resolution, the screen has 401 pixels per inch. The display renders realistic colors that are not jaded and all shades retain crispness. We had the brightness set at roughly 65 per cent,  and even at that level the screen looks very clear and illuminated enough, there was not any noticeable distortion. Like all modern smartphones, you get to set the color tone to cool, warm or normal based on what you prefer on the long run for your viewing and usage comfort. The normal level setting worked for us and it was good enough even under sunlight.

Gionee A1 Lead Image

The phone comes with 4 GB RAM and 64 GB ROM by default and you can add upto 256 GB additional storage via the hybrid SIM slot that doubles as a storage card holder. We found the internal storage ample and did not feel the need to add additional storage but then that is a personal preference that changes from person to person

Gionee A1 With SIM Tray Open

It comes with a 4010 mAH battery and it stands you in very good stead. On a full charge, we were able to get a full day of heavy usage with 4G and WiFi used frequently to stream media and play games. At the end of the day, we had around 20% charge left on the battery.

Back Artistic

The phone is run by a MediaTek Helio P10 SoC. It’s an octa-core processor clocked at 2.0Ghz, paired with 4GB RAM and 64GB of native storage which is further expandable up to 256GB via a microSD card slot. In our review, the Helio P10 got through the full day with all the day-to-day tasks fairly well. Apps launched almost instantaneously, and we were pretty happy with multi-tasking.

The phone does not down or stutter while playing a game like Real Racing 3 or Asphalt 8. There was no noticeable lag, frame drop or heating. All in all, pretty satisfactory from a performance angle given the range and specifications of the device.

Coming to the main USP of the phone, the camera, the 13-megapixel sensor (f/2.0) captures a lot of detail without hiccups. The white balance is accurate and colors are poping out just right without looking oversaturated and unrealistic. Auto-focus is nifty and the A1 also comes up aces with macro shots. The absence of OIS means is a bit of a letdown, but then, given the price, we are not complaining at all. The camera is very practical for day-to-day use. Here are some pictures we took with it

Flower Pots

Building Front

Coconut Tree

The front camera has a powerful 16 MP sensor that is better than the rear camera. This is in line with the many selfie centric phones that are coming out in recent times. The front camera comes with a flash that helps you to take selfies in low light. The selfies we tried captured a lot of detail and came out very well. The phone certainly delivers on the selfie promise. No complaints at all there.

The voice quality on calls was very good. We also tried out music, the output was okay but not outstanding. We tried VoLTE with out Jio SIM and it worked very well.

The big downside is the Amigo OS, the customization obscures the Android N features. The spammy and irritating rotating wallpapers are a big letdown.

Verdict:

At Rs 19,999/- this is a selfie-centric phone. The specifications and performance are decent a practical. It is in direct competition with the Honor 6X and Redmi  Note 4. We have to say that it falls short of both of these.

About Shakthi

I am a Tech Blogger, Disability Activist, Keynote Speaker, Startup Mentor and Digital Branding Consultant. Also a McKinsey Executive Panel Member. Also known as @v_shakthi on twitter. Been around Tech for two decades now.

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