Gionee A1 was announced at Mobile World Congress and recently launched in UAE. We were trying our hands on the device since last few days and in this post, we are sharing the detailed hands-on review of the Gionee A1 with all readers of Geeky Stuffs.
Gionee A1 comes in a nice, retail box. Once opened, you will find the device and below the first layer of the box, you will find all accessories.
Gionee A1 retail box consists of the device, a big 2A charger, a set of earphones, user manuals, USB cables, a screen protector and smart case as well.
You can watch our Gionee A1 unboxing video below or can check the detailed unboxing article by visiting the below link.
Gionee A1 - Unboxing and First Impressions
The design of Gionee A1 is nice. It comes with metal body and matte finish. The smooth edges provide a good feel in the hand and grip too.
The device is big and a bit bulky too because of the 5.5-inch screen and huge 4010 Mah battery. But once you start using it, you get used to of its weight and size very quickly.
At the top, there is 3.5mm audio port provided to connect the headphones. The front of the device features a 5.5-inch full HD screen, a physical Home key and 2.5D curved screen. At the bottom, there are two speaker grills and a USB port provided in the center to charge the phone and connect it to the computer for data transfer and other activities. There are two visible screws at the bottom giving the device a tough and sturdy look.
The camera module, LED flash and fingerprint sensor are aligned in a straight line, giving the back of the device a beautiful look. The smiling Gionee logo is placed on the fingerprint sensor itself and looks great. The antenna lines are visible at the top and bottom of the device and a small Gionee branding is given at the bottom.
Gionee A1 is powered by a MediaTek Helio P10 octa-core processor, 4 GB of RAM and Mali-T860MP2 GPU. It runs on the Android 7.0 Nougat OS with Gionee's Amigo OS 4.0 on top of it. The UAE variant of Gionee A1 comes with the 32GB internal storage.
The performance of the hardware is nice. The combination of Helio P10 and Mali-T860MP2 GPU is popular in the upper mid-range smartphones and Gionee providing this hardware specs in this price range is really great. While playing high-end games, you will not feel any lag or frame drops but the device is capable of running them smoothly.
The SIM 2 slot in Gionee A1 can be used as the microSD card slot too. So if you are running out of storage then, you can use a microSD card to expand the memory on the cost of the second SIM. With 32GB internal storage, I would prefer to have a dedicated memory card slot though.
The fingerprint sensor provided on Gionee A1 is really fast but it can be used only to unlock the device. It would be great if Gionee could add more features like unlocking the apps, capture the images and browse files in the gallery etc. as all it needs the software modification for that.
Gionee A1 comes with a 5.5inch AMOLED full HD display. Again providing an AMOLED display at this price is a big score for Gionee and makes Gionee A1 a good choice for people looking more an AMOLED display without spending much on high-end smartphones.
401 PPI on Gionee A1 is good enough and you will not feel any pixilation on the screen. The sunlight readability is great as well and display is bright enough, specially when we talking about the bright sunlight of Middle East. Display is crisp and colors are punchy, thanks to the full HD AMOLED screen.
The screen is protected by the Corning Gorilla Glass and Gionee also provides the screen protector and smart case in the retail box itself to avoid any damage to the screen and body of the device. The Amigo OS 4.0 UI provides three different color profiles in the display settings— Warm, Neutral and Cool. You can select the one you like and feel most suitable for your eyes.
The screen-to-body ratio is not great and could be better as the upper bezel of the device got lots of unused space.
Gionee A1 comes with a huge 4,010 mAH battery. The battery survives easily for two days with moderate usage. By using the Gionee's Ultra Fast Charge technology and an 18W charger, Gionee A1 can be fully charged from 0% too 100% in less than two hours.
There are also lots of power saving modes provided that increase the battery life by reducing the performance of the device by limiting the resource consumption by the hardware.
Gionee A1 is a selfie-oriented smartphone and its front camera is one of the most highlighted feature of the device. The 16 MP front camera in Gionee A1 comes with f/2.0 aperture, 5P lens, soft LED flash and 1/3" sensor size. All these specs obviously contribute a lot in the camera performance of the device.
The f/2.0 aperture of the front camera allows to capture good quality selfies with lots of details in when good amount of light is available. For low-light imaging, the soft LED flash works nicely as well.
The Face Beauty 2.0 provided in Gionee A1 can enhance the look and beautify it in various ways like by removing freckles, thinning the face, removing blemishes etc. But do not do it much as it makes the face a bit cartoonish and unrealistic, specially if you share the image to someone who knows you in person.
The 13MP primary camera on Gionee A1 works great. It comes with the same aperture and sensor size like the front camera with Phase Detection Autofocus and dual-LED dual tone flash. It captures lots of details in images and with good amount of color saturation.
The rear camera perform nicely in low-light situation as well due to wide aperture and dual LED flash. There is a dedicated night mode provided as well that adjusts the exposure, shutter speed and ISO based on the amount of light to available to capture good images in low-light.
It is capable of recording 1080p full HD videos @30fps Due to the processor restriction, it can’t record the slow-motion videos and 4K resolution videos. So you need to keep this thing in mind if you are specially looking for these two features in your smartphone.
The user interface of Gionee A1 camera is clean and look very much like iOS camera UI. All imaging modes can be access by single touch and settings as well.
The overall camera performance of Gionee A1 is nice and serves the purpose very well. Though it lacks few features but again in this price range, you will not get them in any other smartphone too.
Also Check : Top 3 Reasons to Buy the Gionee A1
Gionee A1 comes with Android 7.0 Noughat OS out of the box along with Amigo 4.0 UI. The UI is fluid and very smooth. There is no app drawer provided but if you want one, you ca always use any third-party launcher.
Amigo 4.0 comes with lots of customization and let user customize the device according to the need. It comes with some nice options under Smart Gesture like double tap to wake the screen, glove mode, smart vibration reminders, auto answer the call when picked up etc.
There are few bloatware provided in Gionee A1 including the games that you will find them pre-installed on the device. Unfortunately, you can’t uninstall them and but thanks to Android, you can always disable them if you do not want use them.
Gionee A1 is a nice mid-range smartphone. It sports a nice design and feels good in hand though a bit big and bulky. The build quality of the device is great and so is the overall performance. Battery life is brilliant and the camera performance is nice for both front and rear camera. Display quality is amazing and rarely available in this price range.
Overall, Gionee A1 is a nice option in its price segment as it serves the purpose well and fulfill all the promises.
Gionee A1 : Hands-on Review
Retail Box and Unboxing
Gionee A1 comes in a nice, retail box. Once opened, you will find the device and below the first layer of the box, you will find all accessories.
Gionee A1 retail box consists of the device, a big 2A charger, a set of earphones, user manuals, USB cables, a screen protector and smart case as well.
You can watch our Gionee A1 unboxing video below or can check the detailed unboxing article by visiting the below link.
Gionee A1 - Unboxing and First Impressions
Design
The design of Gionee A1 is nice. It comes with metal body and matte finish. The smooth edges provide a good feel in the hand and grip too.
The device is big and a bit bulky too because of the 5.5-inch screen and huge 4010 Mah battery. But once you start using it, you get used to of its weight and size very quickly.
At the top, there is 3.5mm audio port provided to connect the headphones. The front of the device features a 5.5-inch full HD screen, a physical Home key and 2.5D curved screen. At the bottom, there are two speaker grills and a USB port provided in the center to charge the phone and connect it to the computer for data transfer and other activities. There are two visible screws at the bottom giving the device a tough and sturdy look.
The camera module, LED flash and fingerprint sensor are aligned in a straight line, giving the back of the device a beautiful look. The smiling Gionee logo is placed on the fingerprint sensor itself and looks great. The antenna lines are visible at the top and bottom of the device and a small Gionee branding is given at the bottom.
Hardware Specs and Performance
Gionee A1 is powered by a MediaTek Helio P10 octa-core processor, 4 GB of RAM and Mali-T860MP2 GPU. It runs on the Android 7.0 Nougat OS with Gionee's Amigo OS 4.0 on top of it. The UAE variant of Gionee A1 comes with the 32GB internal storage.
The performance of the hardware is nice. The combination of Helio P10 and Mali-T860MP2 GPU is popular in the upper mid-range smartphones and Gionee providing this hardware specs in this price range is really great. While playing high-end games, you will not feel any lag or frame drops but the device is capable of running them smoothly.
The SIM 2 slot in Gionee A1 can be used as the microSD card slot too. So if you are running out of storage then, you can use a microSD card to expand the memory on the cost of the second SIM. With 32GB internal storage, I would prefer to have a dedicated memory card slot though.
The fingerprint sensor provided on Gionee A1 is really fast but it can be used only to unlock the device. It would be great if Gionee could add more features like unlocking the apps, capture the images and browse files in the gallery etc. as all it needs the software modification for that.
Display and Screen
Gionee A1 comes with a 5.5inch AMOLED full HD display. Again providing an AMOLED display at this price is a big score for Gionee and makes Gionee A1 a good choice for people looking more an AMOLED display without spending much on high-end smartphones.
401 PPI on Gionee A1 is good enough and you will not feel any pixilation on the screen. The sunlight readability is great as well and display is bright enough, specially when we talking about the bright sunlight of Middle East. Display is crisp and colors are punchy, thanks to the full HD AMOLED screen.
The screen is protected by the Corning Gorilla Glass and Gionee also provides the screen protector and smart case in the retail box itself to avoid any damage to the screen and body of the device. The Amigo OS 4.0 UI provides three different color profiles in the display settings— Warm, Neutral and Cool. You can select the one you like and feel most suitable for your eyes.
The screen-to-body ratio is not great and could be better as the upper bezel of the device got lots of unused space.
Battery Performance
Gionee A1 comes with a huge 4,010 mAH battery. The battery survives easily for two days with moderate usage. By using the Gionee's Ultra Fast Charge technology and an 18W charger, Gionee A1 can be fully charged from 0% too 100% in less than two hours.
There are also lots of power saving modes provided that increase the battery life by reducing the performance of the device by limiting the resource consumption by the hardware.
Camera and Imaging
Gionee A1 is a selfie-oriented smartphone and its front camera is one of the most highlighted feature of the device. The 16 MP front camera in Gionee A1 comes with f/2.0 aperture, 5P lens, soft LED flash and 1/3" sensor size. All these specs obviously contribute a lot in the camera performance of the device.
The f/2.0 aperture of the front camera allows to capture good quality selfies with lots of details in when good amount of light is available. For low-light imaging, the soft LED flash works nicely as well.
The Face Beauty 2.0 provided in Gionee A1 can enhance the look and beautify it in various ways like by removing freckles, thinning the face, removing blemishes etc. But do not do it much as it makes the face a bit cartoonish and unrealistic, specially if you share the image to someone who knows you in person.
The 13MP primary camera on Gionee A1 works great. It comes with the same aperture and sensor size like the front camera with Phase Detection Autofocus and dual-LED dual tone flash. It captures lots of details in images and with good amount of color saturation.
It is capable of recording 1080p full HD videos @30fps Due to the processor restriction, it can’t record the slow-motion videos and 4K resolution videos. So you need to keep this thing in mind if you are specially looking for these two features in your smartphone.
The user interface of Gionee A1 camera is clean and look very much like iOS camera UI. All imaging modes can be access by single touch and settings as well.
The overall camera performance of Gionee A1 is nice and serves the purpose very well. Though it lacks few features but again in this price range, you will not get them in any other smartphone too.
Also Check : Top 3 Reasons to Buy the Gionee A1
Software and OS
Gionee A1 comes with Android 7.0 Noughat OS out of the box along with Amigo 4.0 UI. The UI is fluid and very smooth. There is no app drawer provided but if you want one, you ca always use any third-party launcher.
Amigo 4.0 comes with lots of customization and let user customize the device according to the need. It comes with some nice options under Smart Gesture like double tap to wake the screen, glove mode, smart vibration reminders, auto answer the call when picked up etc.
There are few bloatware provided in Gionee A1 including the games that you will find them pre-installed on the device. Unfortunately, you can’t uninstall them and but thanks to Android, you can always disable them if you do not want use them.
Conclusion
Gionee A1 is a nice mid-range smartphone. It sports a nice design and feels good in hand though a bit big and bulky. The build quality of the device is great and so is the overall performance. Battery life is brilliant and the camera performance is nice for both front and rear camera. Display quality is amazing and rarely available in this price range.
Overall, Gionee A1 is a nice option in its price segment as it serves the purpose well and fulfill all the promises.