Gionee S11 Lite – A blast from the past – Review

Gionee was a brand that was remembered for its innovation in design. The brand never turned away from experimenting with new design, but something went wrong somewhere and the brand vanished from the radar. Now Gionee is back with a refreshed energy and they seem to have taken the lead from where they left. Gionee S11 lite has been introduced in the market for around Rs 13000 in India and let us have a look at this mobile to see if it still has the Gionee flair.

In the Box

Gionee’s box used to be filled with lots of accessories. But the review unit which came into our office had just the mobile, so I can’t really say whats inside the box.

Design

Gionee S11 lite is a shiny mobile with a glossy back panel and a beautiful texture. It is made of plastic but feels very premium in the hand. It is a sturdy mobile and very sensibly designed. It has a micro USB port at the bottom and a dual hybrid SIM card tray on the left. It has a notification LED tucked away above the 5.7-inch display. Design of Gionee S11 lite looks gorgeous and it is a lightweight mobile. It is not slippery, but the glossy back is a fingerprint magnet.

Display

S11 Lite has a 5.7-inch HD+ resolution display. The glass is a 2.5 D curved screen. The color reproduction is natural and the brightness is sufficient for good readability under both indoor and outdoor light conditions. The proximity sensor is fast. The viewing angles are average. Though it is a 720p display, the text and images are crisp to consume on this display. While other mobiles in this price range are offering FHD, it is sad to see Gionne S11, still stuck at HD resolution. Nevertheless, with what we have in hand, the Gionee S11 lite’s display would get the job done.

Camera

Keeping up with the dual camera trend, Gionee S11 lite has 13 MP + 2 MP camera sensors at the back. On the front, it has a 16 MP camera with no flash. The camera UI is basic but has a few tricks up its sleeve. It has a time-lapse mode, panorama, business card scanner, text recognition, translation (OCR does not recognize Indian regional languages) and pic note. Under ample light conditions, the images are sharp and have the right exposure. The contrast is perfect and the images have decent dynamic range. HDR performance is average, in bringing out the low lit areas to proper exposure. Under low light, the images do form some noise, but the exposure is good and it helps to capture the moment. It has a portrait mode, which is not very satisfying. The mobile can shoot 1080p videos with no image stabilization. Overall, considering the price point, the mobile has an average camera performance.

Performance

Gionee S11 lite has a Snapdragon 430 processor with 4 GB RAM and 32 GB internal storage. It does not have gyro sensor but has a digital compass. Gameplay on this mobile is smooth for basic games. Resource intensive games do show signs of frame drop, but then this is an entry-level mobile. After 30 minutes of gaming, the mobile does not overheat. It has dual-band WiFi and Bluetooth 4.0. Fingerprint sensor at the back is fast and accurate. It has FM radio and no Face unlock. The speakers are loud and clear. Overall, it gives a feeling of outdated hardware specifications, but still manages to give a decent performance for an entry-level mobile.

Software

It runs on Android 7.1 with Amigo OS 5.0 skin on top. The UI is heavily customized and updating to Oreo would take a lot of efforts and I am not sure if Gionee would commit to it. It also has a bunch of preloaded bloatware, some of which can be uninstalled. A few good features like real-time bokeh, app clone, split screen and game mode are added advantages for a customized OS. But in real life usage, the UI does not have any lag. The hardware can handle the software smoothly, but still, the bloatware could have been avoided.

Battery

The mobile has 3030 mAh battery. It takes 2.5 hours to charge, with a 2 A charger. I am not sure about the ratings on the stock charger, as we didn’t get it in the review unit. On moderate usage, the mobile lasts for a day on single charge. On intensive usage, the mobile gives about 4 hours of SOT.

Verdict

The mobile is priced at Rs 13999 and at this price, you get a gorgeous mobile. It looks good and beauty is just skin deep. The hardware feels outdated and the mobile is still running on Android Nougat. I understand the Gionee is taking calculated risks, but they must give out their full potential to capture the market. But if you get this mobile at a lower price of around Rs 10k, I would recommend this. You would get a stylish mobile with a decent camera and lag-free user experience.