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Gionee Elife S5.1 Hands on Review, Photo Gallery and Video

5.1 mm thick Gionee Elife S5.1 was recognized by Guinness World Records as the ‘world’s slimmest phone’, but that was before OPPO introduced 4.85 mm R5. While the race for the slimmest title tag continues (Vivo X5 is the next contender) we got to spend some quality time with Gionee Elife S5.1, here are our initial impressions for the same.

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Gionee Elife S5.1 Quick Specs

  • Display Size: 4.8 Inch AMOLED 1280 X 720p HD resolution,  306 PPI, Gorilla Glass 3
  • Processor:  1.7 GHz MT6592 Octa Core CPU
  • RAM: 1 GB
  • Software Version: Android 4.4 KitKat with Amigo 2.0
  • Camera: 8 MP, Can record 1080p videos
  • Secondary Camera: 5 MP
  • Internal Storage:  16GB
  • External Storage: NO
  • Battery: 2050 mAh
  • Connectivity:  3G HSPA+ up to 42 Mbps, WiFi, Bluetooth v4.0, GPS / GLONASS

Gionee S5.1 Hands on Review, Camera, Benchmarks, Features, Software and Sensors Overview [Video]

Design, Build and Display

Gionee Elife S5.1 is extremely light in weight. Perhaps this is the lightest phone that we have come across so far tipping the scale at less than 100 grams. In spite of being among the slimmest and lightest in its class, it’s not fragile.

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Metallic frame along the sides and Gorilla Glass 3 protection on front and rear makes it quite durable. In fact we accidently dropped the phone and it survived without any issue. The design is quite similar to its predecessor, Gionee Elife S5.5. Unlike OPPO R5, you will also get 3.5 mm Audio jack in this one.

The 4.8 Inch super AMOLED display has good viewing angles, good enough brightness and great colors. It’s a conventional AMOLED display and trimming down resolution from full HD to HD didn’t seem to make that big a difference.


Processor and RAM

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The unit we tested was powered by MT6592 1.7 GHz octa core CPU, with Antutu score of around 30,000 INR. The SoC is backed by 1 GB RAM. This is the same SoC used in Elife S5.5, we are skeptical about thermal efficiency of this even slimmer smartphone. Gionee will also launch a Snapdragon 400 variant of Elife S5.1 in foreign markets.

Camera and Internal Storage

The Gionee Elife S5.1 has an 8 MP rear camera which is average performer. Along with the Megapixel count, camera quality has also dwindled. Initial shots that we captured weren’t bright enough. While comparing to other 8 MP shooters, you could do a lot worse than Gionee Elife S5.1. The front camera on Elife S5.1 is however appeared quite decent in quality.

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Internal storage is 16 GB out of which around 12 GB is available at user end. There is no option for MicroSD card slot and this will be a limiting factor for power users. We

User Interface and Battery

Our hands on unit was running Android 4.4.2 KitKat with familiar Amigo UI on top. There are plenty of toggles in notification panel, smart gestures including double tap to wake up, swipe to type keyboard and several other customizations. Cellular Video calling is also supported.

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Battery capacity is 2050 mAh and this is good enough considering the slim profile. It is too soon to judge the battery backup just yet. Official stats state 10 hours of 3G talk time and 4-5 days of standby time.

Gionee Elife S5.1 Photo Gallery

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Conclusion

The main highlight of this device is its ultra slim profile, and everything else revolves around it. It is meant to appease buyers who have a liking for slim and light phones and doesn’t disappoint in this regard. Gionnee will soon make this official in India and the merit will be better judged based on its price tag.

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Deepak Singh

The Author spent a significant chunk of his formative years resisting technology. He now keeps an eye on where the world is heading to, and drives a passive pleasure from this indulgence. His passion to write, learn and improve drives him each day. When his day ends, he enjoys the pleasant languor and detoxifies with family. You can connect with him on and Twitter