Gionee yesterday launched world’s first phone with two batteries, the Gionee Marathon M5. This certainly sounds like an innovation everyone can benefit from (unlike 120 MP shots in Elife E8). We got to play with the new Gionee Smartphone at the launch event yesterday and here is how we felt.

Gionee Marathon M5 Quick Specs

• Display Size: 5.5 Inch, 720P HD, AMOLED Display
• Processor: 1.3 GHz MT6735 64 bit Cortex A53 Quad Core
• RAM: 2 GB
• Software Version: Android 5.1Lollipop with Amigo 3.0 UI
• Camera: 13MP rear camera, 1080p video recording
• Secondary Camera: 5MP Selfie camera
• Internal Storage:  16GB
• External Storage: MicroSD support up to 64 GB
• Battery: 6020 mAh
• Connectivity:  4G LTE on both SIM cards, HSPA+, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 with A2DP

Gionee Marathon M5 Hands on Review [Video]

Desgn, Build and Display

Since the two batteries in Marathon M5 are placed side to side, Gionee has managed to keep the thickness in check (8.5 mm), however the weight of two is bound to add up and that makes Marathon M5 slightly heavy. Despite the heft, the handset feels comfortable to hold in hand.

There is metal frame on the sides with volume rocker and power key on the right edge. On top, the 3.5 mm audio jack is accompanied by IR blaster. The rear side has dual tone design, with a grey metal band flanked with white plastic bands on top and bottom. This is something we have seen in numerous phones before and something we don’t particularly admire, but Gionee’s execution in M5 is pretty refined.

The 5.5 Inch display has 720p HD resolution and it is an Amoled display with awesome darks and punchy colors. Those who don’t mind slightly oversaturated colors associated with Amoled panels would like the display on Marathon M5.

Processor and RAM

The processor used is MT6735 quad core clocked at 1.3 GHz. This 64 bit chip includes 4 cortex A53 cores and is direct competitor to popular Snapdragon 410 chipset from Qualcomm. The chipset is further supported by 2 GB RAM and this should be good enough for decent and durable performance.

Camera and Internal Storage

Gionee Marathon M5 includes a 13 MP rear camera which performed well even in low light condition. The 5 MP front camera with wide angle lens also looks like a good selfie shooter based on our initial testing. Of course we would have to spend more time with it before we arrive at any conclusion.

Internal storage is 16 GB and there is option for further 64 GB MicroSD expansion. Together, this should be good enough for all categories of users.

User Interface and Battery

The handset is running Android 5.1 lollipop based Amigo 3.1 UI, which felt better and lighter than Amigo 2.0 UI originally unveiled with Elife E7. The new software includes dark themes to save some power on the Amoled display and also includes a battery saver mode to further prolong battery backup.

Gionee has included two 3010 mAh batteries inside instead of 1 thicker battery because it’s safer this way. Rapid charging is also supported, which is a must in case of bigger batteries or else it would take you an entire day to charge. Gionee claims you can get 2 hours and 26 minutes of talk time with just 5 minutes of charge and a full day backup with 30 minutes of charge time!

Gionee Marathon M5 Photo Gallery

Conclusion

Gionee Marathon M5 is a powerful handset, but the massive battery capacity stands tall as its highlight above all else. Other hardware and specs belong to standard mid-range segment. Several users take battery backup as number one priority and Marathon M5 will be very appealing to all such users.