Gionee S6 #ExpressReview: When a good smartphone is not good enough

So the bigger question is, can it sustain the idea with its Gionee S6? Let’s try and find out in our review

Specs: 5.5-inch HD AMOLED display | 1.3GHz octa-core MediaTek MT6753 processor | 3GB RAM | 32GB storage space (expandable to 128GB) | 13MP rear camera, 5MP front camera | 3150 mAh battery | Android 5.1 Lollipop | Gionee S6 full specs

Price: Rs 19,990

What is good?

Gionee S6 has arguably one of the best designs among smartphones and at 6.9 mm, it is slim too

As I noted before, Gionee S6 (like other Gionee smartphones in the past) is a very well-designed device. With its Gold metal unibody chassis with four plastic network bands, this phone won’t go unnoticed by your peers. The back is dominated by just the camera module and Gionee branding. The front hosts the display with almost no bezel.

The right side is home to volume rocker and power button, which have CNC texture on top of it. The bottom has two speaker grills which are hard to spot. Gionee has put lot of thought into this design and has managed to excel it.

Gionee’s major differentiator has been its AMOLED display. Like with any other AMOLED display, the colours here are deep and extremely vivid. The colour temperature is so good that even with brightness set to minimum levels, everything on the screen is highly visible.

Gionee S6 is powered by a MediaTek processor coupled with 3GB RAM and it just delivers on performance. It can easily handle games like Asphalt 8 and Modern Kombat 5. Gionee S6 is no slower when it comes to switching between apps or opening and closing multiple apps at once. It also plays nice with music streaming and video streaming service like Netflix.

Gionee S6’s most subtle feature, however, has to be the battery life. I used this phone for primary use like phone calls (yes I still make phone calls), messaging (both Internet and non-internet ones), streamed ICC WT20 Super 10 matches as well as clicked some pictures and played Asphalt 8 in multiplayer mode. Enough to push the phone but Gionee S6 came on top with a screen on time of nearly 5 hours. In my opinion, that is a solid number. For any average user, this phone should last two days and for more mainstream users, leaving the charger at home would be just fine. This also brings me to USB Type-C port.

Gionee S6’s weirdness lies in its USB Type C charging port. The so called reversible USB does a fine job when it comes to quick charging the 3150mAh battery but it will give you nightmares if you forget one at home

Gionee S6’s weirdness lies in its USB Type C charging port. The so-called reversible USB does a fine job when it comes to quick charging the 3150mAh battery but it will give you nightmares if you forget one at home. During the review period, I also spent a day and a half without the charger when I started with just 48 percent battery. I used the ultra power saving mode through the night which cut me off from Internet and added longevity to the battery. My Galaxy and Xperia wielding friends couldn’t help me when it died after I couldn’t resist and played Asphalt 8 on it. That charger is good but bad at the same time. I just can’t conclude which side to go with.

What is not good?

I disliked this camera more than anything else. It is not at all a bad camera but it is definitely not good. It clicks good details in broad daylight (which most smartphones do these days) but it composes terribly grainy shots at night. Yeah, I now seek at least less grainy pictures from my smartphone especially after coughing up nearly Rs 20,000.

Gionee S6’s camera looks fine while shooting in daylight but its capabilities turn worse in dark conditions

The software is another thing I didn’t really feel at home about. Gionee S6 runs Android 5.1 Lollipop with Amigo3.1 UI on top which mimics a control center like Apple’s iPhone and skips app drawer altogether. Not everyone would feel bad about it but I would stick to Google’s version.

While Gionee S6’s design is pretty neat and worth appreciation, it compromises on good speakers. It’s not a fault with Gionee, something common with even more premium flagship devices. Dear smartphone makers, not everyone is planning to spend on a sound dock.

Should you buy?

After evaluating both the good and bad, I am clear that this one is not in my buy list.

Firstly, that display is nice but it isn’t full HD in terms of resolution. If a smartphone as cheap as Rs 8,500 can sport FHD panel, I don’t see a reason why something priced twice as much can’t have that thing.

Gionee has also let us down on camera and in comparison with OnePlus X and Moto X Play, it arguably loses out.

Ok Gionee, your S6 has failed to inspire me but S8, better be good.