Gionee 'A1 Lite': Great 'selfies' but tough road ahead

With a nearly six per cent share in the domestic smartphone market, Gionee launched this device to compete in the mid-segment range where Motorola (Moto G5 Plus) and Xiaomi (Redmi Note 4) already have a strong hold.

Can Gionee A1 Lite dethrone the leaders? Let's find out.

The phone comes in two colours -- gold and black. It has 5.3-inch HD display with 2.5D Gorilla Glass protection and sports a back cover that gleams metallic along with a sleek unibody design.

The 4G VoLTE-enabled A1 Lite runs on an octa-core 64-bit processor with 3GB RAM and 32GB internal storage that can be expanded up to 256GB.

We tested it with a few games, opened multiple apps and did not experience any lag.

The device houses a 20MP selfie camera that is powered by four-cell technology. The result is better selfies than its predecessor.

The 13MP rear camera, however, is not that good when it comes to image quality as compared with its competitors.

On the software front, the device runs on Android 7.0 Nougat with Amigo OS 4.0 skin which offers smooth transition.

The toggles pop up from the bottom -- just as in Apple devices -- but too much bloatware is a bit of a turn-off.

As far as the battery is concerned, the 4,000mAh pack will keep you connected all day long. The device returned a massive 23-hour running time when we used it to surf on social media, light gaming and almost 70 minutes of content consumption.

The photos taken in low-light conditions are too grainy. Heating issues also need to be taken care of.

The company claims A1 Lite unlocks in just 0.3 second with the fingerprint sensor located under the rear camera. However, it took a bit longer.

Conclusion: With competitors like Xiaomi and Motorola (and now Coolpad has joined the fray with its 6GB Cool Play 6) in this price segment, it would be a daunting task for Gionee to stay ahead in the race.

If you need better selfies to charm your girlfriend and a longer battery life to stay connected, place your bet on the A1 Lite.