MWC 2017: Gionee A1, A1 Plus hands-on

Introduction

Gionee used this year's MWC venue to expand its smartphone lineup with a brand new "A" series of devices. The A1 and A1 Plus are the ambassadors for this new endeavor, which seem to represent the company's best effort to stay relevant and cater to modern demands, while still preserving its traditional strong suits.

Hence, the three main pillars for the "A" family seem to be good battery life, a quality selfie experience and general software and usability innovations.

To Gionee's credit all three points seem to shine-through clearly in the A1 and especially the A1 Plus, even on a specs-sheet only level.

Gionee A1 at a glance

• Body: 154.5 x 76.5 x 8.5mm; 182g; Gray, Black, Gold
• Screen: 5.5-inch FHD AMOLED
• Chipset: Mediatek MT6755 Helio P10; Octa-core (4x2.0 GHz Cortex-A53 & 4x1.0 GHz Cortex-A53); Mali-T860MP2
• Camera: 13MP, f/2.0; Flash
• Selfie: 16MP, f/2.0; Flash
• Memory: 4GB RAM; 64GB on-board storage, microSD slot
• Battery: 4,010 mAh; Ultrafast Charge
• OS: Android 7 Nougat

Gionee A1 Plus at a glance

• Body: 166.4 x 83.3 x 9.1mm; 226g; Gray, Mocha, Gold
• Screen: 6-inch FHD IPS LCD
• Chipset: Mediatek MT6757T Helio P25; Octa-core (4x2.5 GHz Cortex-A53 & 4x1.4 GHz Cortex-A53); Mali-T880MP2
• Camera: Dual 13 MP + 5 MP, f/2.0; Flash
• Selfie: 20 MP, f/2.0; Flash
• Memory: 4GB RAM; 64GB on-board storage, microSD slot
• Battery: 4,550 mAh; Ultrafast Charge
• OS: Android 7 Nougat

The pair does seem to check quite a few boxes, meaning they could easily be a good marketing strategy away from sales success. At least on a Gionee scope, that is.

However, they aren't exactly cheap at EUR 349 for the A1 and EUR 499 for the Plus, respectively. Still, they've got some intriguing features. India and Nepal will be the first markets to judge whether the A1 and A1 Plus are worth it, starting March and April, respectively.