As the name suggests, the A1 Plus smartphone is better than the A1. This phone has a bigger battery and a dual camera setup at the rear. The specifications of the phone are also better than the A1 but will this phone be a winner in terms of price? Find out in the review.
Gionee A1 Plus Design
The first thing that caught our attention is the large size of the Jio A1 Plus. It is a big device and feels heavy too. The 6-inch display means that the A1 Plus is sometimes difficult to hold with one hand. The phone has a fingerprint sensor on the front and capacitive touch buttons on the front. The capacitive buttons can be customised for their function and they are not backlit which means that they will be difficult to use in the dark.
The phone weighs 226 grams and is heavier than the larger Xiaomi Mi Max 2. The heaviness of the phone makes it uncomfortable to hold for long hours. The reason behind the heaviness of the phone is the 4550mAh battery provided by Gionee. The rear panel of the phone is made of metal but the edge feels like plastic. The rear of the phone feels a bit slippery and due to its weight, you will need to be a little cautious while using the phone.
Gionee has provided a power button on the phone but you will have to work a little hard to reach the volume buttons. The dual cameras on the rear are placed in the middle and there is also a soft LED flash for the front camera. At the bottom, the Jio A1 Plus has two grilles, the right one of which is a speaker. However, the phone has stereo output as Gionee has used the earpiece as a second speaker. The phone has a Micro-USB port for charging and data which is a bit surprising as most devices these days come with USB Type-C ports.
In the box, Gionee has provided a plastic screen protector and a transparent case for the phone. Apart from this, in-ear headphones and an 18 watt charger and SIM ejector tool will also be available.
Gionee A1 Plus Specifications
The 6-inch display on Gionee A1 Plus is the most attractive. It comes with full HD resolution (1080×1920 pixels). The display gives vivid colors and you can set them as per your convenience. While the viewing angles are good, the phone is very easy to use even in sunlight. Even when the brightness is low, the screen remains bright all the time. Due to the glass rear, smudges do appear but fingerprints do not appear.
In A1 Plus, Gionee has opted for MediaTek Helio P25 processor which runs on octa-core processor. The phone has 4 GB RAM and 64 GB inbuilt storage which can be expanded up to 256 GB via microSD card. However, to increase the storage, the second SIM card will have to be removed as A1 Plus has a hybrid dual-SIM tray. The first slot will need a micro SIM while the second slot will need a nano-SIM card. The phone has 4G VoTE support.
Gionee A1 Plus software and performance
On the software front, the Gionee A1 Plus runs Android 7.0 with a custom Amigo UI on top. This UI lacks an app drawer and all icons are placed on the homescreen. Notifications can be seen by swiping down from the top of the screen and quick toggles can be accessed from an iOS-like panel by swiping up from the bottom. We found that the Settings app has been reorganized so you have to dig a bit to find various options in the settings. There is also a tab called ‘Features’ in the settings which has instructions on the gestures used to activate the phone’s features.
The phone comes pre-installed with apps like Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, Amazon, Saavn, Zender, Truecaller and TouchPal Keyboard. We found the TouchPal keyboard to be spammy as it would load a web-based game on the phone and create a floating widget on the screen. Peel Remote is a remote app and is an added feature as the phone doesn’t have an infrared emitter. Apart from the Google Play Store, Gionee has also provided its own G Store. Overall, the UI is different and may take some getting used to.
We tested the A1 Plus on benchmark data. The performance of the phone is decent for everyday use and the 4GB RAM helps a lot when switching between apps. During usage, we found that about 2GB of RAM was still free after a day of usage.
The phone has a 4550 mAh battery, with which the phone easily lasts for a day and a half. We found that the phone’s battery drains quickly while playing games. In our HD video loop test, the phone’s battery lasted 14 hours and 43 minutes. With an 18 watt charger, the phone charges in two hours and the phone also gets charged while charging.
Gionee A1 Plus Camera
Continuing the trend of dual rear cameras, the Gionee A1 Plus sports a dual rear camera setup with a 13MP sensor and a 5MP sensor. The camera app has a professional mode that gives more control over the camera settings. There are a number of filters available in the camera app.
Photos taken with the Gionee A1 are quite average. Colour reproduction is also not good. We noticed a purple tint in many photos. There is a lack of detailing in photos taken from a distance. Photos taken in low light are dark and lack detailing. Switching the camera to night mode helps but it introduces additional noise.
The secondary camera only works in portrait mode where it is used for depth calculation, which then adds an artificial blur effect. Video recording is limited to 1080p, while the similarly priced Moto Z2 Play offers 4K recording capability at 30fps.
The phone has a 20-megapixel sensor with a soft selfie flash. The phone takes good photos but they look flat. Surprisingly, there is no beautification mode, so you might be disappointed. But you do get options to apply filters before taking a selfie.
Our verdict
The Gionee A1 Plus is not for everyone due to its size. It is not very comfortable to hold and you will need a big pocket to fit it. However, the phone has a big battery and the performance is good for the price. The UI is user-friendly. It does not offer the same fun as stock Android, so some people may not like it. Camera performance is very average and the secondary camera only works on portrait mode.
If you’re looking for a big screen phone with a big battery, the A1 Plus is worth considering. However, the Xiaomi Mi Max 2 is a better option given its lower price. You could also consider the Samsung Galaxy C7 Pro or the less expensive Moto Z2 Play. Or you could also pay a little more for the OnePlus 3T (Review).
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