A Gionee-branded device that’s said to be the Gionee Steel 3 was spotted in the Far East earlier this week, having been sighted at the latest iteration of China Mobile Global Partner Conference. The original image of the handset was taken down for unknown reasons, but not before it was picked up by some users and started circulating the web. One of its copies seen above depicts a device with a tall display panel featuring an aspect ratio of 18:9, i.e. 2:1. The screen appears to be of the edge-to-edge variety, with the top and bottom bezels of the phone being fairly minimal. Gionee’s regular logo can be seen on the bezel below the display which lacks a physical Home button and capacitive keys, with the smartphone’s fingerprint recognition sensor presumably being placed on the back.
The supposed Gionee Steel 3 seems to be running some version of Android Nougat reskinned with the Chinese company’s proprietary mobile software suite that takes inspiration from iOS and lacks a traditional app drawer. According to the same source, the upcoming handset will sport a 5.5-inch display and have a relatively small physical footprint due to its overall lack of thick bezels. Gionee appears to be positioning the Steel 3 as an offering meant to compete in the mid-range segment of the market, with the handset supposedly featuring Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 425 SoC and 3GB of RAM, as well as 32GB of internal flash memory which will presumably be expandable via a microSD card slot by at least 128GB. The rear panel of the Gionee Steel 3 is said to accommodate an 8-megapixel camera, whereas its top bezel is rumored to feature another 8-megapixel sensor, though it’s currently unclear whether the two systems will use identical lenses. The entire package is believed to be powered by a 4,000mAh non-removable battery with fast charging support.
The Chinese original equipment manufacturer recently confirmed that the Gionee Steel 3 will be officially launching tomorrow, alongside six other bezel-free smartphones, all of which are expected to start retailing in the Far Eastern country by the end of the year. Besides the Steel 3, Gionee‘s Sunday product event will see the introduction of the M7 Plus, F205, F6, M7, S11, and the S11S.