Chinese phone maker Gionee introduced its latest offering for India on Friday, having launched the Gionee S10 Lite, an aggressively priced product meant to compete in the mid-range segment of the market. The smartphone boasts a traditional candy bar design with regularly sized bezels and a 5.2-inch IPS display featuring a resolution of 1,280 by 720 pixels amounting to a widescreen aspect ratio of 16:9. The same handset already debuted in Gionee’s home country half a year ago and is essentially a more affordable and downgraded version of the Gionee S10 flagship, though Chinese consumers know it as the Gionee S10c.
The company will start retailing the Gionee S10 Lite tomorrow, with the smartphone being available in Black and Gold, though the latter option is essentially a rose gold hue. Both models will carry a price tag of Rs. 15,999, which translates to just under $250. Jio customers who purchase the phone will also get 5GB of additional mobile data on a monthly basis for ten months on every prepaid recharge of at least Rs. 309. Additionally, two Paytm cashback codes worth Rs. 250 each are given alongside the device and can be individually redeemed with a Paytm Mall purchase of at least Rs. 350. The handset itself comes with a mixed list of specs that range from the upper level of the mid-range market to what’s essentially the entry-level segment. E.g. while 4GB of RAM are usually paired with a more powerful SoC than Qualcomm’s 1.4GHz Snapdragon 427 and aren’t often seen in devices with HD screens, that’s exactly what’s on offer with the Gionee S10 Lite.
Besides a solid amount of RAM and 32GB of storage space, the handset’s strongest suit is its front-facing camera consisting of a 16-megapixel sensor mounted behind a decently bright lens featuring an f/2.0 aperture, with the entire setup also being accompanied by an LED flash. As such, the Gionee S10 Lite is primarily a device for price-conscious selfie enthusiasts. The back plate of the smartphone accommodates a 13-megapixel camera with an identical lens and another LED flash, with Android 7.1 Nougat-based Amigo OS 4.0 being pre-installed on the handset. A 3,100mAh non-removable battery is also part of the package, as are a Hybrid Dual-SIM setup and 4G LTE support.
