Gionee Elife S5.5 Unboxing and First Impressions: The Ellen Adarna Phone

Back when I heard that Gionee had come out with a 5.5mm-thin phone, I wasn’t terribly impressed. After all, phones are expected to become thinner and thinner. It’s the in-thing in the smartphone industry. 5.5mm was just a meaningless number to me. That is, until I finally got my hands on the Gionee Elife S5.5 and got to play around with it.

Gionee S5.5 with Box

I’ve already been using the Elife S5.5 for a couple of weeks now, but while the full review isn’t ready yet, I just had to share some initial impressions with you guys. Curious if it’s all it’s being hyped to be? Find out and read on as we take the Ellen Adarna phone out of the box.

What’s in the Box?

The Gionee Elife S5.5 came in one of the more unusual retail box shapes I’ve seen. Rather than the usual brick shape, the Elife S5.5’s box takes a wider and flatter shape as if to emphasize the thinness of the device. Inside the box was the following:

Gionee S5.5 Box Contents

  • handset
  • headset with in-line mic and flat tangle-free cord
  • micro USB transfer cable
  • USB OTG cable
  • wall charger / 1A output
  • front and back protectors with microfiber wipe
  • SIM ejector tool
  • user guide
  • warranty card
  • leather case

The Elife S5.5’s standard retail package comes with much more than you would expect. It certainly makes sense to include front and back protectors for extra protection, not to mention that leather case. I’m also rather pleased with the headset since it features a flat-tangle free design although I’ve no idea yet if it sounds any good. The wall charger output could have been better. Its 1A output will take about 2 and a half hours to charge when the phone is turned off and about 3 to 4 hours when turned on.

Hardware

Gionee S5.5 Hardware

The Gionee Elife S5.5 is a beautifully crafted device, featuring an aluminum frame encased in Gorilla Glass 3. Not only is it extremely thin at 5.5mm, it’s also impossibly elegant. While the iPhone 5S still beats it out in terms of aesthetics, the Elife S5.5 surely beats it out in terms of durability as Gionee brand ambassador Ellen Adarna so eagerly proved at the official launch event.

Software

Gionee S5.5 Amigo OS

The Elife S5.5 runs on Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean out of the box with Gionee’s proprietary Amigo OS UI overlay. Amigo OS aims to simplify the standard Android UI by eliminating widgets and app drawer altogether and making homescreen the primary means of accessing apps.

Gionee S5.5 Amigo OS Icons

This might end up being a love it or hate it feature since widgets are one of the main selling points of Android. Still, there’s nothing to stop anyone from just installing a 3rd party launcher like Apex or Nova. In fact, that’s just what I did after finally deciding I couldn’t continue using the phone without my favorite widgets.

First Impressions

Gionee S5.5 Back

The Gionee Elife S5.5 is a phone that tries to make no compromises. You’re getting reasonably high end specs inside one of the most elegantly crafted phones you’re ever going to see. I’ll be publishing the full review in a few days, along with a separate camera review after that, so do look out for them shortly.

Gionee Elife S5.5 Specs

  • 5″ Full HD Super AMOLED display (1080 x 1920 resolution, 441ppi)
  • 1.7GHz octa core MediaTek MT6592 processor
  • Mali 450 MP4 GPU
  • Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean with Amigo OS UI overlay
  • 2GB RAM
  • 16GB ROM, non-expandable
  • 13mp rear-facing autofocus camera with LED flash
  • 5mp fixed focus front camera
  • 3.75G/HSPA+
  • WiFi b/g/n
  • Bluetooth 4.0
  • GPS with A-GPS
  • Dimensions: 145.1 x 70.2 x 5.5mm
  • Price: Php21,999

2 thoughts on “Gionee Elife S5.5 Unboxing and First Impressions: The Ellen Adarna Phone

  1. this phone is really job well done. i love the software it looks like ios and its super thin too. sa mga nag rereklamo na mahal to please wag nyo i compare sa local to.. international ito kya may quality talaga eh yung local? tapos reasonable naman yung price eh… tingnan nyo sa susunod ang samsung,lg at sony mag rerelease din ng octa core soon at sure talaga akong mas pricey ang sa kanila compare dito

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