There's no reason a big 6-inch screen smartphone with a large battery should look like a truck. And that's exactly what the Gionee M5 Plus doesn't. It is, in fact, quite elegant. The phone, which isn't new but still a worthy one for those looking for long battery life, comes with the now redesigned Gionee logo, a sort of smiley that looks like it lost its way. Nevertheless, it's an improvement over the previous unbalanced logo the company used.
Coming from the Marathon series, named for its specialisation in long running batteries, the M5 Plus is an upgrade to the earlier M5, but turns out a total makeover. It's obviously not a light phone at 208gms, but with that large frame, that's a probably a good thing. Without some reassuring weight and heft, a little flick could send it flying out of your hand.
In champagne gold, the M5 Plus looks very premium indeed -- much more expensive than it is, though it isn't cheap at Rs
The highlight of the device is obviously its 5,020mAh battery. If this doesn't get you through the day, you need another job. You can't get at the battery but I think users should start forgetting that they ever could with the increasing number of phones sealing the battery into a unibody design. With this large a battery, you shouldn't need to. The battery takes about two and a half hours to charge. It uses a USB Type-C port.
The screen on this phone reminds me why it is I like large phones so much. They're not always easy to hold and certainly not easy to whip out of a bag quickly and nor are they about to fit into a pocket. But despite that, some large phones are enjoyable to use, as is the M5 Plus. It has a nice roomy screen with 1080x1920 resolution and 368ppi pixel density. It's a pleasant and vivid AMOLED screen with good viewing angles, though it is a little reflective. The 2.5D curved glass curved adds to the device's sophisticated look.
Performance is good with its Octa Core, 1.3 GHz MediaTek MT6753 processor and 3GB RAM but it does get a little hot at times. Its fingerprint sensor, on the Home button, works remarkably fast. There's 64GB of internal storage and that can be extended to 128 with a memory card.
The M5 Plus has a 13MP main camera and a 5MP front camera. It does take good photos close up, but otherwise is slow and results in blurred images. Indoors, the noise is evident.
The phone takes two micro SIMs, coming in before nano SIMs and hybrids have become so rampant. It supports 4G. The phone was launched at Rs. 26,999 but it's available for less online.
BW Reporters
Mala Bhargava has been writing on technology well before the advent of internet in Indians and before CDs made their way into computers. Mala writes on technology, social media, startups and fitness. A trained psychologist, she claims that her understanding of psychology helps her understand the human side of technology.
 (1)_20241122044346_original_image_10.webp)
