Gionee S11 Lite review: Average smartphone with entry-level specs, features

Chinese handset maker Gionee launched its selfie-centric S11 Lite for Rs 13,999 on April 26, 2018. Powered by a 3,030 mAh battery, the phone boots Android 7.1.1 Nougat and runs on Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 octa-core processor under the hood, paired with 32GB internal memory and 4GB RAM.

The Gionee S11 Lite manages to do multitasking, but tends to lag with multiple apps running in the background. The phone shows no lag with casual games such as Subway Surfers and Angry Birds Classic, but heavy games such as Need for Speed No Limits shows inconsistencies, making playing the game impossible.

The phone sports a 5.7-inch 18:9 screen of 1440 x 720 (HD+) resolution. The screen is bright and has good sunlight legibility. However, the colours look washed out and does not do justice to multimedia content.

The S11 Lite features Gionee’s Amigo 5.0 user interface which comes pre-loaded with bloatware such as UC Browser, Truecaller, Amazon Shopping, Prime Video, Facebook, Messenger, WhatsApp and Instagram to name a few. Though the UI is smooth and responds well to the feedback, it feels clustered due to too many preinstalled apps.

Gionee S11 Lite

In terms of imaging, the S11 Lite boasts dual camera set-up on the back -- a 13-megapixel primary sensor mated with 2MP depth sensing lens -- with LED flash light. There is a 16MP camera on the front with soft screen flash for selfies. Both the front camera and rear camera take satisfactory images in day light conditions but fail miserable in low light.

As for the utility, the phone sports a fingerprint sensor on the back that works fine, but not as smooth as how other phones in the same league do. There, however, is no face unlocking feature, which has become a common utility tool in the same segment.

Verdict

The Gionee S11 Lite is an average phone, with entry-level specifications. There are other phones that offer better value for money in terms of specs, features and performance. Launched at Rs 13,999, the S11 Lite competes with the Xiaomi Redmi Note 5, Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro, Motorola Moto G6, and the Nokia 6.1 and Oppo Realme 1.