Gionee Elife E8 Review

Gionee announced the Elife E8 in June 2015 but it was only recently that it became available in the Philippines. Although it took a while before it reached our shores, this smartphone packs features powerful enough to go head-to-head with newer smartphones — 6-inch QHD AMOLED display, MediaTek Helio X10 CPU, 3GB RAM, and a 23.7MP rear camera with OIS.

Design and Construction

The Gionee is gunning for the premium look and feel for the Elife E8 as evident in the choice of materials — glass front, cold metal sides, and premium curved plastic at the back.

Looking up front, we have the 6-inch display. Situated above it are the earpiece, 8-megapixel camera, and light sensor.

Down below are three capacitive buttons for the Recent apps, Home, and Back. Sadly, these are unlit which is often cumbersome when used in dark environments.

The left side of the device is devoid of any physical buttons as all are placed on the right side. Here you’ll find the volume rocker, power/lock button, and situated near the bottom is the dedicated two-stage camera button.

Found right on top is the headset jack while down at the bottom are the micro-USB port and microphone.

Looking at the back, here you will see the 24-megapixel camera, dual-tone flash, microphone pinholes, fingerprint scanner, loudspeaker, and the Gionee branding etched in chrome.

On hand, the Elife E8 is larger than your usual smartphone thanks to its 6-inch display. Although a phablet, Gionee was able to keep the Elife E8’s width relatively narrow for a 6-incher at 82.3mm, and slim at 9.6mm. I can still hold and navigate the device with one hand, but will eventually require you to use both hands when typing and reaching the top parts of the screen.

Build and design-wise, the Elife E8 is a stunner. We really liked the gold color and shiny chamfered edges which match the accents on the camera and fingerprint scanner. The rear, although plastic, has a nice paint job that blends well with the metal sides.

It’s hefty at 210g so it might irk you if you’re the type who prefer lighter phones. On the bright side, this will remind you how well-built and feature-packed the phone is.

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