Gionee‘s return to the smartphone business has also
kicked off in India with the launch of a new smartphone and a new smartwatch.
When it comes to design, the Gionee F9 Plus isn’t
unique. It has a U-shaped notch, a bit of chin with the manufacturer’s name on
it, and dual cameras on the rear. The back has a glossy finish and the phone is
available in black and blue.
The F9 Plus packs a 6.26-inch HD+ (1520 x 720) Full
View Dewdrop Notch Display that is covered with Dragontrail Glass and has a
19:9 aspect ratio. Inside the notch is a 13MP F2.0 AI camera with support for
Face Unlock. Gionee also added a pretty nifty trick to the notch; allowing it
to serve as a battery meter.
The phone is powered by a 1.65GHz octa-core
processor that is paired with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage. Gionee has added
a triple card tray which has space for 2 Nano SIMs and a MicroSD card (256GB
max.).
The back is home to a 13MP F1.8 and 2MP F2.4 dual camera
setup and a fingerprint scanner. The cameras are on the left and share the same
housing with the LED flash. There is bokeh mode, night mode, and a beauty mode.
You can also use the fingerprint scanner as a shutter button when taking
selfies.
Inside the phone is a 4050mAh battery but there is
no mention of fast charging. The Gionee F9 Plus runs Android 9 Pie out of the
box but there is no mention of the skin on top. It has a MicroUSB port and an
audio jack. There is also Dual VoLTE, 2.4GHz WiFi, and A-GPS.
The Gionee F9 Plus is priced at INR 7,690 (US$ 108)
which pits it directly against the Redmi 7 which is priced at INR 7,499 for the
base model with 2GB of RAM and 32GB of storage. Gionee India says it will be
available at retail partner stores and online stores but didn’t specify when.
