Gionee GPad G5 review – Hexa core with a 5.5 inch screen

The GPad G5 is the newest member in the Gionee GPad family. This dual SIM handset is powered by MediaTek’s Hexa Core processor and runs KitKat over a 5.5 inch screen with HD resolution. The handset is pricy at Rs. 14,999.

Box pack content
Inside the box you will get the G5, 2400 mAh battery, user manual, service center list, warranty card, 2 screen guard, travel charger, data cable, earphone and magnetic flip cover.

Design and Display
The handset is big, weight is 149 grams and dimensions are 77.76mm x over 154.91mm x 8.16mm. The G5 is lengthier, but the width is of common size that makes it easier to hold in your hand. Build quality is very good, plastic body with matte finish black back panel.

The back panel is curved on both left and right side (check image) and the top and bottom sides are with metallic silver borders that look great. Handset is big otherwise comfortable to hold.

Volume rockers and power button are on the right side. 3.5mm audio jack is on the top and micro USB port at the bottom. This is a dual SIM handset – you will need 2 micro SIM’s.

The IPS touch screen is 5.5 inches with 1280 x 720 pixels resolution (16M colours) the screen also comes with Dragon Trail glass protection. Touch is responsive and smooth. There are no LED indicators.

The G5 comes loaded with accelerometer, light, proximity, magnetic and gyro sensors.

OS, Memory and Storage
Android 4.4.2 runs out of the box and Amigo UI takes over. The GPad G5 comes with 1GB RAM and 8GB storage along with micro SD card support. You can install apps on external SD card. OTG however is not supported. On the first boot you will get 441 MB of free RAM. Of the 8GB storage 2.6GB is free space for apps and about 5GB is the space for internal storage.

Performance
It is a hexa core powered smartphone, using the MediaTek 1.5GHz cortex A7 6 cores MT6591 chipset with Mali 450 MP GPU. Performance is good but occasionally you might experience lags, probably because of the Amigo UI.

App Results
Quadrant 8119
Antutu 25557
Vellamo Metal (778) Multi core (1304) Browser (1897)
Nenamark 2 55.4fps
Multi Touch 5 point

Camera
The G5 houses an 8MP auto focus camera with LED flash placed on the rear and a 2MP on the front. Camera quality is good and you can shoot FHD videos. Check the sample images and videos at the end shot using this handset.

Gaming
I tried looking for Modern Combat 5 on Google Play but it did not show up. I then installed Real Racing 3 (RR3) and Asphalt 8. Asphalt 8 got installed on external storage and was playable in highest visual quality mode. RR3 also did well, the graphics was very good and game play was smooth.

Others
I found some spots on the review unit that I got. I tried cleaning the screen but it looks like the spots were under the glass – a manufacturing defect, but not a big issue as you can easily get a replacement. Sound is very loud. The GPad G5 in fact comes with dual speakers (with mono output).

3G, Wi-Fi, GPS and Bluetooth worked well, without any issues. The UI is customized and some sections are somewhat different – check video review.

Battery
This handset comes with a removable battery of 2400 mAh capacity. Here are the test results.

Task Time Battery drop (%) (max temp)
Running Benchmark apps 21 minutes 7% (37)
FHD video playback (loop) with Wi-Fi on + full brightness using MX player in S/W mode. 38 minutes 22% (47){ Heated up}
RR3 + Asphalt 8 GamePlay 16 minutes 6% (38)
Battery Charge (wall) 2 hours 25 minutes 19% to 100%

Based on the test results you can expect 3 to 5 hours of continuous moderate to heavy usage time.

Verdict
The G5 is a powerful handset with good features and sporting a big screen with 1280 x 720 pixels. The camera quality and battery backup is decent. Handsets lags probably need more tweaking with reference to the Amigo UI that it sails on.

Now the Gionee GPad G5 is priced at Rs. 14,999. It is a hexa core, you can get octa core for a lower price (with smaller screen – 5 inches).

GPad G5 is available for under Rs. 14,500.

GPad G5 Image Gallery

Sample Images Shot using G5 handset

Front camera sample

Gionee GPad G5 video review

1080p video sample shot using this handset