Skip to main content

China’s Gionee gives its S9 smartphone an alien look with dual rear cameras

gionee s9 news
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Chinese manufacturer Gionee unveiled the S9 earlier today, and though the phone might not exactly quality as a flagship, it still manages to impress in several key aspects.

Our tour begins on the outside, where you will notice the glass front and the aluminum back curve at the sides to meet each other in the middle. Even though this gives the S9 good looks, particularly if you go for the stealthy black version, it is not a design we have not seen before. Furthermore, since the S9 is similar to the iPhone and other phones in terms of looks, the S9 might be a bit slippery for most hands.

Recommended Videos

Even so, the phone adopts the recent trend of having dual rear cameras, with the 5-megapixel Samsung sensor playing second fiddle to the 13MP Sony sensor. Equipping the S9 with two rear cameras allows the phone, along with its software, to adjust focus points and gives photos a depth of field effect. Not to be outdone, however, the front-facing 13MP camera uses the screen as a selfie flash, with added effects such as seven different “beautify” modes.

Gionee emphasizes the cameras and their capabilities, but the company gives just as much attention to its rear-mounted fingerprint sensor. According to Gionee, applications and documents can be locked behind either a password or your fingerprint. Furthermore, the S9 can cordon off part of the operating system for private contacts, calls, messages, documents, and applications, with users able to lock that space using their fingerprints.

Under the hood, a 2GHz octa-core MediaTek Helio P10 processor and 4GB RAM run the show, with the S9 packing 64GB of native storage. The two SIM card slots let you use the phone as a dual-SIM device, with the second SIM slot doubling as a MicroSD card slot that supports up to an additional 128GB of memory. Keeping the lights is a 3,000mAh battery, which should be enough to let you use the S9 from morning through the evening.

Finally, the S9 runs Android 6.0 Marshmallow, with Gionee’s Amigo OS 3.5 layered above it.

Alas, do not expect the S9 to makes its way to the West any time soon, as the phone was announced for release in mainland China for CNY 2,499 ($364). As such, importing the phone might be the only way to get your hands on the S9. At that point, however, there are plenty of other compelling options, such as the Huawei Honor 8 and the ZTE Axon 7, that hover just above the S9’s price point and are more readily available.

Williams Pelegrin
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Williams is an avid New York Yankees fan, speaks Spanish, resides in Colorado, and has an affinity for Frosted Flakes. Send…
The best Samsung Galaxy S9 tips and tricks
samsung galaxy s9 review

It's been about two years since the release of the Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus. You may think you've seen everything there is to see on the humble Galaxy S9, but chances are, you probably haven't explored all the features that the phones have to offer. While some things may not have changed much from the Samsung Galaxy S8, there are still plenty of new surprises that will surely enhance your mobile experience.

Whether you just bought the phone or you're looking to give it some new life, check out these tips and tricks for the Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus.
How to use Adapt Sound

Read more
A deep dive into the OnePlus 9 Pro’s Hasselblad-tuned camera
oneplus 9 pro hasselblad camera deep dive

If you’re a smartphone fan, you probably know what makes OnePlus phones popular, but do you know what makes Hasselblad such a revered camera brand? It’s an important question because the pair have entered into a three-year partnership, where Hasselblad will work with OnePlus on improving its cameras, starting with the OnePlus 9 and OnePlus 9 Pro.

Here's what the partnership means to the new phones, the effect it has had on the camera so far, and how the photos compare to some of the best cameraphones out there. If you want to know more about the OnePlus 9 Pro we've got a full review here, and of the OnePlus 9 here.
Understanding Hasselblad
Hasselblad is more than just a name on the camera module of the OnePlus 9 Pro. It has 80 years of experience, and its cameras have been used to take stunning photographs from here to, quite literally, the moon. I’ve been fortunate enough to visit Hasselblad’s headquarters in Gothenburg, Sweden, and saw not only the amazing work firsthand, but also the reverence that exists for the brand.

Read more
Leaked video gives us our best look yet at the Samsung Galaxy S20 Plus
galaxy s10 lite note 10 hands on samsung and on7

S20 Hands on Video

It looks as if we'll go into Samsung Galaxy Unpacked on February 11 knowing everything about Samsung's range of upcoming flagship smartphones. The last few days have seen the confirmation of the range's new name -- the Galaxy S20, to match the new year -- and they've also seen more information about the specs we can expect on certain members of the S20 series. But most recently, we've had our best look at the Galaxy S20 Plus yet, thanks to a video released by XDA Developers' Max Weinbach.

Read more