Before we dive into today's article, I'd like to share an eerie story with you all.

This story took place roughly three days ago.

As an editor at Leitech, the topics of our daily lunchtime conversations with colleagues inevitably revolve around tech gadgets... It's basically the most anticipated leisure time of my day, especially with the recent influx of new phone releases, making for entertaining debates over lunch every day. It's truly delightful.

But amidst these routine, unremarkable conversations, a particularly out-of-place name suddenly popped up from a colleague's mouth.

'Whoa, Gionee has released a new phone.'

I mulled over what he said before realizing something was off.

'Wait, what did you say again?'

'I said Gionee has released a new phone!'

After saying this, my colleague directly showed me his phone screen, which prominently displayed the product page for the 'Gionee F7 Plus', an unheard-of product name. The render showed a device that bore more than 90% similarity to the vivo X100 series from any angle, boasting 256GB storage and a high-refresh curved screen.

(Image source: JD.com)

Interestingly, this product only costs 699 yuan.

While spending 699 yuan on a product of unknown origin might not seem like a great deal, my curiosity as a tech enthusiast kept urging me to press that bright red 'Buy Now' button, just to see what this thing was really like.

And so, my first purchase of this year's Singles' Day season was settled.

The 'shanzhai' smartphone with a deceptive exterior

Don't get me wrong, at first glance, the Gionee F7 Plus actually looks quite convincing.

Available in black, white, and blue, paired with a black camera module adorned with a silver ring, it bears a striking resemblance to flagship designs used by Blue Factory and Black Factory in recent years. The render is undoubtedly flagship-level in terms of aesthetics.

Moreover, the center of the Gionee F7 Plus's camera module sports a small display, much like the secondary screen on the back of the Xiaomi 11 Ultra, displaying information such as time, date, and battery level, truly 'incorporating the best of all worlds.'

(Image source: JD.com)

Alright, now for the reality check.

Getting back to the point, while the Gionee F7 Plus's exterior blatantly copies the flagship designs of Blue Factory and Black Factory, it utilizes the traditional body material of shanzhai phone manufacturers – all plastic. The back cover dents easily with light pressure, and the frame feels flimsy and unrefined.

(Image source: Leitech)

Furthermore, upon turning on the screen, its waterdrop notch and thick chin are immediately apparent.

Although the screen appears curved, it's actually just an LCD panel covered with curved glass, offering a 720P resolution with large pixels and a refresh rate of up to 92Hz. Coupled with mediocre system animations, even a brief glance might cause irreparable damage to my eyes.

(Image source: Leitech)

The camera module on the back is even more absurd. It seems to be a triple-camera setup, but in reality, two of the lenses are fake...

(Image source: Leitech)

Since we're on the topic of cameras, let me share a sample photo with you. It's a testament to what constitutes inadequate imaging capabilities, even for daytime shooting. The colors are off, the exposure is terrible, and zooming in slightly reveals a blurry mess. Focusing is excruciatingly slow, making it generous to call it Scan code level (scan code level).

The 13MP nostalgia-inducing main camera is about as good as it gets.

(Image source: Leitech)

However, the superficial surprises are but an appetizer. What really fried my CPU was using this phone.

Let's start with the processor. At least Gionee didn't pull any tricks here, opting for a domestic Huaben T616 chip.

(Image source: Leitech)

In terms of specifications, it's fabricated using a 12nm process, featuring 2xA75@2.0 GHz cores and 6xA55@1.8 GHz cores, powered by an ARM G57 1Cocre GPU. It supports up to 720P 90Hz screens and FHD+ photography, which is rather underwhelming.

This chip was released in 2021, exuding a certain Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 charm.

As for the advertised 8+256GB storage, it's actually 4+4+256GB, including 4GB of virtual memory, a common practice among third-tier manufacturers.

(Image source: Leitech)

Moving on to the software, we have the beloved FreemeOS system of shanzhai phones.

Overall, the UI resembles Xiaomi's, likely developed based on AOSP (Android Open Source Project). The operation and features are built upon Android 13 but lack popular shanzhai phone features like 'app cloning.'

Ads, however, are abundant, even popping up when accessing settings.

(Image source: Leitech)

Strangely, the Gionee F7 Plus imposes stricter controls on third-party apps and developer options than major brands. You even need to enter a verification code before installing or modifying settings, making even installing a third-party app a hassle.

(Image source: Leitech)

It's a bit abstract, indeed.

Setting aside the meager system experience, even downloading a game like 'Honor of Kings' results in a frustrating gaming experience with frequent lag spikes. I haven't encountered such poor performance in a long time...

'OEM phone,' Gionee's last gasp

By now, you might think this entertaining review is coming to an end. After all, if there's nothing more to say, there's no need to drag it out.

However, there's still a fundamental mystery to unravel –

Where did this Gionee phone come from?

Regarding Gionee's history, you're probably familiar.

As one of the few domestic mid-to-high-end brands, Gionee once dominated the market with its slogan 'Gold Quality, Standing Tall in the World.' Endorsements from Andy Lau and Feng Xiaogang, along with the 'Gionee Voice King' series featuring intelligent Chinese voice input, helped Gionee secure multiple top sales rankings in the domestic mobile phone market from 2006 to 2008.

Unfortunately, its glory was short-lived. In the era of smartphones, Gionee lagged behind. Despite Lu Weibing's efforts, which increased Gionee's overseas sales to over 10 million units in just three years, it couldn't reverse the declining market share. The domestic market had already been captured by other brands.

As for the final straw...

You're probably well-versed in the story of Gionee's former CEO Liu Lirong gambling away the company's liquidity.

Afterward, Gionee's former senior executives scattered, each pursuing their own ventures.

Lu Weibing joined Xiaomi Group, leading Redmi's meteoric rise and eventually becoming Xiaomi's President, President of the Mobile Phone Division, and General Manager of the Xiaomi brand.

Yu Lei, Gionee's former Vice President, co-founded the new company 'FreeYond' with several former Gionee executives in 2022, aiming to develop smartphones, wearables, and AIoT products under its own brand with independent R&D and a DTC model.

Their current flagship product appears to be the FreeYond M6, which looks remarkably similar to the device in our hands.

(Image source: FreeYond)

Well, it doesn't look much different from the device we have here.

As for the Gionee brand, it's joined the ranks of disappeared niche brands like Xiao La Jiao, Dowell, and Tianyu, becoming the target of OEM branding for Shenzhen's smaller factories.

(Image source: Leitech)

For instance, the device in our hands is manufactured by an unknown small factory in Longhua District, Shenzhen.

Without a known manufacturer, after-sales support, genuine specifications, or an ad-free system, calling it the 'Antarctica People' of the mobile phone industry wouldn't be far-fetched.

For these reasons, I cannot recommend anyone purchase this device.

Even if it looks like a premium flagship, even if its basic functionality is decent, even if it only costs 699 yuan, I still cannot recommend it.

Instead, I'd suggest opting for legitimate budget phones like the Redmi 12C or Redmi 13C 5G.

As for shanzhai phones like this, let's leave it to tech enthusiasts like us to suffer through...

Source: Leitech