Spring can be an exciting time for tech enthusiasts or those looking to upgrade their phones as most big players roll out their new flagships for the year ahead. 2017 has not disappointed on that front. New rollouts from tech heavyweights Samsung and the emerging Chinese powerhouse Gionee have meant that the Nepali smartphone market will remain vibrant for both the medium to high-end consumers this year. With the two brands unveiling new flagships, albeit at two starkly different price points, we took a stock of how the specs for each of the new smartphones stack up. 

Samsung’s road to redemption

In an event at Hotel Yak and Yeti, Samsung Mobile Nepal launched the Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus in Nepal on April 19. The flagship phones from Samsung for the year 2017 have been priced at Rs 88,900 and Rs 98,900 for the S8 and the S8 plus, respectively. The phones are now open for pre-booking at s8prebooking.com or at any Samsung Store near you.

Samsung Nepal has announced that the pre-bookers will get a Samsung Level Box Slim (Bluetooth speaker worth Rs 9,000) for free with their booking. The phones will go on sale starting from May 5. Additionally, in an attempt to add more value to the product, every purchase of the S8 and the S8 plus will also come with a six-month Breakage Insurance from Shikhar Insurance and 8GB mobile data from Ncell. The Insurance will be valid for six months from purchase.

This year, the Samsung flagship phones have received a major design revamp with over 80 percent screen to body ratio and a narrower and taller display size. That is why both the phones truly look great. Both phones do not differ much in regards to specs other than the display size and the battery capacity. The bigger S8 Plus has a 6.2 inch display and 3500 mAh battery whereas the smaller S8 has a 5.8 inch display and 3000 mAh battery. Though both these display sizes sound huge on paper, the phones are still manageable in one hand, thanks to the new 18.5:9 screen aspect ratio. The rest of the specs of the phone are similar, with Exynos 8895 Octa Core CPU, 4GB RAM and 64GB expandable storage. These IP68 dust and water resistant phones support fast charging and wireless fast charging as well.

Another highlight of the phone is the new AI Assistant from Samsung, the Bixby. But unfortunately, the Bixby is not fully functional as of now. This is probably the first Samsung phone without a physical home button and the buttons are now on-screen and the virtual home button even senses the forced touch. The fingerprint sensor sits at the back of the device and rests alongside the primary camera unit. Optics wise, both the phones have 12MP unit on the back and the 8MP unit on the front, and the phones are expected to be hot sellers in 2017, a necessity for Samsung which had a rough 2016 to say the least.

Take selfies for longer

The Gionee A1 smartphone is now available for purchase from retail mobile stores in Nepal as well. Priced at Rs 32,999, it is a sleek looking device with a full metal body. The phone houses a 5.5 inch Full HD display with Gorilla Glass 3 Protection for scratch resistance. The display has bright and vibrant IPS panel providing great colours and making it visible even in the direct sunlight.

The phone itself runs on Android 7.0 (Nougat) with Amigo OS 3.5 on top, but like most Chinese OEM skins, Amigo UI is something that will take time to get used to. The UI elements have taken inspiration from the iOS with no app drawer as everything is right there on the home screen. Also, the quick settings bar is revealed on the A1 by swiping from the bottom.

The phone comes with a fingerprint sensor on the home button and it is indeed a pretty fast machine. A1 comes with an impressive 4GB of RAM but the mediocre processor is concerning as it comes with the rather dated Helio P10 octa core chipset. But nonetheless, as a mid-range device, it will easily meet your day to day needs. Storage-wise, the phone comes with 64GB internal storage, and if that is not enough, you can expand it via microSD slot to up to 128GB.

Gionee has marketed the phone with a tagline “Super Selfie Super Battery” as it offers 16-megapixel front camera and a 4010mAh battery. The phone has not only focused on the megapixel count but also on the sensor size and selfie flashes to ensure enhanced photo quality and clarity. The 16MP sensor comes with the sensor size of 3.06 inches and an aperture of F/2.0. On the rear, it sports a 13MP Sony camera with PDAF which helps to set faster focus on objects.

Speaking of the battery capacity, the Gionee A1 has a big 4010 mAh battery. It also comes with fast charging (18 Watts) that will charge the phone from 0 to 100 percent in 2 houRs It also features a dual chip charging technology that keeps the battery cool and safe when the phone is getting charged.

Gionee is also offering “Super Service” for the Gionee A1. This offer includes a 30 days replacement warranty and fast service within hours for in warranty and out of warranty products.

2017 is slated to be an exciting year for smartphone enthusiasts. With further releases from big brands-including LG G6, OnePlus 4 and iPhone 7s-due for later this year, tech aficionados will have plenty to drool over. And if Samsung and Gionee’s new rollouts are anything to go by, Nepal’s smartphone market is slated to have a rather vibrant year ahead.

Gionee A1

·    5.5-inch Full HD IPS display with Gorilla Glass 3 Protection

·    1.8 GHz Octa-core MediaTekHelio P10 processor 

·    4 GB RAM

·    64 GB Internal memory, expandable memory up to 128 GB with micro SD

·    Android 7.0 (Nougat) with Amigo OS 3.5

·    Dual Hybrid SIM (4G + 4G)

·    13 MP rear camera with f/2.0 aperture

·    16 MP front-facing camera with f/2.0 aperture and selfie flash

·    4010 mAh battery with fast charging

·    Price: Rs 32,999

Samsung Galaxy S8 & S8 Plus

 ·    5.8-inch/ 6.2-inch Quad HD+ Super AMOLED with Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection

·    2.3 GHz Octa-Core Exynos 8895 processor

·    4 GB RAM

·    64 GB storage, expandable memory up to 256 GB with micro SD

·    Android 7.0 (Nougat)

·    Hybrid Dual SIM (nano + nano / microSD)

·    12 MP Dual Pixel rear camera with f/1.7 aperture

·    8 MP auto focus front-facing camera with f/1.7 aperture

·    Water and dust resistant (IP68)

·    S8: 3000 mAh battery; S8+: 3500 mAh battery with fast charging

·    Price: Rs 88,900 (S8); Rs 98,900 (S8+)

For more news, reviews and information on new and old technology in the town, visit www.gadgetbytenepal.com

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