Gionee breaks its own record, announces the 5.1mm ultra-thin Elife S5.1 smartphone

By Andy Boxall September 30, 2014

gionee elife s51 worlds thinnest smartphone s5 1

Chinese smartphone brand Gionee has announced the Elife S5.1, a phone which steals the crown of being the world’s thinnest smartphone from, um, Gionee. The previous record holder was the Elife S5.5, which measured 5.5mm thick. Guess how thin the S5.1 is? That’s right, a mere 5.1mm thick, and its claim to being the thinnest phone in the world is recognized by the team at Guinness World Records.

Produced using metal and Gorilla Glass, the S5.1 has curvier edges for a more comfortable grip, and if the press release is correct, a flush fitting camera lens too. Both these aspects detracted slightly from the look and feel on the S5.5, so it’s great to hear the design has been improved for the sequel. Also in the press release is a pop at Apple, with Gionee pointing out the ultra-thin phone won’t bend in you jeans pocket.

The Elife S5.1 has a 4.8-inch Super AMOLED touchscreen with a 720p resolution, and it’s powered by a 1.7GHz octa-core processor. It’s not confirmed, but we’d expect this to be a MediaTek chip. A quad-core alternative will be offered in China. There’s 1GB of RAM and 16GB of internal memory. The rear camera has 8 megapixels, while the front cam has 5 megapixels, and a 2050mAh battery will do its best to keep things up and running for the day.

Gionee says it has improved its Amigo OS software too. It’s based on Android 4.4 KitKat this time around, and has a new pocket mode, gestures, and a selection of live camera modes. The company has confirmed the phone will go on sale in several countries around the world, starting with India in October. A U.S. launch is unlikely, but Blu Products licensed the S5.5 and now sell it has the Blu Vivo IV, so it could show up under a different name in the future.

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