Elephone Vowney hands on and first impressions

A quick trip to Elephone’s Shenzhen office allowed me to go hands on with the Elephone Vowney, 2K flagship phone. Here are my quick first impressions and hands on photos.

The Elephone Vowney is another flagship phone from Elephone, but unlike previous attempts, they do seem to have all the ingredients right this time around.

In the past Elephone have launched some phones that looked incredible on paper, only to have issues once customers got their hands on them. The Elephone Vowney though feels, and looks a better than previous Elephone phones, it also has the hardware and a good price to make the new phone an attractive prospect.

The version I tried today is the top of the range Elephone Vowney with 2K display, Mediatek MT6795 processor, 4GB RAM and a stock Android 5.1 install. The device wasn’t a final production model, but it filled me with confidence that Elephone bosses were already using the phone as their go to phone.

In the brief amount of time I had to try out the Elephone Vowney I discovered the speed and stability of the phone seemed good, and overall build quality is better than previous Elephone branded phones.

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I would need to spend a lot more time with the Elephone Vowney to comment on the phone fully, but so far so good.

While with the Elephone team they confirmed the retail price of the flagship Vowney would be $299.99, not a bad price for a 2K smartphone with powerful Mediatek chipset, 4GB RAM, large 4000mAh battery, 20.1 mega-pixel camera and even NFC!

A second more affordable version of the Vowney will also be released with 3GB RAM, and a FHD 1920 x 1080 display. Pricing hasn’t been set, but it seems Elephone want to sell this version of the phone for under $250.

View gallery (5)

A Windows version of the phone is also in the works but at the moment there is no confirmed launch date.

Elephone Vowney main features:

2K display
4GB RAM
21 mega-pixel main camera
Stock Android 5.1
Fingerprint scanner
4000mAh battery
Better build quality

What do you think of the Elephone Vowney? Let us know your thoughts on this flagship Elephone in the comments section below.

[ Elephone ]

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About the author
Andi

Michael
August 21, 2015
What an ugly design and another device filled with bugs. Trust Elephone at your own peril
- E8hffff
  August 21, 2015
  I’m amazed with their website and support compared to other companies. No weird Chinese social media sites to go to to get files, etc.
  - Fly agaric
    August 21, 2015

Freeje
August 21, 2015
- Dante
  August 21, 2015
  - E8hffff
    August 21, 2015
    - Max
      August 22, 2015
      so you started upvoting your own comments? what is it with you? did you have any good encounters with elephone phones? or is it just cause you can’t stand people ranting over a company they learned to hate? let them people do as they please. you like the company and their phones, good. buy them then. but let us haters hate, please!

Michael Ogbonnaya
August 21, 2015
One thing I dont like though is the black bar below the screen which effectively reduces the screen real estate.
C’mon, whats with Elephone and these black bars around their smartphone screens? They should’ve made capacitive buttons instead of these hideous black bar with the virtual buttons in there.
I AM OUT!
- Dante
  August 21, 2015
  Right Man – It seems that they never learn
  At least i learned never to belive in elephone’s useless hype
- E8hffff
  August 21, 2015
  Just don’t think about it. In many cases the distance from the side to the usable screen is the same as most phones, but some companies hide it with metal/plastic or uniform screen printed border.
- MAHOGANY HD
  August 21, 2015
  I think a software update can correct that.
- burnt_52
  August 22, 2015
  I actually really like virtual buttons (not sure actual name). When you change apps, they can become whatever suits the app or disappear completely and also when watching videos, playing games etc they can disappear so instead of having a massive area of the phone devoted to buttons, you can maximize screen real-estate.
  The problem with this phone is that it also has the bottom bezel with the home button. It is either one or the other.
- Joel Mercedes
  September 5, 2015
  Or they could just do with full black front fascia on all colors and get away with it without us complaining because we wouldn’t see the bars

E8hffff
August 21, 2015
- - - Dante
      August 24, 2015
      - Tommy
        August 25, 2015
        Dante
        August 25, 2015
        Just wait 2-3 days dude … Not worth the hassle – they delay their preorder endlessly from ex(p7000) from early spring to summer it was an awful product…
        Tommy
        August 26, 2015
        but my friend received his phone quickly
        Dante
        August 26, 2015
        Look it already has issues (severe overheating white spots on screen bad wifi and Gps etc)
        Tommy
        August 26, 2015
        OMG i will consider it again
    - Dante
      August 24, 2015
      About the sugestion i see you have 300 bucks to spend if you want to get the vowney – The Redmi Note 2 (same Soc Great camera) The New ZUK Z1 – you could even check the zenfone 2 … Mi4 still a good choice but your best bet might be ZUK Z1 based on Andis impressions and overall nano reviews circulating around the net

hans
August 21, 2015

The Special Juan
August 21, 2015
Well, I dont know why, but I like Elephone and have a close feeling for them. I have previously owned and used their p6000 and p7000 phones. When they announced the p7000 in december last year it had specs nobody had seen at that price range, but their delay in release gave others a chance to catch up and that alongside poor build quality/screen/bugs ultimately led the p7000 to fail.
So…now yet another flagship. Echoing last decembers announcement, on paper, the VOwney has world conquering specs at an affordable price. I look forward to see (with hope) if Elephone learn their lesson from last year and finally nail the flagship game.
Excuse my ignorance, but has any other phone ever had such a black band containing software buttons (at the bottom of the screen) AND a capacative “home” button below it? I just dont see why elephone would have done that? It looks damn ugly. I understand a home button/capacative touch buttons UNDER the screen OR software only “on screen” buttons and both would have resulted in a better looking/smaller phone. This layout makes the unit look bulky and elongated (even if it is not) whilst restricting screen real estate.
- - The Special Juan
    August 21, 2015
    Yes, but the M9 doesnt also have another home button under the screen as appears to be the case on the vowney. Maybe what appears to be a home button is just an LED notification..,but it has the effect of elongating the phone.
- E8hffff
  August 21, 2015
  It’s still in development and since it’s got a home button there’s all possibility it has buttons to the side of that, illuminating when touched. Also the side black borders are pretty much on all phones but many hide it with the same colour and materials of the chassis or uniform screen printed border.
  - The Special Juan
    August 21, 2015
    My issue is not with the black borders surrounding the screen, which have been seen in many different models recently.
    As I stated in my comment, my problem is with the huge black bar and software buttons at the bottom of the screen (under the dock for example).
    - E8hffff
      August 21, 2015
      Well lets hope that’s just for development till they get the hardware buttons working and OS set-up to suit.

Hakim Farouk
August 21, 2015
the specs are looking good. i hope they have learnt from the past on the build quality. i might consider this phone. Can’t wait for the video review 🙂
barry
August 21, 2015
Will the phones that are released to the general public work as well as these marketing samples?
- E8hffff
  August 21, 2015
- E8hffff
  August 21, 2015
  There’s already room for a home button so it’s a guess they would also have two other buttons to the side that only illuminate when touched. It’s still in development.

wielkiznawca
August 21, 2015

FlashTec
August 21, 2015
If those specs come to that price i love it. I think it looks really nice when it comes to the design point of view, at least when the screen is black, can’t really understand why they designed the buttons the way they did.
One more thing I don’t like is to have the finger print scanner on the back because I like to put my phone in one of those wallet cases where you open it up and you have the phone to the right and credit cards to the left, it just feels handy. So for myself i prefer to only have a camera and flash on the rear.
About the camera i really hope they thought that thru so that they don’t just slap a 20 mp camera on it and doesn’t support it with some really good software, believe more and more people are setting a good camera as one of the options why to buy a certain phone.
When it comes to bugs im not even gonna start mention a thing no one knows jack squat about. Elephone might have run with some bugs earlier, that’s history and this phone is future so no one really knows what will happen. And software bugs will always be, just for an example look at Microsoft when they release a new version of windows, they keep putting out updates for it until a new version of windows is out and even after that the updates comes rolling out. What really matters is if elephone will or will not care to roll out updates when the bugs are found.
Might also be a good substitute to Oppo Find 7 now when that seems to go out of business.
I also hope they will include band 20 as many phones seems to lack it, never really understood how a phone can be called global or international version when it doesn’t support one of the most used bands in Europe.
All in all i think its a good spec with a really nicely designed shell where some things weren’t really thought thru 🙂
- phillip martin
  August 21, 2015
  Dude, you must work for Elephone if not you’re the most delusional fanboy in the world. Elephone has abandoned every (and I mean every) phone they’ve released and they’ll do the same to the Vowney.
  IMO, they have the worst customer support of all the Chonese phone companies. There’s still no stable stock rom for the p7000 after months of release and all the third party roms are broken (CM12.1) and or missing features (Vibe UI). Ask the p8000 owners who got phones with a missing LED light and unstable stock rom if they trust Elephone to keep releasing updates once the Vowney drops?
  Elephone would need to release this phone with a near bugless rom and feature set before anyone with half a brain would buy it and they won’t.
  - True_Neutral
    August 21, 2015
    As an Elephone P7000 user I cannot agree with you more.
    Their stock ROMs are still broken as shit (in fact the most recent one was worse than the 0629 one before it), the third party ones like CM12.1 don’t work fine out of the box and are most likely forgotten and abandoned, and their communication is non-existent. This is the worst thing actually. I won’t be so pissed if they actually kept up their communication, and perhaps just say “We are aware of the issues and are working on it”. Do they do that? Nope, nada. Not a peep.
    The only communication, if you can call it that, are the moderators on their forum. And their choices are highly suspect here. There’s one retarded moderator, NK21, who constantly blames users for problems that are clearly Elephone’s, acts like the software is perfect and is nothing but a general shrill for Elephone.
    Sooner or later Elephone’s bad reputation will catch up with them, and they will run out of people like me to swindle. And I hope that day comes soon!
  - FlashTec
    August 21, 2015
    Dude 🙂
    Neither do I work for Elephone or even own one so dont think i can be called a fanboy. Don’t even understand why would believe that. The only thing i said was that for that kind of money with those specs a phone would be good. I don’t think many could disagree to that. I mentioned the finger print scanner but only because I believe its on the wrong side of the phone but thats a personal preference i guess. When it comes to software I know that elephone lives with some pretty bad reputation from earliet phones, but if the company doesn’t only exist out of complete idiots they must at some point realize what they are doing wrong. People are getting more and more aware of what quality is and can be so the producer that can’t keep up with that might as well pack there things and go home, seeing it from a history point elephone might as well start packing. But and i say but, if they can realize that they are mentioned around the world they might at some point understand what they need to do and start doing it, am i wrong? As i said in my last post, no one knows what future will bring 🙂
  - Stef
    August 21, 2015
    Actually I like their style. Sure it’s probably a bad idea to buy an Elephone for the long term. But with each iteration the hardware is getting better.
    But actually this: https://www.gizchina.com/2015/07/20/elephone-releasing-android-5-1-source-code-for-p8000/
    This I find the most important. Apart from being one of the very few chinese companies releasing sources, they sort of set a trend there. They basically say “f*ck it, I suck in software so all I’m going to do from now on is releasing hardware+sources”.
    The smartphone trend took flight with Apple, a company famous (or notorious by some) for doing both software and hardware and everyone imitated them. But if your name is not Apple, it’s a failed model, you end up with subpar hardware and often worse software.
    I like the PC model (and apparently Elephone’s model), almost completely separate parties care about the hardware and software. In Elephone p8000’s case they pretty much told the community “go forth and do the software for us”.
    And in general I’d prefer this trend to continue. To have dedicated software firms (not just the community of course) , instead of in-house development. Look at Samsungs, great hardware that is taken down by the overblown software. I live for the day that hardware would be non descript and accept any and all kinds of software (like it almost happens in PCs)…
    By actually *expecting* from a hardware company to also do good software we set ourselves for a bad product. We should instead expect from hardware companies to release very little software, just enough so that the Software firms can build the *actual* software on top and dedicate themselves on what they do best, *hardware* …
    - True_Neutral
      August 21, 2015
      What are you talking about?
      “By actually *expecting* from a hardware company to also do good software we set ourselves for a bad product”
      We are not expecting Elephone to innovate and come out with a new launcher or shit like that. We just want a *working* ROM. Working in the sense that swiping and the general interface is smooth, that it doesn’t drain battery like a waterfall, and that it doesn’t get hot with basic tasks. That’s all!
      The best hardware in the world is useless if the software is crap. My P7000 was a laggy mess compared to my Redmi 2 running CM12.1. Typing was a nightmare as the phone will often lag behind my typing.
      As for what you said about the P8000, from what I know all they did was to provide the kernel source. Which is not enough to really build a fully working ROM. I’m all for the community to come out and improve the software going forward, but Elephone should themselves provide a working stock ROM in the first place!
      - Stef
        August 21, 2015
        It’s quite clear what I wrote. This is not a good model.
        Release a device, Release kernel source (it’s there where things like “drivers” are) and be done with it. Obviously we are not there , irrelevant things like rom development is still expected from hardware makers.
        No wonder most OEMs’ roms s*ck (even in expensive phones like Note 5, which despite the 4 gigs of ram, it constantly have to reload the apps).
        Ideally the rom would be made by software firms (not just the community who are often a bunch of amateurs). So we would have the equivalent of different distros in Android too. A sea of good quality software.
        BTW a kernel is enough. A rom can be built by AOSP sources already, the only reason it will not work is because it would be lacking kernel. With P8000 kernel sources released we can build whatever based rom we wish specific to P8000, I find this excellent.
        P7000 s*cks mostly because it has no sources released though. That is a bad model, it means that you are basically stuck on Elephone’s bad software.
        
        True_Neutral
        August 21, 2015
        I think we are on the same page on some things.
        My belief is still that the OEM should release a working ROM at a few points:
        1) When the device is released
        2) When a new Android version is released (eg Lollipop to Marshmellow)
        If not, then it just encourages the OEM to be lazy and this results in the kernel source probably being rather screwed up and having volunteers to clean it up. Besides, non-technical people should have a working ROM to use before the community comes out with something.
        Besides, even with a Kernel source, we need competent volunteers willing to put in their time and expertise to develop on it. And this is largely based on luck; for example, some phones like the LG G4 still hasn’t had a really working CM12.1 implementation because their community lack experienced developers. Other phones are luckier if they manage to have a really good developer interested in the device.
        I get what you are saying, and there’s some good points. But minimally the OEM should release a working ROM with the device along with the source code.
        
        Stef
        August 21, 2015
        Actually them being lazy is my plan. It will save the world from god-awful software. Don’t you get it people? Electrical engineers and generally the people who do hardware are like the worst people to code.
        Being a good software designer requires a kind of person who’s thinking veeery diferently than a hardware engineer. In fact I’m almost convinced that the reason that so many chinese phones seem bad is not because of hardware (it’s often top notch) but because they let hardware people do software. I *want* them to be lazy on software so that they’ll have more time to release better and more optimized kernels and also bug free hardware.
        When I buy a phone I want it to be like buying a computer. No software at all. *I* choose what software I want. So I buy the phone for the first time (no rom) , connect it to a computer and an app inside my computer asks me “what software do you want to install”? MIUI (for a fee)? AOSP (free)? CyanogenOS (for a fee)? …etc
        *I* -the user- make the choice and then buy the software (if I wish, AOSP is free for example). Like I do with computer hardware, it’s the right way.
        The computer software would then download the kernel from my phone’s github and install it in my phone along with the rom I chose. That way the OEM (hardware people) would produce NO ROMS!
        That’s very important because when a new android is released we will have no delays, the OEM will simply release new kernel sources (for the new version of android) and then I can simply update through OTA (same app installed in my phone, updating the software I bought). No need to wait for -like- 9 months for “rom features optimizations” and other such silliness…
        That’s how phones should have had been from the beginning. But everybody tries to imitate Apple, and Apple is a company full of a bad ideas. So imitating Apple is trouble for all users…
        Like I said, I like Elephone’s (new) style. A device + a kernel and nothing else, everybody should be like that (not even a rom).
        
        Rob
        August 22, 2015
        I think you and Stef are missing one important point between all this bickering (I totally agree with you though that the manufacturer should release a stable ROM with a phone). The average user doesn’t want to start searching the web for a ROM or flash their device and risk bricking it, and for most people they wouldn’t even know where to start. The community is great for those of us who like to experiment and improve on what we have, but I can’t imagine my wife/mother etc flashing their devices! This is the unfortunate thing about Apple’s success (I really HATE them myself), the hardware is only average but the software is good and just ‘works’ and for most people thats all they want or care about. At the moment Android is too fragmented, but is slowly improving.
        Lastly this isn’t just an issue with Chinese phones, the worst experience I’ve had with a phone is Samsung, the only company that can take the latest and greatest hardware and make it lag to the point of being unusable!
        
        Stef
        August 22, 2015
        They won’t “search the Internet”. Didn’t you read my post? It would be like itunes is for iphones. I said the opposite.
        You connect your phone the first time (*only*) your buy it and *you* choose the software. That’s the opposite than being hard. Especially since it ensures updates all the time!
        And I disagree, phone makes should do no such thing as “releasing roms”. That’s *actually* the main reason that software s*cks. Hardware engineers s*ck at software.
        Is Dell releasing an OS? What about nVidia? AMD? Or maybe the motherboard makers are releasing an OS. No, no and no! Microsoft is releasing an OS, Canonical does, Red Hat does, etc, etc…
        
        E8hffff
        August 22, 2015
        There is big room for a software house that just makes roms for Chinese phone makers, so they don’t have to attempt it themselves.
        
        Stef
        August 22, 2015
        Yeah, imagine a company (like Stream) that only cares about Android distributions (roms):
        So one day they “go” to the China phone makers and they tell them. “You s*ck! Stop making roms and I’ll *pay* you to stop making roms. The only thing I want from you is to release kernel sources and I’ll pay you from sales I make for selling software for your phone).
        Then this company releases a computer software (for Macs, Windows and Linux) and they open their gates to software firms. They tell me: “I’m going to sell your software if you wish! I’m a digital marketplace selling your software like yours, do you want in?”
        At first most will say no (like they said “NO” to Steam), but because it’s a good system, everybody would *eventually* start selling their roms through this “Steam for phones” service…
        At first this “Stream for phones” will offer only AOSP (for free) and maybe some other free distributions. They will also add a Rom of their own (for a fee) just so that they can make *some* money (at first).
        After time passes and everybody sees how successful is their model (because -really- digital markets are the best model: Look at itunes, Netflix, Steam … they’re all filthy rich), everybody would give their roms eventually.
        Take this Vowney for example. Imagine it equipped with *official* CyanogenOS, or Stock Google, or, or … It will *decimate* phones like Galaxy S6 because they already have better hardware, and by using software from dedicated firms they would also have (far) better software.
        Also they’re going to have instant updates (unlike Samsung phones).
        So here’s a $300 phone (I’m adding the software cost too), decimating a $800 phones in *all* arenas all the while making rich the “Steam for phones” company… How about *that*?
        I always imagined that to be the future. That’s (almost) the future that came in computers because Apple lost. As long as phone makers try to imitate Apple would *always* lose. In fact -I believe- that was the greatest trick from Apple and why they’re still on top in sales: “Not only trick people that you sell a good product (because people don’t know any better anyway), but also trick your competitors, thus *actually* forcing them down by having them follow your disastrous model (that only works for you because you are a marketing company, in fact)”. Genius I say, I just don’t get why others follow it.
        Maybe Chinese companies like Elephone with their “monthly flagships” and “kernel sources” will make the difference, I dunno, because I have long given up in “Western brands”…
        Joel Mercedes
        August 26, 2015
        that sounds like a bussiness plan @disqus_iqZFOt7nOp:disqus … it greatly does, to the point where it could just bring their stuff to the hardware Phone maker, take the new phone get a basic proper good software, and after the phone is released through the playstore or something you could just update your rom as needed just like an app and that software developer charge some 2,4,5,10 dollar for the GREAT WORTH BUYING update. great idea… if a was a programmer developer i would steal it from you and and have it patented.
      - E8hffff
        August 22, 2015
  - Youl
    August 21, 2015
    TOTAL AGREE !!!
    And i would add something, the stock ROM on Elephone Devices has not been released by Elephone !!! IT S JUST BETA ROMS RELEASED BY ….. MTK !!
    AND THEY ALLOW THEMSELVES TO SAY ” ANDROID 5.x ”
    Suck my **** elephone
  - Boost Hopper
    August 22, 2015
    ‘There’s still no stable stock rom for the p7000 after months of release’
    thats bullsh*t …..20150629 is very soild imo..no battery drain ,no crash ,minimum overheating ,great performance….only issue is the pink tint that’s there before a picture with the camera but almost invisible after a picture…i have been running this rom over 6 weeks .no problem at all

Tom Jackman
August 21, 2015
viercp
August 21, 2015
I am quite confused now.
You say that there are 2 versions (3GB and 4GB) whilst Elephone on other sites already confirmed that it will have def 3GB only (no 4GB modell)
Elephone Vowney Update(20150820):
1. Battery Update : 4200mAh
2. Release Date Delay : 2015-10-10
Elephone Vowney Update(20150814):
1. CPU MTK6795
2. 3GB RAM + 64GB RAM
About The Elephone Vowney , factory had confirm this phone is with the 3GB RAM
- August 23, 2015
  The phone I had in my hand had 4GB and that’s what they told us (XDA included)

E8hffff
August 21, 2015
The only thing I’m concerned with is that I want a black coloured phone, and I would prefer the sim/sdram slots internal. Having them on the sides seems intrusive, but this is not unique as other high end companies also have the tray version.
Pavlushka
August 21, 2015
- balcobomber25
  August 22, 2015
Shakib Sharker
August 21, 2015
When it will come to customers hand? Previously they changed their launch date many times,Do they will do that again?
- E8hffff
  August 21, 2015
  It seems to be a problem with phone manufacturers in China. They give priority to cheaper models getting production runs, than the high-end models. I can imagine Elephone are waiting on the Trunk multi coloured model to market, before kitting factory. Also they are still toying with the Vowney specs and costs. I would probably prefer 3GB/64GB as opposed to 4GB/32GB. Andi has alluded to two Mediatek models and one Intel.
  Another problem I see with Chinese phone companies is they have too many phone models to choose from and little differentials.
  - balcobomber25
    August 22, 2015
    Most Chinese phone companies release 1-2 models per segment (budget midrange, flagship). Elephone releases a new flagship every other month and a new midrange every month.
- viercp
  August 21, 2015
  Last entries i have seen show release date 30.9.2015 whilst an update below show new release date 10.10.2015

Dante
August 21, 2015
- viercp
  August 21, 2015
  Based on the experience with Vowney release date i think finally the P9000 will be out “sometimes” Q1 2016 …..
  - Dante
    August 21, 2015
    nah they said that the phone will be released at the end of august – wich is the first time they actually kept their promises
    (remember the p7000 ewww)
- E8hffff
  August 21, 2015
  The image for the P9000 isn’t faltering as it’s got dust all over it.
E8hffff
August 21, 2015
The official website is http://www.elephone.hk/default.html There you will find the forum in the support area.

xi7
August 21, 2015
strong hard specs. very good. IMX230 cam + 4gb Ram + display 2K + cpu 6795 , REAL TOP PHONE. 4000mah , $299
Pascal
August 21, 2015
really nice design phone with very good species !!
but ON-SCREEN BUTTON, So UGLY , Not For Me , i will stay away from this phone….NEXT
Rob
August 21, 2015
Why does every elephone look the same? Damn ugly phone, with those ridiculous black borders around the screen. I would rather they just made the bezels a little thicker as it looks better than this monstrosity. As for the onscreen button with the huge chin underneath, don’t even get me started. Good cpu, shame they have mated it to a 2k screen that the gpu can’t really cope with. Another fail for elephone, since they never learn from their mistakes they deserve it.
- E8hffff
  August 21, 2015
  Mr Deception. Go look at any other news report on a new phone and the borders from the side to the usable screen area is the same. the Vowney also looks like a Huawei. I don’t hear people bagging out Huawei design.
  - Rob
    August 21, 2015
    The bezels on Huawei devices are smaller, their phones are stylish and well built and that’s the difference. This will have mediocre build at best, buggy software and virtually no support as they already have their next 3 flagships planned for the rest of this year!!
    I meant 6 flagships as it’s still August ?
  - balcobomber25
    August 22, 2015
    Whats up with your love for Elephone? I have never seen anyone defend a crap brand this much.
    Huawei has proven they can make a quality device. They have proven they can release software updates. They have proven they have great customer service. They have proven that they will support a phone for longer than month. Your precious Elephone has yet to prove any of this.

MaxPower
August 21, 2015
i really don’t understand the design.
I would be ok with the on screen buttons as long as you get rid of the bottom bezel.
between the black frame and the on-screen buttons it looks like you get a 5″ display into a 5.5″ sized phone.
so close yet so far.
i can tell they are trying… i like the stock Android choice too.
hopefully the next one will be the one
Andrei
August 21, 2015
i don’t like screen on buttons… ugly design
- Stef
  August 21, 2015
  Actually it’s a genius idea thought by google and much more progressive than the “iphone/samsung esque” trend of physical buttons. Unlike physical buttons, virtual buttons have multiple-uses (they can become whatever you wish them to be), but most importantly they can hide when not in use…
  What makes it a *really* bad idea in this case though is the giant chin underneath. The point of on-screen buttons is to make the phone smaller and easier to handle, but if it’s as big as any 5.5 incher but it also sports on-screen buttons … I mean what’s the point?
  - balcobomber25
    August 22, 2015
    Whether it’s a genius idea or not he doesn’t like them and neither do I.
    - Stef
      August 22, 2015
      Yeah, but why? Aesthetic reasons? (it looks “ugly”). If that’s that, then I can understand.
      Some people often sacrifice functionality for looks and I can accept that… but really there’s no other reason.
      - balcobomber25
        August 22, 2015
        Stef
        August 22, 2015
        Fair enough…
        Still I would prefer more phone makers offering on-screen buttons. The choice for phones with physical buttons is very wide but phones with on-screen buttons are very few… And since most of them also include this big chin, the ones that actually use the on-screen buttons to the benefit of the user is minuscule (probably less than 3 phones). I would like to have more choice there…
        
        Joel Mercedes
        August 26, 2015
        what i would really like is a front fingerprint reader similar to the meizu MX5 with the old blackberry button/touchpad capabilities,,, you now for those days when the screen meets the floor and the digitizer goes kaputtt… oul realy make my day… or it could be at the back and also allow me for clicking the selfies jajajaja
        Joel Mercedes
        August 26, 2015
        I don’t like them either…. i was a sony xperia fanboy until the clearly showed no inten to go back and have phisical buttons, that’s when i came to know the chinese market phones for a rescue.

Muhammad Yasir
August 21, 2015
wow …. their Love affair with UGLY BLACK BORDERS …. its never ending !
Muhammad Yasir
August 21, 2015
lol
one of the main feature :
better build quality !
Zeeshan Nathani
August 21, 2015
If only they could add an IR
Also, why no chinese company is trying/attemptiing to make a SGN 5 type stylus.
Instead, they are more interested in Making apple clone(ULEFONE)
- ljan ryan
  August 24, 2015
  As long as good design, I do not mind clone.
  $ 800 iPhone 6 plus not everyone can buy from.
  Even if the performance is not as ulefone be touch 2 & iPhone 6 plus.
  - Tal Bar
    August 24, 2015
    I’m just return one yesterday. BT2 – is very bad phone. Worse – i never seen. It’s not have second microphone for noise reduction, no oleophobic coating, but it’s not at all. The phone have very weak WiFi and not correct GPS – it’s well known isssue, it’s overheating, but not only from back like usually, display overheating too. And for last gift- after one week of using, i’ve got an ugly white spots on the screen(maybe from overheating). Yes, it’s cheap, but it’s bad, the android 5.1 – it’s fake, well known lie from Ulefone, it’s 5.0. It’s very bad phone, very bad company, i never was so disappoint for my 200$! Shame!
    It’s MUCH-MUCH better to take for 170-190$ new Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 with new MIUI 7 and not to buy this piece of…
  - Dante
    August 26, 2015
balcobomber25
August 21, 2015
- E8hffff
  August 22, 2015
  - balcobomber25
    August 22, 2015
    Why would I trust spending that much money for a brand which has had quality issues and no support? I dont know about you but I am not into throwing money away.
    - Rob
      August 22, 2015
      You can’t argue with an elephone fanboy, he seems to be here a lot singing there praises and trying to convince everyone to buy their products. I can only assume he works for them or something. Either way this phone will be crap just like every other flagship they release every month.
      - balcobomber25
        August 22, 2015
        If it was like Xiaomi, Oneplus, Lenovo etc I could understand but Elephone?? What have they really done to warrant fanboyism lol. The closest thing to a good pone they released was the P6000 which even that was riddled with problems.
Burs
August 21, 2015
I would settle with “lighter” version too, but having on screen buttons and 15mm bottom bezel… Nah.

njren
August 21, 2015
Well, there’s one way to keep ZTE’s legal department off your back: squish the circle into a capsule.

Youl
August 21, 2015
Oh great !!!! the Elephone flagship of the week
Boycott that brand. I did the mistake to buy a P7000 ” annual flagship ” … sure.
Lies and lies.
No support
No update
No rom
Bugs
Heating
Experience already told me that shit specs with good software is better than great specs with shit software.
Actually Elephone P7000 screen was supposed to be Full HD.. but screen was a shit. No brightness at all. even some HD display are way more beautiful.
I will never buy an Elephone again, even if all that lieing websites and youtubers try to make you believe it will be great because they received some money from the brand.
Who said corrupt ? ( I AM NOT BLAMING GIZCHINA AT ALL, THEY ARE ACTUALLY ONE OF THE ONLY REVIEWERS THAT DID NOT SAY ” OH YEA IT S GREAT ” EVEN IF THEY DID NOT SAY ” DON T BUY THAT SHIT ” LIKE THEY SHOULD HAVE DO ) .

Youl
August 21, 2015
Just a question :
How many phones Elephone released that year ( we are not in September yet ) ?
4 ?
Everything is said
Royd
August 22, 2015
- balcobomber25
  August 22, 2015
  - Joel Mercedes
    August 26, 2015
    for some reason i find that there are some people that post for no good reason,… most likely because they DID NOT READ THE ARTICLE… do you agree…???
    - balcobomber25
      August 26, 2015
      I am guilty of that sometimes, skipping the article and going straight to the comments. A lot of the times the comments are more entertaining.

vigorsolair
August 22, 2015
- November 12, 2015
  16 GB for lite. 32GB for the normal version. Both can be extended with SD card (up to 128GB).
Duker Nuker
August 23, 2015
cheaper version will have 21 mpx sony camera as 300$ version?
Than will be good deal, real Chinese cameraphone.
Steven Fox
August 23, 2015
Elephone will want above 250$ for this device, so that’s not happening while I can buy a refurbished LG G2 at just over 120$.

John
August 23, 2015
Awesome! It finally seems that Elephone has made a decision about the specs. Up until last week speculations about ram talked about it being 3gb in the android-only version of vowney and 4gb in the vowney pro version with dual boot but according to andi’s report they will have 4gb ram in the pricier models which is really nice.
Tommy
August 24, 2015
i found a vowney from http://www.elephone.cc/buy/vowney.html ,is it ok?
- E8hffff
  August 25, 2015
  You probably should hold off till there are definitive profiles of the phone. Elephone is yet to lock down specs and release date.
  - Tommy
    August 25, 2015
    - E8hffff
      August 26, 2015
      If you’re in USA you want to check if the phone has the radio bands needed. Check Mediatek’s website for the chipset.
      - Tommy
        August 27, 2015

it can be pre-order now, it a good news for elephone fans
avas
August 25, 2015
I realize now from your photos that the menu buttons are inside the display from 5.5 ”
limiting the effective size . I do not think a smart choice . keys should be on the metal underside.
Joshua Daniel Kidson-Hitchens
August 25, 2015
ok what i havernt liked about elephone already i asked to change the color of my phone and they canceled my order and i received a refund “not impressed”, secondly i asked is there a actual change in hardware with the gold model ,, received a reply would you like our gold model … um i was asking about the versions and does gold color bring the different version or is all one version now with different color im confused im so lost at there support
- E8hffff
  August 26, 2015
  Yeah it’s confusing as they worded it that the Gold was the special version… what ever that means. There seems to be gold, silver, and grey (smokey black) colours. The Grey will be the best looking in my opinion as it will conceal the screen borders (which most phones have) and be more uniform.

E8hffff
August 26, 2015
- E8hffff
  August 26, 2015
  Some people are guessing that the higher screen resolution is dropping the AnTuTu scores. Example 2K screen getting 26K vs Meizu MX5’s 1080p getting 52K.
  - Stef
    August 26, 2015
    Doubtful, Antutu is mostly CPU limited.
    I’m pretty sure they use MT6732: https://www.gizchina.com/2015/01/10/mediatek-mt6732-benchmarks-elephone-p6000/
    A geekbench score would make it more definite (it only measures the CPU).
    But I’m pretty sure that that’s an MT6732….
    Maybe that’s how they achieved so low prices with such specs, they were able to cut some of the costs by choosing a cheap SoC.
    One more reason to wait for the Intel/Windows-Android version (model B)…
    - E8hffff
      August 26, 2015
      It’s not the higher resolution screen. It’s said now to be bad android install or slow memory crippling the capacity.
      Do you think Elephone would trick people with a MT6732 and get away with it? Chinese resellers would be hit with returns and compensation claims. Example AliExpress is listed on US stock market, so it has international legal responsibilities now, can sue and be sued in America.
      - Stef
        August 26, 2015
        Like I said Geekbench results would make the situation more clear (hope we’d find some geekbench results).
        30k is MT6732’s score though but because of the high resolution it has fallen to ~27k…
        E8hffff
        August 26, 2015
        Maybe Elephone is struggling financially, and used a MT6732 just to make a demo unit, rather than waste a Helio X10. It would still require hacking to display the specs for the MTK6795. That wouldn’t be so hard if they edited the Android settings code. To back up this claim is how earlier demo models had much less system memory than 3/4GB revealing they are willing to make a cut down phone for testing and display.
        Stef
        August 26, 2015
        Yeah I had handled plenty of Chinese mock ups, in my day, that said 3GB/Snapdragon 801, or something as insane only to find out that the phone was only MT6582/1GB .
        So definitely some kind of settings’ hacking…
bilbao
August 26, 2015
Waiting for review ! Really intrested about this one 😉
SPLEND1D
August 27, 2015
this shall be “flagship killer”
E8hffff
August 29, 2015

Anes Fansub
October 12, 2015
this phone is very full , I like its design. Here is all the information regarding costs http://www.elephone.hk/Vowney.html
Marc
October 23, 2015
It ticks all my boxes. When can we expect a full review?
Marc
October 24, 2015

Elephone Vowney main features:

Andi

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