General Mobile GM5 Plus - a premium mid-range $300 Android One smartphone

Google, in May last year, expanded its Android One initiative to Turkey with the launch of General Mobile 4G smartphone. Now the brand has launched an upgraded variant of the General Mobile called GM5 Plus runnuing Google's latest Android 6.0 Marshmallow operating system. The mobile device sports a metal frame and textured back cover.

The GM5 Plus sports a 5.5-inch Full HD (1920 x 1080 pixels) IPS display with 2.5D Gorilla Glass 4 protection, and is equipped with 1.5GHz octa-core Snapdragon 617 64-bit processor with Adreno 405 GPU, 3GB RAM, 32GB on-board expandable storage (up to 128GB supported), 13MP rear camera (w/ Dual LED flash, 1080p video recording) and 13-megapixel front camera (w/ LED flash, 1080p video recording). Connectivity features include 4G LTE, WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS and USB Type-C port. It is fuekled by 3100mAh battery that supports Quick Charge 3.0 technology.

The General Mobile GM5 Plus will be priced under $300 (Rs. 20,500) and will go on sale in Turkey soon. General Mobile said that the GM5 Plus will launch in in 15 more markets after Turkey in the coming months.

Considering the price, the GM5 Plus is the costliest Android One smartphone to date. When Android One initiative was launched, the first Android One phone offered entry level specs and had a price tag of $90 (Rs. 6,000). Over the period, the specs have been improved resulting in higher pricing. It seems like Google is revamping its strategy for Android One series by tapping the mid-range market segment.