The Gigaset GS185 is “Made in Germany” and thus represents a special feature. In our test we want to clarify whether it also differs from other beginner smartphones in other respects. In addition, the test is intended to clarify whether the high expectations placed on the German smartphone are justified.
For information about manufacturing the Gigaset GS185: We have reported about our factory visit in Bocholt.
Design and Workmanship
When unpacking the Gigaset GS185*, you will immediately notice that it is an entry-level model. It is made of plastic, which does not convey a particularly high-quality impression. More positive than the material is the design. Although the smartphone is made of plastic, it has a metallic look. By this the cheap impression is at least optically avoided. Overall, there is no real criticism of the design. The device looks modern and has a high-quality design.
Also the workmanship is – apart from the used material – impeccable. Sharp edges, unclean or disturbing transitions, badly fastened keys or other defects cannot be found. A small detail stands out particularly positively: The side-mounted power button has a rough surface, which makes it very easy to distinguish it from the volume button placed next to it.
A fingerprint sensor is located on the back of the Gigaset GS185 to unlock it. This is also well integrated and does not attract attention with regard to the design.
Hardware
| General | |
| Manufacturer | Gigaset |
Display
The display has a modern design with its 18:9 format. The resolution of 1,440 x 720 pixels is considered to be outdated, but in a device of this price class it is quite reasonable. The resolution is sufficient for everyday use and is easy on the battery. The illumination of the display is good and even if the brightness is in the middle range, everything is visible even in direct sunlight. Unfortunately, the brightness sensor doesn’t work very well, the automatic brightness is usually too dark.
Camera
A thirteen-megapixel camera is housed on both the front and back of the camera. These cameras fit in well with the GS185’s previous impression. In the best environmental conditions, they can be used to take quite respectable photos. However, if the light is not moving or the weather conditions are not playing along, the pictures taken do not appear to be of high quality. At night, for example, it is impossible to take any recognizable pictures – on the photos taken, outlines are barely recognizable.
In daylight and favourable environmental conditions, however, the images are acceptable. Ultimately, not much can be expected from a beginner’s smartphone – if you think the best photo quality is important, you should go for a more specialized, more expensive smartphone. With this model acceptable Selfies and sufficiently good memory photos can be taken. High-quality or even professional recordings, on the other hand, are not possible.
The HDR mode, which significantly improves the otherwise rather poor color representation, is particularly noticeable. Selfies are also significantly enhanced by the HDR mode. Overall, the use of this mode is recommended in any case. Despite the slow processor, the HDR recordings are now processed much faster than with previous Gigaset smartphones – and can therefore be recorded from the wrist without blurring.
Unfortunately the camera hung up during our test and had to be restarted. The original photos (uncompressed) can be downloaded here.
Operating System
Surprisingly, the latest Android version 8.1 is used as the operating system. The use of the latest operating system is by no means a matter of course. Even well-known competitors such as Samsung have not always been able to integrate the new Android system into their latest devices. The use of Android 8.1 therefore represents a clear plus point.
Gigaset complements the operating system supplied by Google only minimally. So some backgrounds and two apps are added. Gigaset does not make any further adjustments. Hereby the German manufacturer avoids a frequent problem of many other manufacturers: Most companies develop their own Android interface based on the “normal version”. These adapted surfaces are regularly criticized sharply by users.
Performance & Benchmarks
The device is driven by the Qualcomm “Snapdragon 425” processor. The quad-core processor introduced in 2016 is in the lower middle class. In an entry-level model, its use is therefore perfectly justified. However, the Gigaset GS185 will not be able to meet the highest demands in terms of speed and performance.
The processor has two GB of RAM available. With this weak equipment, as expected, the device quickly reaches its limits. The internal memory of sixteen GB can be increased by up to 256 GB with a microSD card, which is an advantage in any case. In addition, the Gigaset smartphone can accommodate two SIM cards – even when using a microSD card at the same time. This, too, must be emphasised positively in any case. Many competing products only allow the use of one of the two options.
Negative is the exclusive support of the slow 2.4 GHz WLAN band.
During our test, the Gigaset GS185 did not wake up properly from standby and had to be restarted, which of course should not be the case. Otherwise, the system runs quite smoothly, but you have to be patient when starting apps and the latest graphics crackers are of course not playable smoothly.
| wdt_ID | Smartphone | OpenGL Manhattan | OpenGL Car Chase | T-Rex |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Moto X Force | 11,0 | 7,3 | 42,0 |
| 2 | Neffos C5 Max | 4,4 | 2,1 | 0,0 |
| 3 | UMi London | 0,0 | 0,0 | 7,3 |
| 4 | Gigaset GS160 | 3,4 | 0,0 | 11,0 |
| 5 | Sony Xperia XZ | 46,0 | 20,0 | 59,0 |
| 6 | Kodak Ektra | 9,6 | 0,0 | 35,0 |
| 7 | Huawei Mate 9 | 32,0 | 14,0 | 60,0 |
| 8 | Huawei Nova | 10,0 | 3,6 | 22,0 |
| 9 | BQ Aquaris X | 9,6 | 3,5 | 22,0 |
| 10 | Neffos X1 | 11,0 | 3,9 | 22,0 |
| Smartphone | OpenGL Manhattan | OpenGL Car Chase | T-Rex |
| wdt_ID | Smartphone | Sling Shot | Sling Shot Extreme | Ice Storm Unlimited | Ice Storm Extreme |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Moto X Force | 1.348 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2 | Neffos C5 Max | 284 | 6.816 | 4.361 | |
| 3 | UMi London | 0 | 2.827 | 1.951 | |
| 4 | Gigaset GS160 | 161 | 3.710 | 2.333 | |
| 5 | Sony Xperia XZ | 2.416 | 0 | 0 | |
| 6 | Kodak Ektra | 1.023 | 15.606 | 9.343 | |
| 7 | Huawei Mate 9 | 2.688 | 29.138 | 13.288 | |
| 8 | Huawei Nova | 461 | 13.637 | 8.091 | |
| 9 | BQ Aquaris X | 847 | 13.986 | 8.335 | |
| 10 | Neffos X1 | 481 | 9.294 | 5.486 | |
| Smartphone | Sling Shot | Sling Shot Extreme | Ice Storm Unlimited | Ice Storm Extreme |
| wdt_ID | Smartphone | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Moto X Force | 4.115 |
| 2 | Neffos C5 Max | 2.892 |
| 3 | UMi London | 2.475 |
| 4 | Gigaset GS160 | 2.600 |
| 5 | Sony Xperia XZ | 5.550 |
| 6 | Kodak Ektra | 3.975 |
| 7 | Huawei Mate 9 | 6.431 |
| 8 | Huawei Nova | 4.594 |
| 9 | BQ Aquaris X | 4.889 |
| 10 | Neffos X1 | 3.183 |
| Smartphone | Score |
| wdt_ID | Smartphone | AnTuTu Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Moto X Force | 22.297 |
| 2 | Neffos C5 Max | 37.569 |
| 3 | UMi London | 22.297 |
| 4 | Gigaset GS160 | 29.251 |
| 5 | Sony Xperia XZ | 33.943 |
| 6 | Kodak Ektra | 84.997 |
| 7 | Huawei Mate 9 | 139.020 |
| 8 | Huawei Nova | 63.206 |
| 9 | BQ Aquaris X | 66.149 |
| 10 | Neffos X1 | 45.024 |
| Smartphone | AnTuTu Score |
| wdt_ID | Smartphone | Single-Core | Multi-Core |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Moto X Force | 2.719 | 2.618 |
| 2 | Neffos C5 Max | 1.063 | 1.563 |
| 3 | UMi London | 685 | 1.146 |
| 4 | Gigaset GS160 | 820 | 1.298 |
| 5 | Sony Xperia XZ | 3.585 | 3.271 |
| 6 | Kodak Ektra | 2.167 | 3.731 |
| 7 | Huawei Mate 9 | 3.270 | 4.519 |
| 8 | Huawei Nova | 1.433 | 2.661 |
| 9 | BQ Aquaris X | 1.444 | 2.279 |
| 10 | Neffos X1 | 1.205 | 2.164 |
| Smartphone | Single-Core | Multi-Core |
| wdt_ID | Smartphone | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Moto X Force | 2.803 |
| 2 | Neffos C5 Max | 2.697 |
| 3 | UMi London | 2.162 |
| 4 | Gigaset GS160 | 1.794 |
| 5 | Sony Xperia XZ | 4.569 |
| 6 | Kodak Ektra | 5.869 |
| 7 | Huawei Mate 9 | 7.316 |
| 8 | Huawei Nova | 3.325 |
| 9 | BQ Aquaris X | 3.461 |
| 10 | Neffos X1 | 2.914 |
| Smartphone | Score |
| wdt_ID | Smartphone | Single-Core | Multi-Core |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Moto X Force | 1.115 | 4.376 |
| 2 | Neffos C5 Max | 602 | 2.468 |
| 3 | UMi London | 371 | 1.064 |
| 4 | Gigaset GS160 | 535 | 1.493 |
| 5 | Sony Xperia XZ | 1.626 | 3.872 |
| 6 | Kodak Ektra | 1.648 | 4.053 |
| 7 | Huawei Mate 9 | 1.934 | 5.998 |
| 8 | Huawei Nova | 830 | 3.004 |
| 9 | BQ Aquaris X | 921 | 4.495 |
| 10 | Neffos X1 | 731 | 2.738 |
| Smartphone | Single-Core | Multi-Core |
Battery
The performance weaknesses are compensated by the strong 4,000 mAh battery, which makes a useful life of more than one day possible. The device is charged via a microUSB connection, which no longer seems up-to-date.
| wdt_ID | Smartphone | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Moto X Force | 549 |
| 2 | Neffos C5 Max | 0 |
| 3 | UMi London | 248 |
| 4 | Gigaset GS160 | 442 |
| 5 | Sony Xperia XZ | 391 |
| 6 | Kodak Ektra | 293 |
| 7 | Huawei Mate 9 | 505 |
| 8 | Huawei Nova | 317 |
| 9 | BQ Aquaris X | 553 |
| 10 | Neffos X1 | 345 |
| Smartphone | Score |
Conclusion on the Gigaset GS185 Review
All in all, the device offers some highlights, but also some downsides. It is comparatively slow and not particularly powerful. The plastic case also contributes to the rather cheap impression left by the smartphone. This is contrasted by a modern display format, a good design, a strong battery and a modern operating system. Overall, the Gigaset GS185* is a typical entry-level smartphone – users should not expect much from such a device. In this context, however, a more favourable price is expected. However, Gigaset cannot offer this. At 179 euros, the device is clearly too expensive. Nevertheless, I hope that production in Germany will prevail, because I think Gigaset has clear potential here and with the right sales volumes, the price will also fall.
Gigaset GS185
Hardware
Workmanship
Multimedia
Performance
Battery
Value for Money
A classic entry-level model, which is unfortunately a bit too expensive. Production in Germany, however, is a supportive value.
Gigaset GS185 Smartphone - 18:9 Touch-Display (5,5 Zoll); 16GB Speicher – (Slot für 256 GB Zusatzspeicher, Android 8.1); Dual-Sim; Fingersensor; Made in Germany - Midnight Blue price comparison
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