Ultimate GooApple V5 Review and Video!

The GooApple V5 is touted as the ultimate iPhone 4S knock-off available. With a near perfect replica body, fantastically accurate Android OS with skin, and even a Retina display which is compatible with the real iPhone 4S!

And we have one in our hands now for a full in depth review!

Keep reading below for full GooApple V5 iPhone 4S knock-off review!

What is the GooApple?

The GooApple range of phones, now in their 3rd generation, are made iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S replicas which run .

The original GooApple first shook up the Shanzhai scene with it’s near perfect iPhone 4 body and great looking capacitive screen. The hardware wasn’t to shabby either with front and rear cameras, plus LED flash, wi-fi, GPS, etc...

A few months after the original GooApple launched the GooApple 3G was released with added 3G data connection and a new improved Android user interface which mimics Apple’s iOS right down to the submenus.

The latest version of the GooApple, the GooApple V5 has lost it’s 3G data abilities, but has gained a 5 mega-pixel rear camera, has a slightly faster CPU, but most importantly now has a Retina display, the same display as the previous iPhone 4 and current iPhone 4S!

GooApple V5: What’s in the box?

The V5 arrived at Gizchina’s offices (thanks to Shine over at Android-sale.com) safely packaged inside bubble wrap, an extra and a generous layer of foam packing! Certainly enough to keep the GooApple during shipping.

Once the layers of packing had been stripped away we were left with a box branded as an ‘iPhone 4’. The box is sell made and has all of the stickers and markings a genuine iPhone 4 box would have, in fact the GooApple’s box looks so realistic I actually think that it is a genuine iPhone 4 box!

Sliding the lid off, we are presented with the V5 for the first time. The handset sits in a tailor made tray to prevent it from moving about while in transit and lifts out to reveal the GooApple’s included screen protector, English instruction manual, USB wire with 30 pin dock connection, plus mains charger.

The V5 ships with a temporary screen protector plus plastic film on the sides and on the rear of the phone.

This attention to packaging is a great sign and extremely reassuring if you were to decide on ordering a GooApple V5 from China and have it shipped to the U.S, Europe or elsewhere.

Perfect Replica iPhone Appearance

Once all the protective film has been removed we can finally get a good look at the V5, and wow it looks and feels like the real deal!

Although the V5 is not as heavy as the genuine iPhone 4S, it is weighty enough to suggest an air of quality.

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All the materials seem to be of a very high standard, with glass covering both the front and rear of the GooApple, with the edges are wrapped in what appears to be stainless steel! Not a piece of plastic in sight!

I was surprised to see that our test version of the GooApple has Apple and iPhone branding on the rear, as I had previously seen the GooApple sporting it’s own hybrid Android Apple logo.

Speaking of the rear, the rear 5 mega-pixel doesn’t sit flush with the body as it does on the genuine iPhone 4S. This might be just the case with our test unit, but if you were to use the GooApple with a case (which we’re sure you will) you probably will never notice.

Which brings us nicely to cases! Yes, all of those iPhone 4 and 4S cases designed for the real iPhones will fit the GooApple V5 just fine!

Android Gingerbread iOS Hybrid UI

GooApple have gone all out on the user interface for the V5, there are differences, and the text doesn’t always line up as it should but overall GooApple’s engineers have created one hell of an iOS knock off based on the Gingerbread ROM.

Most of the apps and even the menus look like genuine iOS. They have even successfully cloned iOS 5’s Notification center, as well as the iTunes App, Camera App, Mail App and many more.

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The Mail App really struck us! Just take a look at the screen shot below!

Not all the apps and interface follow true to the iOS original however. If you dig deep enough in to the menus you will find Android setting panes, and some of the apps have been localized for the Chinese market.

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For example the YouTube App is actually the Android version of Youku, iBooks is an app called iReader , Maps come from Baidu rather than Google, and the Gallery app is your standard Android photo gallery.

Multitasking is handled of in the vanilla Android way as is closing apps running in the background.

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Folders have been added to the Gingerbread iOS hybrid so you can store your apps together, and moving icons around the spring board will be a familiar process to any iOS user. Just hold the icon until it shakes and move it to the desired position.

GooApple V5 In Use

Once on and running the GooApple functions very much like an iPhone, but due to the 600mHz CPU the feel is more like using an iPhone 3GS with iOS 5 rather than the fast, slick action of an iPhone 4S or even iPhone 4.

When swiping through the screens, accessing apps, watching video or listening to music, the GooApple V5 handles everything easily with no noticeable lag or slowing.

Gaming on the GooApple is a different story. While most games can be installed through either the GooApple’s Chinese market App or through the official Android market, that older processor starts to struggle.

Even Angry Birds, a fun but basic game, took a long time to load on the GooApple V5, and was laggy and slow once started.

Words don’t quite do the GooApple V5’s user interface justice so to give you a real feel of the attention to detail and functionality the V5 has watch the video below:

GooApple V5 hands on video!

Media on the GooApple V5

Like all Android phones the GooApple supports MP3, MP4 and AVI files (along with others) and does so very well.

The music app looks and feels like the iPod application for and even shares the majority of features, but seems to be missing Coverflow.

Video playback is very good too thanks to the Retina display, but again things get a bit choppy with high HD quality videos.

As expected from the Retina display viewing from all angles is absolutely fantastic, and is as easily as good as many high end smartphones.

As with all phones, the GooApple has an extremely loud speaker which is surprisingly clear and much louder than the iPhone’s.

GooApple V5’s Camera

The V5 has a 5-megapixel rear camera and a front facing 1.3 mega-pixel camera. Like many smartphones these days the GooApple has an LED flash to help when taking photos in low light situations or at night.

While the rear is rated at 5-mega pixels, overall quality isn’t as good as we had hoped, but it isn’t bad either!

When compared to the iPhone 4 for example, the GooApple’s camera is much slower when capturing images, with many images turning our blurred or grainy.

However when compared to the Meizu M9, a top of the range Chinese smartphone with 5 mega-pixel camera, the GooApple’s camera is much much better! Offering better low light performance and faster shutter speed!

The GooApple V5’s camera comes with a huge array of options from scene selections, light balance, image quality and size, and more basic functions for flash!

Switching from the rear to the front is just a matter of pressing the button to the top right of the screen.

Although we didn’t have chance to test Skype, we have been assured that Skype and other video calling services are supported by the GooApple V5’s front camera.

Conclusion

Of all the Apple IPhone 4 and 4S clones on the market today the V5 is easily the best of the bunch, but not just that, the GooApple is a very good Android smartphone in it’s own right at a very good price!

The screen is fantastic and much better than many branded phones available for the same money and in some cases better than the screens on more expensive phones.

All the functions you have come to expect from any smart phone are present on the GooApple V5:

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The Good

A great design.
Excellent looking yet customizable UI.
GPS.
WI-FI.
Bluetooth.
Good, if not amazing rear camera with LED flash.
Front camera for video calls.
Replaceable battery.
Expandable memory via SD card.
Great media functionality.
Awesome Screen!

The not so Good

The UI can freeze from time to time, but this should be fixed with later updates which are available for free through the GooApple user forum.
CPU is a little slow when gaming.

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Overall if you are looking for a phone which provides the look and functionality of an iPhone 4S, but with a more wallet friendly price, and more options to customize without resorting to Jailbreaks, the GooApple V5 is certainly the phone we would choose!

Thanks to Android-sale.com for providing us with the GooApple V5 for test. If you want to buy a V5 head over to Android-sale.com.

Keep up to date with our reviews by following us on Twitter or Facebook, our next review should be finished in time for Christmas.

Can you guess what it will be?