Goodbye IUNI we hardly knew you


iuni u3 review

A sad day for Chinese phone fans as another player in the market shows signs that it won’t be with us for much longer.

IUNI, the phone start-up owned by Gionee and launched at the same time as OnePlus, could be heading for bankruptcy according to new reports this weekend.

IUNI so far had launched a few rather surprising phones from the original U2 with 16 mega-pixel camera and full CNC alloy body, to the flagship U3 with 2K display and Snapdragon 810 (and costing only 1999 Yuan at launch!). Since those two phones though the company has been in trouble with the original CEO quitting, and a new CEO taking his place with a plan to create phone aimed at a generation of female phone users, a plan that doesn’t seem to have taken off quite as well as she hoped.

Gizchina News of the week


iuni u2 packaging

This weekends news of possible IUNI bankruptcy started with a posting on the IUNI forums stating that all staff from the company were leaving, this report has been confirmed by Chinese media but IUNI remain quiet on the matter.

IUNI can put some of the blame on unstable management, but the company also lacked a goal, had very poor marketing, and were competing with brands like Meizu, LeTV and OnePlus who all seemed to have larger budgets.It’s always sad to see another brand go the way of Dakele and iOcean before them but in this case it is hardly surprising.

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70 Comments

  1. realjjj
    May 16, 2016

    on the other hand there is a so called IUNI U4 leak http://news.mydrivers.com/1/482/482511.htm

    • May 16, 2016

      which is obviously fan made

      • realjjj
        May 16, 2016

        Given the timing that’s not certain. IUNI could have leaked it.

        • May 16, 2016

          Speaking to Gionee at MWC this year it seemed IUNI were considered a bit of an inside joke.

          • realjjj
            May 16, 2016
          • Allanitomwesh
            May 17, 2016

            This is sad,the brand had way more promise than the flagship Gionee brand. It would’ve turned it what Oneplus turned into for oppo/bbk.

        • balcobomber25
          May 16, 2016

          If they are losing money for Gionee that decision is a very easy one to make. As for the supposed U4 leak, it looks like a photoshoped U3.

          • realjjj
            May 16, 2016

            lol the world doesn’t work like that. Almost any business will lose money at one time or another, that’s no reason to shut it down. Apple was losing money in 1997 when Jobs came back as CEO, Sony was losing money just last year,nobody would be standing if the world would work as you think.

            • balcobomber25
              May 16, 2016

              lol, those companies aren’t even close to the same as IUNI. Neither of them are subsidiaries of other companies like IUNI is to Gionee. You have little clue how to real world works, you only know the mythical world in your head which often leaves the rest of us scratching our heads. Just like your pricing models for phones based on benchmarks that only makes sense to you.

              In the real world companies divest themselves of subsidiaries all the time when they are losing money. Sony has closed the doors on several of their subsidiaries over the years because they were losing money. Some were sold to other companies, some were completely shut down. Happens in the Auto Industry as well, General Motors shut down Saturn, Pontiac, Oldsmobile and several other brands because of massive losses.

  2. GoldenBoy
    May 16, 2016

    in a market where they launch dozen of phones, it’s hard to stay alive even in a billions country.
    we will see this more often in near future, phone markets is in a stagnant period and there are no really innovations.

  3. Angry Mobile Nerd
    May 16, 2016

    This is what happens when you enter the race to the bottom but don’t finish the race to the bottom.

  4. Danny H.
    May 16, 2016

    Good phones, good prices but poor management, no support for international market. OnePlus knows they can’t compete in such a red ocean like the Chinese market so they smartly aim for international market right from the beginning. Too bad for IUNI but this is just the obvious consequence.

  5. liamo
    May 16, 2016

    That’s a shame. Got my U3 back in October 2014 and still use it every day. Great phone. It seems strange when they just re-branded recently and I would have thought all the costs are effectively “internal” to Gionee. Maybe it’s more of a re-organisation than a complete shutddown.

  6. realjjj
    May 16, 2016

    on the other hand there is a so called IUNI U4 leak http://news.mydrivers.com/1/482/482511.htm

    • Andi Sykes
      May 16, 2016

      which is obviously fan made

    • realjjj
      May 16, 2016

      Given the timing that’s not certain. IUNI could have leaked it.
      It is a Gionee sub-brand and Gionee should be doing fine so it goes away only if Gionee decides it failed to gain enough traction.

    • Andi Sykes
      May 16, 2016

      Speaking to Gionee at MWC this year it seemed IUNI were considered a bit of an inside joke.

    • balcobomber25
      May 16, 2016

      If they are losing money for Gionee that decision is a very easy one to make. As for the supposed U4 leak, it looks like a photoshoped U3.

    • realjjj
      May 16, 2016
    • realjjj
      May 16, 2016

      lol the world doesn’t work like that. Almost any business will lose money at one time or another, that’s no reason to shut it down. Apple was losing money in 1997 when Jobs came back as CEO, Sony was losing money just last year,nobody would be standing if the world would work as you think.

    • balcobomber25
      May 16, 2016

      lol, those companies aren’t even close to the same as IUNI. Neither of them are subsidiaries of other companies like IUNI is to Gionee. You have little clue how to real world works, you only know the mythical world in your head which often leaves the rest of us scratching our heads. Just like your pricing models for phones based on benchmarks that only makes sense to you.

      In the real world companies divest themselves of subsidiaries all the time when they are losing money. Sony has closed the doors on several of their subsidiaries over the years because they were losing money. Some were sold to other companies, some were completely shut down. Happens in the Auto Industry as well, General Motors shut down Saturn, Pontiac, Oldsmobile and several other brands because of massive losses.

    • Allanitomwesh
      May 17, 2016

      This is sad,the brand had way more promise than the flagship Gionee brand. It would’ve turned it what Oneplus turned into for oppo/bbk.

  7. Guest
    May 16, 2016

    in a market where they launch dozen of phones, it’s hard to stay alive even in a billions country.
    we will see this more often in near future, phone markets is in a stagnant period and there are no really innovations.

  8. Inti Energia
    May 16, 2016

    This is only a small part of the bigger story of severe Chinese overproduction capacity. Too many factories and too few buyers. It is only natural that some of them will eventually be allowed to fail.

    • balcobomber25
      May 17, 2016

      It’s been a part of this industry for a long time, companies come and go. The smaller brands need to constantly innovate and hope they can carve out a small niche to survive.

  9. Angry Mobile Nerd
    May 16, 2016

    This is what happens when you enter the race to the bottom but don’t finish the race to the bottom.

  10. Danny H.
    May 16, 2016

    Good phones, good prices but poor management, no support for international market. OnePlus knows they can’t compete in such a red ocean like the Chinese market so they smartly aim for international market right from the beginning. Too bad for IUNI but this is just the obvious consequence.

  11. Muhammad Yasir
    May 16, 2016

    their phones were good but maybe they could have tried making more for the budget section !

    • AbdulB1
      May 16, 2016

      ap ne use kia?

      • Muhammad Yasir
        May 16, 2016

        nope … entered the game when IUNI were well over their peak by then. but heard good things about them nevertheless

        u ?

        • AbdulB1
          May 16, 2016

          lol. you never bought any of these phones but you do spend so much time about commenting on them.

          • Muhammad Yasir
            May 17, 2016

            because i have an idea of how these little things work 🙂
            its basically what im studying …

            • AbdulB1
              May 17, 2016

              I won’t even recommend you. After all khajal khuwari and tax they applied on my phone.

            • Muhammad Yasir
              May 18, 2016

              recommend what exactly ? IUNI phones ?

              P.S : khajal khuwari means 😀 ?

            • AbdulB1
              May 18, 2016

              hahaha, if you imported any phone then I will ask you what khajal khuwari means. anyway I wont recommend importing anything here.

            • Muhammad Yasir
              May 18, 2016

              i see 😀

        • AbdulB1
          May 16, 2016

          actually no one buys so many phones even in China.

  12. liamo
    May 16, 2016

    That’s a shame. Got my U3 back in October 2014 and still use it every day. Great phone. It seems strange when they just re-branded recently and I would have thought all the costs are effectively “internal” to Gionee. Maybe it’s more of a re-organisation than a complete shutddown.

  13. Hakim Farouk
    May 16, 2016

    Sad. I was thinking what had happened to them. I had an IUNI phone before and it was good. The UI was promising as well.

  14. Inti Energia
    May 16, 2016

    This is only a small part of the bigger story of severe Chinese overproduction capacity. Too many factories and too few buyers. It is only natural that some of them will eventually be allowed to fail.

    • balcobomber25
      May 17, 2016

      It’s been a part of this industry for a long time, companies come and go. The smaller brands need to constantly innovate and hope they can carve out a small niche to survive.

  15. Guest
    May 16, 2016

    their phones were good but maybe they could have tried making more for the budget section !

    • AbdulB1
      May 16, 2016

      ap ne use kia?

    • Guest
      May 16, 2016

      nope … entered the game when IUNI were well over their peak by then. but heard good things about them nevertheless

      u ?

    • AbdulB1
      May 16, 2016

      lol. you never bought any of these phones but you do spend so much time about commenting on them.

    • AbdulB1
      May 16, 2016

      actually no one buys so many phones even in China.

    • Guest
      May 17, 2016

      because i have an idea of how these little things work 🙂
      its basically what im studying …

    • AbdulB1
      May 17, 2016

      I won’t even recommend you. After all khajal khuwari and tax they applied on my phone.

    • Guest
      May 18, 2016

      recommend what exactly ? IUNI phones ?

      P.S : khajal khuwari means 😀 ?

    • AbdulB1
      May 18, 2016

      hahaha, if you imported any phone then I will ask you what khajal khuwari means. anyway I wont recommend importing anything here.

    • Guest
      May 18, 2016

      i see 😀

  16. Hakim Farouk
    May 16, 2016

    Sad. I was thinking what had happened to them. I had an IUNI phone before and it was good. The UI was promising as well.

  17. Jim Shortz
    May 16, 2016

    When did iOcean go away, must have missed that

    • balcobomber25
      May 17, 2016

      According to their Facebook page, July of 2015. The last thing they posted was

      “From today, iocean Facebook page will be on vacations for 1 month.”

      Also their website is no longer active.

      • Jim Shortz
        May 17, 2016

        Oh, that’s too bad

        • balcobomber25
          May 17, 2016

          They made some very good phones, the X8 is still one of my favorite large screen phones.

          • Jim Shortz
            May 17, 2016

            Yea, that’s what I thought

      • Muhammad Yasir
        May 17, 2016

        that was basically their dying words …

  18. SnowyCat
    May 16, 2016

    @Gizchina:disqus wasnt the U3 a 801 smartphone instead of the listed 810 above?

    i’m kinda sad tho..i actually liked their os a bit back on my oneplus and while i really wanted to give the phone a try they are usually pretty fast pretty outdated.

  19. Jim Shortz
    May 16, 2016

    When did iOcean go away, must have missed that

    • balcobomber25
      May 17, 2016

      According to their Facebook page, July of 2015. The last thing they posted was

      “From today, iocean Facebook page will be on vacations for 1 month.”

      Also their website is no longer active.

    • Jim Shortz
      May 17, 2016

      Oh, that’s too bad

    • Guest
      May 17, 2016

      that was basically their dying words …

    • balcobomber25
      May 17, 2016

      They made some very good phones, the X8 is still one of my favorite large screen phones.

    • Jim Shortz
      May 17, 2016

      Yea, that’s what I thought

  20. SnowyCat
    May 16, 2016

    @Gizchina:disqus wasnt the U3 a 801 smartphone instead of the listed 810 above?

    i’m kinda sad tho..i actually liked their os a bit back on my oneplus and while i really wanted to give the phone a try they are usually pretty fast pretty outdated.

  21. Francisco Bernardo González
    May 17, 2016

    Many years have passed and I have seen a lot of smartphones with 5,5″ , and IUNI U3 still is the best screen ratio:
    * Height 14.5 cm (centimeters)
    *Width 7.49 cm (centimeters)
    Please give IUNI a big round of applause !!!

    • Qidamin
      May 18, 2016

      yep, really a great phone, and camera was really good, stab was really good on it (better than my Mi Note)

  22. Francisco Bernardo González
    May 17, 2016

    Many years have passed and I have seen a lot of smartphones with 5,5″ , and IUNI U3 still is the best screen ratio:
    * Height 14.5 cm (centimeters)
    *Width 7.49 cm (centimeters)
    Please give IUNI a big round of applause !!!

    • Qidamin
      May 19, 2016

      yep, really a great phone, and camera was really good, stab was really good on it (better than my Mi Note)