Assessment: Lenovo Vibe K5 Plus

The Fast Take

In a short while, Lenovo has emerged as a drive to reckon inside the reasonably priced smartphone market in India. The newest one from the corporate, the Lenovo Vibe K5 Plus packs in fairly a punch for a finances smartphone and does not look dangerous, however you’d need to make a couple of trade-offs right here and there. You would be inclined to, as a result of the worth is good.

The finances phase in India is crowded, and an honest package deal simply does not minimize it. I spent a few weeks with the Vibe K5 Plus reviewing the smartphone, whereas concurrently utilizing a Huawei Honor 5X, a Redmi Notice three, and a LeEco Le 1S (sure, it is insane!) to place my expertise in perspective.

Lenovo Vibe K5 Plus specs

About this assessment

I used the Indian retail variant of the Lenovo Vibe K5 Plus that ran Vibe UI operating on prime of Android 5.1 out of the field. For more often than not, I used it with an Airtel 4G SIM in Delhi NCR. Out of the 16GB inner storage, somewhat over 10GB was obtainable out of the field. Throughout my utilization, there was an OTA replace too for efficiency enhancements.

Lenovo Vibe K5 Plus design

At first look, the Vibe K5 Plus seems okay for a price range system. The constructed is sturdy, however it will not win any design contest. The K5 Plus does away with the all-plastic construct of A6000/A6000 Plus, and goes for a hybrid design. The detachable again panel options an aluminum plate within the center flanked by two plastic strips. It is flimsy, and is vulnerable to scratches.

But the telephone is compact, and feels nice within the hand, not as soon as slipping out. The navigation keys at entrance are sadly not backlit, and also you may fumble every now and then in darkish.

The smartest contact on the Vibe K5 Plus is the dual speaker grilles on the again with the Dolby emblem. Massive props to Lenovo for together with stereo audio system in a price range gadget.

Lenovo Vibe K5 Plus show

The K5 plus sports activities a 5-inch Full HD IPS show which is fairly good for its worth. I might’ve been contended with 720p show, however a 1080p show with 441ppi for a finances system is spectacular.

It is sharp and vivid, and in addition presents nice viewing angles. The textual content is sharp and the pictures are crisp. The colours are a bit uninteresting and the accuracy too is simply middling, particularly when checked out an angle. The brightness and distinction is at par or higher than most sub-₹10,000 smartphones out there, though when you have a very good eye, you’d price Redmi Observe three’s show higher. The K5 Plus although has higher shade accuracy.

There is no Gorilla Glass safety however that is comprehensible for a price range gadget. For a price range LCD panel, the Vibe K5 Plus additionally does ok in shiny daylight.

Lenovo Vibe K5 Plus hardware

Powered by a mid-range Qualcomm Snapdragon 616 processor with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of inner storage, the Lenovo Vibe K5 Plus does properly on the specs sheet for a finances gadget. The efficiency although is middling, and as soon as you’ve got received a couple of apps on and are multitasking in real-life utilization, a number of lags begin creeping in.

There are random freezes, too. But, the Vibe K5 Plus chugs alongside nicely for graphic-intensive gaming titles, though it does warmth up inside minutes. It does not get uncomfortably scorching, however is annoying because it occurs not simply whereas gaming, however even whereas watching an area video or streamed from the Net.

The Vibe K5 Plus additionally misses out on nifty extras like a fingerprint reader or an IR blaster. A number of different low-cost smartphones do supply these options, so Lenovo is betting huge on its general package deal to avoid these. In fact, it helps Lenovo’s AntVR headset for an immersive media expertise by way of TheatreMax know-how.

One of many lesser appreciated highlights of the Vibe K5 Plus is the Dolby audio enhancement. The Dolby Atmos audio system supply crisp, clear sound and the dual audio system actually do make a distinction. The audio high quality is sensible – higher than even a number of higher-priced smartphones.

Lenovo Vibe K5 Plus battery life

Within the age of unibody smartphones, the Vibe K5 Plus sports activities a modest 2750 mAh detachable battery. Because the battery life seems, you’d thank Lenovo for the swappable battery. I began the day with full battery, and some social apps and e mail on 4G had me going to about 15 % battery by the afternoon.

Whereas the battery life is nearly okay for a light-weight consumer, even on a average utilization, you’d have to succeed in for the charger earlier than finish of the day. It is fairly inexcusable even for a finances system. The charging too is fairly sluggish which is a bummer contemplating the battery life.

The Vibe K5 Plus is not any marathon runner, though it does properly for the reasonably sized battery it packs. A number of smartphones with a much bigger battery do not go considerably longer. Nevertheless, should you play video games and watch plenty of movies on the transfer, the Vibe K5 Plus shouldn’t be for you.

Lenovo Vibe K5 Plus software program

The Lenovo Vibe K5 Plus runs the corporate’s proprietary Vibe UI on prime of Android Lollipop 5.1.1. Apparently, the price range system does not include the revamped Vibe UI that shipped with the Lenovo Vibe X3 earlier this yr. Whereas Lenovo smartphones have discovered a whole lot of takers, I am but to satisfy a Vibe UI fan and it is no totally different with the Vibe K5 Plus. It really works, and that is about it.

The telephone comes with the standard Lenovo software program additions. There’s the Lenovo Companion app which helps you to examine for software program updates and carry out system checks, in addition to the acquainted SHAREit and SYNCit for transferring information and backing up knowledge respectively. There is a restricted Theme Middle too with a cheesy assortment of themes and wallpapers.

The Vibe K5 Plus comes with plenty of bundled apps like Recreation Retailer, Twitter, Skype, WeChat, UC Browser, Flipkart, Myntra, Evernote, McAfee Safety, and Truecaller, however fortunately these all may be uninstalled in case you are not . Nonetheless, the quantity of out of the field bloatware on a tool with restricted hardware is awkward.

Lenovo Vibe K5 Plus digital camera

The Lenovo Vibe K5 Plus is provided with a 13MP main digital camera with f/2.2 aperture and LED flash, in addition to a 5MP entrance shooter. The entrance digital camera is okay for this worth phase and permits you to click on respectable selfies in outside lighting, though solely manages noisy photographs indoors.

The rear digital camera is respectable too for a finances system. For close-up photographs and when the topic is true in entrance of lens, the photograph high quality is fairly good with loads of particulars. Panorama photographs are inconsistent although, and low mild photographs develop into fairly darkish and grainy.

The digital camera app is commonplace UI fare, and aside from the HDR and Panorama mode, there’s vary of filters you possibly can apply to your photographs in actual time.

Lenovo Vibe K5 Plus The underside line

The Vibe K5 Plus would not shatter any gross sales data, however makes for a ok, compact gadget that will not break the financial institution. It sports activities Full HD show, sensible audio output, and an honest digital camera, however middling efficiency and a horrible battery life enables you to down.

Do you have to purchase it? In all probability

All price range smartphones require you to compromise on one factor or the opposite, and also you’d have a to make a couple of for the Lenovo Vibe K5 Plus. At a worth of ₹eight,499 ($127) in India, the Lenovo Vibe K5 Plus is an honest purchase. It might, no, it ought to’ve been higher as a result of it sits between very succesful entry-level price range telephones and telephones with higher specs that you would be able to get by spending just a bit extra dough.

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