A couple of days ago, Lenovo’s Vice President Chang Cheng shared a teaser image of the company’s upcoming flagship device on his Weibo page. The image revealed the top-left side of the smartphone which hinted at the fact that the device won’t have a notch. The bezels were also extremely thin. To continue hyping up the phone, the Lenovo VP has posted a sketch of the smartphone, the Lenovo Z5.
If this one image is anything to go by, the Lenovo Z5 might be one of the most exciting smartphones to launch this year. The sketch reveals that the Z5 won’t have a notch, and the bezels will be evenly spread out on all sides. The sketch, which could exaggerate the design a bit, shows iPhone X-like thin bezels on all sides of the smartphone.
Many questions arise after looking at the sketch. The front camera, earpiece and the necessary sensors appear to be missing here. There are rumours that the smartphone will have a flip-up front camera, something we saw at MWC 2018. The fingerprint sensor could have easily been placed at the back but, rumours claim the smartphone will have an in-display fingerprint sensor. However, considering how expensive that tech still is, we expect a rear-mounted fingerprint reader on the Lenovo Z5.
The sketch also shows the USB C port located at the bottom while the headphone jack is missing. It is possible that the company could place it on the top but, considering the industry-wide trend, we could see headphone jack-less Lenovo Z5. Apart from that, the image doesn’t really tell us anything else about the device.
The launch of the flagship device is still over a month away. The new sketch does increase the interest in the Z5, especially considering the slew of smartphones that sport a notch these days. The Lenovo Z5 could be a breath of fresh air the smartphone industry is in dire need of.
The smartphone industry, every year, is dominated by a certain trend that is usually overdone by many OEMs. The launch of the iPhone 7 Plus propelled smartphone makers into launching dual-camera devices in late-2016. With the launch of the iPhone X, we are seeing an increasing number of smartphone vendors embracing the notch. However, Lenovo appears to be set on a less trodden path and go with a traditional design for its new flagship smartphone.
Lenovo’s Vice President Chang Cheng shared a teaser image of the company’s upcoming flagship device on his Weibo page. The company’s next flagship smartphone is expected to launch on June 14th. Accompanying the image was a poll, asking users to predict the screen-to-body ratio of the smartphone, with “95% or more” being the biggest option.
The front of the smartphone is visible in the image but, only partially. However, enough of the smartphone is visible to incur that the new device won’t have a notch like the iPhone X or Huawei P20 Pro. It appears that Lenovo has taken the Samsung route with its new flagship smartphone. The astonishing part is the lack of bezels on the side and the top of the smartphone. The top bezel is almost invisible, much like the chin of the iPhone X.
Bezels around the display, however, have a purpose and aren’t just there for OEMs to remove and show “progress.” The bezels house the earpiece, sensors and the front-facing camera. From the looks of it, Lenovo might have the gone the Xiaomi route with this by making the bottom bezel a bit thicker and house the front-facing camera in it. This could be the reason why the bottom bezel was not revealed in the teaser.
Mi MIX 2
The launch of the flagship device is still over a month away. The image does increase the interest in this smartphone especially considering the slew of smartphones that sport a notch these days.
Lenovo has officially launched a series of laptops under the ThinkPad Branding In India. These laptops have an ultra-slim design with the latest 8th Gen Intel processors. Some of these devices have a ruggedness of ThinkPad series with the flexibility of Yoga series of laptops. The main product that was launched in the event is the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon and the ThinkPad X1 Yoga, which retails for Rs 1,21,000 and Rs 1,26,000 respectively. These laptops will be available in April on both online and offline retail stores across the country.
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon and the ThinkPad X1 Yoga Specs
According to Lenovo, these are the first set of laptops to offer a display with Dolby Vision HDR Support with a maximum brightness of 500 nits. The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon just weighs at 1.13 Kilogram, where the chassis is made using an advanced carbon fibre composite. Additionally, the ThinkPad Yoga also has a dedicated LTE modem to support wireless on the go Wireless LTE networks. These laptops can be configured with up to 16GB RAM and 1TB Solid State Drive, which runs on the 8th Generation Intel i7 Quad-core processor with Intel UHD 620 GPU.
Wearables, unlike smartphones, are not a necessity in our lives. However, the wearable tech has come a long way in the recent past with smartwatches and fitness bands being the most common of the lot. While smartwatches mean a lot of monetary investment, same is not the case for fitness bands. Let’s take a look at the top fitness bands in India at under Rs 2000!
The Xiaomi Mi Band 2 is one of the best looking fitness band available in India. The band retails for Rs 1,799 and available on Amazon and Mi.com. The band comes with a monochrome OLED display with an impressive 20 days battery life. However, the actual battery life depends on the type of usage. Additionally, the device comes in multiple colour strap bands, which are using Anti-sweat Thermoplastic Elastomers. The can measure your steps, track your calories intake, and can even measure your heart rate using a built-in sensor. Additionally, the band has a one key navigation system, which can be used to navigate throughout the band interface.
Fastrack is a fashion brand, which makes accessories for the youth. The Fastrack Reflex Smartwatch Band is priced at Rs 1,830 and available on Amazon and other authorised retails stores. Similarly, the smart band comes with a mono colour always on OLED display, which can display different information like Time, Steps Count, and distance traveled. However, Unlike Mi Band 2, this misses out on a heart rate sensor. The main unit has a USB type-A port, which is used to charge the device using a USB port.
This is the cheapest smart fitness band in our listing. The band is priced at Rs 1,299 and exclusively available on Amazon. The band comes in a fancy dual tone design with an one-touch button design. Additionally, the watch is water and dust resistant with the IP67 rating. It has a tiny 0.42-inch OLED panel with a dynamic heart rate scanner. A user can analyse the complete health data through an iOS or Android smartphones. However, it is on a heavier side compared to other two bands.
Smartphones have improved a lot in the last few years. And now, we have smartphones with four cameras, high-resolution displays and faster chipsets. However, when it comes to battery, we still use older Li-ion batteries, which can drain out rapidly. All these hardware features require a lot of power and to address this issue, smartphone makers have started including a bigger battery, which can last up to 2 days. Here are the top 5 smartphones under Rs 20,000 with a massive battery.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro
The Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro has a large 5.99 inch FHD+ 2160 x 1080 px IPS LCD screen. Under the hood, the device has the Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 Octa-core chipset with 4/6GB RAM and 64GB storage. The phone has a 4000 mAh battery with Qualcomm QuickCharge 2.0 support. The device has a dual camera setup with a 12MP sensor and a 5MP depth sensor to produce bokeh shots. The 4GB RAM and 64GB model is priced at Rs 13,999 and the 6GB RAM and 64GB model is priced at Rs 16,999.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 5
If you think, that the Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro is over your budget, then consider this miniature version of the same. The Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 has a same 5.99 inch FHD+ 2160 x 1080 px IPS LCD display powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 chipset. The smartphone has a 12MP primary camera and a 5MP front-facing camera. Like the Note 5 Pro, the Note 5 packs in a 4000 mAh battery with Qualcomm quickcharge 2.0 capability. The 3GB RAM and 32GB storage is priced at Rs 9,999 and the 4GB RAM and 64GB storage model is priced at Rs 11,999.
Xiaomi Mi MAX 2
The Xiaomi Mi MAX 2 is a multimedia-centric device, which has a 6.44 inch 16:9 1920 x 1080 px IPS LCD screen. Under the hood, the device has the Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 Octa-core chipset with 3/4GB RAM and 32/64GB storage. Similarly, the 3GB RAM model retails for Rs 13,999 and the 4GB RAM model retails for Rs 15,999. To fulfil the power requirements of this massive display, the device has a 5300 mAh battery with fast charging support via USB type C port.
Lenovo K8 Note
When it comes to features packed specifications, the Lenovo K8 Note is no slouch either. The smartphone is powered by MediaTek Helio X23 Deca-core chipset with 3/4GB RAM and 32/64GB storage. Similarly, the 3GB model retails for Rs 10,550 and the 4GB RAM model retails for Rs 11,615. The Lenovo K8 Note has a dual camera setup, which can capture bokeh shots. Additionally, the device runs on stock Android 7 Nougat and expected to receive Android 8 Oreo update.
Moto C Plus
The Moto C Plus is one of the most affordable smartphones with a 4000 mAH battery. The device has a 5 inch HD 1280 x 720 px IPS LCD screen. The smartphone is powered by MediaTek MTK6737 Quad-core chipset with 2GB RAM and 16GB storage. Additionally, storage is expandable up to 32GB. The device runs on stock Android 7 Nougat and expected to receive Android 8 Oreo update.
Lenovo has officially launched the Lenovo S5 in China. The smartphone has a full metal unibody design with a dual camera setup. The smartphone comes in three storage and RAM variants. The 3GB/32GB model is priced at CNY 999(~Rs 9,999) and the 3GB/64GB is priced at CNY 1,199(~Rs 11,999) and the 4GB/128GB model retails for CNY 1,499(~Rs 14,999). The pricing is similar to the Xiaomi Redmi Note 5, which retails for Rs 9,999 for 3GB/32GB and Rs 11,999 for 4GB/64GB model in India.
The Lenovo S5 is carved out of a single block 6000 series aluminium. Whereas the Redmi Note 5 has plastic antenna bands on the top and the bottom of the device. Both the smartphones have a tall display with 18:9 aspect ratio. The Lenovo S5 has a compact 5.7 inch display, whereas the Redmi Note 5 has a 5.99 inch display with identical 2160 x 1080px FHD+ resolution.
The Lenovo S5 has a dual 13MP camera (RGB + monochrome) while Redmi Note 5 has a single 12MP camera on the back. Similarly, the Redmi Note 5 has a 5MP front-facing camera compared to the 16MP sensor found on the Lenovo S5 with Face Unlock. The Lenovo S5 runs on custom ZUI 4.0 based on Android 8 Oreo, whereas the Redmi Note 5 runs on Android 7 Nougat based MIUI 9. The Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 has a 4000 mAh battery, while the Lenovo S5 packs in a smaller 3000 mAh battery.
Lenovo launched two new notebooks at MWC 2018. The Lenovo Yoga 730 is a premium offering, which comes with built-in far-field-mics with Alexa AI. The Flex 14 is more of an affordable offering from the company. Both the notebooks are powered by Windows 10 OS.
Pricing and availability:
The Lenovo Yoga 730 comes in Iron Grey and Platinum Silver, which will be available from April, starting at US$ 879.99. The Flex 14 will be available in onyx black colour, which will be available from April, starts at US$ 600.
Design and features:
Both the notebooks from Lenovo offers flip to tablet mode with support for touch input. The display edges have been curved to offer a smoother tablet-using experience on the Lenovo Yoga 730. The Yoga 730 also offers a built-in fingerprint scanner. However, it misses out on the Windows Hello camera feature.
The laptop acts as Alexa hub, which can be used to control other Alexa accessories. However, the notebooks need to be up and running to access Alexa AI.
Specifications of Lenovo Yoga 730:
The Lenovo Yoga 730 comes in 13 inch and 15 inch display with 1980 x 1080p resolution. Under the hood, the notebook is based on 8th generation Intel Core i5 or i7 processor with 8/16GB RAM and 512/1TB SSD. The 13 inch variant is equipped with Intel UHD 620 GPU and the 15 inch variant has a powerful GTX 1050 GPU.
The notebook comes with plenty of port options, including dual Thunderbolt 3 port, one full-sized USB 3.0, USB type C port, and a mini HDMI port. The notebook also supports Active Pen 2, which has to be bought separately. In fact, the Thunderbolt can be used to connect external GPU for additional power.
Specifications of Lenovo Flex 14:
The Lenovo Flex 14 will also be called as Lenovo Yoga 530 in the European markets. As the name suggests, the Lenovo Flex 14 has a 14 inch full HD 1980 x 1080px resolution display with touch input. Similarly, one can choose between the 8th gen Intel Core i5 or i7 processor with up to 16GB RAM. However, the storage is limited to a maximum of 512 GB SSD.
The choice of ports on the Flex 14 includes 2x USB-A 3.0 ports, one USB C 3.1 port, 3.5 mm headphone jack and a mini HDMI port. However, like the Yoga 730, there is no Alexa AI integration.
Most of the smartphone makers are getting ready to launch their devices at MWC 2018. However, Motorola has been silent about its upcoming devices. As per the latest report, the company might launch the Moto G6, Moto G6 Plus, and Moto G6 Play with the code name Ashley, Blain, and Teller.
The Moto G6 Play was recently listed on GeekBench with the complete specifications. A smartphone tipster has finally revealed the actual render of the smartphone. From the first impression, the smartphone looks similar to that of the Moto X4 with an all-glass design. Thanks to 18:9 aspect ratio, the device looks slimmer and taller with narrow bezels.
Credits: Geekbench
Specifications:
The Moto G6 Play has a 5.7-inch IPS LCD 1440 x 720 px resolution, protected by 2.5D curved glass. Under the hood, the smartphone sports the Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 Octa-core chipset with 3GB RAM. The device scores 472 points on a single-core and 1801 points on multi-core on Geekbench.
The device might run on Android 8 Oreo out of the box. However, instead of stock Android, the Moto G6 Play comes with Lenovo’s custom ZUK skin. However, that is hard to believe since Motorola has had success with its close to stock Android OS devices. Finally, the smartphone packs in a massive 4000 mAh battery with no mention of fast charging what so ever.
Early Moto G6 Play Render
The smartphone has a dual camera setup at the back, which looks exactly similar to the setup found on the Moto X4. Though the Moto G6 Play comes with a narrow bezel design, the phone still retains a front-facing fingerprint scanner below the Motorola badge.
Conclusion:
Motorola has consistently launched impressive devices in India. Hence, similar things will be expected of the Moto G6 Play, if and when it is launched. As of now, the market is filled with the smartphones with 18:9 display, bigger battery, and even faster processor. The company should launch the device at a smart price for it to succeed.
It is hard to gauge which trend will catch on in a certain industry. Over the years, we’ve seen smartphones move in a similar direction for a period of time until a new aspect catches people’s attention. After the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus dropped the headphone jack, we saw more smartphone makers following suite so much so that Samsung, LG and OnePlus appear to be the only flag bearers of the beloved 3.5mm headphone jack. 2018 is expected to be the year of AI and machine learning, and not just in smartphones.
Amazon and Google have been dominating the smart home, especially smart speakers industry for a while now. Thanks to the affordable Google Home Mini and Amazon Acho Dot, it has become easier to enter the smart home ecosystem. Lenovo and Google unveiled a new smart home product, a smart display with built-in Google Assistant. Similar to the Amazon Echo Show, this new smart display from Lenovo does everything a smart speaker can do, with a display.
Also, unlike the Echo Show, it can playback YouTube videos. This smart display doesn’t run on Android or ChromeOS instead, it is running Android Things, a variant of Android that’s custom-designed for IoT. Apart from Lenovo, JBL, LG, and Sony will also be making smart displays with built-in Google Assistant running the same software.
JBL Link View With Google Assitant
Google showcased a small video revealing the capabilities of these smart displays. Google Assistant on smart displays can do a lot of tasks that the Echo Show does as well, like show you photos and calendar, give directions, recipes, and do video conferencing. This will all be handy if you are a Google Services user and part of the whole Google/Android ecosystem.
While third-party app support is on the way, the Lenovo smart displays won’t be available right away. The 10-inch Lenovo Smart Display starts at US $249.99 and the 8-inch model starts at US $199.99, and both are expected to be available early this summer.
Dual cameras, a trend that started in 2016 in flagship phones trickled down to budget smartphones in 2017. From the iPhone 7 Plus in 2016 to Lenovo K8 Plus in 2017, the trend of dual-camera smartphones is here to stay and has become a norm for a top-performing budget Android device. In a sea of budget smartphones with identical specifications and price, which dual-camera phone should you buy this holiday season? iGyaan brings you its pick for the best budget dual-camera phones you can buy right now:
Xiaomi Mi A1
One of the best budget phones to be launched in 2017, the Mi A1 combines Xiaomi’s hardware and Google’s stock Android OS in this perfectly priced budget phone.
The smartphone has a 5.5 inch 1920 x 1080 px display with Corning Gorilla Glass on top for protection and metal unibody build.
The phone has the Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 chipset, 2.0GHz octa-core processor, 4GB RAM and 64GB of onboard storage which is expandable via microSD card. Handling the graphics under the hood is the Adreno 505 GPU. The pyrolytic graphite sheet will help in heat management as well, Xiaomi claims. The Xiaomi Mi A1 has an IR blaster to control appliances in your home or office. Powering the device is a 3,080 mAh battery and fast charging through the Type C port
The fingerprint sensor sits at the back of the device below the camera. Xiaomi has also included a dedicated headphone amplifier for better music listening experience.
The Mi A1 runs pure Android 7.1.2 Nougat OS and thanks to Android One program, the Mi A1 will get software to Android 8.0 Oreo and Android P as well.
It’s worth noting that despite the stock Android OS, Xiaomi has still introduced a few apps of its own like the Mi Camera app, since Google’s app doesn’t support dual-camera right now. Other apps like the Mi Remote and the Mi Store are also present in the Xiaomi Mi A1.
In terms of optics, the smartphone features a 12MP dual-camera setup with 1.25-micron pixel size. Out of the two cameras at the back, the primary one is equipped with a telephoto lens and the secondary camera has a wide-angle lens. The telephoto lens allows the user to take bokeh effect shots with blurred background and a 2X optical lossless zoom. For landscape shots, Xiaomi has introduced a wide angle lens while on the front is a 5MP camera.
Moto G5s Plus
Successor to one of the best budget camera smartphones the Moto G5 Plus, Moto G5s Plus was launched close to the Xiaomi Mi A1 and carries an identical price tag as well.
The Moto G5S Plus has a 5.5 inch 1920 x 1080 px display with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 on top for protection.
The smartphone has the Qualcomm 625 chipset, an octa-core processor clocked at 2.0 GHz with 4GB RAM and 64GB of onboard storage which can be expanded up to 128GB via a microSD card. The fingerprint sensor is housed inside the home button which sits below the display. The device is powered by a 3,000 mAh battery with included turbo charge capabilities.
The Moto G5S Plus runs Android 7.1.1 Nougat with little customisation done by the manufacturer resulting in stock Android OS experience.
The Moto G5S Plus features rear-mounted 13MP dual-cameras with an f/2.0 aperture. The dual camera captures Bokeh, and selective focus shots, along with other capabilities of background replacement and exposure management. On the front is a wide angle 8MP camera with a single LED flash and a panoramic mode. The rear cameras capture videos in 4K at 30 FPS and the front camera records videos in 1080P at 30 FPS. According to Motorola, additional features such as Night Display and Quick Reply enhance the software experience. The implementation of the dual-camera setup on the Moto G5S Plus is different than that on the Mi A1.
Lenovo K8 Note
The Lenovo K8 Note features a 5.5-inch 1920 x 1080 px display with a pixel density of 441ppi and a Corning Gorilla Glass with oleophobic coating for scratch and smudge resistance.
The K8 Note is also splash resistant due to its P2i coating, although the resistance might decrease with time due to wear and tear of the nano coating. The fingerprint sensor sits at the back of the device under the cameras.
The Lenovo K8 Note is run on a MediaTek MT 6797D Helio X23 a Tri-cluster, 64-bit chipset with a 2.3 GHz high-performing deca-core processor and the Mali T-880 MP4 GPU. The device has either a 3GB or 4GB RAM and 32GB or 64GB onboard storage which is expandable via a microSD card.
The Lenovo K8 Note has a 13M Pure cell sensor mated with a 5MP Samsung BSI sensor dual camera setup and dual LED flash at the back. The phone is capable of depth mode effects along with 1920 x 1080 px Video capture. A 13MP camera with LED flash and an f/2.0 aperture sits on the front of the device above the display. The camera UI will also feature a stock Android layout with no customisation offered by Lenovo apart from the depth mode.
Honor 9i
The Honor 9i has a 5.9-inch 2160 x 1080px display with an 18:9 aspect ratio.
It also has Huawei’s in-house octa-core Kirin 659 chipset, octa-core 2.36 GHz processor, along with 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB onboard storage. Powering the device is a 3340 mAh battery which charges via a micro USB port.
The device runs Android 7.0 Nougat out of the box with Huawei’s EMUI 5.1 skin on top
This is the only smartphone on this list which has four cameras. The rear of the phone contains a 16 MP main sensor and a 2 MP secondary sensor, while the front has a 13 MP camera and another 2 MP secondary sensor. A fingerprint sensor is placed at the back of the phone since the phone has thin bezels and no physical button at the front of the phone.
Dual cameras, a trend that started in 2016 in flagship phones trickled down to budget smartphones in 2017. From the iPhone 7 Plus in 2016 to Lenovo K8 Plus in 2017, the trend of dual-camera smartphones is here to stay and has become a norm for a top-performing budget Android device. In a sea of budget smartphones with identical specifications and price, which dual-camera phone should you buy this holiday season? iGyaan brings you its pick for the best budget dual-camera phones you can buy right now:
Xiaomi Mi A1
One of the best budget phones to be launched in 2017, the Mi A1 combines Xiaomi’s hardware and Google’s stock Android OS in this perfectly priced budget phone.
The smartphone has a 5.5 inch 1920 x 1080 px display with Corning Gorilla Glass on top for protection and metal unibody build.
The phone has the Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 chipset, 2.0GHz octa-core processor, 4GB RAM and 64GB of onboard storage which is expandable via microSD card. Handling the graphics under the hood is the Adreno 505 GPU. The pyrolytic graphite sheet will help in heat management as well, Xiaomi claims. The Xiaomi Mi A1 has an IR blaster to control appliances in your home or office. Powering the device is a 3,080 mAh battery and fast charging through the Type C port
The fingerprint sensor sits at the back of the device below the camera. Xiaomi has also included a dedicated headphone amplifier for better music listening experience.
The Mi A1 runs pure Android 7.1.2 Nougat OS and thanks to Android One program, the Mi A1 will get software to Android 8.0 Oreo and Android P as well.
It’s worth noting that despite the stock Android OS, Xiaomi has still introduced a few apps of its own like the Mi Camera app, since Google’s app doesn’t support dual-camera right now. Other apps like the Mi Remote and the Mi Store are also present in the Xiaomi Mi A1.
In terms of optics, the smartphone features a 12MP dual-camera setup with 1.25-micron pixel size. Out of the two cameras at the back, the primary one is equipped with a telephoto lens and the secondary camera has a wide-angle lens. The telephoto lens allows the user to take bokeh effect shots with blurred background and a 2X optical lossless zoom. For landscape shots, Xiaomi has introduced a wide angle lens while on the front is a 5MP camera.
Moto G5s Plus
Successor to one of the best budget camera smartphones the Moto G5 Plus, Moto G5s Plus was launched close to the Xiaomi Mi A1 and carries an identical price tag as well.
The Moto G5S Plus has a 5.5 inch 1920 x 1080 px display with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 on top for protection.
The smartphone has the Qualcomm 625 chipset, an octa-core processor clocked at 2.0 GHz with 4GB RAM and 64GB of onboard storage which can be expanded up to 128GB via a microSD card. The fingerprint sensor is housed inside the home button which sits below the display. The device is powered by a 3,000 mAh battery with included turbo charge capabilities.
The Moto G5S Plus runs Android 7.1.1 Nougat with little customisation done by the manufacturer resulting in stock Android OS experience.
The Moto G5S Plus features rear-mounted 13MP dual-cameras with an f/2.0 aperture. The dual camera captures Bokeh, and selective focus shots, along with other capabilities of background replacement and exposure management. On the front is a wide angle 8MP camera with a single LED flash and a panoramic mode. The rear cameras capture videos in 4K at 30 FPS and the front camera records videos in 1080P at 30 FPS. According to Motorola, additional features such as Night Display and Quick Reply enhance the software experience. The implementation of the dual-camera setup on the Moto G5S Plus is different than that on the Mi A1.
Lenovo K8 Note
The Lenovo K8 Note features a 5.5-inch 1920 x 1080 px display with a pixel density of 441ppi and a Corning Gorilla Glass with oleophobic coating for scratch and smudge resistance.
The K8 Note is also splash resistant due to its P2i coating, although the resistance might decrease with time due to wear and tear of the nano coating. The fingerprint sensor sits at the back of the device under the cameras.
The Lenovo K8 Note is run on a MediaTek MT 6797D Helio X23 a Tri-cluster, 64-bit chipset with a 2.3 GHz high-performing deca-core processor and the Mali T-880 MP4 GPU. The device has either a 3GB or 4GB RAM and 32GB or 64GB onboard storage which is expandable via a microSD card.
The Lenovo K8 Note has a 13M Pure cell sensor mated with a 5MP Samsung BSI sensor dual camera setup and dual LED flash at the back. The phone is capable of depth mode effects along with 1920 x 1080 px Video capture. A 13MP camera with LED flash and an f/2.0 aperture sits on the front of the device above the display. The camera UI will also feature a stock Android layout with no customisation offered by Lenovo apart from the depth mode.
Honor 9i
The Honor 9i has a 5.9-inch 2160 x 1080px display with an 18:9 aspect ratio.
It also has Huawei’s in-house octa-core Kirin 659 chipset, octa-core 2.36 GHz processor, along with 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB onboard storage. Powering the device is a 3340 mAh battery which charges via a micro USB port.
The device runs Android 7.0 Nougat out of the box with Huawei’s EMUI 5.1 skin on top
This is the only smartphone on this list which has four cameras. The rear of the phone contains a 16 MP main sensor and a 2 MP secondary sensor, while the front has a 13 MP camera and another 2 MP secondary sensor. A fingerprint sensor is placed at the back of the phone since the phone has thin bezels and no physical button at the front of the phone.
Lenovo has continued its efforts of consistently launching tablets with two new additions of the Tab 7 and Tab 7 Essential. While the Tab 7 is priced at US $99.99 (Rs 6500 approx.), the Tab 7 Essential is priced even lower at US $79.99 (Rs 5200 approx.).
The Tab 7 has a 7-inch IPS LCD display with a 1280 x 720 px resolution.
Under the hood, the budget tablet has the MediaTek MT8161 chipset, 1.3GHz quad-core processor, 1GB of RAM and 16GB of onboard storage which can be expanded via microSD card. Lenovo has not mentioned the exact battery capacity of the tablet but, it does claim up to 15 hours of usage time.
Lenovo Tab 7
The Tab 7 runs Android 7 Nougat.
The tablet has a rear-facing 2MP camera and a front facing 5MP camera.
The Tab 7 Essential has a 7 inch IPS LCD display with a 1024 x 600 px resolution.
Under the hood, the Tab 7 Essential packs a MediaTek MT8167D, quad-core processor, 1GB of RAM and 16GB of onboard storage. Lenovo has not mentioned the exact battery capacity of the tablet but, it does claim up to 20 hours of usage time.
Just like the Tab 7, the Tab 7 Essential also runs Android 7 Nougat.
The tablet has a rear-facing 2MP camera and a front facing 2MP camera.
Smartphones in today’s day and age have become accessible to everyone because of their cheap price tag without compromising a lot on features. A few years ago what was only available on a premium smartphone has now made its way into the ‘budget category’. As Xiaomi launched the Redmi Y1 at a starting price of Rs 8999, it entered that segment of the market which is already overflowing with different phones from different companies. Let’s stack up four of the best offerings, Redmi Y1, Moto G5, Lenovo K8 Plus and Micromax Infinity from this price range and see which one comes out on top:
Xiaomi Redmi Y1
The Xiaomi Redmi Y1 was launched in India as a part of a new lineup that focuses on selfies. The Redmi Y1 has a 5.5 inch IPS LCD display with a 1280 x 720 px resolution. In a lot of ways, it is an updated variant of the Redmi 4, which is also priced at Rs 8999 with the same chipset and RAM/storage configuration.
Where the Xiaomi Redmi Y1 supposedly excels is the camera department and specifically, the front camera. On the front of the phone is a 16MP camera with an f/2.0 aperture. Xiaomi claims that the software processing and beautify mode will result “in your best selfie ever.” The rear-mounted 13MP camera with PDAF and LED flash.
Moto G5
Lenovo-owned Motorola launched the Moto G5 along with the Moto G5 Plus in India in February 2017. Even though in August, Moto G5s and Moto G5s Plus were launched as an incremental upgrade, the Moto G5 at a price of Rs 10500 is a great option. With stock Android OS, and a more than capable Snapdragon 425 chipset, the Moto G5 fits the bill for a lot of consumers.
For the Moto G5 as well, the camera has been the highlight. The Moto G5 has a 13MP f/2.0 camera with phase detect autofocus with a 5 MP front camera.
Micromax Infinity
A phone made for people who prefer design over everything else, the Micromax Infinity offers a display with an 18:9 aspect ratio. The Micromax Infinity has a 5.7 inch IPS LCD display with a 1440 x 720 px display. Similar to the Moto G5, the Micromax Infinity also has the Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 chipset, 3GB RAM and 32GB onboard storage which can be expanded via microSD card.
It has a 16MP front camera and a 13MP rear camera with auto scene detection, bokeh effect, super pixel and panorama.
Lenovo K8 Plus
The Lenovo K8 Plus is the only phone in this list that has a dual-camera setup at the back. It has a 5.2 inch IPS LCD display with a 1920 x 1080 px resolution. The Lenovo K8 Plus runs stock Android 7.1 Nougat and Lenovo has promised an update to Android 8.0 Oreo by early 2018.
The Lenovo K8 Plus sports a vertically placed dual-camera setup at the back. It has a primary 13MP Pure cell sensor mated with a 5MP Samsung BSI sensor dual camera with an f/2.0 aperture and dual LED flash. The smartphone is capable of depth effect shots, bokeh effect shots, and dual ISP images. On the front is an 8MP wide angle lens with an f/2.0 and an LED flash.
Lenovo K8 series owners will be happy to hear that Lenovo has officially announce update plans for the devices to receive Android 8.0 Oreo update. The excitement ends there as the timeline for these updates is a long time away.
The timeline has been announced by Lenovo, and the K8 series is expected to get the update June-July 2018 during which time Google should be announcing Android 9.0.
The K8 will be the first of the series to get Android Oreo according to the company’s post, which will roll out in June of 2018, while the K8 Note and K8 Plus are slated for an update in July of 2018.
The Lenovo K8 Note was launched in August for a price of Rs. 13999 while the K8 and K8 plus saw subsequent launches. The K8 Plus remains a flipkart exclusive while the other two handsets are on sale on Amazon.in
While most companies are pushing updates in a timely manner, and Xiaomi has set an end of the year timeline for their Mi A1 and Mi Mix 2, The company is yet to roll out any updates to the Mi Mix original which is still on MiUI 8.
The Update will be available as an OTA update to devices and will be rolled out across eligible Lenovo K8 / plus/ note devices at the same time.
