Lenovo is one of the most trusted smartphone brands around the globe. It has managed to turn its consumers into fans of its products by offering them unique elements in each of company's devices.
Lenovo K8 Plus is yet another offering from the world's third-largest smartphone manufacturer which offers users a dedicated music key coupled with Dolby Atmos app, a great feature for music lovers.
The smartphone also boasts 4GB of RAM coupled with MediaTek MT6757 processor which makes it the best buy device for performance enthusiasts. Priced at Rs. 10,999, Lenovo K8 Plus sounds too good to be true, but as we all know, specifications do not always tell the entire story. So let's find out how good or bad is Lenovo K8 Plus as an everyday device.
Specifications: 4GB Ram for 12k!
The Lenovo K8 Plus is powered by MediaTek MT6757 octa-core processor. The device gets 3GB and 4GB RAM variations and has a 32GB inbuilt storage. MicroSD card support enables you to expand memory to 128GB. The smartphone has 5.2 inch IPS LCD display with 1080x1920 pixels of resolution. It also gets Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection.
On the camera front, the K8 Plus has a 13MP +5MP dual rear camera setup with dual tone LED flash and an 8MP front snapper with a single LED flash as well. The smartphone boasts Android Nougat 7.1.1 accompanied by a stock Android UI. It gets 4,000mAh battery to last through the day.
The smartphone comes in two colors viz. Venom Black and Fine Gold.
The specifications of the smartphone are quite up to the mark. Since it has been priced at Rs. 10,999 users would expect to get the most of their money's worth. On the specification front, Lenovo K8 Plus certainly looks promising enough. Moreover, the dual rear camera is something not quite frequently found on a lot of smartphones in the price segment.
Design: Metal unibody with a matte rear panel!
The front panel of Lenovo K8 Plus has a shiny look. The display seems to be acquiring a handsome amount of space on the front panel. However, it's not until you turn on the display that you'll notice that the side edges run quite deep into the screen. Never the less, it is nothing too unnatural.
It has three touch sensitive buttons viz, home button, back button and multitasking button as the base. Whereas, the top of the front panel is acquired by earpiece in the center with secondary snapper and LED flash on either side of it at a proportionate distance.
The rear panel has the primary dual camera setup in the top center accompanied by the rear dual tone flash on the right side of the camera. Both the cameras are behind the same elliptical covering. The fingerprint sensor rests right below the cameras. The 'Lenovo' logo is placed close to the base and is not too bold.
Micro USB 2.0 port rests on the bottom edge center surrounded by the speaker grills on both the sides. The 3.5mm audio jack is positioned at the top edge. The right side edge has volume rockers and power toggle whereas the left side edge houses a dedicated music key to play and pause the music.
The antennae bands on the rear panel add up to the aesthetics of the device. The device has a decent design and although it is not a stunner it certainly is appreciated by one and all for its simple yet elegant features.
The smartphone has a standard form factor, however, the increased weight of the device makes it a task to operate with a single hand. Users will certainly have to get used to its mass.
Camera: A simple camera!
Lenovo K8 Plus has a 13MP+5MP rear camera setup. The presence of the dual camera setup certainly drives in consumers who wish to get additional bokeh effect in their pictures. Well, you do not necessarily need a dual camera setup for the bokeh effects developed by smartphone cameras. The effect is generated artificially through software. None the less, the bokeh effect generated by Lenovo K8 Plus is quite impressive; however, it took me a considerable amount of time to focus on the object.
The image quality of pictures captured using rear camera is not too impressive. The pictures lack an ample exposure. Pictures clicked indoors are better in quality as compared to pictures clicked in bright daylight. They have a natural tone which is clearly lost in hard light.
Lenovo K8 Plus fails to compete with the picture quality offered by competitors and if that wasn't enough the camera app further is too simple for a dual camera setup. Well, to begin with, there is no filter of any sort for the rear camera. None at all! It has no additional feature whatsoever. I have reviewed several smartphones in the sub 10k price segment and almost all of them offer time lapse, no matter how outdated the camera app is. One of the major problems of the camera includes the shutter lag which simply is unbearable. Lenovo K8 Plus fails badly when it comes to the rear camera. It captures videos at 1080p at 30 fps.
The front camera does offer a beauty mode, however, the image quality is simply too rigid for selfie lovers to actually like it.
Well to sum it up, the camera is not the strongest feat of the Lenovo K8 Plus.
Performance: Power packed!
The MediaTek MT6757 octa-core processor on the smartphone is clocked to 2.5Ghz. It is coupled with 4GB of RAM to handle multitasking smoothly, however; it is capable of more than that. The MediaTek MT6757 processor coupled with Mali-T880 MP2 GPU makes the smartphone a great budget gaming device. The performance of the smartphone isn't glitch-free, but it isn't slow either
Operating System and UI: Android Nougat with no more Vibe UI!
The smartphone runs Android Nougat 7.1.1 which is not a big deal given the market scenario where every smartphone is coming out with the Android version.
Now that Lenovo is done with the Vibe UI, it has retained a stock version UI on the K8 Plus. There are a few elements that are quite different from most of the Android devices such as the swipe up gesture for bringing up the apps menu. The control center is left untouched and it's quite clean for that matter.
Display and Speakers: Dolby Atmos, need I say more!
The display on the smartphone is 5.2-inch IPS LCD with 1080X1920 pixels of resolution. This makes the screen sharp enough however when compared to some mid-range smartphones the quality seems to be quite solid. The display is undoubtedly sharp and offers details but videos loose the natural vibrancy.
The display is amply saturated and offers good exposure. The daylight performance of the device is pretty impressive and the viewing angles are also quite alright.
The speakers on the K8 Plus are most probably the best part of the device. They are loud and still manage to retain quality even when they are blown off at full volume. The Dolby Atmos enhancement further gives the device an edge over its competitors. The Dolby app on the smartphone gives users an additional option to customize the sound output with several equalizers presets. The Dolby app is also one of the features never seen before on a device in the price segment.
The smartphone will be loved by music lovers and movie buffs alike.
Battery life: 4,000mAh, enough to last round the clock!
The Lenovo K8 Plus boasts a 4,000 mAh battery which easily lasts 24 hours. Under normal usage circumstance the smartphone survives approximately 25 hours whereas a well tested usage brings down the battery life to 20 hours which is still impressive. The charging time of Lenovo K8 Plus is more than any of the competitors in the price segment. It takes close to three hours to completely juice up but in its defense the smartphone has a big battery that lasts really long.
Conclusion: Solid battery and Audio performance
Lenovo K8 Plus has a dependable battery which is also one of its strongest selling points. People on the go can definitely rely on the smartphone. The mobile phone also fares well against its competitors in terms of performance capabilities such as processing and multitasking.
Lenovo K8 Plus can also find customers amongst the lot that enjoys entertainment on the smartphone itself with Dolby Atmos adding up to its USP. However, Lenovo K 8 Plus is not a gizmo for smartphone photography lovers.
Now that you know the goods and bads of the Lenovo K8 Plus, you may want to keep an eye out for devices that are being offered for attractive price in the festive season. If you care about battery, audio multitasking, processing and software performance in budget price-point, K8 Plus will not disappoint you.
