There was a phase when Lenovo used to rule the smartphone market in the budget segment. If you are a tech enthusiast then you may have noticed that the brand is silent for a while. Even their sub-brand Motorola seems to be quite active in the market. The brand has recently unveiled its new budget-oriented smartphone in the Indian market termed as the Lenovo K9. The smartphone appears to quite ahead of its competition on paper. So in our today’s story, we will be sharing our review of the Lenovo K9.
When it comes to pricing the new Lenovo K9 stands against other Chinese players including Realme 2, Redmi 6, Huawei Honor 9N, etc. As its name suggests it is the successor to the old Lenovo K8 smartphone. We are surprised to know this time instead of stepping in the above 10K market Lenovo has opted to launch their device in the budget segment. The major highlight of this handset is that irrespective of being a budget device it still offer 4 cameras in total which is indigestible. So let’s dive a little deep to know more about it.
Design and Display
When it comes to design segment the device looks way more expensive than its actual cost. Lenovo has provided a glass sandwich design which is mostly seen in premium devices. Being a glass device it attracts fingerprints very quickly. The device feels quite slim at 8mm and the glass in the rear is slightly curved at the edges which make the device easy to hold. In the front, the smartphone offers a 5.7(inch) HD+ IPS LCD Display with a resolution of 1440 x 720 pixels. The aspect ratio of the display is 18:9 which makes it look even more expensive. The display performance is great on the device, however, the auto brightness feature is annoying. All multimedia stuff including images, videos feels crisp and colors are vivid too.
Camera
One major highlight of the Lenovo K9 is its quad camera setup. Lenovo is offering a Dual-Camera setup in the rear as well as in the front. In the rear, you are getting a 13MP+5MP Dual-Camera setup and a similar 13MP+5MP snappers can be seen in the front as well. The main 13MP sensor has an Aperture of f/2.2 while the secondary depth sensor comes with an Aperture of f/2.4. Both front and rear setups are capable of capturing depth rich shots. In ample lighting conditions, both front and rear snapper delivers great results. As expected from a budget device, Lenovo K9 struggles to capture details in low lighting conditions and indoors. As mentioned above both front and rear camera setups are identical which means you will be getting some quality shots from either setup.
Performance and Software
The device comes powered by a MediaTek Helio P22(MT6762) Octa-Core processor coupled with a PowerVR GE8320 GPU for Gaming. The devices come in only one variant i-e with 3GB RAM+32GB ROM. In day to day tasks the smartphone delivers satisfactory results, however, we’ve faced lags in opening apps. The device is not meant for high-end gaming as in our test the device can’t even run the PUBG title in low graphics smoothly. Games like Asphalt 9 Legends are playable but expect frequent frame drops from the device. Lenovo K9 comes with Android 8.1 Oreo out of the box which is appreciable for a budget segment device. Lenovo does provide a number of apps and games preloaded though they can be easily removed through the settings menu. Lenovo’s custom UI also offers a number of new features including off-screen gestures and more.
Battery and Connectivity
Lenovo K9 runs on a mediocre 3000mAh battery. The most surprising fact is that Lenovo has shipped this device with a USB Type-C port for charging. This tech is not even available on the devices that cost even higher than it. The battery will get you through a day hardly and in our test which includes a little bit of gaming and day to day tasks we have to plug-in the charger. For connectivity, the device offers all essential features including Wi-Fi, GPS, FM Radio, Dual-SIM compatibility, etc. The device possesses a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner which is there to secure your device.
Verdict
Lenovo K9 is available in the market for a price tag of INR 8,999. Out of the box, a user will be getting the device itself, a charger and a TPU case. The device looks great and has a good display panel, however, in the performance department it fails to impress us. Increasing your budget slightly will allow you to acquire a far better device than this. The handset comes in two color options: Blue and Black, it is available through Flipkart.
