Lenovo K8 review – Price, specs and more

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There are smartphones raining loaded with super specifications along with a budget price in the smartphone market. Almost all companies have focused their attention on capturing the price segment of around Rs 20,000. Joining the race is the latest Lenovo K8 Note. This smartphone is close to perfect for those customers for whom entertainment is the top priority and they also don’t want to compromise with the performance and camera quality. The Lenovo K8 Note comes with two rear cameras on the back side. Since the launch of the iPhone 7 Plus last year, this feature has become very popular with Android smartphone makers. There are already two Android smartphones in the Indian smartphone market with two rear cameras. These include Coolpad Cool 1 Dual (review), OnePlus 5 and Honor 6X. Let us find out what Lenovo’s 8 notes offers compared to its competitors.

Since Motorola has taken over Lenovo, its position in the Indian smartphone market has risen significantly.  Reports from the industry indicate that the company is one of the top 5 smartphone maker companies in India. While launching the 8th Note in India, the makers also claimed that it has so far managed to sell 8.5 million handsets of K-Series in India.

With Lenovo K8 Note, the company has taken a new step towards the stock android experience while doing away with the old UI Wii Pure UI. While overall specifications look good on paper it might still face stiff competition in the market. Let us check out whether it has what it takes to out do its competitors.

LENOVO K8 NOTE DESIGN

The outer body of Lenovo K8 Note is made of metal which gives it a strong feel. The Aluminium 6000 allows it a premium look. Without a doubt, it is one of the better-looking smartphones in its price segment. However, its design will remind you of  Redmi Note 4 over and over again. The protection of the 2.5 de Corning Gorilla Glass on the front panel is present. Lenovo has used anti fingerprint coating on the screen. This means that you will not have to worry about removing your fingerprints repeatedly.

Lenovo K8 Note comes with capacitive buttons on the front panel but they are not backlit therefore you could feel a little bit of trouble while using them in the dark. Front camera comes with LED flash. Lenovo says that they have provided this feature owing to its increasing demands in the recent times. The are two rear cameras also present again which is a trend smartphone companies are following in the recent times.

You will find fingerprint sensor below the camera and you can access it with ease. The same can be said about physical buttons such as power and volume buttons.

The familiar antenna band is on the back of the handset. The color of the band effortlessly blends with the color of the phone. The Lenovo K8 Note available in Fine Gold and Venom Black Color.

The music button is on the left panel and you can customize it for other purposes by going to user settings. It can be used to play audio/video play/pause, flashlight on / off, camera app launch, screenshot capture or to open a particular app. The music button has been given red color which gives it a different look. The company has provided different slots for two SIM cards and MicroSD cards. Micro-USB port is located at the bottom. Speaker grill is on both sides of it. Regrettably, there is only one functional speaker. But this phone has Dolby Atomas audio enhancement. The second grill is just for show, like the other budget phone. Top 3.5 mm audio jack is on top.

We did not face any trouble while using Lenovo K8 note with one hand. Its dimension is 154.5×75.9×8.5mm and it fits easily in the palm owing to its curve. Its weight is 180 grams which might feel a bit heavy as other smartphones in this category are slightly lighter. It also offers protection from small water drops.

Lenovo K8 note’s design is much better than Lenovo’s 6 note. In the box, you will find a transparent plastic cover, USB cable, 15 Watt Rapid Charger, SIM Ejector and instructions manual. It is the company’s first smartphone which comes with a Rapid Charger. However, you will not get any earphones and you will feel disappointed with it.

SPECIFICATIONS AND SOFTWARE

The Lenovo K8 Note has a 5.5-inch full-HD (1080×1920 pixels) display. It uses Deca-Core MediaTech Helio X23 (MT 6797) chipset. The 8 note has been introduced in India in two storage and RAM variants: 3 GB RAM and 32 GB and 4 GB RAM and 64 GB storage.  You can use microSD card up to 128 GB.

Lenovo has felicitously praised its 8-note smartphone’s dual rear camera. On the back side, there is a 13-megapixel primary camera. It has a 5-megapixel depth sensor, for the Bokeh effect. A 13-megapixel sensor has been given on the front panel for selfie lovers. The battery is 4000 mAh and this phone supports rapid charging. Lenovo’s 8 note comes with 4G VoLTE support. Other connectivity features include Wi-Fi 802.11 AC and Bluetooth 4.1.

Lenovo has made significant changes in the software department. All Lenovo featured smartphones will run on out of box stock Android. Lenovo K8 note is based on Android 7.1.1 Nougat.

Android 7.1.1 Nougat means that now the customers will get Lenovo’s app like the 3D touch-like shortcut technology in this smartphone. Lenovo K8 note users will now be able to perform a different kind of function by pressing an app for some time. Lenovo has assured that they will provide updates regularly in the coming time. Android Nougat keyboard has a key feature like GIFF support. Features like Split Screen and Google Assistant will also be available.

Users will also get pre-installed Google apps like Duo, Play Music and Play Movies. The phone comes with Microsoft Word, Axle and PowerPoint which can be removed. The interface is Smooth. Even when using many apps, the phone did not show any signs of slowing down.

PERFORMANCE

We enjoyed using Lenovo K8 Note while stock Android is a welcome change. There were more than 10 apps running in the background, but the performance did not slow down even for a bit. K8 has two variants of note, but we would recommend that you buy a variant of 4 GB RAM.

We found that the phone gets heated very soon. If the camera app remains open for some time or the GPS navigation goes for a while, then you can feel the phone’s warmness. Something similar happened while playing the game. During the gaming session for 20 minutes in a row, the phone got quite heated.

Leaving the heat issue aside, the gaming experience on Lenovo K8 note was awesome. The games with heavy graphics went smooth and did not cause any trouble. The call quality is quite good too. The phone works well in areas with weak network too. The speakers are audible enough but don’t expect too much from them.

Due to Decca-Core processors, the phone gave good results in the benchmark test. Lenovo K8 note’s benchmark scores are better than other handsets in this price range. The 5.5-inch screen has a resolution of 1080×1920 pixels. It is crisp and bright enough. Viewing angles are also fine and the sunlight does not have trouble reading on the screen. About Lenovo’s 8 note display, we would say that this is the best display in any Lenovo handset of this price range. Our experience of watching the video on Lenovo’s 8 notes and playing the game has been great.

CAMERA

The camera of Lenovo K8 note is much improved compared to note 6. It has a 13-megapixel PureCel sensor and a 5 megapixel Samsung BSI sensor. The primary 13-megapixel censor captures the photos. At the same time, 5-megapixel sensor responsibility is to raise depth of field information. The company has kept the camera app simple and you won’t get too much-customizing options in it.

You can choose either Normal mode or Depth of Enabled mode. Photographs taken in the Normal mode were full of details. These clicks had natural colors and very less noise. Its focus is very fast and accurate.

Landscape and macros shot too well In our view, compared to the other smartphones in this category, its camera had more detail in the pictures taken in the outdoors.

Photos taken in low light came with a lot of noise, especially when the light was diminished around. We tried to use the camera app for the landscape shot at night. The results were washed out. There was a clear lack of detail in the indoor sample.

The 13-megapixel front camera works well with the selfie. The LED Flash proved its usefulness. Beauty mode helped to improve the shot. The front camera captured color tone. And there was no complaint about the details.

BATTERY

The 4000 mAh battery lasted about 20 hours. Many apps like Whatsapp, Facebook, Gmail, Google map etc. were constantly running in the background. We used the cameras a lot along with long gaming sessions. The battery can last for a whole day if you reduce the usage time of the smartphone. In this department, Redmi note 4 is better than it.

OUR VERDICT

Lenovo’s 8 note starts at Rs 12,999. This price will get a variant of 3 GB RAM. For the variants (4GB RAM) we have reviewed, you have to spend Rs 13,999. At this price, Lenovo’s 8 notes are an all-round handset. You will find stock Android, two rear cameras, theater max and magnet build quality. However, there are some drawbacks too. Battery life is not the best in this segment. The heating of the phone makes trouble. Camera performance in low light is also less than expected. Good thing that the dual rear camera works well.

Lenovo’s 8 notes for Lenovo’s fans are a big upgrade compared to Lenovo’s 6 notes. This smartphone is definitely value for money.

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