Lenovo K8 Plus: The Best Mid-Ranger With Dual Cameras

Lenovo K8 Plus has been launched in India with a price tag of Rs 10,999 and after launching the K8 Note, which was the perfect answer to the Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 challenge, this is another attempt by the company to completely dominate the mid-budget segment.

While the Lenovo K8 Plus doesn’t feature all the performance capabilities of the K8 Note, it still manages to look like its sibling, thanks to the metal unibody, and even comes with a dual camera setup.

Moreover, Lenovo is also looking to begin a new era for the company itself, as all its recent launches have ditched the heavy and bloated Vibe UI while opting for the Stock Android experience, which is never a bad thing.

That being said, Lenovo K8 Plus is somewhat of an amendment to the K8 Note that despite being one hell of a mid-budget package, fell short of battery life, heating problems and a little shaky camera. However, with the likes of Xiaomi Redmi Note 4, Nokia 5, Moto G5 and Micromax Canvas Infinity waiting to bite at the right spot, will the Lenovo K8 Plus make a difference in the current standings? Let’s see!!

Lenovo K8 Plus Specifications

• 5.2-inch (1920 x 1080) Full HD IPS 2.5D curved glass display with Oleophobic Coating for fingerprint smudges resistance, 450 nits brightness and Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection, offering 432 ppi.

• 2.6GHz Octa-core MediaTek Helio P25 16nm SoC coupled with Mali-T880 GPU

• 3GB RAM and 32GB internal storage, expandable up to 128GB with microSD.

• Android 7.1.1 (Nougat) out of the box, upgradable to Android 8.0 (Oreo)

• Dual SIM 13MP rear camera with f/2.0 aperture, Largan 5P lens, dual-tone LED Flash and a secondary 5MP camera for depth sensing.

• 8MP front-facing camera with f/2.0 aperture, LED flash and 84-degree wide-angle lens.

• Fingerprint sensor at the rear

• 3.5mm audio jack, FM Radio and Dolby Atmos

• 4000mAh built-in battery with Quick Charge support.

• 4G VoLTE, Bluetooth 4.2, Wi-Fi 802.11 ac (2.4GHz/5GHz), GPS and USB OTG.

• Lenovo K8 Plus Dimensions: 147.9 x 73.7 x 8.99mm; Weight: 165g

What we liked about Lenovo K8 Plus

• The metal unibody adds to its appeal while the curved edges make Lenovo K8 Plus easy to handle and operate with one hand.

• There is a separate microSD card slot so users won’t have to choose between multiple SIMs or expandable memory.

• Pure Android Experience

• Dolby Atmos makes the audio experience even better.

• The 5.2-inch is brighter than most of its competitors and offers great viewing angles as well as color production.

• The presence of a dual-camera setup at the rear itself is a welcome change but when it comes to performance, it is also the one to beat. Considering the mid-ranger tag, users will be pleased to see that the pictures come out sharp and there is just a little noise.

• Bokeh Effect was a rarity at this price before the launch of Lenovo K8 Plus.

• The front camera does the job of capturing the perfect selfies thanks to the wide angle lens and Party Flash.

• As for performance speakers, the Helio P25 chipset does a great work by offering multitasking abilities to the users and eliminating frame drops or lags while heavy usage.

What we didn’t like about Lenovo K8 Plus

• It does not support NFC connectivity.

• No support for 4K Videos.

• Users will need utmost precision to work around the cameras as there is no Optimal Image Stabilisation.

• The design seems a little old as there is nothing new in the metal unibody except for the Music Key.

• A Snapdragon chipset could have been a better option, taking nothing away from the Helio P25.

Verdict

Lenovo K8 Plus feels like true champions and the dual camera setup coupled with Stock Android experience is a first in this segment at a price tag of Rs 10,999. Having said that, one should not compare the lenses to that of Honor 8 Pro or OnePlus 5’s as Lenovo K8 Plus is just a better product than its single-camera competition.

However, when it comes to standing out, we have the recently launched Xiaomi Mi A1 that has defined the combination of dual-cameras and Stock Android but Lenovo K8 Plus is just the tried and tested workhorse that now comes with some added bells and whistles.

While buying the Lenovo K8 Plus could be the safest bet considering its performance and multi media potentials, when it comes to excitement, we have seen better.