Lenovo K8 Review: An Attempt At ‘No Nonsense’ Budget Smartphone

Lenovo K8 has been launched in India with a price tag of Rs 10,499 and the smartphone is the first one from the K8, which includes, K8 Note and K8 Plus, to be available via offline retail channels. The fact that users can visit their nearby retailer to buy the Lenovo K8, alone prove that the US-Based smartphone manufacturer is looking to boost its offline sales, but placing this recent addition to the K8 series very close to the Plus-variant, might end up making the Lenovo K8 just another filler by the company.

Having said that, there is also no denying the fact that Lenovo and its subsidiary Motorola have taken the Indian mobile industry by storm after launching some of the most value for money devices like the Moto G5S Plus and K8 Note, and this could be a reason that gave the 5th largest mobile company in India, by market share, the guts to take such a huge risk with a rather solid as well as no-nonsense Lenovo K8.

But is this enough for the Lenovo K8 to rise through the ranks in sales numbers? Let’s have a look.

Lenovo K8 Specifications

• 5.2-inch (1280 x 720) Full HD IPS 2.5D curved glass display with 450 nits brightness, 432 ppi, Oleophobic Coating for fingerprint smudges resistance and Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection.
• 2.3GHz Octa-Core MediaTek Helio P20 64-bit 16nm SoC coupled with ARM Mali T880 MP2 GPU
• 3GB RAM and 32GB of internal storage, expandable up to 128GB via microSD card
• Android 7.1.1 Nougat (Stock), upgradable to Android 8.0 Oreo
• Dual SIM connectivity and Fingerprint sensor at the rear panel
• 13MP rear camera with f/2.0 aperture, dual-tone LED Flash and Largan 5P lens
• 8MP front-facing camera with, LED flash, f/2.0 aperture and 84-degree wide-angle lens for group selfies
• 3.5mm audio jack Dolby Atmos and FM Radio
• 4G VoLTE, WiFi 820.11 a/b/g/n, GPS, USB OTG and Bluetooth 4.2
• 4000mAh battery with Quick Charge support
• Lenovo K8 measures 147.9 x 73.7 x 8.55 mm and weighs 165g

Lenovo K8 Review

While the display on Lenovo K8 is the same as that of the Plus variant (Lenovo K8 Plus Review), when it comes to performance credentials, the Helio P25 16nm SoC has been replaced by the Helio P20 64-bit chipset, which might not give the same experience as the ‘Plus’ version. One should expect minimal frame drops as well as lags while running multiple heavy applications.

On the other hand, while the front camera has been sourced from Lenovo K8 Plus, it’s the rear camera that is a major letdown from the dual camera setup present in the other two models of the K8 series.

However, the rear camera is still capable of clicking detailed as well as in-focus shots, while offering a lot of detailing, but the same is not the case in low light images as pixels tends to scatter.

Other than that everything remains the same as Lenovo K8 Plus which means users will also get Stock Android UI, which has been a rarity at this price point.

As far as Lenovo K8, as a package is concerned, there is no reason why a potential buyer will opt this smartphone over the Lenovo K8 Plus, which is priced at Rs 10,999, barring the fact that the subjected device will be available via offline stores.

Moreover, sacrificing the dual-rear camera setup as well as a superior chipset for easy availability and Rs 500 of discount, is never a great choice from any perspective. The Indian market has become accustomed to those cruel offline sales and buying a Lenovo K8 Plus is still what we recommend.

However, if you are ready to give a new entrant a chance and want a dual camera setup, as well as the under-the-hood power of SD 626, 10.or G (Tenor G), is also worth a shot as it is touted to be the biggest challenge that Redmi Note 4 has ever faced.