Lenovo ZUK Z1; the Next Hotcake in Indian Smartphone Market?

Lenovo has all set to grab the Indian market with their new Cyanogen-powered smartphone named ZUK  Z1. Here in this review, we are going to find out whether the new Lenovo phone can rise up to our expectations.

lenovo zuk z1 review

N.B.- Lenovo’s sub-brand Moto also launched their new phone Moto G4, the comparison of which with ZUK Z1 will be published soon.

Design and Build of ZUK Z1

lenovo zuk z1 review

The phone looks pretty good with its metal borders that can be seen from the front. When you turn the cell phone back, the minimalistic design will capture your heart. No Lenovo branding at all!

On the front, the phone has got a 5.5 inch display above which you can spot the camera and sensors whereas capacitive navigation keys along with home key cum fingerprint sensor sit below the screen.

On top, you can spot the 3.5 mm headphone jack while the right side has got power and volume buttons.

The bottom has USB type C port, speaker, and microphone.

Owing to the 4100 mAh battery and metal frame, ZUK Z1 has a weight of 175 g.

Display

lenovo zuk z1 review

ZUK Z1 has a 5.5 inch full HD display with 401 PPI. There was a time when people overlooked 5.5 inch screen saying they are bulky. But with time, the increased media consumption made it a popular choice.

Though the panel is IPS, you may feel the maximum brightness is not enough. But still it can offer you a decent brightness barring the maximum issue.

We have heard issues from some users that their screen has a slight yellowish tint. Truth be told, it’s not a drawback of ZUK Z1. You can adjust the color temperature using a default setting called LiveDisplay.

Performance

Lenovo has opted for Snapdragon 801 clocked at 2.5 GHz to power up ZUK Z1. We know 801 is the latest high-end processor from SnapDragon. But still it is capable of delivering amazing performance.

Adreno 330 is the GPU Lenovo chose here. There’s not even a slight hesitation in saying that you will not feel any performance glitches even while playing graphic intense games.

The 3 GB RAM makes multitasking easier as well.

The phone is running on Cyanogen OS 12.1 based on Android 5.1.1 Lollipop. Means, you are getting way too customization abilities.

lenovo zuk z1 review

The performance of the fingerprint sensor is fast enough. But you must press it a little bit harder.

Software

lenovo zuk z1 review

As said earlier, ZUK Z1 runs on Cyanogen OS 12.1 based on Android Lollipop. You can change the layouts of lock screen, home screen and tweak the phone to make it more personalized.

In the settings panel, you will find some new items to control the notification icons, notification light color etc. Just like the stock Android, Cyanogen 12.1 is devoid of bloatware.

The one slight issue I found out is the fingerprint scanner. As most of the scanners allow us to unlock the device even when the screen is off whereas ZUK wants us to turn the screen on in order to unlock the same.

Storage

Lenovo tried to make up the lack of SD card with a whopping 64 GB onboard storage. So, you won’t run out of storage at once.

Camera

lenovo zuk z1 review

The front camera is a 13 MP one which has Sony IMX 214 sensor. And you will be amazed to know that it has optical image stabilization and dual –LED flash.

The front camera is an 8 MP one.

The cameras focus things way too quickly and create good depth of field effect for macro shots very well.

The pictures taken using both the cameras are turned out to be good but it may suffer in low light.

Connectivitylenovo zuk z1 review

ZUK has WiFi and 4 G feature with support to Indian bands. It’s good to see a dual SIM 4 G smartphone without a hybrid slot. You can insert two SIMs and the SD card separately.

GPS and Bluetooth are available as in every phone today. But lack of NFC may be a deal breaker. As a salt on the wound, they never integrated USB OTG support with it. Maybe we can expect it in a future update.

It has also got the important sensors like gyroscope, ambient light sensor, accelerometer etc.

Battery

lenovo zuk z1 review

ZUK’s 4100 mAh battery is enough for an intermediate user throughout an entire day. Maybe some juice can remain on the second day as well.

So, no issues with the battery.

Price and Availability

The phone is available for 13499 INR on Amazon, only through flash sales.

Pros

  • Decent performance
  • Good camera
  • Fingerprint Sensor
  • Huge customizability
  • Excellent battery life
  • Fast charging

Cons

  • An old processor
  • No OTG Support
  • No SD card slot
  • Fingerprint sensor is not a feather-touch type.
  • Hard to buy

Verdict

Should you buy it?

Of course you should. If you are limited by the budget constraint and can’t go beyond 15k, ZUK Z1 is a great deal.

Bear in mind the lack of OTG support though.

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