Lenovo Vibe X2 Hands on Review, Photo Gallery and Video

Lenovo has introduced its innovative Vibe X2 in India, which is also the first MT6595 based smartphone to debut in India. Apart from 4G LTE and layered design, Vibe X2 a lot working in its favour. We have had the opportunity to play with it prior to its launch event. Let’s take a look at hits and misses.

Lenovo Vibe X2 Quick Specs

• Display Size: 5 Inch IPS LCD display, 1920 x 1080p, 441 PPI
• Processor: 2.0 GHz Octa-core MT6595 Processor with PowerVR G600 GPU
• RAM: 2 GB
• Software Version: Android 4.4 KitKat based Vibe 2.0
• Camera: 13 MP camera, LED flash, Full HD 1080p Video recording at 30fps
• Secondary Camera: 5 MP
• Internal Storage:  32 GB
• External Storage: No
• Battery: 2,300 mAh non Removable
• Connectivity:  4G LTE, 3G, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS with aGPS
• Misc: USB OTG – No, Dual SIM – Yes (Micro SIM + Nano SIM), LED Notification light – Yes

Lenovo Vibe X2 Unboxing, Hands On Review, Camera, Features And Overview [Video]

Design, Build and Display

Lenovo Vibe X2 is very slim and surprisingly light. Of course the main highlight is the three layered design with each having its distinct color and texture. Besides the fact that it looks appealing, the primary benefit for the same is its ability to add more accessory layers (flip cover, Battery, speakers, etc) or ‘Xtensions’ on top without making them look completely out of place.

We didn’t get to test these Xtentions, but Lenovo will be offering Battery Xtension in India for 2000 INR. With matte finish back, the phone is comfortable to hold and also feels very sturdy. Metallic Hardware buttons are situated on the right edge and the Headphone jack is housed at the top. The built quality is plastic, premium and comparable to high end smartphones.

The 5 Inch Full HD 1080p IPS LCD display is quite bright with great colors and viewing angles. Spec sheet doesn’t mention a scratch resistant layer on top but we do think Lenovo is using some kind of scratch resistance layer on top. The display is quite sharp and doesn’t leave anything to complain about.

Processor and Battery

The MT6595 SoC is based on ARM big.LITTLE architecture with integrated Cat 4 4G LTE Modem. There are 4 Cortex A17 cores clocked at 2.0 GHz and other four Cortex A7 cores ticking at 1.6 GHz. So essentially, OS will see it as a Quad core CPU but all 8 cores can be active simultaneously, should the load demand it.

Graphics will be handled by PowerVR G600 in addition with 2 GB RAM and this sound powerful enough for heavy lifting. In our initial time with the device, we didn’t find any lag, but UI transitions weren’t perfectly smooth either. We would certainly like to test how well it holds up for power users over an extended period of usage.

Camera and Internal Storage

The primary AF camera has a 13 MP BSI sensor with LED flash support. We managed to click some vibrant and realistic images with X2 and liked its camera quality. We did notice some focus and shutter lag in our device. The camera app is standard with standard options and a beauty mode.

The front 5 MP camera is also a decent performer. You can use gestures to click images. Overall, we liked the camera performance of Vibe X2 in our initial testing. We will reserve our verdict till we have spend some more time with it.

Internal storage is 32 GB and this should be good enough for most users. There is no MicroSD card slot for further extension.

Lenovo Vibe X2 Quick Camera Review, Video Samples and Photo [Video]

User Interface and Battery

Software is Vibe Rom 2.0 based on Android 4.4 Kitkat. It is feature rich UI with highlights being a customizable lock screen, rapid launch camera app and custom Icons. There is no app drawer by default, you can use third party launcher for the same. We wouldn’t call it a light UI. UI transitions are mostly smooth.

Battery capacity is 2300 mAh and the battery is not user replaceable. Lenovo claims 17 hours of 2 G talk time and 228 hours of 2G standby times and it’s still too early to judge the veracity of these claims. Based on few hours of usage, we are expecting comfortable one day backup with moderate usage.

Lenovo Vibe X2 Photo Gallery

Conclusion

Lenovo Vibe X2 is an innovative smartphone from Lenovo and the first one to arrive with MT6595 in India. Just like what we saw with Vibe X2 Pro, the pricing has been kept aggressive. The first impressions of Lenovo Vibe X2 are positive and we are eager to spend some more time with the device. In spite of all the hardware that it boasts of, ‘the looks’ remain the USP of Vibe X2.