Lenovo's strides in the mobile market has been nothing short of outstanding. The company’s push has brought it closer to the people, and it has become one of the top manufacturers in the smartphone market to put it in ranks as a major player in the PC Plus market. As of late, Lenovo has been investing in the mobile entertainment business through virtual reality hardware and its partnership with Dolby. What we’re looking at here today is the company's Vibe K5 Plus, a midrange smartphone that comes packed with inclusions designed for superb entertainment on the go.
Lenovo's strides in the mobile market has been nothing short of outstanding. The company’s push has brought it closer to the people, and it has become one of the top manufacturers in the smartphone market to put it in ranks as a major player in the PC Plus market. As of late, Lenovo has been investing in the mobile entertainment business through virtual reality hardware and its partnership with Dolby. What we’re looking at here today is the company's Vibe K5 Plus, a midrange smartphone that comes packed with inclusions designed for superb entertainment on the go.
Specifications:
Display: 5 Inch FHD IPS 1920 x
1080 resolution
CPU: 1.7 GHz 64 Bit Snapdragon
616 octa core processor
GPU: Adreno 405
RAM: 2 GB
ROM: 16 GB expandable via microSD
card slot up to 32GB
Primary Camera: 13MP w/AF and LED
Flash
Secondary Camera: 5 MP
Battery: removable 2,750mAh
OS: Android 5.1 Lollipop
Connectivity: WiFi, 3G, LTE,
Bluetooth 4.1, OTG, GPS, A GPS, GLONASS
Sensors: Accelerometer, proximity
Others: Dolby Audio, Colors:
silver and gold
Weight: 172 g
Price: ~Php8,999
What’s in the Box?
When a device comes packed with
several inclusions that are bigger than its box, you know it means business.
And that’s what the Lenovo K5 Plus is all about. For starters, the company
isn’t planning on skimping on the packaging – there’s the AntVR Kit coupled
with controller that’s specifically designed for Lenovo devices. It’s a great
way of telling the people what your device is all about, and Lenovo introduces
it very well with the inclusions.
Other than that, you’ll be met
with the inclusions that come standard with smartphones. There’s a microUSB
cable, a wall adapter, some paperwork, and a screen protector. It would have
worked out better if a case of some sort was included, but I guess working it
out with the VR headset would be difficult. What’s surprising, though, is the
lack of a headset in the package. Lenovo may have been thinking you’ll have
your aftermarket headsets, but that’s no excuse in leaving it out of the box.
Design
In terms of design approach, the
Vibe K5 Plus feels very modern. Its gold-brushed plastic shell feels quite
premium despite the material used, and the rounded edges give it a nice, firm
grip. It’s light enough for your daily use, yet it feels sturdy enough to the
touch.
On the plus side, it’s a breather
to see something with a removable battery. Sure, handsets with non-removable
ones may be slimmer and sexier, but we’d want something more convenient. You
can just slap another battery after a mishap instead of sending it in to the
service center for repairs.
If there’s something to gripe
about the design, it’s the capacitive keys not exactly being backlit. Lenovo is
shying away from on-screen navigation, but it doesn’t mean they can do better
with non-backlit keys.
Display
On the front end of things, the
Vibe K5 Plus features a 5.0-inch display with Full HD resolution. This one’s a
beaut, if I do say so myself. Sharpness is definitely on point and the details
on the scale are quite impressive all thanks to its pixel density. We’re also
liking the color accuracy and brightness levels here. Viewing angles are also
topnotch at 178-degrees, if you’re wondering.
Performance
The Vibe K5 Plus looks to be a
good getter, and it has its great specs sheet to work with. For starters,
there’s a Qualcomm Snapdragon 616 chipset with an octa-core CPU and Adreno 405
GPU coupled in with 3GB of RAM. Storage is also ample at 16GB, and you can step
it up further with a microSD card if you need more space.
In practice, the Vibe K5 Plus
feels like a solid all-rounder that can pull off tasks ranging from simple 2D
applications to graphic-intensive games with a little bit of tweaks and pulling
punches. Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 615 does pack some firepower to keep things
running smoothly, but we’re seeing some sluggish framerates when it comes to
pushing it to the extreme.
Photography
Photography with the Vibe K5 Plus
is good enough for your daily photoshoots, but there are some kinks that need
to be ironed out. Colors are balanced and the level of detail is good enough,
but of course expect that you’ll need good lighting if you want to pull it off.
On the other hand, HDR seems to over expose images. What you will be having fun
of are the filters. Check out the photos below.
The Multimedia Experience
To put things into perspective,
the highlight of the Vibe K5 Plus isn’t its performance, design, or camera.
It’s designed to deliver one specific purpose, but without skipping the basics.
Virtual Reality entertainment is its thing, and it does well on executing the
task. At this point, VR is still at its infancy, but even if that’s the case,
there are content on Android that can be played out. And hey, 360-degree videos
are becoming a thing, so you can add up to your queue of things to watch when
you have it.
The AntVR itself is mostly made
of plastic, but soft, leatherette cushions are there to dampen out the tension.
It’s comfortable enough for your daily use, and the design pretty much the same
modernistic approach from the Vibe K5 Plus itself.
When it comes to multimedia, the
Vibe K5 Plus is armed with several features that bring the experience up a
notch. Lenovo has been leveraging Dolby’s technology and name, thereby stepping
up the audio quality further. You can try out several presets designed for specific
scenarios – Movies, Music, Game, Voice, each tailored to fit your usage.
On the other hand, watching movies in 1080p,
be it on the AntVR or outside of it, is simple a pleasure. The Vibe K5 Plus’
display is just gorgeous that watching music videos, your movie library, or clips
can be an enjoyable experience. However, brightness levels will need
improvement if you want to watch when you’re out in the wilderness.
Battery Life
Lenovo has a great reputation
when it comes to battery life for its handsets. The Vibe K5 Plus comes with a 2,750mAh
battery. That seems to be average enough on paper, and it does so in practice. PCMark’s
Work Battery Life 2.0 6:27 for an extensive use test. In practice, we were able
to get about 27 hours of mixed to regular usage consisting of browsing,
photography, and YouTube videos, breaking the 24-hour barrier. Do always note, your mileage may vary.
Conclusion
The Lenovo Vibe K5 Plus has the
makings of a well-rounded multimedia device for people that want savvy
entertainment wherever possible. Its sharp display is simply gorgeous, and we’re
definitely sold on the audio experience brought by Dolby Atmos. Sure, the
Qualcomm Snapdragon 616 chipset isn’t exactly a go-getter, but it’s definitely
enough to keep every factor in check. The camera is a bit of mixed bag, but you can work your way to achieve optimal results. Lenovo wants to highlight what the Vibe K5 Plus can do, and it does so from the package to the experience, and it's one you'll adore.
The competition is fierce in the
Php8,999 price bracket, but the Vibe K5 Plus has a couple of tricks up its
sleeve to pull it off successfully. Simply put, if you need a full-on
multimedia device in your pocket that can deliver topnotch experience, the Vibe
K5 Plus can wing it.
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