Lenovo has outed its K8 Note just in time for the upcoming festival season. The multimedia-focused K-series has always been very popular among budget buyers, and the new K8 Note too shall serve as an online alternative to reigning best sellers like Redmi Note 4. Let’s discuss what the K8 Note is all about in a detailed FAQ post below.
The new Killer Note heavily borrows from Moto phones, which makes it all the more interesting. If you are a prospective buyer, let’s answer a few Lenovo K8 Note questions that you might or might not be asking.
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Lenovo K8 Note Advantages and Disadvantages
Pros
- Long lasting battery with Turbo charging
- Dedicated microSD card slot
- Stock Android software
- Splash resistant
- Rear camera performance
Cons
- Design could have been better
- No 4K recording
Note: For a more comprehensive analysis, you can also switch to our Lenovo K8 Note Full Review
Lenovo K8 Note Specifications
Model | Lenovo K8 Note |
Display | 5.5-Inch, Full HD |
Processor | Mediatek Helios X23 processor |
RAM | 3GB/ 4GB |
Internal Storage | 32GB/64GB,expandable up to 256GB |
Software | Android 7.1.1 Nougat |
Primary Camera | 13MP + 5MP (Depth sensor) rear cameras |
Secondary Camera | 13MP selfie camera |
Dimensions | 154.5 x 75.9 x 8.5 mm; 180 grams |
Battery | 4000mAh battery |
Others | 4G VoLTE, WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, 3.5mm, micro USB, TheaterMax, Dolby Atmos |
Price | ₹ 12,999/₹ 13,999 |
Lenovo K8 Note Look and Feel
Question: How is the Lenovo K8 Note design?
Answer: As far as design goes, Lenovo plays it safe with a tried and trusted template. K8 Note has a metal back that gently curves towards the edges, metallic sides with single chamfered edge, and a 2.5D Gorilla Glass with smudge resistant oleophobic coating on the front.
It’s a tall phone with beefy bezels on top and bottom, but it’s also reasonably slim that makes it quite comfortable to wield, in spite of the decent heft ( 180 grams) that it has. The fingerprint sensor is mounted on the rear, right below the dual camera capsule, and the capacitive navigation bar is present below the display.
Another interesting aspect is the dedicated music key on the right. You can double tap the key for Play/Pause and also use it to the switch tracks. Or you can customize the double tap action to launch any app, fire camera flash, etc.
Question: How is the Lenovo K8 Note build quality?
Answer: The Lenovo K8 Note feels solid and durable. There are no flexes or creeks in the body.
Question: Is Lenovo K8 Note Water resistant?
Answer: No, but it benefits from a nano coating that makes it splash resistant.
Question: Does the Lenovo K8 Note comes with back cover and tempered glass?
Answer: No, you will have to buy those separately.
Question: Does Lenovo K8 Note have capacitive navigation buttons below the display?
Answer: Yes, navigation buttons are present below the display. They are not backlit but are silver coated.
Question: How is the Lenovo K8 Note display?
Answer: Lenovo is using a 5.5-inch Full HD display panel on the K8 Note. From the display settings, you can switch between vibrant and standard color profile (just like Moto phones). Whites on the display lean towards blue, which is what most consumers must be used to by now. The display brightness, dynamic range, contrast, and colors are good for the price.
Bluelight filter isn’t present on the phone by default.
Question: Does Lenovo K8 Note have sRGB color Mode? How to enable it?
Answer – Yes, the option to switch to the sRGB color mode is present under developer options, but you can’t enable it. If you toggle it on, it gets turned off as soon as you leave developer options.
Question: Does the Lenovo K8 Note have the option for automatic brightness?
Answer: The phone has adaptive brightness. We didn’t face any issues with visibility under direct sunlight.
Question: Does the Lenovo K8 Note display have Gorilla glass protection?
Answer: Yes, the phone has Gorilla Glass 3 layer on the display.
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Lenovo K8 Note Performance and Storage
Question: How much internal storage space is free on Lenovo K8 Note?
Answer: There are two storage variants, one with 32GB and one with 64GB native storage. The one we have is the 64GB storage variant and it has around 51GB is free out of the box.
Question: How much RAM is free on Lenovo K8 Note?
Answer: At the time of first boot, about 2.5GB free RAM was available (out of 4GB). We didn’t face any issue with RAM management.
Question: Does Lenovo K8 Note have a separate microSD card slot?
Answer: Yes, the Lenovo K8 Note comes with dedicated microSD card slot which can be used to add up to 256GB of secondary storage.
Question: Does Lenovo K8 Note support USB OTG?
Answer: Yes, the phone supports USB OTG as well.
Question: Does Lenovo K8 Note have a fingerprint sensor? How many fingerprints can you scan and store?
Answer: Yes, it comes with a rear mounted fingerprint sensor. It can register and store up to 5 fingerprints.
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Question: Is the fingerprint sensor on Lenovo K8 Note fast and accurate? Is it always-on type?
Answer: The fingerprint sensor on the Lenovo K8 Note is always on type and it’s very fast and accurate.
Question: How is the day-to-day or general performance? How is gaming performance of Lenovo K8 Note?
Answer: We didn’t face any issue with day-to-day usage. UI transitions are fast, the phone can easily keep 5 to 6 apps cached in RAM, and software decoding while playing videos works without any hint of lag. Even high-end games like Asphalt 8 that we have tried so far work well.
Question: Does Lenovo K8 Note have heating issues?
Answer: It runs cool with day to day usage. With gaming, it gets warm but the temperature lies within bounds of being acceptable.
Question: Does Lenovo K8 Note support Google cardboard and other VR Apps? Does Lenovo K8 Note have gyroscope sensor?
Answer: Google cardboard and other VR apps are supported on the handset. It does have a gyroscope. Lenovo has also added TheaterMax support that can be used to experience all media on an illusionary theatre like vast display using a VR headset.
- Update (May 11, 2018): Several users are reporting performance and software issue with K8 Note after the Oreo update. That’s something you should keep in mind if you are buying the phone as of today.
Camera
Question: How is the Lenovo K8 Note camera quality?
Answer: The 13MP camera on the Lenovo K8 Note can shoot great details in outdoor lighting. The color contrast and dynamic range are fine too. For indoor shots and in low light, the images aren’t very sharp and noise creeps in.
Overall, the camera performance is better than what we usually see in this budget. We would rank the rear camera performance as better than Redmi Note 4 and somewhat below the likes of Cool 1 dual.
Question: How does the dual camera on the Lenovo K8 Note work?
Answer: The second camera on the K8 Note is used for depth sensing. You can switch to dual camera mode from the icon on the top left corner in the camera view finder. Once you select the ‘Depth enabled’ mode, you will notice a slider on the left that can be used to adjust the intensity of the background blur in your portrait shots.
It performance in portrait mode wasn’t perfect and we hope this is somthing lenovo will improve over the next few weeks with software update. We have already received first camera improvement update on our review unit.
Question: How is the selfie camera on Lenovo K8 Note?
Answer: The 13MP camera selfie camera on the K8 note again performs well outdoors. In doors, performance is nothing to write home about. A manual mode is present and you can use it to enhance your low light selfies to an extent.
Question: Can the Lenovo K8 Note shoot 4K videos?
Answer: No, you can shoot up to 1080p full HD videos.
Question: Can you record slow-motion videos on Lenovo K8 Note?
Answer: No, you cannot.
Lenovo K8 Note Camera Samples
Software
Question: How is the software on the Lenovo K8 Note?
Answer: Stock Android Nougat software is one of K8 Note’s biggest selling point. For the K8 Note, Lenovo has picked the exact same software as that of Moto phones including the Moto Launcher, icons, etc. The unadulterated Android has its advantages for it is light and resource-friendly, but if you are used to a robust feature rich interface, it might feel a bit uninspiring too.
We, however, like stock Android simplicity and would take it over gaudy half baked custom ROMs that are fairly common on budget phones. In our opinion, it’s a safe bet from the consumer point of view. Besides, you can add third party apps for added functionality.
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Question: Will Lenovo K8 Note get Android O update?
Answer: Android O update isn’t guaranteed, but there are good chances that the K8 Note will be upgraded to the next OS version as well.
Miscellaneous
Question: What kind of SIM cards does Lenovo K8 Note support?
Answer: It supports nano SIM card on both slots.
Question: Does Lenovo K8 Note support FM radio?
Answer: Yes.
Question: Does Lenovo K8 Note have IR blaster?
Answer: No, it doesn’t have an IR blaster.
Question: How is the call quality on Lenovo K8 Note?
Answer: We didn’t face any issue with call quality.
Also Read: 5 Android Smartphone Features That Are Still Missing in Apple iOS
Question: Does Lenovo K8 Note support Reliance Jio SIM cards/ 4G VoLTE? Do both SIM slots support 4G VoLTE?
Answer: Yes, it supports Jio sim cards, VoLTE on both SIM slots.
Question: How is the Battery backup on Lenovo K8 Note?
Answer: The battery drains fast with heavy usage, but on the whole, it can easily last for more than one day of moderate to heavy usage. So, battery backup is pretty good.
Question: Does Lenovo K8 Note support fast charging? Is fast charger bundled in the box?
Answer: Yes, it supports fast charging. A 15W charger is bundled in the box.
Question: What can you do with Music Key on Lenovo K8 Note?
Answer: You could use the double press action to play or pause music in music player app, or configure it to launch Flash camera or any other app.
Question: What are the sensors present on Lenovo K8 Note?
Answer: The handset includes Accelerometer, Ambient Light Sensor, e-compass, Gyroscope, Proximity Sensor and fingerprint sensor.
Question: How loud is the loudspeaker on Lenovo K8 Note?
Answer: The K8 Note has a mono speaker mounted on the bottom edge. Audio output is loud and clear. Dolby Atmos is also supported.
Question: What’s the Lenovo K8 Note Best India Price? Where to buy Lenovo K8 Note from? Are there any promotional offers that I can avail?
Answer: The Lenovo K8 Note (3GB RAM/ 32GB storage) will cost 12,999 INR and the 4GB RAM + 64GB storage variant will cost 13,999. Both phones will be available on Amazon India starting August 18.
As part of an introductory offer, consumers will get Rs. 300 as Kindle credits, 64GB free data (for Idea consumers only), and Moto sports headphones at a discounted price of Rs. 699.
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Lenovo K8 Note Quick Review – Should you buy it?
The Lenovo K8 Note borrows a lot from whatever works for Moto phones (Software, splash resistance, etc.) while retaining K-series multi media friendly approach. No phone in this budget is perfect and the K8 Note has its flaws too but it still feels like something we could recommend to anyone restricted by a budget of 15,000 INR. Especially anyone who is looking for Redmi phone alternatives.
Hi Deepak, Hope you are doing good. Till now you would have already figured out the issues with K8 Note after Oreo update. To name a few….unbearable heating and battery drain in couple of hours. Also no acknowledgement from Lenovo of the issue and asking users to visit service center. Though that doesn’t solve the issue. Since you have written a detailed review of the phone I would say you should update the review with these issues, so that at least future buyers won’t be duped. Thanks, Anup
Thanks for your feedback Anup. We haven’t tested the phone after oreo update, but yes we are getting quite a few complaints. I have added an update note to the performance section of this article.