Looks like the trend of compact smartphones is making a comeback in full swing. Lenovo, which is definitely on a roll these days, presented the much awaited Zuk Z2 Z2 Plus in India on September 22, 2016. The new Lenovo mobile phone facillitates one handded usage, has a nifty home button and is priced just right at 17,999/ 19,999 INR.
Lenovo Z2 Plus Specs and Features
| Model | Lenovo Z2 Plus |
| Display | 5-Inch, LCD Display, 1080p Full HD resolution |
| Processor | 2.15GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 SoC, Adreno 530 GPU |
| RAM | 3GB/ 4GB |
| Internal Storage | 32GB/ 64GB |
| Software | Android 6.0 Marshmallow (with Google Now Launcher) |
| Primary Camera | 13MP, PDAF, EIS, LED flash, f/2.2 aperture, 4K Videos |
| Secondary Camera | 8MP, f/2.0 aperture |
| Battery | 3500 mAh, Quick Charge 3.0 |
| Others | 4G Dual SIM VoLTE, WiFi, Bluetooth, USB Type C, Fingerprint sensor, U Touch home button |
| Price | Rs. 17,999 / 19,999 (Buy) |
Looks Gorgeous, More So In White
The Z2 Plus is also one of those rare phones that looks more awesome in White than in Black. Lenovo is using a 2.5D glass on both front and back. The side frame is made of glass fiber, which looks like plastic but feels a bit different than polycarbonate, that is beveled on both sides. Lenovo says the fiber glass won’t interfere with Antenna signals unlike metal, and is also more thermal efficient.
Speaking of which, the Z2 Plus has a ‘rollcage’ construction, which essentially means that all key components are mounted on metal frame and with metallic clamps. This will supposedly make it more durable and also help with heat dissipation.
Also Read: LeEco Le Pro 3 With Snapdragon 821 & 6GB RAM Launched
The Z2 Plus looks and feels stunning, and there isn’t much reason to complain here, save for the glass on the front and back being prone to smudges (which we have somewhat got used to by now).
Lenovo has been avoiding ghastly blue tones
The design is further complimented by a well calibrated IPS LCD display. The panel quality, color temperature and contrast instantly reminded us of the Vibe K5 Note that we reviewed only recently. It’s worth noting that Lenovo has been avoiding the ghastly, cold blue tone on its smartphone display for some time now. The Lenovo Z2 Plus screen is crisp and color hue also seemed fine to us during the initial examination.
The U-Touch button is a meaningful innovation
You can assign about 8 functions to the home button, which also integrated the fingerprint reader.
Yup, that’s right. As gimmicky as this sounds, the implementation was refreshingly efficient!
The fact that you can just swipe both left and right to scroll both ways between recently opened apps can make a world of difference. I, for one, am a heavy multitasker and often find myself juggling between 2 to 3 apps (for instance, Notes app, dictionary and the browser) and this instantly felt like the best possible way to do it. If the whole process wasn’t as fast, this could easily count as a misstep.
You can also single tap the home button for ‘back’ and can double press it to access recent apps list.
And, if none of that feels like your cup of tea, you can always use the more conventional onscreen navigation bar.
Can double as a fitness tracker? Probably not.
Another star Z2 Plus feature is U-Health. All sensors are handled by a separate sensor core which enables the phone to track your activities throughout your day without being excessively harsh on the battery.
The sensors used in wearables have always been present in your smartphones, but the reason a fitness band makes sense is because it doesn’t make sense to carry your phone with you at all times, or when you run, bathe or sleep.
For now, the Z2 Plus acting as a regular fitness tracker doesn’t seem efficacious.
Performance Expectations and Software
Of course, the Lenovo Z2 Plus isn’t skimping on hardware specifications. You get top of the line Snapdragon 820 processor, paired with 3GB/4GB RAM and 32GB/64GB storage. We would recommend you go for the higher variant simply because the storage isn’t expandable. Then there is a the 13MP camera sensor, with large individual pixel size, LED flash, PDAF and f/2.2 aperture and an 8MP selfie camera with even wider f/2.0 aperture.
The phone supports dual SIM cards, VoLTE and 4G+ as well (All present and upcoming Reliance Jio priviledges supported). The company has managed to fit in a 3500mAh battery that is expected to suffice for one day of moderate usage.
The battery backup and heating is something we will need to watch out for, since in our experience, the Snapdragon 820 has faltered on these fronts in the past.
Lenovo is using the stock Google Now launcher on Z2 Plus. However, beyond that superficial layer, the phone is running a heavily customized Android Marshmallow based ROM. Quick settings panel has to be dragged from the bottom-up and can be customized from the settings. We will have to spend more time with the phone to know how handy and streamlined the software experience actually is.
Bottom Line
The Lenovo Z2 Plus casts a very solid first impression. It has got the looks, the power, quality display and an innovative U Touch button working in its favor. We still need to figure out how well the camera stacks up against competitors like Zenfone 3 and Le Max2, and test if all those thermal management claims hold water. For now, things look good for the Lenovo Z2 Plus.
