Lenovo Z2 Plus is another handset using the Snapdragon 820 chipset and incidentally it is also the cheapest one available in India, but is it worth it, read this review and find out. Z2 Plus is available for Rs. 17,999 (3GB/32GB) and Rs. 19,999 (4GB/64GB).
Z2 Plus Unboxing
Inside the box : Handset, protective case (plastic), user guide, data cable (USB TYPE C), travel charger 5V/2A and SIM tray ejector pin. SAR value as mentioned on the box 0.71 W/Kg @ 1g head and 1.49 W/Kg @ 1g body.
Design, Display and OS
The Lenovo Z2 Plus looks good though not that slim. Handset is light weight at around 149 grams with battery and dimensions are 68.87 x 141.43 x 8.67 (mm). This smartphone is using a fiber glass frame that is 45% lighter and 25% stronger than aluminum. There is a 2.5D curved glass on the front as well as on the back. Handset looks pretty premium and does attract attention.
It is not clearly mentioned if the front and / or the rear glass come with any protection. Though it does look like scratch resistant to some extent – I tried the pin test. Still it would be better to use a screen guard and use the back case provided in the box.
Z2 Plus is comfortable to hold but it gets quite slippery specially on the back / front (glass layer).
This is a dual SIM handset you can use 2x nano SIM with 4G LTE and VoLTE support. There is no micro SD card support. Lenovo Z2 Plus comes with LED indicator and loaded with following sensors – Accelerometer, light, proximity, gyro, magnetic, hall and step.
Z2 Plus sports a 5 inch screen supporting 1920 x 1080 pixels resolution. Color reproduction, viewing angles and touch response are very good.
Android Marshmallow 6.0.1 runs out of the box.
Memory and Storage
The handset that I bought for the review is loaded with 3GB RAM and 32GB ROM. You will get around 1.2GB free RAM and about 24GB free ROM (internal storage) on the first boot.
Performance
Inside the hood there is Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 2.15GHz quad core chipset coupled with Adreno 530 GPU. It is no doubt a powerful hardware. Performance is very good and heat-up is under control.
Benchmark
- Quadrant – 6708
- Antutu – 126191 | 3D score – 55687
- Nenamark 2 – 59.9fps
- Internal storage Speed – Read (236MB/s), Write (88MB/s)
- Multi Touch – 5 Point
Gaming
Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 is powerful, and this handset did play Modern combat 5 and Asphalt 8 (high mode) smoothly without any lags.
Camera quality
There is 13MP camera on the back with a f/2.2 aperture with LED flash support. This rear camera can shoot 4K videos. Front camera is 8MP. Camera picture quality (still) is disappointing; the images are not that sharp. Camera quality is average.
Video recording quality is above average and particularly the slow motion videos are quite impressive. By default the handset will shoot 120fps slow-motion videos. And if you try to edit the video from the camera app you can select from 120fps, 240fps and 960fps modes the 240 and 960 fps slow motion is amazing (check video review).
Also check sample images and video at the end of this review.
Others
There is finger print sensor that doubles up as a single navigational button. It’s a capacitive and press button that can perform up to 7 functions. You can use this button to go back, go to home screen, double press to show running applications, swipe right – swipe left to switch to apps that are running in the background.
Finger print detection is fast and accurate, you just need to tap the scanner once to unlock.
Sound is loud and clear, in call sound is also very good. I did not find any issues with 4G, WiFi (dual band), GPS and Bluetooth 4.1.
Z2 Plus comes with U-Health app that makes use of built in step counter. This app will monitor your steps and calories burned. It’s a personal fitness feature that is built in, you don’t need a wearable fitness device.
Battery
Z2 Plus houses a 3500 mAh non-removable battery that does a decent job. On a full charge you can expect 5 to 7 hours of non-stop moderate to heavy usage. When it comes to mixed usage you can easily get one and a half day of moderate usage.
Lenovo Z2 Plus Battery Performance (time / battery % drop / estimated battery temperature).
- Running Benchmark app – 14 minutes / 4% / 35 degrees
- Asphalt 8 + MC5 game play – 33 minutes / 10% / 35 degrees
- 4K video playback with full brightness (WiFi /4G on) – 48 minutes / 12% / 36 degrees.
It took me 2 hour 37 minutes to charge the handset using wall charger from 9% to 100%.
Verdict
The Lenovo Z2 Plus does look quite tempting considering the price starting from Rs. 17,999. However the camera is not up to the mark. The handset did not heat up much, maximum battery temperature I encountered was 36 degrees.
It is a very good handset, but if you are particularly buying it for the camera, then better avoid it.
Do note I have tested the camera with old and updated OS, no change.
Rating 4 out of 5
Lenovo Z2 Plus is available for Rs. 17,999.