Lenovo P2 Review

FEATURE

• Power Horse 
• Exceptional Build Quality
• Powerful Value For Money  Device

Key Specification:

• SCREEN: 5.5in Full HD AMOLED 
• CPU: 2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 quad-core
• MEMORY: 3GB RAM
• CAMERA: 13 MP, , dual-LED flash. 5MP, 
• STORAGE: 32GB onboard, microSD expansion
• BATTERY: 5100mAh non-removable
• OPERATING SYSTEM: Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow
• DIMENSIONS: 153x76x8.3mm, 177g

Design:

The 5.5 inch screen feels generous without making the phone uncomfortably large, and there are fairly slim bezels at the side of the screen. Lenovo P2 looks and feels a lot better than you might expect. It had a metal body that leaves it feeling much more expensive than it really is. But the P2 looks and feels way better than the Vibe P1. The design is more refined.The metal casing at the back has plastic strips on top and bottom while the front is covered by a 2.5D curved glass. Right side you will find the usual set of volume and power buttons while the hybrid SIM card tray is placed on the left side. At the bottom there is microUSB port for charging and data transfer along with two grills on either sides. The right one actually houses the loudspeaker and the left is well just for a bit of symmetry. The 3.5mm audio jack sit on the top and the microphone for recording videos.

some of the likes having a fingerprint sensor on the front of their phone, but it works well enough on the P2. It's quick to unlock your phone, and has some neat optional gesture controls that can be toggled on in the Settings menu. More on those later. At 177g and 8.3mm thick you’ll definitely still notice it in your pocket, but it’s only slightly bigger overall than the rest of the 5.5in phone world.

The Lenovo P2 has a well built and solid, scratch resistant unibody aluminium design which should look good for long periods of time.

Display: 

The 5.5in AMOLED screen with 2.5D Gorilla Glass on top. is a real highlight, as most phones make do with LCD displays and don’t always stretch to Full HD resolutions. You get honest-to-goodness 1080p on the P2, and picture quality is great. perfect example of technology trickling down to mid range phones. Super AMOLED, which is traditionally restricted to Samsung flagships, is now being used by Lenovo on their P2, giving it exceptional viewing angles and good depth of colour and brightness. The indoor and outdoor visibility is good and Black levels are deep. The display does over saturate the colours, a problem with most Super-AMOLEDs, however colour profile options allow for some basic changes. Switching to the Normal display mode in the settings shows some natural colours which definitely are flatter to the eye. Viewing angles are fantastic, but there’s no blue light filter for night time viewing. Everything looks bright, with vibrant colours, plenty of contrast and deep black hues. You can tone down the clarity in the Settings menu if you find things a little too colourful, but I thought the “Normal” mode was a little too muted.

Camera:

The cameras come in the form of a 13MP Sony IMX258 rear sensor and the front is a 5MP unit. The two cameras are also pretty typical for a mid range Android device, with 13MP for the rear camera and 5MP for the front. Photos are crisp and bright, and look great on the bright AMOLED display, but don’t expect anything exceptional not that you should, given the price. There is also a ‘quick snap’ feature that lets you take a photo when the phone is asleep by double tapping either volume button great for photographing something in a rush, though don’t expect pixel perfect photos from it. The P2 features a 13MP rear sensor, which is a bit lower than some of the competition but it still does well. Especially with well lit landscape shots, the Lenovo P2 can capture a really good image.

When pixel peeping, we found the P2 struggled a little on close up shots and night time shooting. That said, it doesn’t do too badly and the auto mode is quite reactive and will usually provide you with the best image possible.The front camera is good only is proper lighting, otherwise shots are over processed and noisy. For selfie overs the beauty mode cleans up most post processing needs. However, we found turning this off worked better for more natural and sharper looking images. Video on the front is restricted to 1080p and will come in handy for basic usage.

PERFORMANCE:

A Snapdragon 625 CPU and 4GB of RAM are running the show. This is more than enough power for a budget phone, as while it’s not lightning fast, it can still open apps in a sprightly manner, multi-task without any real slowdown and handle Full HD video or media-heavy web browsing. The phone manages heat really well and we did not find the phone heating up extensively even when handling heavy tasks and high end graphics.

The 3GB of RAM meant I was having to reload some apps more often than I had expected, but it was never a source of frustration. The on board Adreno 506 graphics, on the other hand, aren’t the greatest. I found Asphalt 8 had to run at Medium or Low settings to feel properly smooth; casual and 2D games will be just fine, though. 

The P2 comes with Android 6.0 Marshmallow pre-installed, but we don’t know if or when it might get an update to the more recent Nougat version. It lets you customise the look and feel of the home screen with icon packs, finds a way to squeeze double the number of shortcuts onto the notification tray, and an option to run multiple versions of the same app in case you want WhatsApp messages from two SIM cards at once. Its have the ability to have two instances of apps like WhatsApp and Facebook installed so you do not have to log-out of apps and then log in again. Helpful for those managing both personal and work social profiles. The phone switches off mobile data automatically, as soon as you connect to Wi-Fi, whether or not that network actually has internet access. 

The P2 runs Android 6.0.1 “Marshmallow”. This is no longer the latest version of Android and, at the time of writing, Lenovo hadn’t stated the P2 will get 7.0 “Nougat” upgrade.

Pros and Cons: 

Pros: 

• Metal body feels premium
• Dual Profiles for Apps
• Quick fingerprint scanner
• Fast charging support
• Great battery life

Cons:

• Average Performance
• Micro USB
• Still Running Android 6.0.1
• No scratch protection for display
• Low quality bundled earphones

BatteryLife:

The massive 5100mAh battery, which is among the biggest never seen in a smartphone yet. Incredible battery that will last a solid two days with above average use. A huge 5,100mAh cell inside and great battery saver mode. Battery will last while you stay in this mode with 80 percent of battery left, it predicted another 81 hours of charge. It’s worth noting that when we tested the phone’s battery and kept it running for 3 more days that was without using the power saver modes.

The included fast charger is speeds up to the point where it delivers an impressive 12V 2A charge making the phone charge to a full in around 1.5 hours. When compared to Dash Charge, the Lenovo P2 may stay back in percentages. Talk Time 14 Hours, Screen On Time : 20 Hours +, Internet Browsing : 15 Hours +,Video : 10 Hours +. The Moto G4 Plus dropped 17% while the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge - a phone with great battery life - fell down 14%.

Verdict: 

The P2 would be a pretty decent ₹20,000 phone if it had average battery life. so with a 5100mAh cell on board, it’s an absolute blinder. The Lenovo P2 is designed for those who either travel a lot or forget charging their phone often. Features like a super fast charge, ora long battery life is a boon to a lot of people who work long hours too. 

OK, its camera might not be the greatest, and the Snapdragon 625 isn’t going to set any benchmark records either, but design and build are top notch, the screen is fantastic for the money.

Throw in the premium design and build quality, and you have a phone that delivers tremendous value for money.