Lenovo K9 is priced at Rs 8,999 for the 3GB RAM/32GB internal storage variant and is currently available on Flipkart. This puts it in direct competition with other entry-level smartphones like Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1, Xiaomi Redmi 6 and a few others.
So does the Lenovo K9 stand out? Let’s find out in our review.
https://images.indianexpress.com/2020/08/1x1.pngLenovo K9 Specifications: 5.72-inch HD+ Max Vision display (1440 x 720 pixels) with 18:9 aspect ratio | MediaTek Helio P22 | Imagination’s PowerVR GE8320 GPU | 3GB RAM | 32GB internal storage expandable | 13MP + 5MP back camera | 13MP + 5MP front camera | 3,000 mAh battery | Android 8.1Oreo |
Lenovo K9 Review price in India: Rs 8,999
Lenovo K9 Review: What’s good?
The first thing that appealed to me when I got the Lenovo K9 was its glass build, at this price it is extremely rare that you find a smartphone utilising the glass sandwich design. The device is extremely easy to hold and operate single-handedly.
Another thing is that Lenovo has not cut corners when it comes to build quality and specifications. The device has a 3,000mAh battery, which provides over a day worth of usage on a single charge. It has dual camera setups on both the front and back. The MediaTek Helio P22 processor is quite impressive in the stats that it delivers. Finally, the company has gone all out on the ports department providing consumers with a 3.5mm audio output jack and a Type-C port, which no other manufacturer provides at this price point.
Lenovo K9 has dual camera setups on both the front and back.
The display on the Lenovo K9 is pretty good considering that it was legible outdoors under direct sunlight. There is no need to cover the display to read a message when you are out and about while the sun is shining. Editing images was a joy on this display even though it had a resolution of 1440 x 720 pixels as the display is pretty bright, vivid and colour accurate.
Both the front and back dual camera modules use the same sensors, which click pretty impressive shots. The images taken were sharp, colours vibrant and the images had a good amount of detail in them.
Lenovo K9’s back camera consists of a dual camera setup. Images taken with the Lenovo K9 come out with good colour representation and are quite sharp. Lenovo K9 hs quite a wide-angle lens allowing users to include a lot of subjects in one frame. The front camera performs exactly the same as the back camera with a few software modifications like the beautification mode.The front camera performs exactly the same as the back camera. In addition to that, it also consists of a beautification mode, which will make you look whiter than snow. So my recommendation here would be to keep using the front camera without turning on the beautification mode.
The phone features a 3,000mAh non-removable battery, which was able to get me through a full day with charge left to spare at night. During the time period I had the device, I usually played a few games, browsed the internet for some time, streamed videos, read and reverted to some e-mails and checked my social media accounts.
Lenovo K9 runs Google’s Android 8.1 Oreo operating system with a few enhancements made by the company. The software looks and feels as if it is mostly stock Android, and doesn’t lag or stutter anywhere until and unless you start heavily multi-tasking.
Lenovo K9 seems to be an overall winner at this price point with good design, display and cameras.Coming to the performance, I didn’t face many problems while using the smartphone daily during the testing period. The device handled most light and medium jobs quite well and without showing any lags or stutters. With more heavy-duty tasks like running graphics heavy games, the phone does not fare so well.
Lenovo K9 Review: What’s not good?
Even though the design and build are quite good on this smartphone, the plastic frame to hold the front and back glass panels makes the device feel a bit flimsy. Lenovo has minimised the bezels on the K9 a lot, however, considering that most other manufacturers are providing much better aspect ratios by offering a notched display it doesn’t feel modern.
Auto brightness mode is a hit or miss situation on this device as there were times the display’s auto brightness feature fails to work and you will have to adjust the brightness levels manually.
Editing RAW images and playing heavy games like PUBG Mobile and Asphalt 9 gave a lot of stutters and frame loss.The device usually took more than 2 hours and 30 minutes to charge from 0-100 per cent. During the charging process, our unit heated up quite a bit. Lenovo has added a lot of bloatware apps like UC Browser, App Daily, Sonic Runners Adventures. These bloatware apps take up the device resources. These days even 32GB will seem less for some users, especially for those who like to take a lot of photos with their phone.
Lenovo K9 comes with a 3.5mm audio output jack and a Type-C port.While the device performed quite well in normal usage, doing any heavy tasks on it were a nightmare. Playing heavy games like PUBG Mobile and Asphalt 9 resulted in stuttering and frame loss. Sometimes, the device would show major lag and get extremely warm to the touch.
Lenovo K9 Review: Verdict
Lenovo K9 seems to be an overall winner at this price point with good design, display and cameras. The device looks and feels premium. However, performance in heavy duty gaming, editing images can be a challenge. Still considering the positives, Lenovo K9 is still a pretty decent offering at the price.