Today we will review Lenovo Zuk Z1. Although, globally, this Phone was introduced as Zuk Z1, but Lenovo launched it in India under the name Lenovo Zuk Z1, intending to keep its main name. Notably, the Zuk Z1 was first launched in China in September last year. That’s why reviewing this phone today is a bit outdated. Today we will know in our research the advantages and disadvantages of Lenovo Zuk Z1.
look and design
It was only a few years ago that a phone with a 5.5-inch screen was considered too big. With this, the discussion started by seeing a big phone in your hand. But today, due to the high media consumption on smartphones, size is an essential condition. The Lenovo Zuk Z1 comes in at the same size, though it definitely feels a bit heavier.
The two main reasons for the bulk of this smartphone are the metal frame and the 4100 mAh battery, which makes the phone weigh 175 grams. However, the phone does not have a unibody case and the rear panel is made of plastic. The user cannot access the battery. Along with the frame, there is a dual SIM tray on the left side. The phone does not support expandable storage, so there is no microSD card slot.
Lenovo Zuk Z1 is available in White and Space Gray color variants in India. Our review unit was in grey, which we liked a little better than white. The back of the phone has a dull metallic finish. There is no Lenovo branding on the phone, but there is only the Zuk logo at the bottom of the rear. The camera and flash have been placed in the middle at the top of the rear. Overall, we liked the look, design, and style of the phone.
At the bottom, the Lenovo Zuk Z1 has a microphone, a speaker, and a USB Type-C port for charging and data transfer. Users will get a 13W power adapter and a USB 3.0 cable (with a Type-A plug on one side and a Type-C plug on the other) in the box with the phone. The power and volume buttons are on the right side of the phone, while the 3.5mm headphone jack is on the top. About 70 percent of the front of the phone is taken up by the screen, while on top of it are the camera, earpiece, and proximity sensor. At the bottom is the physical home button with the integrated fingerprint sensor. There is a capacitive Android navigation button just below the screen.
We have seen many of these smartphones in which the fingerprint sensor is integrated into the home button itself. Many phones, including the Samsung Galaxy A8 and HTC One A9 (review), unlock the phone with just a touch (even in standby), but the Zuk Z1 doesn’t. This phone needs to be activated by pressing the home button and holding the button until the fingerprint is recognized.
This is not only a problem in itself, but the button requires a bit more effort to press. The sensor works quite quickly and accurately to unlock the phone. But the process is not as easy as with other devices. Previously, the sensor also used to act as a capacitive back button, but this has now been disabled via a software update.
Lenovo Zuk Z1 has a screen with a resolution of 1080×1920 pixels, which has a density of 401 PPI. The screen is great and covers almost all needs. The phone’s IPS-LCD screen isn’t quite as bright as we’d hoped, and even at the highest brightness level, it doesn’t get quite as bright as it should. However, the Polarize coating given to the screen helps to easily use the phone in bright sunlight, so there is no need for too much brightness on the phone.
Apart from this, the phone also has LiveDisplay, with the help of this setting, the color tone of the screen can be optimized depending on the time of day.
Specification
While today’s smartphones under Rs 15,000 are powered by the latest MediaTek Helio or Snapdragon 600 series processors, the Lenovo Zuk Z1 has a premium but older 32-bit quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor clocked at 2 .5 GHz. Snapdragon 801 smartphones were first introduced to the market almost two years ago, so Lenovo’s choice of processor is questionable. Especially 32-bit processors, whereas virtually all hardware now comes on 63-bit processors.
The Zuk Z1 packs 3 GB of RAM and the phone supports 4G connectivity on both SIMs (with support for Indian bands), Wi-Fi ac connectivity. To make the smartphone powerful, a 4100 mAh battery has been provided. The phone has 64GB of built-in storage, but it doesn’t support expandable storage, so you have to make do with limited storage.
Software
The Lenovo Zuk Z1 smartphone runs on Cyanogen OS 12.1, which is based on Android 5.1.1. Although the phone is said to have been updated to Cyanogen OS 13 based on Android 6.0, this update is not present on the phone’s OTA software update system. Cyanogen OS definitely offers the option to customize the phone as per your convenience.
In many ways, Cyanogen OS works like stock Android and you can even change the theme to look like stock Android. The hallmark of the system is its customization in every way and we saw it in the Lenovo Zuk Z1. The home screen and app drawer can be changed to different layouts. Apart from this, the grid size, hover effect, and icon labels can also be changed and toggled. There is much more to do with the phone. Apart from this, you can also control the user interface at a very basic level.
Apart from this, there are many different options available in the Settings app, so that you can control the device in a better way. There are also plenty of options like turning the light on or off when the phone is charging, notification light color for battery alerts, custom actions for the home and recent buttons, separate items for the status bar and drawer. notifications. Cyanogen OS is a great system for power users who want more control over their phone. We enjoy using this phone.
camera
The Lenovo Zuk Z1 has a 13-megapixel rear camera that is powered by Sony’s IMX 214 sensor. The camera has optical image stabilization and a dual-LED flash. The phone has an 8-megapixel front camera. Videos up to 1080 pixels can be recorded with both cameras. Apart from this, there is also 60fps video recording from the rear camera.
The camera app is Cyanogen’s Camera Next, which comes with many great options to use and work with. Frequently used switches are easily accessible from the viewfinder screen, including flash, camera, and timer settings. Videos can be recorded with just one touch. Panoramic mode can also be easily toggled. Apart from this, resolution settings, manual control and codec selection can be done by going to the settings menu. These options also provide an option to enhance photos and videos.
The phone’s camera is very good and the images come out sharp and detailed. The color tone is also correct in the pictures. Photos are good in good light, while in low light we also manage to take good photos with little noise and dispersion. Compared to natural light, images are not as good indoors, but based on detail and color, they can be considered good.
Video is much better quality in good light, but quality deteriorates in low light.
performance
Despite the two-year-old processor, the performance of the Lenovo Zooook Z1 is decent. However, you’ll get much better performance on the newer Qualcomm 650 and 652 processors than are available on other devices in the same price range. Apart from this, it is also worth remembering that the Adreno 330 GPU is also very old and does not support OpenGL ES 3.1 and 3.2, so some of the newer graphics-intensive games cannot be played on the phone. .
The overall performance of the phone was excellent. Along with this, we couldn’t even see any heating or shutter issues on the phone. Credit for this definitely goes to the Cyanogen OS, which makes sure the Zuk Z1 runs smoothly and without any issues.
We got great numbers in the phone benchmark test, especially in the graphics benchmark.
In the Zuk Z1’s video loop test, its battery got us through for 13 hours and 40 minutes, which is a great feature of the phone. On the other hand, during normal use, we could run the Zuk Z1 for more than a day on a single charge. Wi-Pie, cellular connectivity and call quality are also very good. But the phone’s speaker (which gives very poor sound) lets it down. However, the headphones provide decent sound for music and video players.
our verdict
Lenovo has created a great device in the form of the Zuk Z1. The phone’s design and build are excellent, the software works well, the screen is excellent, and the storage is plentiful. Connectivity and battery life are also excellent. Apart from this, the screen is also sharp and the phone can be customized according to yours. Above all, the company has kept the price of the phone in such a way that the customers will surely be attracted to this phone. Especially those advanced users who know a bit about Cyanogen OS.
But, the phone also has some notable drawbacks. Although we did not see any decrease in its performance while using the phone. The phone runs on an older 32-bit processor and GPU, which can cause issues with some newer games and apps. Other than this, there is an old version of Cyanogen OS and Android and no information about the new software update has been received. Apart from this, buying the Z1 will also not be easy as this phone will be sold through a flash sale.
Considering the price, the Lenovo Zuk Z1 is a great option that comes with great features. If hardware obsolescence is not an issue for you and you want to use it as a secondary phone, the Zuk Z1 is definitely better than other smartphones in this price range.
