Lenovo Vibe P1 [review]

Through the last years, Lenovo have built up their smartphone division and we were witnesses to many new models. The battery’s long life is the most characteristic feature in these devices. The company has something new that can delight the fans of durable phones. The model, whose review we are about to introduce to you, is called Lenovo VIBE P1, and we expect a lot from the large 5000mAh battery, which is certainly an attention-grabber.

The fact that we have a large battery does not mean that the other features are not on the desired level. We also have a 5.5-inch Full HD display and quad-core Snapdragon mobile processor 615. You can expect a metal casing, although it looks much like HTC One M8. We know that Lenovo’s UI comes with a long list of features and apps, so we have high expectations about the software options. We have a pretty curious device in our hands, so let’s get into it.

Design and construction:

At first sight, VIBE P1 grabs one’s attention with its aluminum body, which gives it a premium appearance. The latter is reinforced by how device feels in our hands and, though admittedly it’s a just slightly bulky at 9.9mm thick. The device is not very light for 5.5-inch smartphone – 189g. However, these measurements do not surprise us, since there’s a really big battery hidden in VIBE P1.

We’ve noticed the clear similarity between the model and HTC’s One M line, which we will accept as a plus, because we are talking about a series of high-end devices, where models are more expensive than VIBE P1. We see a slightly convex rear and small plastic strips at the top and bottom. The main camera is located in the middle, and there is a dual LED flash below it, while a little further down is the inscription Vibe. At the bottom you will find one more inscription – Lenovo, accompanied with additional product specifications. Specific to the front of the smartphone is the physical Home button, which has a built-in fingerprint sensor. It has touch back buttons on both sides, which serve to open the multitasking menu. Above the screen are the earpiece, front camera, proximity sensors and light, as well as an LED indicator; the last two are completely invisible on the black background.

The buttons for volume adjustment and Power button are located on the right side. They are slightly convex, but comfortable enough, offering sufficiently long travel. On the left side we can see a small switch, which serves to automatically enter simple mode, making general use simpler and extending battery life. We will talk more about it later. You can find the micro USB port at the bottom of the device, as well as symmetrically located small holes on both sides, imitating stereo speakers. There’s actually only one speaker and a built-in microphone on one side. There is an additional microphone in the upper section, accompanied by headphone jack.

The back cover of the model can’t be removed and the available slots can be accessed by removing the top plastic cap. There’s a small opening that makes this easy to do. There is a microSD slot and a dual SIM slot on the opposite side. The smartphone uses Nano-SIM cards and they are inserted via a “drawer”, designed to accommodate two SIM cards.

Display:

Lenovo Vibe P1 features a capacitive multi-touch IPS display with a 5.5-inch (13.97 cm) diagonal and a ratio of 16: 9. Its resolution is 1080 x 1920 pixels and pitch – 0.063 x 0.063 mm, or 401 pixels per inch. The screen is considered “Retina” if it is observed from a distance of more than or equal to 23 cm, which is less than normal for reading. Therefore, we rate it as excellent. The sub pixels of the matrix can be seen on the microscope picture.

Lenovo Vibe P1’s display offers comfortable viewing angles. Here’s the image at a 45° angle.

Power Manager

The high results can be increased further if we use energy-saving mode. The first such option can be found in the settings menu and includes small changes like decreased brightness and limited vibration. If you need more endurance, you will have to switch to simplified mode with the help of a physical switch located on the left side of the smartphone.

The background becomes dark and only the main features, like phone calls and messages, are available. You can also add some more apps like calendar, calculator and radio.

Software:

Lenovo VIBE P1 runs Android 5.1 Lollipop, but the most important thing is the availability of Lenovo’s UI, which packs lots of features and pre-installed applications.

Speaking of apps, we have CamCard to scan and store your business cards; there’s also CamScanner to scan receipts, invoices, etc. The smartphone offers another features – Evernote – for taking notes, WPS Office for reading and editing documents, UC browser (for those who prefer it to Google Chrome), a 30 day trial of Route 66 navigation, detailed user handbook, where you can find a variety of features. Also available is SHAREit for information transfer between devices, and SYNCit for syncing to cloud service or SD memory card. You will also find Twitter, Skype, Facebook and a file manager

Camera:

Vibe P1 is equipped with a 13-megapixels rear camera, resolution of 4160 x 3120 pixels, with LED flash – the latter consists of two LEDs with different color temperatures. Having that assures that we take quality photos in variable and poor lighting conditions.

Resolution

The camera resolution in lph (Lines per Picture Height), which is a result of combining both the lens and the matrix, is determined by the ISO 12233 test chart.

The camera can reach a maximum resolution of 2250 lph in the middle of the field, which results in images with high definition.

We can get a subjective, but sufficiently accurate idea of the image detail, color noise and aberrations.

Correct color reproduction

Lenovo Vibe P1’s camera re-creates a color test table with acceptable oversaturation, desirable from a commercial perspective (mostly in the reds)

Blue	very good
Green	good
Red	satisfactory
Yellow	good
Magenta	good
Cyan	good
White	excellent
Grey	very good

Temperatures and comfort:

We’ve had some cases of devices operating with Snapdragon 615 failing in our temperature test. They usually became too hot to the touch after intensive loads. But fortunately, this does not appear to be one of those instances. Before making the measurements, we put the smartphone through several hours of 3D gaming, simulated by using the Epic Citadel app. The hottest point was in the camera area- 37.2 degrees, while in the other sections the temperature was far from high. We measured 34.8 degrees in the middle, and at the bottom – 34.5. In any case, users should not be at all concerned about these temperatures.

Conclusion

Lenovo Vibe P1 met our high expectations. The battery capacity – 5000mAh – leaves a great impression, especially after the test results. The 5.5-inch display and metal body are components which propel the device forward, compared to other models of the middle class. We can define its bulky body as a disadvantage, but that is the pay-off for the large battery. In addition, VIBE P1 has some other features such as a fingerprint sensor, a physical simple mode switch, making life easier for the battery. It’s great that Snapdragon 615 didn’t lead to high temperatures in this device. Lenovo has done a really good job, filling your UI with a variety of applications and useful features

More informations : GSM Arena