First look at the Lenovo Vibe Z2. Bluetooth is a standard for secure wireless transfer of data between different types of devices over short distances.

Having enjoyed the success of the new product, representatives of Lenovo decided to recall those who are not ready to unfasten two or three salaries for a smartphone, and released the Vibe Z2 with a 5.5-inch screen.

The smartphone has lost some weight in diagonal and characteristics, but received an attractive price tag. Let's get to know him better.

Last time I really liked to write a review in the style of "what is good and what is bad", so I decided to continue the tradition, making it easier for not only myself to perceive the device, but also for you.

Packaging and equipment

Lenovo Vibe Z2 comes in a beautiful and neat branded box with the Vibe series logo. Inside, everything is familiar:

• charging block with a current of 1.5 A
• USB flat cable
• earplugs
• documentation
• a clip for extracting a sim card

The program was completed at least in terms of configuration, that's nice.

Design and ergonomics

What is good:

Lenovo Vibe Z2 retained the appearance of its older brother, and therefore a nice all-metal body. Plastic can only be found on the top and bottom edges.

The smartphone is superbly assembled and sufficiently resistant to damage. What is a little funny, colleagues, taking a look at the device, compared it to the Xiaomi Mi3. The external similarity is actually not great, but the software shells of smartphones are very similar.

As for a 5.5-inch phablet, Lenovo Vibe Z2 fits perfectly in the hand, and with proper dexterity, it allows you to operate the interface with one hand. The side bezels around the screen are almost invisible. I was also pleased with the presence of a notification indicator located next to the front camera.

The power / lock button on the right edge fits perfectly under your right thumb or left index finger.

What's bad:

The buttons on the right side are pretty damn loose and easy to press, which can create certain inconveniences during operation. The tray for a pair of microSIM cards located on the left side cannot be removed without the supplied paper clip or needle. The camera protrudes above the body, creating an imbalance and an edge to one side when the smartphone is on the table.

Screen

What is good:

Lenovo Vibe Z2 got a good IPS-matrix with good color reproduction at its disposal. There is an automatic brightness control, the range is enough for any needs. The oleophobic coating of the screen does its job well. I would also like to praise the preset color rendering modes.

Adaptive mode turns white into creamy yellow, making night reading a pleasure, while a dedicated outdoor preset adds readability in bright sunlight.

What's bad:

HD resolution for 5.5 inches is somewhat underpowered by modern standards. The graininess of the image is noticeable on individual application icons, but it is not striking in the work.

The brightness adjustment sensor decently brakes on the street, and brings the indicator to the desired level for about 5-8 seconds.

Cameras

What is good:

The Lenovo Vibe Z2 boasts an 8MP front-facing camera for great selfies. There is a portion of branded "enhancers" of images for those who like to always be at their best.

The main module of 13 megapixels is complemented by a dual LED flash and demonstrates excellent results in good lighting. In proportion to the decrease in the level of light, the quality of the images suffers. The HDR mode helps out in part. Launching and filming are almost instantaneous. There is automatic exposure metering and a wide range of settings. Even when using the zoom, the quality of the pictures will turn out decent, which can help out if you cannot get close to the subject.

Examples of photos:

Video shooting example:

What's bad:

As I already said, the quality of the images begins to sag in low light conditions, noise and color errors appear. Also, due to the protruding design, the camera module is prone to damage. The camera has no other drawbacks, this is a very solid solution.

Hardware platform

What is good:

Someone at the sight of a processor of the four hundredth series will immediately close the material and say that this is horror and despondency. And someone will continue reading and will be pleasantly surprised, as I was, when I started using the Lenovo Vibe Z2. Despite not the highest frequencies, the architecture of the Cortex-A53 cores paired with the graphics of the Adreno 306 allows not only to smoothly render the interface, but also to play the most demanding games a la Asphalt 8 or Dead Effect.

2 GB of RAM is enough for full-fledged multitasking, and 32 GB of RAM is the best storage option for almost any need.

It is also worth noting that Lenovo Vibe Z2 is not very susceptible to heat during operation. But during charging, it heats up decently.

Parrots are here:

What's bad:

One can complain about the lack of a memory card slot. The amount of free RAM during active operation is at the level of 300 megabytes, which makes us think about the optimal use of it. It seems to me that this moment could be corrected by a software update.

Software platform

What is good:

Branded and beloved by many VibeUI in all its glory. Themes, icons, a convenient notification panel, a bunch of additional options in the settings - everything is in place. OS version - 4.4.4.

The work of the shell is commendable - no delays or jerks were detected while navigating the interface. The special settings menu turned out to be especially useful for me, where there are a lot of little things needed in everyday life.

What's bad:

Switching to a pure android, as in the older model, in the case of Lenovo Vibe Z2 is no longer possible, and nothing is known about the timing of the update to version 5.0. Calling up and working with the multitasking menu turns into outright torment for two reasons:

1. No physical or virtual button (you have to hold down the function key for a couple of seconds)
2. The button for closing all active programs has to be additionally pulled out of a special curtain on the left

Sound

What is good:

Lenovo Vibe Z2 has a good speaker, which is located under the left grill at the bottom of the smartphone. At the same time, the right one plays a decorative role. The speaker itself is practically not muffled during games, although if you wish, you can do this on purpose without any problems. The volume reserve is enough not to miss an incoming call while on a noisy street. A good vibration motor also contributes to this. There are no complaints about the quality of speech transmission, the interlocutor is heard well and clearly.

What's bad:

Alas, I still haven't seen a proprietary player or an equalizer from Lenovo. If you want to improve the sound quality in headphones, you will have to resort to third-party developments. The maximum volume level for headphones seemed to me insufficient, especially when listening to music in the subway.

Autonomy

What is good:

Lenovo Vibe Z2 received a 3000 mAh battery. The manufacturer claims a smartphone's lifespan from a single charge at up to 30 hours (2G), up to 28 hours (3G) in talk time and up to 408 hours in standby mode. In practice, the smartphone confidently survives until the evening, leaving in reserves from half to a quarter of the charge, depending on the intensity of use. In most cases, Vibe Z2 worked for me for two full days, giving out a total of about 6 hours of screen.

For emergencies, the manufacturer has provided a "super-economy" mode, which turns off all data transmission and isolates applications, leaving only voice and SMS.

Confident life from one charge to the smartphone is provided by an energy-efficient platform from Qualcomm and a low-resolution screen, which reduces the load on the graphics accelerator.

What's bad:

In game mode or when working with a smartphone at maximum brightness, the coveted indicator of screen time will drop to about four hours. If most of the time you work with your smartphone outdoors, it is likely that by the end of the working day the phablet will already be asked to charge.

conclusions

The manufacturer managed to make a successful heir to the Lenovo Vibe Z2 Pro, while reasonably cutting back on the filling. Vibe Z2 is a metal-clad phablet with support for two SIM-cards, a solid camera, productive filling and a pleasant branded shell.

The compromise in this model is the screen, or rather its resolution, and the inability to expand the volume of a 32 GB drive.

The smartphone has no critical flaws or obvious problems, for which we boldly assign it the title "Approved by Root-Nation" and recommend it for purchase.

Prices in online stores

It is possible to display other models if this one is not in the catalog.

Vibe Z2. This creation of the Chinese manufacturer appeared on the mobile device market not so long ago. We'll talk more about the device itself a little later, and we'll start the article with a small introduction to the history of the flagship.

About Lenovo

We all remember very well that the Lenovo manufacturer bought out the Motorola Mobility company, after which he solemnly made a promise in which he mentioned his plans to divide the smartphone market. More specifically, the Chinese firm has decided, if you can call it that, to crush several segments for itself in order to ensure sustainable dominance over other companies. At the same time, as expected, Lenovo announced strong ambitions: it wanted to take no less than the third place in sales at least. Instead of (minimal!) Bronze, the Chinese company did not even intend to reckon with it. This option was de facto not even considered.

Despite such seemingly unreasonably ambitious performances, the firm has every chance to make its wish come true. Currently, there are official data that can tell us that Lenovo closes the top five in the smartphone market. Don't you think that this is really a result that is worth our attention? Nevertheless, we will assess the manufacturer's success soberly. Of course, the bulk of the devices sold are sold in China. On the territory of the Russian Federation, devices ranked as A-series are more popular. A shift in the situation was outlined when a series of flagships called the Vibe appeared on the horizon.

Parsing models

A stripped-down version of the flagship has already been released. Many call it Lenovo Vibe Z2 Mini, but the last word from the name is best removed, because that is how official sources and representatives of the Chinese company position it. There are probably practical reasons for this. In fact, just answer one question: can a phone with a 5.5-inch screen be dubbed the name Mini? It will look illogical at least. Nevertheless, this word still occurs in the device index. That is, it is called like this: K920 Mini. But it is much easier to exhibit the device simply under the name Vibe Z2, which is what we see.

The Lenovo Vibe Z2 Titanium gets its name from the use of exclusively metallic materials in its construction. Before us is a device that has a thickness of only 7.8 millimeters, is equipped with a sufficiently powerful and high-quality camera (built-in optical stabilization function). As for the rest, it should be noted support for two SIM cards, the presence and operation of a 64-bit processor from the Qualcomm family, a powerful battery with a capacity of 3,000 mAh. The cost of the device is 20 thousand rubles. But the price is justified as prices for all mobile devices are currently increasing. In the meantime, we move on to a more detailed analysis.

Connection

The subject of our today's review is equipped with a large number of very different modules, and now we will talk about them in more detail. So, the phone works in the GSM, UMTS and LTE bands. The latter actually means open access to fourth-generation cellular networks. Well, in principle, for a device of the corresponding price segment, this is rather the rule than the exception. 4G networks will allow the owner of the phone to exchange data and Internet traffic at an increased speed. Now you can download and upload pictures, music, videos and movies faster. Do not forget that the interaction with the browser and web pages in it will also be faster.

International network

By the way, about the Internet. Access to it is provided through 3G and 4G standards. Options with GPRS and EDGE are possible. But, of course, the first two are preferable. A built-in modem is provided. If necessary, you can create a Wi-Fi hotspot. Other users who have wireless modules in their devices will be able to connect to it. These can be smartphones on different operating systems, tablets and laptops. It will also be possible to connect to the access point from a computer, but only if there is a network card with a Wi-Fi module installed there.

Bluetooth technology allows you to exchange files with other devices. Here her module is equipped according to version 4.0. Wi-Fi works in the b, g and n bands. If you actively use e-mail to exchange messages with other users, then you will probably use the built-in E-mail client. It will be possible to synchronize a smartphone with a computer or laptop via a MicroUSB - USB 2.0 cable.

Display

The diagonal of the screen in "Lenovo Vibe Z2" is 5.5 inches. The display matrix is ​​made using IPS technology. This means that the user will not need to think especially about whether his vision deteriorates. IPS technology reduces eye strain, which allows reading e-books from the device's screen for a long time, even in night mode with minimally activated backlighting. Our screen resolution is 1280 by 720 pixels. Thus, the picture is displayed in HD quality on the display. Up to 16 million colors are transmitted. The color rendition is generally good; the fonts and the picture do not fade in the sun. There is a good margin of brightness. Touch type. There is a multi-touch function. It handles multiple simultaneous touches. To further protect the screen, you can purchase a case for Lenovo Vibe Z2 from a cellular dealer.

Cameras

The resolution of the main camera of the device is 13 megapixels. The device takes very good pictures, and the user has the ability to change the settings as they see fit. Pictures are obtained in a resolution of 4128 by 3096 pixels. As mentioned earlier, the device is equipped with an optical image stabilization function. The case for Lenovo Vibe Z2 allows you to protect the device from mechanical damage, but does not block the flash located on the side of the main camera lens. LED flash with good power. Video filming is carried out in a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels. The frame rate is 30 frames per second. An additional camera is located on the front of the phone, its resolution is 8 megapixels. Selfie lovers will definitely appreciate it.

Chipset

The hardware part is represented by a Qualcomm processor family. This is a model named MSM8916. As part of the chipset, four cores work at once, which, meanwhile, ensure the smooth operation of the operating system. Their maximum clock frequency is about 1.2 GHz.

Memory

The amount of RAM is 2 gigabytes. Let's not forget that a part of it is taken by the jealous and greedy operating system of the Android family. For storing user data, 32 gigabytes of non-volatile memory are available. In principle, this is not so little. The volume can be filled with any files, be it e-books, games or applications, cache programs, music, videos or movies. It doesn't matter, in general.

Conclusion and feedback

What can the owners of this model tell about its pros and cons? According to customer reviews of the device, it has the following advantages:

• good main camera with optical stabilization;
• excellent front camera with 8 megapixels;
• exceptionally thin metal body;
• work with two SIM cards;
• large amount of long-term memory;
• powerful battery.

At the same time, the owners of the device talk about the presence of some minor and major shortcomings. For example, many users noted that the resolution with such a diagonal could have been made larger. Otherwise, the owners of the phone highlight the following disadvantages:

• lack of a slot for external microSD storage;
• protruding lens of the main camera.

A smartphone called Lenovo Vibe Z2 was presented by the Chinese manufacturer at the international exhibition of mobile electronics IFA 2014. The exact release date of the gadget: September 4, 2014, but users were able to touch the new device in early 2015. This is the younger brother of the Pro gadget, which became the flagship in the summer of 2014. But should you buy the Vibe Z2 in 2017? The answer to this question will be given by our full review of this phone.

Specifications

All the detailed technical characteristics of the device are located below, but it is worth noting the most basic ones from the list. The smartphone is powered by a 3000 mAh battery, which is great, since for a 5.5-inch display in 2014 such a battery can last a long time on a single charge. The processor is the most budgetary in the line. Pleased with the amount of ROM - here it is equal to 32 GB. Other characteristics are also encouraging, but in reality the picture can change significantly.

Completion and packaging

The packaging of the gadget is beautiful. At first glance, it may seem black, but the box is painted in an unusual color - a mix of gray, black and silver colors. In principle, such packaging is present in all devices of the Lenovo Vibe line. The more professional model also comes with such stylish packaging.

The package bundle of the smartphone looks like this

In front of the box you can find the name of the smartphone, on the side there are serial numbers and IMEI codes, and at the very bottom there is a description of all the technical specifications of the device. Now about the delivery set. What is the Lenovo Vibe Z2 package?

• Instruction.
• Warranty card.
• Charger.
• MicroUSB charging cable.
• A clip for a tray for two Micro-SIM-cards.
• Headphones with microphone.

The package bundle is absolutely standard and you can't see anything fantastic here. The smartphone came to the market in the following colors: Titanium, White and Gold.

Video

Appearance and design

The design in the smartphone is excellent. This is probably one of the most beautiful devices of the company. It is strict, graceful, this device is clearly for real men. There are no rounded corners here - they are straight and sharp. The back panel is made of metal. The aluminum is brushed here, which can be seen by the vertical stripes on the back cover.

The camera and LED flash on the back are hidden in a separate black block. There is a company logo under it. At the very bottom of the backdrop, there is a plastic strip for the mobile antenna. The front panel is equipped with a 5.5-inch display, front camera, three touch buttons and sensors. Above there is a headphone jack, and below there are perforation zones for a microphone and a multimedia speaker. There is also a port for charging USB 2.0 of the microUSB type.

The left side contains a tray for SIM-cards, and on the right there are volume control buttons and a power key for the gadget. Basically, the design of this model is completely copied from the appearance of the Lenovo Vibe Z2 Pro.

The build is good. The body does not creak, but the controls on the left end and the tray on the right are dangling. The device is inconvenient to use with one hand due to its size. The dimensions of the device are equal: 148.5x76.4x7.8 mm, and the weight is 158 g. A large and wide display has done its job. But the back panel is non-slip and even pleasant. Right corners of the body can also be called a disadvantage, because if the gadget is in your pants pocket, then these corners create some discomfort. Yes, this solution is rather unusual and attractive, but impractical.

The unit is available in white, gray and gold, and neither color option collects fingerprints. Below you can take a look at all the Lenovo Vibe Z2 color schemes.

The smartphone is available in these shades

Display

A 5.5-inch display with HD or 1280x720 pixels is installed in front. The display is bright, juicy, there are no dead pixels. Covers the display matrix flat protective glass without oleophobic coating. The screen is made using IPS technology. OGS technology was also used in the production of the matrix.

Lenovo has added a huge variety of different settings to its shell that can change the color white balance at the user's request. This is convenient if your eyes are sore from cold shades or, conversely, from warm ones. There is a night mode that allows you to read books at night without harming your further sleep and eyes.

I was glad that even in direct sunlight the picture can be seen on the screen. Customizable white balance and auto-brightness modes can also help - the light sensor works flawlessly. The color rendition of the screen is excellent, there is the possibility of activating the sRGB mode.

The viewing angles of the display are wide, the image does not fade, the colors do not shift in case of deviations.

The touchscreen is responsive and understands up to five simultaneous finger touches - for 2014 this is an excellent indicator. The viewing angles are good. Under critical deviations of the display, only black color fades.

Software

The smartphone has a pre-installed Android 4.4 KitKat operating system. This is clearly not a pure "Android", since Lenovo has changed not only the interface of the desktops, but also the system settings. On top of the OS there is an outer shell of the sixth version of Lenovo Launcher. It works quickly and smoothly, the animation does not slow down.

The shell itself is equipped with great functionality. The company has integrated gestures into the system, which are located in a special section of settings. Yes, the options menu now has two sections: one for the usual Android system configurations, and the other for activating various gestures and customizing the system's interface.

In Lenovo Vibe Z2, the company managed to make its shell work quickly along with a huge number of functions and various really useful chips. By the way, there is already an update on Android for newer versions. They can also be downloaded on the w3bsit3-dns.com forum.

Sound

We can immediately say that there is no stereo sound here. One multimedia speaker is installed below. I was pleased with its location, because when Lenovo Vibe Z2 lies on the table, the sound will not be distorted and overlapped - definitely a plus. The sound emitted from the speaker is good. There is bass, the speaker is loud, so the user will not miss a call on public transport. You can also listen to music from it. For YouTube video playback, the main speaker is generally ideal.

During conversations, the interlocutor will not complain about the quality of the microphone in the Lenovo Vibe Z2, because it is of high quality and works as it should. It is assisted by an additional noise canceling microphone, which is located on the rear panel. It captures noises, distant voices or the sound of your TV, so that the other person will only hear you and not the news in the background. The earpiece speaker does not wheeze or make noise, it works perfectly and does its job perfectly.

The sound in the headphones is saturated with low and high frequencies, it is normal. But insufficient volume spoils the whole picture. The test was carried out not with a complete cheap headset, but with high-quality vacuum "ears". In public transport, against the background of the music being played, other people's voices and the sound of a motor could be heard - an unpleasant addition to your favorite track. Overall, the sound is good.

Performance

The manual says that the performance in the Lenovo Vibe Z2 is the responsibility of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 quad-core processor, which is based on a 64-bit architecture. But everyone knows that Android 4.4 understands only 32-bit processors, which means that the processor does not work normally out of the box, since its full potential cannot be revealed. But this smartphone is the first from Lenovo with a 64-bit chipset. All cores of the Cortex-A53 processor operate at 1.7 GHz.

The memory sizes are equal to 2 GB of RAM and 32 GB of ROM, not expandable with memory cards. In principle, such a volume was normal by the standards of 2014, which can be added to the list of the gadget's advantages. 2 GB is enough for all tasks of the Android 4.4 KitKat operating system.

Unfortunately, the test in Antutu on the fourth Android is biased and showed only 21 thousand points, and this is not enough for the Snapdragon 410. It is not clear why the manufacturer rushed and installed a 64-bit processor before the release of the supporting system. Hardware budget, and this is a fact. The phone cost 400 bucks at the start of sales, and installing a budget-class processor is not the fairest and correct decision from Lenovo.

The smartphone does not heat up during games. You can play puzzles, casual games. Sophisticated toys also work here, but at low graphics settings.

The device is equipped with a huge abundance of different networking standards. There is support for 4G-connection; Micro-SIM cards can be installed inside the device. GPS works adequately and quickly, satellites are searched for instantly, and there are many of them. Of the most necessary chips, we note NFC, which allows you to quickly pay for purchases with a card, and Wi-Fi in the AC standard. This means that the wireless network will be able to operate in the 5 GHz band.

Camera

13 megapixel main camera of the smartphone

The front and rear cameras in the Lenovo Vibe Z2 have 8 and 13 megapixel extensions, respectively. They shoot at the same level. The built-in Camera application has a lot of different functions, so it will take a long time to describe them. Among the main ones, we note the HDR mode, level, panoramic and night modes. HDR works abnormally and when shooting greatly overestimates the brightness and contrast, which is why the photo loses its natural colors.

Photos taken with the main camera are of excellent quality. There are no highlights or artifacts in the pictures. It records video in Full HD or 1920 × 1080 pixels at 30 fps. Good quality. The front camera records excellent pictures during the day, and if there is not enough lighting, the photos turn out to be soapy - a typical problem for smartphones of the line.

Not so long ago, we tested the Lenovo Vibe Z - a smartphone from which the line of the same-named flagships of the Chinese brand began. To our surprise, its case was plastic, there was no support for fourth-generation networks, as well as a connector for expanding flash memory - in general, it seems to be a flagship, but it seems not. At the same time, it is equipped with a very vigorous Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 platform and a bright 5.5-inch screen with Full HD resolution. Vibe Z is still worth from ten thousand rubles - probably, its price will not fall even lower. However, even for that kind of money, it is a very attractive offer.

Lenovo Vibe Z K910L - official photo

The new line of flagships will have two: more - Z2 Pro, and smaller - Z2 (not to be confused with another Z2). We'll get to know the second a little later, but now it's time to study the Lenovo Vibe Z2 Pro. True, we have already talked with him at Mobile Asia Expo 2014. The smartphone seemed to us very interesting, and we decided to study it thoroughly.

⇡ Appearance and ergonomics

An interesting matter: when designing the Z2 Pro, Lenovo engineers turned not to its direct predecessor, but to the K900 model, presented in 2013. It was she who fell in love with many - including us - for the thin monolithic metal case. The smartphone looked great and was a pleasure to hold in your hands. This also applies to the new Vibe Z2 Pro - it too, fortunately, is made of metal.

Lenovo Vibe Z2 Pro

The gadget has grown significantly compared to its predecessor. This is due to the new six-inch display - half an inch larger than the Vibe Z screen. At the same time, Lenovo did their best to reduce the size of the smartphone - the frames around the screen are very thin. Nevertheless, the device looks rather bulky, massive - in the hand it resembles a solid block of aluminum with not too rounded corners. The dimensions of the device can become, perhaps, the main factor repelling the purchase - not everyone will be comfortable using such a large smartphone.

The device weighs a lot - almost 180 grams. It can be somewhat inconvenient to work with it by weight, and this should be taken into account when buying. But its thickness is small - only 7.7 millimeters, according to official figures. True, this figure is not entirely honest. The fact is that the lens of the main 16-megapixel camera protrudes from the body of the smartphone by a good millimeter, framed by a thin red frame so that it does not get scratched when the gadget is on the table.

Lenovo Vibe Z2 Pro with screen on

In terms of the location of the controls, the smartphone is not much different from its counterparts on the Android operating system. At the bottom of the front panel there are three hardware keys with barely noticeable backlighting - "Menu", "Home" and "Back". Above - an earpiece and a 5-megapixel webcam.

Lenovo Vibe Z2 Pro - bezel

The oblong power key is placed on the right side, under the thumb. The button is metal, with a short and distinct stroke. Next to it is a tray for two Micro-SIM cards, which can be removed with a regular "eye clip". Sims are installed one after another in one slot.

Lenovo Vibe Z2 Pro - SIM card slot

The Micro-USB interface is located at the bottom. There is also a slot for the external speaker. A universal 3.5 mm jack for connecting a wired headset is located at the top. The volume control is placed on the left end, under the middle finger of the right hand. The location of the keys is good - despite the large dimensions of the smartphone, you don't have to reach for them.

Lenovo Vibe Z2 Pro - side ends

The back panel of Lenovo Vibe Z2 Pro is textured, but smooth, with an interesting three-dimensional effect - brushed metal shimmers nicely in the light. It is noteworthy that, despite the smooth surface, the smartphone does not slip out of your hands at all. The gadget comes in black, gold and titanium colors.

Lenovo Vibe Z2 Pro - back panel

⇡ Specifications

Lenovo Vibe Z2 Pro - information about the system and hardware according to the CPU-Z application

⇡ Display

The Lenovo Vibe Z2 Pro, as we said, has a rather large display even by modern standards. Its diagonal is six inches, the resolution is Quad HD, or, as Lenovo calls it, 2KHD. However, we are not yet accustomed to such designations, in numbers the resolution looks clearer and more convincing - 1440x2560 pixels, that is, higher than Full HD. Vibe Z2 Pro is the second Quad HD smartphone to be officially shipped to Russia. The first is the already mentioned LG G3.

Of course, such a high resolution does not leave users a single chance to see individual dots - the "pixelation" effect is completely absent. Even people with eagle eyesight will be impressed by such a smooth image, which is really close to high-quality printing in nature. No joke - almost 490 dpi! The Z2 Pro's display is easy to read - even small text, thanks to the very high resolution, looks sharp. Our only remark about the multi-touch layer: the gadget sometimes allowed itself not to respond to gestures like swiping. We hope this is a defect in our test instance.

Lenovo Vibe Z2 Pro - the screen recognizes up to ten simultaneous touches

Of course, the display has a polarizing filter and an oleophobic coating, and the screen itself is installed close to the protective glass - there is no air gap between them. Thanks to this, the device can be used outdoors in bright sun - the screen, of course, glares a little, but the information on it remains accessible for perception. You don't have to look for a shadow when working with the Vibe Z2.

Lenovo Vibe Z2 Pro - display settings

The smartphone has several screen modes: "Standard", "High brightness mode" and adaptive mode, which softens the negative impact of the LCD on the owner's eyes during prolonged use. This is realized due to a softer color scheme with a significant deviation in warm colors. There is also a customizable mode, with which the user can set the color temperature, saturation and contrast. True, you won't have to use it: let's open the maps, the Vibe Z2 Pro's screen is set up very, very well (and we restrain ourselves from evaluating it). We studied the first two modes in detail - and came to the conclusion that the rest can simply not be touched.

Brightness in standard mode can be varied from 16 to 571 cd / m2. Until recently, for many smartphones, 300 cd / m2 was a good value, but now it is quite a common result. For the flagships of 2014, this is the minimum. It would seem that 571 cd / m2 is more than enough for any, even the most difficult conditions of use. But no, with the help of a special mode you can increase the screen brightness to a record 725 cd / m2! With this brightness, the smartphone screen can be used as a flashlight.

We measure the luminosity of the black and white fields on pictures filled with half of each color, which excludes the possibility of the influence of dynamic brightness adjustment for a specific color. Even at the maximum display backlight level, the black color is backlit slightly - 0.46 cd / m2 in normal mode and 0.59 cd / m2 in bright mode. The values ​​for such a bright display are simply excellent - blacks remain saturated and deep even at 100% screen brightness. However, if you look away from the perpendicular, the black acquires a slight purple tint. Due to this, the Vibe Z2 display turned out to be very contrast - 1230: 1. The unvarnished result is excellent. Few smartphones in 2014 can boast of such a bright and contrasting screen.

However, this is not all. The screen of the Vibe Z2 Pro smartphone never ceased to amaze us during testing. For example, his grayscale color temperature is fine-tuned. In the normal mode it averaged 6300 K, and in the "bright" mode it was the reference 6500 K! Thanks to this, the image looks exactly as the authors intended it, without deviations in cold or warm tones.

All gamma curves as a whole are also close to the reference. If you find fault, it can be noted that the blue and red components are slightly lifted along the entire length, while the gray, on the contrary, is somewhat omitted. However, when working with the device, this is completely invisible - the deviation is too insignificant. It is much more important that even in the "bright" mode the gamma ranges are close to the reference, although they could well "go" up for the sake of greater brightness. In other words, the color reproduction remains natural even when the backlight level is increased.

Lenovo Vibe Z2 Pro - smartphone screen color gamut versus sRGB color space

The color gamut of the display is almost exactly the same as the sRGB reference space in both modes. In general, the display of the Lenovo Vibe Z2 Pro is simply excellent - both in terms of features and in terms of customization. Everyone would have such displays!

Lenovo Vibe Z2 is a 5.5-inch smartphone with metal casing and LTE support. The brutal appearance came from the Lenovo Vibe Z2 Pro. In terms of dimensions, Vibe Z2 can be called compact, competitors with the same diagonal are larger and heavier. It is inconvenient to use the device with one hand because of the size and sharp corners of the case.

The Lenovo Vibe Z2 smartphone received a mid-range chipset - a quad-core Qualcomm MSM8916 Snapdragon 410 and 2 GB of RAM. Its performance is sufficient for daily tasks, but it is not suitable for demanding games. The decision to use this platform in this model looks strange, after all, the Vibe Z2 is positioned as a premium device. The built-in memory of 32 GB is sufficient for most tasks. But if there is not enough free space, it will not be possible to expand this volume - there is no memory card slot.

Lenovo Vibe Z2 received an average quality HD-display (1280 × 720 pixels). For a 5.5-inch diagonal, this does not give an optimally clear picture - individual pixels are visible. It looks depressing against the background of the 5-inch, cheaper Vibe X2 with Full HD display and 6-inch Vibe Z2 Pro with surplus Quad HD-resolution (2560 × 1440). At the same time, the Vibe Z2 display has good viewing angles, brightness and color reproduction.

The higher price compared to competitors is due to high-quality cameras and communication capabilities. Lenovo Vibe Z2 supports LTE (1/3/4/7/20), NFC, and high-speed Wi-Fi. Cameras are also able to please the buyer - the main 13 MP is capable of replacing the "soap box", and the front 8 MP copes well with taking selfies.

The battery test results of the Lenovo Vibe Z2 were unexpected for us. The formal capacity of 3000 mAh lasted a little over a day of use. The result is satisfactory, but most of the smartphones we tested with the same capacity and diagonal lasted 20-30% longer. Lenovo Vibe Z2, in our opinion, is too expensive for its characteristics. Especially against the background of cheaper smartphones with the same diagonal. Overpayment in this case goes for a metal case, an NFC chip and an 8 MP front camera.

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Dimensions - 3.9

The Lenovo Vibe Z2 is compact for a 5.5-inch device. The dimensions of the smartphone are 148.5 × 76.4 × 8.2 mm. More compact than Huawei Honor 4X with the same diagonal (153 × 77.2 × 8.7 mm) or Sony Xperia C3 (156 × 79 × 7.9 mm), which turned out to be slightly thinner. The Lenovo Vibe Z2 fits well in the hand, but the sharp corners dig a little into the palm. It is inconvenient to operate the phone with one hand.

The weight of the smartphone is 157 grams, lighter than the metal Huawei Ascend G7 (168 grams) or iPhone 6 Plus (171 grams) with the same diagonals. In our opinion, the phone looks stylish, but rough due to sharp corners, beveled edges, a bulging lens and screws on the back. The front side of Lenovo Vibe Z2 is completely covered with protective glass. There are separate control buttons below the display. The back panel and side edges are metal; the lens that sticks out of the body catches your eye. The speaker is hidden at the bottom, to the left of the Micro-USB connector. The build quality is at a high level, the use of metal is justified, during the tests the phone has not lost its presentation. The Lenovo Vibe Z2 smartphone is available in gold, white and gray.

Screen - 3.9

The Lenovo Vibe Z2 smartphone received an average quality display. Screen resolution - 1280 × 720 pixels, matrix type - IPS. The pixel density is not that high - 267 per inch, the image is not quite clear, especially in small fonts. If the "older" version, Lenovo Vibe Z2 Pro, received an overly clear Quad HD display, then here they decided not to report pixels. At the same time, the same Lenovo has a stylish Vibe X2 with a Full HD display, which also costs less.

But the display is bright - up to 399 cd / m2, the information remains readable in the sun. The minimum brightness of a white background is 12 cd / m2, which is convenient for reading in the dark. The viewing angles of the display are wide, the image does not fade, the colors do not shift in case of deviations. The phone has an ambient light sensor and automatic brightness adjustment that work correctly. The image on the display is set high due to the absence of an air gap between the glass and the matrix panel. The advantages of the screen are good color rendering and effective oleophobic coating - hardly any fingerprints remain on the display. Unlike the Lenovo Vibe X2, the Vibe Z2 does not have a gloved mode.

Camera

Lenovo Vibe Z2 received high-quality cameras at 13 MP and 8 MP. The main camera is equipped with an optical stabilization system, shoots panoramas, there is an HDR mode, a number of special effects and the ability to adjust contrast, white balance, ISO, sharpness, exposure and saturation. Photo resolution (which for some reason cannot be changed in the settings) is 4208 × 3120 pixels. The camera as a whole can take clear pictures and reproduce colors well. The only problem is that you often have to tap on the screen for the camera to focus properly. Maximum video resolution - Full HD (1920 × 1080) at 30 frames per second and with stereo sound. It is better not to shoot dynamic scenes on video - the camera has tracking autofocus, but it does not work right away. There is a risk that moving objects will be out of focus.

The 8 MP front camera is designed for high-quality selfies and does its job well. Maximum photo resolution - 3264 × 2448, video - 1280 × 720. The disadvantage is fixed focus, a clear picture can be taken at a distance of 1-2 meters.

Photos from the camera Lenovo Vibe Z2 - 3.2

Photo from the front camera Lenovo Vibe Z2 - 3.2

Working with text - 3.0

The smartphone comes with a standard Google keyboard. It is convenient enough for typing. In it, you can switch between languages ​​with one key. The top row of keys allows you to dial numbers with a long press. The keyboard supports continuous input. There is no additional character markup. The smartphone works with a custom dictionary, remembers the words typed earlier.

Internet - 3.0

The browsers are: Google Chrome and Yandex Browser and UC Browser. In the first, you can synchronize tabs and history with desktop "Chrome". Yandex Browser has a turbo mode and the ability to close tabs when you exit the browser. UC Browser supports auto-fit text to screen width and reading mode. The amount of RAM in 2 GB allows you to open multiple tabs without any problems.

Communications - 5.0

According to this criterion, Lenovo Vibe Z2 is comparable to top-end smartphones. In the presence of support for LTE, NFC, two slots for Micro-SIM cards, dual-band and high-speed Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 with the A2DP profile, A-GPS together with GLONASS - everything is at a high level. The set of ports is typical - Micro-USB 2.0 with USB-Host for connecting peripheral devices and a headphone jack.

Multimedia - 3.0

As our tests have shown, the smartphone supports a limited number of video and audio formats. So, Lenovo Vibe Z2 could not cope with video formats MPG, TS, WMV, MKV and FLV. In terms of audio, the situation turned out to be better, but in tests the Lenovo Vibe Z2 could not play FLAC tracks. The built-in players turned out to be poor in settings and capabilities: there are no equalizers, subtitle settings, and so on.

Battery - 3.1

The battery life of the Lenovo Vibe Z2 turned out to be not that great for the 3000 mAh capacity. 6 hours 50 minutes of continuous video or 63.5 hours in mp3-player mode. Sounds good, but Huawei Honor 6, Ascend G7 and Sony Xperia C3 last longer. In our "average mode" (one movie, about an hour of playing, listening to music, browsing, Wi-Fi on), the device had 10-11% charge after one day of work. Note that our tests were carried out without using the smartphone's energy-saving features. The Lenovo Vibe Z2 Power Manager enables you to disable sleep mode applications and reduce screen and GPU power consumption. There is a separate "emergency mode" in which the image becomes black and white, and only calls and SMS are available from the functions.

Performance - 1.9

The Lenovo Vibe Z2 smartphone is equipped with 2 GB of RAM and a mid-level chipset - Qualcomm MSM8916 Snapdragon 410. Four cores, frequency up to 1.2 GHz, graphics accelerator Adreno 306 - it looks strange for a premium model. Nevertheless, Lenovo Vibe Z2 quickly copes with everyday tasks, but in demanding games Asphalt 8 or NOVA 3, it starts to slip. Benchmark results were average, at the level of mini-versions of the flagships of 2014. So, in the AnTuTu benchmark, it received 20820 points, and in the Ice Storm Unlimited test from 3DMark - 4315 points. The numbers are not impressive, the results of the cheaper Huawei Honor 4C and 4X were noticeably higher in the same tests.

Memory - 2.5

The built-in memory of Lenovo Vibe Z2 is 32 GB, of which about 25 GB is available to the user. This should be enough for storing photos and applications. There is no possibility to expand the memory capacity - there is no SD card slot, this is a shortcoming of the model.

Peculiarities

The Lenovo Vibe Z2 runs Android 4.4.4 and is expected to be updated to 5.0 Lollipop in Q2 2015. As features, we note the metal case, support for two SIM cards, LTE, NFC and an 8 MP front camera. The proprietary interface does not have a separate list of applications, and the settings are divided into system and special. In the latter, you can find many unusual functions: from turning on the display with a double tap to automatically increasing the volume of the call when the smartphone is in your pocket. The phone is preinstalled with applications for popular social networks, there are services from Google and Yandex, Explorer, Security application, SYNCit for backing up contacts, SMS messages and call logs, as well as SHAREit for exchanging data with other devices via Wi-Fi.

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Competitors

The average price of a Lenovo Vibe Z2 mobile phone at the end of spring 2015 is 23,500 rubles. Competitors include the Huawei Ascend G7, Sony Xperia C3 and Huawei Honor 4X. All of them are cheaper than Lenovo, but, by and large, they are in no way inferior to it. They all have LTE support, mid-range chipsets, and their own quirks. The Sony Xperia C3 also has NFC, but the body and camera materials are simpler. But he has a front camera with flash. Honor 4X is made of plastic, the only competitor was discharged faster than the Vibe Z2, it does not have an NFC chip, but it also costs half the price. The Ascend G7 is a metal competitor with similar specifications. It is slightly larger and heavier, and costs less. Among the competitors, Lenovo Vibe Z2 stands out for its relative compactness, an 8MP front camera, support for dual-band Wi-Fi and a higher price.