Lenovo A5 review: Entry-level phone with decent camera and long lasting battery

Earlier this month, Lenovo had launched the entry-level phone Lenovo A5 along with K9 series. The former is available in two variants—2GB RAM + 16GB storage and 3GB RAM + 32GB storage—for Rs 5,999 and Rs 6,999, respectively.

For the price, Lenovo A5 comes with a good set of hardware and will be competing with established brands such as Xiaomi Redmi 6A series. I have the used the new phone for a quite some time now and here's my take on it.

Design, display and build quality:

It features candy bar-shaped design with curved points. The back is covered with non-removable sturdy polycarbonate shell. During the review period, I accidentally dropped the phone a couple of times on hard surfaces from pant pocket length and both the times, it survived without any scratches.

As far as the display is concerned, it has a small 5.45-inch HD+ screen, but thanks to 18:9 aspect ratio, viewing videos is a delightful experience. Even the screen readability with direct sunlight from above, I had no issues viewing content be it text or websites, video or images on the phone.

Performance:

Lenovo A5 comes with 2.0GHz MediaTek MT6739 quad-core backed by Android 8.1 Oreo, 2GB RAM and 16GB storage. It works smoothly in terms of day-to-day functions such as web browsing, calling, opening apps, loading camera and also playing games. But, I have to say, this device is not made to play graphics-rich games. This is not a deal breaker, as all the phone in its price range too, is capable of performing well in that aspect.

Have to say, Lenovo has pre-loaded some un-necessary apps on the phone, but on the bright side, they don't affect the phone's performance. I did not find any issue in terms of lag-ness in the phone. Rest assured, Lenovo A5 will get you through every possible basic function that a touch-screen phone should do.

Also read: Lenovo K9 review: Decent budget dual-camera phone

Camera:

It comes with a standard 13MP camera with LED flash. To be frank, it surprised me with the low-light photo quality. Though, the autofocus struggles for speed, it eventually settles to capture the subject with images near-accurate colours, better than some rival brands in the sub-7,000 price band.

On the front, it houses a decent 8MP snapper, which also acts as a face scanner. It is really fast in terms recognising the face and most importantly, there was a low False Rejection Rate (FRR).

As far as the selfie pictures are concerned, the quality is above average for a budget phone. They are good enough to be posted on social media sites.

Battery:

The highlight of the new Lenovo A5 is its battery and yes it lives up to the hype. It is one of the very few phones in the entry-level segment to boast 4,000mAh battery. During the active hours (5:30 am and 10:30 pm), I tried everything possible that involves a common users' day-to-day chores which include browsing internet, social media sites, watching YouTube videos and more. It delivered with flying colours.

Final thoughts:

The USP of the Lenovo A5 is the big 4,000mAh battery and it really lives up to the hype. I am impressed with the camera too. Though the autofocus loses speed in the low-light environment, the picture quality is really good.

It is a good buy for people who are planning to migrate from feature phone to a touch-screen phone and to those who want a secondary phone.

Pro:

• Long lasting battery
• Decent build quality
• Good camera for a budget phone
• Triple option tray (SIM 1+ SIM 2 + microSD card)

Cons:

• Face unlock feature does not work at night or any low-light environment. But, this is not a deal breaker as most phones even priced above Rs 30,000 don't work as flawlessly as the iPhone X(review) and later versions.

Key specifications of Lenovo A5:

Follow us @IBTimesIN_Tech on Twitter and on Google News for the latest updates on Lenovo.