Following A6000's overnight success, Lenovo has launched yet another budget smartphone in the India. Originally unveiled at the MWC 2015 in Spain, the smartphone boasts of an array of features including octa-core 64-bit processor, 2GB RAM, Dolby ATMOS sound, 4G connectivity and few more, and has the potential to kill the craze for Xiaomi and Yureka in India.
Like its predecessor A6000, the A7000 will also be available exclusively through Flipkart starting 15 April. According to Lenovo spokesperson Anuj, the company will bring 30,000 to 40,000 devices for its first flash sale.
We were lucky to spend an hour with the device at the launch event and here's our take on the device:
Build & Design
The device features a plastic matte finished rear cover with rounded corners and a flat back. The material used for the cover is nice, hence the device feels solid in hand. But the rear panel still is prone to fingerprints and smudges.
Opening the rear panel reveals the Dual SIM card slot, out of which one accepts 4G/3G SIM card while the other one is restricted to accept 2G SIM card only. Besides, there is a micro SD card slot for expanding the memory up to 32GB.
Measuring 152.6 x 76.2 x 7.99 mm, the A7000 weighs just 140g and doesn't feel heavy in hand.
Display
Like its competitors Yu Yureka, Xiaomi Redmi Note and Huawei Honor 4X, the Lenovo A7000 packs a 5.5-inch HD display. The display offers ample brightness with decent viewing angles but lacks the Corning Gorilla glass protection for added protection, which is a letdown. We understand they did this to cut cost but overlaid screen protection is a necessary feature. Anyways, you can easily opt for a screen protector to protect your screen from scratches.
Specification Power
Lenovo packed powerhouse specification for its price. A MediaTek MT6752 SOC, which equips a 1.5GHz octa-core processor and a Mali T760MP2 GPU, 2GB RAM and 8GB in-built memory are impressive, when we factor in the price.
In our test, we found out of 8GB, the OS consumes only 3GB which means 5GB is left for user's consumption. Earlier we had done an exclusive, in which we had said the A7000's AnTuTu Benchmarking score surpassed many high-priced phones like Xiaomi MI 4 and Galaxy S5.
Luckily, our test device was connected to the Wi-Fi, so we tested the device again with AnTuTu to find that it validated our verdict. In our test, the device managed to score 42573 by beating mid- budget and flagship devices like Xiaomi MI4, Xiaomi MI3, Samsung Galaxy S5, Huawei Mate 7 and Google Nexus 5. Compared to current standards, anything above 35,000 is outstanding for a budget phone. In comparison the two competitors of A7000 – Yu Yureka and Redmi Note 4G – got 31578 and 19749 respectively.
Android 5.0 Lollipop
Impressively, the A7000 runs on Android 5.0 Lollipop overlaid with Lenovo designed Vibe UI interface. Lenovo has not changed much to its interface, compared to A6000. But the colourful interface feels much better with the Lollipop OS. Lenovo retains all the good features of Lollipop, including the improved notification panel.
There is no app drawer hence all the apps and widgets have been placed right on the home screen. Lenovo also packs essential proprietary apps like spam cleaner, antivirus, SHAREit and CLONEit apps.
Dolby ATMOS
Lenovo has enhanced the Dolby feature of A6000, incorporating Dolby ATMOS into its successor. This feature adds surround sound experience to enhance your multimedia experience. Though Lenovo is bundling a stock earphone with the A7000, we suggest you to buy a better headphone to get the best experience.
We will write more on this in our extended review of A7000 smartphone.
Camera
Lenovo A7000 packs an 8MP rear camera with autofocus and a 5MP front camera for selfie snapping. To impress selfie-addicted consumers, Lenovo did a tricky thing by adding the Selfie Stick support into the phone. In case you are not aware, the selfie stick is a key-ring shaped diffuser flash connected to the 3.5mm audio port that helps to click selfies even when it is dark. Previously, only Vibe X2 Pro used to support all the features of selfie stick. This implies that Lenovo will soon release the selfie stick in India.
In our session we found the stock camera app offered a detailed menu to customize each features and bundle several filters.
Our Impression
At ₹8,999, Lenovo A7000 positions itself in the same price league as that of Micromax's hottest selling smartphone Yu Yureka, but costs about ₹1,000-1500 less than its other two most potent competitors, Xiaomi Redmi Note 4G and Huawei Honor 4x.
For its price, A7000 offers better value for money for its specification and of course, the Android Lollipop OS.
