The news of Huawei Honor 5X's arrival in India has triggered a new level of competition in the affordable smartphone segment. Lenovo recently launched its K4 Note smartphone with attractive specs and an affordable price tag, which is going to give Huawei stiff competition in the country.
Huawei sent out media invites for an event on 28 January, where it is highly expected to launch its first metal smartphone — Honor 5X — in India. The affordable smartphone was launched in China months ago and also showcased at CES 2016 in Las Vegas last week, offering a transparent look at the specifications and features.
Lenovo K4 Note was launched in India on 5 January and managed to receive more than 2 lakh registrations in just two days. The first flash sale for the K4 Note VR bundle goes live on 19 January, but the overwhelming demand for the handset led the registrations to be closed 10 days ahead of the sale. Consumers' interest in the device is being driven chiefly by the specifications and the price tag of the K4 Note.
Since we have the official spec-sheet of both K4 Note and Huawei Honor 5X, let's see how well they compete against each other. The side-by-side comparison of both devices will help shoppers narrow down their options.
Display and design
Lenovo K4 Note has a premium look with its metal frame, polycarbonate back cover and front-facing speakers. It measures 153.6 x 76.5 x 9.15-3.8 mm and weighs 150 grams. Huawei Honor 5X looks much more refined, encased within its full metal body and measuring 151.3 x 76.3 x 8.15 mm.
Lenovo K4 Note and Huawei Honor 5X have the same 5.5-inch Full-HD display. The K4 Note features a 178-degree viewing angle and has Gorilla Glass 3 protection.
Camera
Lenovo K4 Note features a 13-megapixel rear-facing camera with dual LED flash, f/2.0 aperture and PDAF. Huawei Honor 5X sports a 13MP primary camera with f/2.2 aperture and PDAF feature. Both phones share the same 5MP front-facing sensors for selfies.
Performance
Lenovo K4 Note is powered by a 64-bit octa-core MediaTek MT6753 processor paired with 3GB DDR3 RAM and Mali T720 GPU. Huawei Honor 5X, on the other hand, uses a 64-bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 octa-core processor, 2GB RAM and Adreno 405 GPU.
Both phones have 16GB onboard memory with an option to add storage up to 128GB using microSD card.
Battery and software
Lenovo K4 Note features a 3,300mAh battery, which the company claims delivers up to 23 hours of 2G talktime. Huawei Honor 5X, however, sports a 3,000mAh battery and has Quick Charge 3.0 technology, which charges the device from zero to 50% within 30 minutes.
Both phones are based on Android 5.1 Lollipop, but have their own custom skins on top. Huawei Honor 5X features Emotion UI 3.1 while Lenovo K4 Note has Vibe 2.5 UI.
Fingerprint scanner and other add-ons
Lenovo K4 Note and Huawei Honor 5X feature fingerprint scanners at the back just below the camera module. Huawei claims its device boasts a second-generation sensor that unlocks the device in 0.5 seconds.
Both phones have dual SIM slots, 4G LTE support and other standard connectivity options.
Lenovo K4 Note offers some extras, such as NFC and Wolfson WM8281 audio codec-based earphones and Dolby Atmos audio system with surround sound integrated in the front-facing stereos.
Price and availability
Getting your hands on the Lenovo K4 Note can be a bit challenging. Buyers must register on Amazon India, where the device is sold exclusively, in order to be eligible to purchase the handset. Lenovo K4 Note is priced at Rs 11,999, but the company also offers the K4 Note VR Bundle, which comes with an AntVR virtual reality headset for Rs 12,499.
Huawei Honor 5X is expected to be launched in India on 28 January. There are no official details on pricing and availability, but media reports suggest the handset will be sold exclusively on Flipkart in the first week of February. Huawei reportedly plans to bring the Honor 5X to offline stores for better convenience.
