Update at 4 p.m., August 1: Lenovo launched the K5 Note in India and revealed the pricing of the handset. There are two variants of the K5 Note, one with 3GB RAM costs Rs. 11,999, while the higher-end variant with 4GB RAM is priced at Rs. 13,499. Both variants are exclusively available on Flipkart.
Original story...
Following the success of Lenovo K4 Note and Vibe K5 in India, Lenovo is looking forward to launching its latest K5 Note in order to take on its rivals such as Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 and LeEco Le 2 with a stronger device. Lenovo already has an edge over its rivals with its globally-recognised brand name and its devices have been welcomed with open arms by Indian consumers. The "Killer Note 5" is likely to continue the tradition.
Lenovo has confirmed that the Vibe K5 will be launched in India on August 1. While the device's price is still a mystery, the K5 Note's official launch in China gives us all the specifications in advance. Taking note of those specs, we are comparing the upcoming K5 Note against two of the top sellers Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 and LeEco Le 2 to see which device is more worth in an under-Rs. 15,000 price category.
LeEco Le 2 and Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 smartphones are priced at Rs. 11,999, and the K5 Note is expected to retail around the same price.
Design
Lenovo has upped the ante this time with the K5 Note's design. It is the company's first mid-range smartphone to feature a full metal body, which gives it a premium look. As for its competitors, both Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 and LeEco Le 2 feature metallic body. All three devices have distinct designs and give a unique appeal.
Display
All three smartphones have the same display size and resolution. Xiaomi Redmi Note 3, Lenovo K5 Note and LeEco Le 2 feature a 5.5-inch display with 1920x1080 pixel resolution each.
Camera
LeEco Le 2 and Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 share the same 16-megapixel primary camera with dual LED flash, while the K5 Note has a 13MP ISOCELL camera. All three phones have PDAF and low aperture good enough for low-light shooting.
Selfie lovers will find the K5 Note and the Le 2 devices attracting as they both have 8MP shooters in the front. Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 features a 5MP front snapper with 36 smart beauty profiles to attract selfie lovers.
Processor, RAM and storage
LeEco Le 2 is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 652 octa-core processor clocking speeds at 1.8GHz, 3GB RAM and 32GB eMMC5.1 fixed storage. Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 650 CPU, which is backed by 3GB RAM and 32GB storage. Finally, Lenovo K5 Note uses a 64-bit class 1.8GHz MediaTek MT6755 Octa-core CPU, which is paired with 3GB / 4GB RAM and has 32GB storage with microSD card option.
Battery
Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 features a 4,050mAh battery, which the company claims to last 14 hours with GPS navigation. Lenovo K5 Note sports a 3,500mAh unit, which Lenovo says can offer up to 18 hours on 3G talk time. LeEco Le 2 packs a 3,000mAh power battery with fast charging support, which can charge the device from zero to 60 in just 30 minutes.
Software
Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 run Android 5.1 Lollipop with MIUI 7. Lenovo K5 Note has Android 6.0 Marshmallow and the Le 2 also runs the latest Google OS with eUI 5.8 on top of it.
Add-ons
All three smartphones have metal unibody, dual SIM support, VoLTE and 4G support and fingerprint sensor. LeEco Le 2 has a USB Type-C audio port with CDLA standard where headphones deliver supreme sound quality and Lenovo tries to achieve a similar standard by offering Wolfson WM8281 audio codec based ear-phones and Dolby Atmos audio system with surround sound.
Update: This article has been updated with the official specifications of Lenovo K5 Note, which were revealed by the company during the India launch on August 1.
