Lenovo is joining the premium budget smartphone race in India with its latest metal smartphone – Vibe K5 Plus – this month. The Chinese smartphone maker sent out media invites for a launch event titled #KnockOut on March 15, shortly after Xiaomi launches Redmi Note 3 in India on March 3.
Lenovo unveiled the metal-clad Vibe K5 Plus alongside the Vibe K5 during last month's Mobile World Congress 2016 in Barcelona, and it is now prepping the phone for an Indian debut. Ahead of the Vibe K5 Plus launch, the company widely teased the handset with #KnockOut on Twitter and the new invite, shared by BGR, has the same hashtag followed by the launch event date.
"The phone that was a ‪#‎KnockOut at MWC 2016 is making its way to India," Lenovo Mobile India posted through its official Facebook account last week. "How soon would you like to get your hands on this amazing device?"
Since the launch date is now confirmed, buyers in India will soon be able to get their hands on the new device. Lenovo Vibe K5 Plus would compete against the likes of Xiaomi Redmi Note 3, LeEco Le 1s and Huawei Honor 5X, which offer competitive specs at a compelling price. Lenovo is yet to confirm the handset's price in India, which we expect to be revealed at the launch event on March 15, but it's $150 price tag roughly translates to Rs 10,300.
Lenovo already sells the K4 Note in that price range, making the Vibe K5 Plus a potential threat to its own best seller if priced around Rs 10,000.
In terms of specifications, Lenovo Vibe K5 Plus features a 5-inch Full HD display, 13MP primary camera, 5MP front snapper and a 16GB expandable storage. It is powered by a 1.7GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 616 octa-core processor, 2GB RAM, a 2,750mAh removable battery and 4G LTE support.
The Lenovo Vibe K5 Plus comes with Dolby Atmos audio, but lacks a fingerprint scanner like its rivals. The toned down specs, like battery, RAM and lack of a fingerprint scanner could mean the handset will be priced lower than the K4 Note. But nothing is confirmed thus far, leaving us with a lot of possibilities to explore in the days to come.
