Lenovo Vibe S1 Review
Rs 15,999 lenovo vibe s1 The smartphone is the company’s new offering in the mid-range segment. It has everything that a good mid-range handset should have. From great specifications to the dual-camera setup on the front. Let us know in detail about Lenovo Vibe S1.
Look and Design
Although many mid-range smartphones do not have special aesthetic appeal, but Vibe S1 succeeds in creating its own identity. Its frame is of metal. The phone is available in blue and white colors. We received the blue colored handset for review and we liked its look.
The Vibe S1 comes with a curved back, due to which it appears slimmer at the edges. The layout is common. The power and volume buttons are on the right side. USB port and speaker grill at the bottom. The SIM tray is on the left and the audio socket is on the top.
Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection is present on the front and back panel of the phone. Like OnePlus X, its rear part is also reflective and you will like it. Lenovo has not tampered much with the design profile. Tried not to do anything that would prick the eyes.
The front panel is also very clean. No logo present. If you look at it, there are only three capacitive buttons which are not backlit. This is a major flaw in its design. The screen occupies 68 percent of the front panel, and the dual-front camera is present on the top right side. In the dual-camera setup, the primary sensor is 8 megapixels and the depth-sensing sensor is 2 megapixels.
The Lenovo Vibe S1 sports a 5-inch full-HD IPS LCD panel with a pixel density of 441 ppi. The detailing in the screen is excellent. However, it is not as vibrant and capable as the OnePlus X’s screen. Despite this, it’s one of the best full-HD screens we’ve used. It is very bright, hence there is no problem in using the handset in sunlight. Watching movies and videos on Vibe S1 is a pleasant experience.
Specifications and Software
Despite being a mid-range device, the Vibe S1 is great in the specifications department. It has 1.7 GHz octa-core MediaTek MT6752 chipset, 3 GB RAM, 32 GB inbuilt storage, microSD card support (up to 128 GB), 2420 mAh battery and 4G LTE support. Due to it being a hybrid SIM slot, you will be able to use only one of the second SIM or microSD card. Fast-charging, NFC and a gyroscope sensor are not present on the handset.
The Vibe S1 handset runs on Android 5.0 on which the company’s Vibe UI is present. It is a single layer user interface. It looks a bit similar to Android UI. It has some shortcomings. You won’t be able to remove many pre-installed apps. The interface doesn’t look great, but the performance is much improved. Unlike before, the interface no longer uses most of the handset’s resources. Apart from this the user gets many controls.
The Secure Zone feature lets you create a special zone of trusted apps. The user interface is responsive and most apps and games run smoothly without any hiccups.
camera
Lenovo Vibe S1 has a 13-megapixel primary camera with dual-tone LED flash. There is a dual-camera setup in its front part. The primary front camera is 8 megapixels and it is accompanied by a 2 megapixel sensor, which determines the depth-of-field. The front and rear cameras will let you record videos in full-HD resolution. With the front camera, you can use the depth-of-field capability to create unique photo effects. The camera app is great. There are many controls and features available. This involves manual settings. You can control the resolution in photos and videos. HDR mode, flash and camera switcher can be easily accessed. Video recording is a step process. With this you also get panorama mode. Switching the front camera will give you the option to activate dual-camera mode. Video recording is not possible in dual camera mode. You will be able to see the dual-camera effect in the gallery only.
The dual-camera effects are very simple, but interesting. Depth of field gives the camera the option to decide foreground and background. For this reason, the camera is able to ascertain which part of the selfie you are present in. You can use it to blur the background or cut it out and use a new photo. You can superimpose graphics on the background, or even use an old photo. This way you will be able to capture some interesting selfies with the camera. If seen, selfie lovers will definitely like this feature.
The 13-megapixel rear camera also gives good performance. It is completely capable of taking crisp and accurate shots. You will be able to take pictures in all lightning conditions. Photos taken in suitable lighting are of good quality, especially in terms of color and lightning reproduction. The crispness of the picture remains intact when zoomed in. The front camera does a good job in terms of detail and accuracy, but the absence of a flash may disappoint many buyers.
performance
In general use, the Lenovo Vibe S1 is a strong performer. The credit for this goes to the improvement in user interface. The MediaTek MT6752 chipset ensures that the phone works fast, especially in graphics-related tasks. Games and videos played smoothly. However, the device faced the problem of heating while playing intensive games.
Talking about benchmark results, this phone gave better results compared to other smartphones equipped with MT6752 chipset. The score is very similar to that of OnePlus X. It is clear that the company has improved in terms of performance.
Lenovo Vibe S1 is an effective and capable handset. Call quality is good. Connectivity with 3G and 4G networks will also be considered good. The sound coming from the single speaker is a bit low, but there is no such problem with headphones. In the video loop test, the phone’s battery lasted for 8 hours 15 minutes. Even after normal use, we had to connect the phone to the charger till evening.
our decision
As far as looks are concerned, Lenovo Vibe S1 gives a strong challenge to handsets costing twice its price. Vibe S1 is very sleek and beautiful. And quality has also been taken care of while making it. Its screen is good. The performance is excellent and it is equipped with a great camera which many selfie lovers will love.
However, the handset also has some shortcomings. Capacitive buttons are not backlit. The UI is not very pleasing to the eyes. Due to the hybrid SIM slot, you will have to choose between dual-SIM connectivity and a microSD card. And battery life will be considered average only. Despite this, the Lenovo Vibe S1 is a capable smartphone that will appeal to camera and selfie lovers. It will also be liked by those who give importance to style.
