After being in hibernation mode for more than a year, Lenovo has come back strongly and introduced two new smartphones in India- the first one is Lenovo K9 under its 'Killer' series and the second one is Lenovo A5, which is an entry-level smartphone with a massive battery. The Lenovo K9 follows its predecessors in terms of hardware underneath as it comes powered by the MediaTek Helio P22 chipset, clubbed with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage. Furthermore, Lenovo stated the K9 is making its global debut today and it's also the company's first smartphone with four cameras (two on the rear, two on the front). The Lenovo A5, on the other hand, has a beefy 4000mAh battery, 5.45-inch HD+ screen and Face Unlock features.
Lenovo K9: Features and Specifications
Delving into the specifications of the Lenovo K9, it has a 5.7-inch HD+ display on the front with 18:9 aspect ratio. The smartphone draws power from the MediaTek Helio P22 chipset which we have seen on phones such as the Nokia 3.1 Plus, Xiaomi Redmi 6 and Tecno Camon i2X. The chipset comes paired with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage and Lenovo has launched the phone in a single variant. The phone has a 2.5D curved glass on both the front and rear side.
As mentioned above, the Lenovo K9 is making its global debut in India and it's also the brand's first phone with four cameras. The Lenovo K9 has dual cameras of 13MP and 5MP on both the front and rear side. The camera app offers features such as AI Bokeh and Natural Selfie Bokeh features, along with other ones such as AI Beautify, AI Backlight, Multi-frame fusion technology among others.
Lenovo has placed the fingerprint scanner on the rear side and there's a software-based Face Unlock feature too. The phone ships with a USB Type-C port and has a 3000mAh battery which can be charged via the 10W charger present inside the retail box. And yes, the phone features Dual 4G and VoLTE support, which has become an essential feature in 2018.
Lenovo A5: Specifications and Features
Moving onto the smaller model, the Lenovo A5 comes with a 5.45-inch HD+ display on the front with an aspect ratio of 18:9. Lenovo is touting the A5 as a 'Budget Champion.' Lenovo did not reveal the processor information of the A5 but confirmed that it would come in two variants- 2GB+16GB and 3GB+32GB. The phone also has a dedicated microSD card slot for storage expansion. Both the devices boot Android Oreo out of the box and the Lenovo A5 is backed by a 4000mAh battery.
Lenovo K9 and A5: Pricing and Availability
Both the Lenovo K9 and Lenovo A5 will be online-only smartphones exclusive to Flipkart. The Lenovo K9 with Helio P22, 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage is priced at Rs 8,999, while the Lenovo A5 with 2GB of RAM & 16GB of internal storage comes at a price of Rs 5,999, followed by the 3GB+32GB model at Rs 6,999. It will be interesting to see which processor Lenovo used on the Lenovo A5 as the phone offers decent specs- 4000mAh battery, HD+ display and Android Oreo at Rs 5,999.
Lenovo's New Business Model in India
At the launch event in New Delhi, Lenovo revealed its new business model. Lenovo will launch new smartphones going forward and will stay competitive in the online market, while with Motorola, it will cater to the offline as well as online market. Lenovo stated that it's taking every brand including Xiaomi, Honor, Vivo, Oppo and other new players as its competitors.
Lenovo K9: Competitors in India
For the asking price of Rs 8,999, the Lenovo K9 takes on the Xiaomi Redmi 6 which also sports dual rear cameras and Helio P22 chipset. But Lenovo's phone looks more premium than Xiaomi's as the former comes with a glass body, while the latter is constructed out of the plastic. Finally, the Xiaomi Redmi 6 has a competitor in India, but it will be interesting to see how the cameras on Lenovo K9 perform in real life. Also, the K9 is the cheapest phone with quad cameras in the country.
