In 2015, the company had claimed that its share in the 4G smartphone market in the country was 30 percent. However, since then Lenovo has faced tremendous challenge from other companies. Lenovo is facing the biggest challenge from other Chinese companies like Xiaomi. It is worth noting that Xiaomi has recently managed to be a part of the top 5.
Through Lenovo K6 Power, the company has tried to further strengthen its claim in the price range of Rs 10,000. The company has already entered this segment with Lenovo Vibe K5 (Review), lenovo vibe k5 plus (Review) and Lenovo Vibe K4 Note (Review). The new Lenovo K6 Power comes with full metal body and fingerprint sensor. Another important feature is its 4000 mAh battery which supports reverse charging. This means that you will be able to charge other devices by connecting them to the battery of this Lenovo phone.
There are many other smartphones in this price range which come with similar specifications. These include Xiaomi Redmi 3S Prime (Review), Coolpad Note 5 and Asus Zenfone Max (2106) (Review). At first glance, we felt that Lenovo K6 Power would prove to be a strong competitor in this price segment. Did it fully meet our expectations? Let’s find out through the review.
Lenovo K6 Power design and build
At first glance, the Lenovo K6 Power looks a lot like the Xiaomi Redmi 3S Prime. The similarity between the two is more visible when the phone is viewed from the front. There are slight differences in the location of the camera and antenna band on the rear. The camera is present in the middle. LED flash and fingerprint scanner are provided with it. A similar setup was seen in Xiaomi Redmi Note 3.
Lenovo’s branding is present at the bottom of the back of the phone. There is also a speaker grill along with it. This phone is available in dark grey, gold and silver colors. The display of K6 Power is 5 inches. Capacitive buttons are provided for navigation below the display. Sadly, these buttons are not backlit. We had trouble using them in the dark.
Measuring 9.3 mm thick, the Lenovo K6 Power handset is thicker than the Redmi 3S Prime. There is a difference of only 1 gram in weight. The power and volume buttons are on the right side. There is a SIM slot on the left edge. The 3.5mm headphone socket and Micro-USB charging port are at the top. And the notification LEDs are hidden in the earpiece grill.
The fingerprint scanner is sensitive and unlocks the phone quickly. Lenovo has also provided app lock function. With its help it is possible to setup the fingerprint sensor.
The full-metal body gives the K6 Power a premium feel. However, due to this the phone also slips in the hands. In such a situation, you will always have to take precautions. On the other hand, it is easy to use with one hand. The credit for this goes to the 5 inch screen. We also liked some of the handy tricks Lenovo has thrown into the user interface, like launching the camera app by double-pressing the volume buttons. It works even when the phone is locked.
Lenovo’s 5-inch screen has full-HD resolution. Its pixel density is 441 ppi. Because of this the texts appear quite sharp. The brightness is good and the colors are also quite punchy. Viewing angle and sun legibility are also fine. The display is the most important feature of the K6 Power. Along with the retail box of Lenovo K6 Power, you will get a standard charger, SIM ejector tool and instruction manual.
Lenovo K6 Power Specifications and Features
Lenovo K6 Power uses Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 processor like Xiaomi Redmi 3S Prime. With this processor you will get a clock speed of 1.4 GHz and it also has 3 GB RAM. The inbuilt storage is 32 GB and if needed, you will be able to use a microSD card up to 128 GB. Sadly, it has a hybrid SIM slot. In such a situation, the user will have the option to use two SIM cards simultaneously or a microSD card with one SIM. Connectivity features include 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.2, FM radio, Micro-USB, and GPS/ A-GPS.
Lenovo K6 Power runs on Android 6.0 Marshmallow. The company’s Vibe Pure UI is present on top of this. The company has tried to keep its user interface as clean as possible. We found it to be extremely smooth. You will get two default home screens. Please note that K6 Power does not have a default gallery app. This will confuse many new users. Google Photos is already installed on the phone. But it is not the default photo app. However, Lenovo has provided a file manager app to access all types of files.
Notification option along with many quick settings will be available in the dropdown shade. In the pre-installed Theme Center you will find customization options for wallpapers, icons, lock screen settings.
We liked two software features on the Lenovo K6 Power – the app lock function and dual apps. With the help of App Lock function, users will be able to lock any app through fingerprint sensor. Dual Apps Mode means that users will be able to run selected apps from two different IDs on the same phone at the same time. We tested both the features and they performed their role well.
The Settings app of the K6 Power has a features section that comes with some of the company’s handy customizations. With the help of Quick Snap, you will be able to launch the camera app by double clicking the volume button.
We found that many third-party apps were pre-installed on the K6 Power. These include Evernote, Flipkart, McCafe Security, Skype, ShareIt, TrueCaller, SyncIt and UC Browser.
lenovo k6 power performance
The Lenovo K6 Power handled common tasks with ease. We did not have any complaints with the octa-core processor. Even powerful games like ‘Need for Speed’ ran smoothly. The K6 Power also did a fine job with multitasking. Apps launch fast. Typically 1 GB of memory remains when using the device. We did not have any complaints about system performance during the review. There was no complaint of the phone overheating.
The display of Lenovo K6 Power is great for entertainment. This is a great handset for watching videos and playing games. The dual speakers at the rear provide sound suitable for a small room. Audio quality is also good. The phone supports Dolby Atmos with the help of which you will be able to change the audio settings. However, the quality of the earphones provided with the phone was very poor.
Lenovo K6 Power has the same Snapdragon 430 processor as Xiaomi Redmi 3S Prime. But its benchmark results were slightly lower in comparison.
Lenovo K6 Power has a 13-megapixel rear camera. It is equipped with Sony IMX258 sensor, phase detection autofocus and LED flash. Sony IMX219 sensor has been used in the 8 megapixel front camera. The rear camera of K6 Power focuses faster due to PDAF. The camera took decent close up shots. However, when zoomed in, noises were clearly visible at the edges.
(Click to see camera samples of Lenovo K6 Power)
The biggest drawback of the Lenovo K6 Power is that it always requires proper lighting. There was more noise in photos taken in low light. Sadly, this shortcoming cannot be removed even with the smart composition tool. It was not easy to take pictures of moving objects with the rear camera of K6 Power. We also faced this drawback with Lenovo Vibe K5. The K6 Power will allow you to record videos in full-HD resolution. Their quality was good. There was no problem in taking pictures with the front camera in suitable lighting conditions.
Along with 4G, Voice over LTE is also supported in the phone. Call quality was good. In areas with weak connectivity, the K6 Power did not face any problem in connecting to the network.
The K6 Power’s 4000 mAh battery lasted 14 hours 30 minutes in our video loop test. This cannot be called bad. The 4100 mAh battery of Redmi 3S Prime lasted for 14 hours 50 minutes in the test. It is worth noting that K6 Power comes with full-HD screen. Whereas Redmi 3S Prime has an HD screen.
Even after heavy usage, the battery of Lenovo K6 Power easily lasted for a day, which would be considered good. You will also get Power Saver Mode with the help of which you will be able to increase battery life. The convenience of being able to use the K6 Power as a power bank is great. However, we wish this device would have had the facility of fast charging. Because it took about three hours for the phone’s battery to be fully charged.
our decision
Lenovo K6 Power priced at Rs 9,999 comes with many reliable features. We have to commend Lenovo for its attention to detail. The metal body feels premium and the fingerprint scanner is a bonus. The Vibe UI was very smooth during the review. The Snapdragon 430 processor is completely capable for daily use. However, considering the challenge, the camera of Lenovo K6 Power is a bit weak. This will disappoint many people. There is no doubt that battery life and display are the best features of the phone.
You will get many popular smartphones for Rs 10,000. In such a situation, it will be very interesting to see what kind of challenge Lenovo K6 Power will be able to give. As an alternative, Xiaomi Redmi 3S Prime can be considered if the camera is important for you and you prefer MIUI over Vibe UI.