Lenovo K8 Note review: Great value for money

Rating: ****1/2

Price: Rs 12,999 (3GB + 32GB) Rs 13,999 (4GB + 64GB)

Specifications: 5.5-inch IPS (1920 x 1080 pixels), decacore Helio X23 processor, 3/4GB RAM, 32/64GB storage, microSD slot, dual SIM slot, dual rear camera (13MP + 5MP), 13MP front camera with LED flash, 4G with VoLTE, WiFi ac, Bluetooth 4.2, Dolby Atmos, fingerprint scanner, 4,000mAh battery, Android 7.1.1, 180 grams

Pros: Good dual camera system, fantastic front camera, top notch hardware performance, customisable hardware key, excellent battery life, bright display, stock Android

Cons: Capacitive keys are not backlit, no infrared emitter (universal remote

Like many with the same name, the Note series from Lenovo is about delivering a big screen experience, good hardware and a pocket friendly price. However, the past few devices from Lenovo (specifically K5 Note and K6 Note) did not have anything unique to make them stand apart from the competition. In that way, the K8 Note is a departure from the usual in not just hardware but also features and software.

It’s a device of firsts. For instance, its the company’s first with stock Android OS, their first mid-range offering with dual cameras (more on this later) and the first phone to come with a deca-core Mediatek Helio X23 processor. It’s also one of one of the only phones to offer this combination of features.

Mediatek’s Helio X23 is a 10-core chip and the K8 Note is available in 3GB/3GB or 4GB/64GB options. Our review is based on the 4GB/64GB variant. The hardware specifications on the K8 Note are one of the best available in this price segment. We had no issues running any app or game on the phone and it even managed to playback 4k videos with ease. Moreover, with over 30 apps running in background, the phone did not get sluggish and allowed us to switch between them seamlessly. It has a 4,000mAh battery which regular lasted us over 1 day — this is with lots of calls, 4G with VoLTE connectivity, multimedia, social networks as well as camera. There is support for fast charging and a fast charger is also included in the box. Overall, most users will be happy with the K8 Note’s performance.


Build quality of the K8 Note is top-notch. (Image: lenovo.com)

Software also plays a big role in Lenovo K8 Note’s performance this time. Lenovo announced a few days back that henceforth, all their phones will have stock Android — an advantage that Motorola has always enjoyed. Stock Android 7.1 makes a big difference in user experience and speed. Since there is no custom skin or extra animation effects to handle, you get butter-smooth performance.

Another advantage of stock Android is that the K8 Note will be one of the first devices to get the Android 8.0 update whenever it is released by Lenovo. This makes the phone future proof and takes care of one of the big complaints users have had with Lenovo smartphones.

Coming to the camera, it has a 13MP primary lens plus a 5MP secondary lens in a vertical stacked arrangement. The camera app has a dedicated mode for shooting with the dual camera setup to get a blurred background effect. The rear camera delivered fantastic results in the normal and pro mode during day as well as indoors. The background blur using depth mode was also good but the overall edge detection could be better. We noticed that the edges around the subject were not sharp on a number of occasions. Up front is a 13MP camera along with an assistive LED flash — selfie lovers will love it for the fantastic image quality, wide-angle lens and good performance in low light.

Build quality of the K8 Note is also top-notch. It has a metal unibody design and comes with an additional music key on the left side. The music key can be customized to launch any app as well as to control music playback. Lenovo has provided dual SIM slots plus a dedicated microSD slot for storage expansion on the phone which dual SIM users will applaud.

You get a 5.5-inch full HD display with excellent brightness, rich colour and slim bezels — it’s a joy to use for gaming, web and multimedia. The only thing that left us slightly disappointed was that the navigation buttons under the display are not backlit.

In our opinion, the Lenovo K8 Note is one of the best smartphones to go for in the sub Rs 15,000 segment now. You can also look at the Redmi Note 4 at Rs 12,999 as it offers 4GB RAM + 64GB storage with fantastic performance and good cameras. However, the K8 Note offers a superior camera experience thanks to the dual camera.