Table of Contents
Performance and Benchmarks
Powered by a 64-bit Snapdragon 615 octa-core CPU clocked at 1.5GHz, Adreno 405 GPU and 2GB RAM, the PHAB Plus can handle all the task we threw at it even from basic calls and SMS, social media and web browsing, to gaming. Apps launch quick and transitions and animations are smooth. It actually has the same configuration as the Xiaomi Mi 4i but with a slightly lower clock speed.
Check out the benchmark scores below:
• AnTuTu – 34,289
• Quadrant – 19,150
• Vellamo – 1,519 (Multicore), 1,005 (Metal), 2,091 (Chrome)
• 3D Mark – 177 (Sling Shot ES 3.0)
Connectivity and Call Quality
For those who are willing to use this like a regular phone, we’re glad to report that call quality is good as voices are loud and clear on both ends. Connectivity-wise, it can accommodate two SIM cards (nano + micro), has LTE connectivity, WiFi, Bluetooth and GPS, but doesn’t have NFC.
Battery Life
For a phone that has a large build it’s a bit disappointing to know that it only has 3,500mAh battery as we’re expecting at least 4,000mAh. We were worried that the large display will drain our battery fast but fortunately, we were wrong. The PHAB Plus can last the whole day and into the night with moderate usage.
Using PC Mark’s battery bench, it scored 9 hours and 10 minutes. While in our routine battery bench which involves playing a 1080p video in Airplane mode at 50% brightness and volume with headset plugged in and we got 11 hours and 30 minutes worth of playback.
Conclusion
With the PHAB Plus, Lenovo tries to solve a problem for a consumer who wants to experience the best of both worlds in a single device. The PHAB Plus looks and works just like a regular smartphone yet has a display large enough to be accepted as a tablet, and it’s good in playing both roles, too.
The display is generous and vibrant enough for those who like games or movies on-the-go, it has powerful speakers, good performance, great battery life, and a not-so-hefty price tag of Php14,999. The only thing that messes the experience here is the UI which doesn’t take advantage of its tablet features. On the bright side, you can remedy that with a launcher from the Play Store.
Lenovo PHAB Plus specs:
6.8-inch Full HD IPS display, 326ppi
64-bit 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 octa-core CPU
Adreno 405 GPU
2GB RAM
32GB internal storage
up to 64GB via microSD (via nano SIM tray)
13MP rear camera w/ dual-tone LED flash
5MP front camera
Dual SIM (micro + nano)
4G LTE, 3G
WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac
Bluetooth 4.0
GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS
1.0 cc Sound Chamber, Dolby ATMOS
Android 5.0 Lollipop w/ VIBE UI
3,500mAh battery
Metal unibody
186.6 x 96.6 x 7.6 mm
229 g
What we liked about it:
* Good build and design
* Large, vibrant display
* Good performance
* Good battery life
* Expandable 32GB storage
* Sub-Php15K price tag
What we didn’t like:
* UI not optimized for tablet use
* Underwhelming camera performance
I have been using this for a year now. And if it still matters (lol), here is my experience.
1. It lags. How I hate when it stutters. Even a simple game like “Crash of Cars” suffer from lag.
2. It drains fast. Like I charge my phone twice a day.
3. No upgrade/update. Just one big update after I purchased it and that’s all.
4. No screen protection. Bought a protection glass anyway.
5. It warms up fast when playing or connecting to data.
6. As a video recorder, it records great images BUT the audio is blown out. Like your watching a good movie but hearing a crap out of it.
Good side.
1. Great screen for browsing and movies.
2. Dolby is superb.
3. Storage is fair enough.
4. Camera is sharp as long as you have steady hands.
Thanks for the info.
Not much of a review but more of a table write-up based on available product brochure.
Better if several usual tests were done and shown here to help would-be buyers decide whether to buy or not to buy this gigantic phone cum tablet device!
Very promising phone at the price but I sold mine due to poor camera. It was close to unusable. Poor exposure and slow.
Cool phone I like how lenovo adapted to costumers demand ..just like my k3 note.. Thanks lenovo.
One of the best reviews i read.. Thank you for including the micro SD support in the expense of its dual sim capability. Could be my next smartphone…. Im just having second thoughts on the camera performance
This is cool Lenovo… thanks for the review Louie Diangson.