Lenovo P70 review – an elegant and affordable smartphone with high performance and good durability

cover-lenovo-p70Lenovo has a large smartphone family, which includes low, middle and high level models. Today we will show you a detailed review of Lenovo P70. It looks like a great phone for this class, at first glance, but some of our users notified us about some problems with the device. We discuss this below.

Lenovo P70 looks like a great phone for its price. It offers a 5-inch screen, 8-core processor and in addition, the design is great and the user interface is very easy to use. Definitely an interesting device, which we tested with interest.

Check the current price of Lenovo P70 here:
http://amzn.to/1LeTr3H

Contents


In the package

Lenovo P70’s entourage is very likely to impress you. Along with the now standard USB cable, charger and manuals, you’ll also find earphones, a screen protector, OTG cable and perhaps most valuable of all, a special bumper case. It’s easy to put on or take off, and unlike similar cases, it does not increase the size of the phone significantly. Our bet is that even people who normally aren’t interested in that sort of thing will be glad to have the little case.


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Design

The chassis is built out of plastic, but that’s hardly a surprise. The most important thing is its premium appearance, which is excellent. The design is reminiscent of a Sony Xperia smartphone, but the back has slightly rounded edges. On the front, there are the usual suspects – three touch buttons, which aren’t part of the screen. On the top you can find a tiny Lenovo inscription, front camera, earpiece, proximity sensor and an ambient light sensor. The back cover is sleek and sports an embossed, silver-colored Lenovo logo. This is also where the main camera with its LED flash is located. Both are at the top-left. Please note that they are not protruding.The back looks good but it does have a slight weakness – it collects fingerprints.

front

There is nothing on the left side, unlike the rest of the periphery. The volume and power buttons are placed on the right. There is also a speaker (it looks like there are two, but it’s actually just one), the main integrated microphone and a microUSB port, which are placed on the bottom, while a 3.5 headset jack is accompanied by a second microphone. When it comes to thickness and weight, things are looking good. We measured a thickness of 9.1 mm and weight of 150 g, which seems adequate for the class and it even makes a good impression for a phone with a 4000 mAh battery.


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You can remove the back cover without any effort, but this does not apply to the battery. However, under the lid you can also find two microSIM slots and just above them – one more slot, but for microSD memory cards instead.

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Display and sound

Lenovo P70 has a multi-sensor IPS capacitive touch display, with a resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels. At 5 inches, pixel density comes up to 294 ppi and a pitch of 0.0865 x 0.0865 mm. In order to be considered retina, or in other words, to prevent the human eye from discerning individual pixels, you need to be observing the display from a distance no lower than 30 cm. This mostly matches an optimal reading distance, so we consider the resolution to be adequate.

You can see the matrix subpixels in the microscope photo below.

E-Micr-Lenovo P70

Lenovo P70 allows for a wide viewing angle with insignificant image changes under 45 degrees.

Angles-Lenovo P70

Measured median brightness is quite high – 458 cd/m2. When the lack of harmful pulsation is also considered (see below), users will be provided with comfortable working conditions in a wide spectrum of ambient light intensity in the open.

E-Brightness-Lenovo P70

Color gamut coverage (CIE)

Lenovo P70’s display covers 95% of the sRGB and 72% of the Adobe RGB color gamuts. A small portion of the warm WEB colors is not covered.

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The display gamma curve, illustrating brightness level distribution, mostly matches the optimum.

Gamma-Lenovo P70

Reproduction

P70 has sufficient reproduction accuracy.The median deviation, DeltaE(1976), amounts to 2.84.

DeltaE-Lenovo P70

The color map indicates a comparison with the sample colors.

E-DisplayColor-Lenovo P70

PWM

We don’t detect any problematic pulsation of the light emissions (pulse-width modulation) on any brightness levels.

E-PWM-Lenovo P70

Conclusions

Lenovo P70’s display performed rather admirably in our tests. The resolution is, of course, not superb. With its good color reproduction, high brightness and backlight gentle to the eye, the display is suitable for prolonged operation and various applications.

Sound

Lenovo P70’s sound falls somewhere in the low mid-range. Frequency amplitude profiling (we always measure that by means of measuring microphone and test signals, emitted by the device’s own speakers) is uneven. There is a significant upsurge in the 3 kHz to 8 kHz range.
E-Sound-Lenovo P70

Specs sheet


P0S6000FRO

OSAndroid 4.4 (KitKat)
CPUMediatek MT6752 (8 cores, 1.70GHz, Cortex-A53)
RAM2GB RAM
Memory16GB
GPUMali-T760
Display5-inch IPS capacitive multi-touch display with a resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels
ConnectivityBluetooth, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, WiFi hotspot
Cameras13MP with autofocus and LED flash as main and 5MP as secondary
Features
  • 2 x mini SIM
  • microSD up to 32GB
  • microUSB 2.0
  • integrated loudspeakers
  • 3.5 mm audio jackк
  • FM radio
Battery4000 mAh
Dimensions (W/H/D)71.8 x 142 x 9.1 mm
Weight149 g (5.25 oz)

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Battery

The battery made a great impression. We are talking about a 4000 mAh capacity, which is pretty rare for a 5-incher. Presumably, the battery is very durable and you can see all of the results below. We tested the battery in our usual manner – phone calls, web browsing, watching movies and gaming. Keep in mind that the conditions are as usual – 120cd/m2 screen brightness, turned on Wi-Fi, turned off GPS and Bluetooth.

Calls

The brightness setting does not apply to this test, because the proximity sensor turns off the screen when you make a call.
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Here we measured one of the best results so far – 1950 minutes (32 hours and 30 minutes).

talk-time

Wi-Fi surfing

For automatic Wi-Fi browsing we used our script, which browses through over 70 various websites.
wifi
In this test, Lenovo P70 managed to stay on for 681 minutes, which is a great result.

web-surfing

3D gaming

We simulate 3D gaming through Epic Citadel.
game
357 minutes (5 hours and 57 minutes) is a superb accomplishment.

3d-gaming

Watching videos

We do this test by means of 720p video.
video
Once again, the result is great – 718 minutes (11 hours and 58 minutes).

 

Software

When it comes to the software, things are also pretty nice. Lenovo P70 runs the Android 4.4 KitKat operating system, but more important is the Lenovo user interface, which looks great.All apps are placed on the Home screen, just like in iOS. They have a look which differs from the classical one, and there is an attractive drop-down.

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Apps

As well as this new look, the user interface features some very useful apps and you would probably be satisfied with their number.For example, you can find UC Browser, which is an alternative to Google Chrome, txt ebooks for reading books, file manager, SYNCit for synchronization with cloud services or SD memory cards, SHAREit for sharing information between different devices, Security for software protection, WPS Office for reading and creating Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents and a 30 day trial of ROUTE 66 navigation. There is also a folder with some business apps and another one with games.


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Settings

The Settings menu is different from the usual for Android 4.4 KitKat, and it even looks like the Lollipop Settings menu with a white background and colored icons.

set

Features

There is one more page, which includes several useful features. You can unlock the device with a double tap on the screen, just like some LG phones, but if you want to lock the screen, you have to shake the phone in one direction. You can open the Camera app quickly, by tapping twice on the Home button. When someone is calling you, turn around the phone, screen down, and the ringing will stop. And one more features – you can use the volume buttons as a Power button. Using all of these is not mandatory, of course, but Lenovo P70 has them, which is cool.


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Performance

mediatek-hero

Lenovo P70 runs onMediaTek MT6752 and includes 2GB of RAM and a Mali-T760 GPU. It has eight Cortex-A53 cores, which work with a frequency of 1.7 GHz. It supports Rel. 9, Cat. 4 LTE (FDD & TDD), DC-HSPA+, TD-SCDMA, EDGE, 802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, 16MP cameras and Ultra HD video recording. Naturally, the device achieved great results in the benchmark tests, as you can see below.

Keep in mind that its processor is meant for mid-range phones, so don’t compare it with the most powerful Qualcomm chips. The best part is that we didn’t see any lag or other hiccups. Just smooth and fast operation. In addition, MediaTek claims that MT6752 is very energy efficient.

Computations performance

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Graphics performance

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Games

We installed some games on the phone (RealFootball 2015, Asphalt 8: Airborne, etc.) and we didn’t have any problems with any of them – just smooth and pleasant gaming.


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Temperatures and comfort

In this test we measured the temperatures in three different areas on the phone’s back, but first we did two hours of gaming. As you can see in the image below, we measured higher temperatures in the camera area, but it isn’t anything to be concerned about. You will not feel any discomfort in one-handed operation, since the temperature was lower in other areas.
temp

Camera

The back camera of the Lenovo P70 has a 13mgpx sensor at 4160×3120 and an LED flash. In our tests of this camera, we highlight the resolution of the whole module (lens and matrix, software processing included), chromatic and geometric aberrations, accurate color reproduction as well as color noise.

Resolution

Camera resolution in lph (lines per inch), in relation to the lens/matrix combination, is determined with the aid of an ISO 12233 chart.
ISO-Lenovo P70

The Lenovo P70 camera achieves maximum resolution of 2020 lph in center-field. The value is not low at all and is likely to be enough for most users. It is, however, not the maximum for a 13 mgpx sensor. We believe the cause to be either imperfect optics or possibly a high-quality 8 mgpx sensor with resolution-increasing software interpolation.

We add subjective, but sufficient awareness of resolution, image sharpness, color noise and chromatic aberrations to the test composition.

Test-Lenovo P70
The text is legible and the JPG compression artifacts are negligible.
TEXT-Lenovo P70

Aberrations and color noise

There are insignificant chromatic aberrations.
Aber-Lenovo P70
When it comes to color noise, we must be tolerant with smaller cameras, since poor lighting makes it hard or even difficult to avoid. It is sometimes evident in poorly-lit areas of otherwise bright photos. In this case, it’s limited but still clearly visible.
Noise-Lenovo P70

Color reproduction

The camera reproduced the color table with relatively accurate but somewhat over-saturated colors.
ColorChart-LenovoP70

Bluegood
Greengood
Redvery good
Yellowgood
Magentavery good
Cyanvery good
Whitegood
Grayvery good

We give it 5.7 out of 10.
The digital color map below shows shot colors vs reproduced colors.
E-CameraColor-Lenovo P70

A look at the menus

There are sufficient settings option for a smartphone camera.
Menu-Lenovo P70

Additional options

The camera is able to determine the exposition in a given portion of the frame.
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Sample photos


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Low-light photos

According to some of our readers, P70’s camera doesn’t fare particularly well in low-light conditions. Naturally, we tested it out, and our first impressions (first photo, that is) weren’t brilliant. The shot looked rather dark and even though this is not a high-end phone, we expected slightly better results. After some manual tweaking, however, the following photos were much better. Still, too much brightness does tend to deteriorate image quality.


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Video

The model is capable of shooting Full HD video, and in order to choose maximum detail, choose the cog icon at the bottom right corner. We made two test clips. The first one we shot in sunlight, while the other was taken in gloomy weather.





Conclusions

The Lenovo P70 Camera is not at the top of its class but will likely satisfy users, who aren’t particularly interested in that aspect of the device. If we have to grade the latter on a scale from 1 to 6, we’d give it a 4.

Problems

It’s a new section in our reviews, but we need it because the phone really has a few problems with reception and call quality. Lenovo P70 has worse 3G coverage than many other phones. Also, from time to time, when you are talking on the phone, the person on the other side can’t hear you. Of course, we asked Lenovo about this. They think that it’s probably a software problem, and they are now working to create an update, which will fix it. We are still waiting.

Wi-Fi and 3G signal

Many Lenovo P70 owners complain that the phone has poor reception, so we tested it. We measured the result, after which we compared it to two others smartphones (Motorola Moto G and Nexus 6). It is true, the reception is poor. The Lenovo P70 average dBm is lower than the Moto G and Nexus 6 results (-80 is lower than -65).

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Update: Lenovo contacted us once again and this time we have some good news. The update is done and it will be released very soon. Read more about it here.

Update 2:
The update is already launched, so if you have problems with your P70, odds are that most of them will be fixed.

In order to install it you should go to Settings – About phone – System Update and hit Download.

One of Lenovo P70’s problems was the bad call quality (the other side couldn’t hear you well), but only if you make a call after shooting a video. Also, saving a landline number in Google Contacts caused a problem with the following incoming calls from it.

With the new update Lenovo got rid of these problems, but we’re aware of another one major flaw – weak 3G reception. We haven’t tested the phone in out-of-the-town scenario yet, but we’re going to do it soon and we’ll share the results.

It will be appreciated if you would put your P70 to the same tests and share the results in the comment section below. Did the update solve your problems?

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Conclusion

To wrap things up, Lenovo P70 really is a superb smartphone for its class. Unfortunately, there are some problems (as mentioned in this review), but Lenovo claims that this is a software problem and they are now working to create an update, which will fix the issue.

Should the problems be resolved, we could easily say that this is one of the best smartphones in the mid-range. Superb design, huge 4000mAh battery, great user interface, powerful processor and more. However, we recommend that you wait for the upcoming software update before you buy this phone.

If we receive information about the new update, we will let you know asap.

Check the current price of Lenovo P70 here:
http://amzn.to/1LeTr3H

Pros

  • Good design
  • Handful of software features
  • Excellent battery life
  • High CPU and GPU performance


Cons

  • Poor reception

 

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Ron
Ron
8 anni fa

I found it very easy and friendly user. The new software update is very good. Al thought there are some settings/ features that is not included in the new software. Ex. Apps can be “transfer in sd card” so that memory will be minimized in the built in memory. Because the new update software has too much capacity than before. And also in camera before you can have in the setting to capture pics just to set in the setting “touch on screen to capture”. And the “security apps” now is not included. These features/ settings are not included in… Read more »

Arun
Arun
8 anni fa

How I Can Geo-tag the photographs..Even try many photos bt switching on GPS…But not geting the location info

Sheraz Ahmed Mughal

Dear All

My Lenovo phone Laud Spear some time working or some not ..
if i restart my lenovo p70 than working ,,’

what is solution ???

if you have any solution share please

Hello World
Hello World
8 anni fa

While this mobile has great performance for it’s price as most of Lenovo phones do, Lenovo has serious flaws. Their customer support is basically non existing, don’t ever expect to get updates/response from them about bugs and issues you my have, they will simply ignore you. For instance, this phone had scheduled upgrade to Lollipop somewhere in June, but didn’t get it. Lenovo kept postponing that release without word of explanation. They finally released it somewhere in November, stripping it of any custom modes you have on KitKat, basically giving you non-modified Lollipop full of bugs, and after weeks and… Read more »

anonymous
anonymous
8 anni fa

wifi ssues
it automatically disconnects itself from wifi and when i checked about th problem they told me to update the softwre but my software is in the latest version and now this problem has become hell from past 1 month….
any 1 pls suggest me what to do in this regard ???/

Saadumer
Saadumer
8 anni fa

How to handset lenovo p70 auto

Fauzan Rahmat Hidayat

Im using this phone for a while,another issues from this phone has no magnetic sensor and the google maps always forced close if the google maps is update,but there is no problem if u uninstall the update

aian
aian
7 anni fa

can we use usb flash drive on this device? im confused about usb host and usb on the go

Fodi
7 anni fa
Rispondi a  aian

The factory box of the P70 includes an OTG cable, and according to this review, it supports flash drives as well.
http://gadgetstouse.com/quick-review/lenovo-p70/32983

Fodi
7 anni fa
Rispondi a  Fodi

Just tried it: it works fine with the OTG cable. I also have a cheap microSD/SD card reader which has a micro USB male connector and it also works perfectly as an external USB drive with the P70 (running latest Android 5.1).

Sarang Bhosale
7 anni fa

My lenovo P70 battery is drying from 30% to 1% in 3 to 5 minutes.

Simeon Nikolov
Admin
7 anni fa
Rispondi a  Sarang Bhosale

Hey, Sarang!
I think your battery has lost some of its capacity, which isn’t normal if your phone is relatively new. Either your phone is faulty or your battery is. I hope it’s the latter, so that you could buy a new one from Amazon: http://amzn.to/1rn9ZkY

Fodi
7 anni fa
Rispondi a  Sarang Bhosale

Also you can try some of the battery calibration apps in Google Play (some require root, some don’t) to reset battery calibration information because maybe the 30% state is actually way off in the first place. This was the case on one of my previous Android phones.

Salih
Salih
7 anni fa

How can i take a photo with sounds keys? İs that possible? Or can i use screen touch for every photos ? I have to activate screen touch for every new photo. 🙂

jay beer
jay beer
7 anni fa

With all these duff reviews l have changed my mind about buying this phone. Poor customer care is another reason. I had another Chinese phone, ZTE Blade 2, that simply froze. I sent it off to Virgin for repair only to be told it had stopped because of water damage. Water damage!!!!! I had been using it at home on Wi-Fi…as my ‘reserve’ phone. No water, showers, bathing or rain…only in home. ZTE basically told me to •••• off.

Mohamed
Mohamed
7 anni fa

I cannot hear well from the phone although the call sound is on final high

Ahmed Eltourkey
Ahmed Eltourkey
6 anni fa

Plz tell me which a good software i need to flash. I tried more than 6 softeares

jay
jay
6 anni fa

How to disable pocket dial prevention mode for my phone lenovo P70-A?

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