We test phablet Lenovo phab 2 PRO with large display and triple camera. In our review, we review what the first smartphone designed for enhanced reality and the Google Tango platform is.

Lenovo phab 2 PRO is the first commercial device to use the Tango platform developed by Google. Theoretically, it allows you to draw hand from expanded reality, thanks to special sensors and dedicated applications. Is it the only advantage of a device that costs about 2000 zlotys now?

Housing and appearance

At the beginning it is worth to pay attention to the dimensions of Lenovo phab 2 PRO, because it is a really big phablet . So much so that one-handed service is not an option. There is also a large weight (almost 260 grams), which negatively affects the overall comfort of the phone. Aluminum housing is used on the rear wall. The body is made of metal and the screen is protected with curved glass 2.5D. So we have a very traditional connection that can be found in smartphones from almost every price range.

Lenovo phab 2 PRO / FOT. GSMmANIAk.PL

Lenovo phab 2 PRO / fot. gsmManiaK.pl

I have no objections to the quality of workmanship as the components have been very well matched. Lenovo even nicely incorporated plastic aerial inserts that, although visible, did not make it necessary to use plastic additionally. Lenovo phab 2 PRO is the most attention-grabbing backside of the Lenovo Phen2 PRO. [/ Center] [spec align = "center" virtual = "SCREEN_WEIGHT, WIDTH, HEIGHT, WEIGHT, WEIGHT"] 22328,22166,19142,22230,22226,22140,22192,22050 A plate with a lot of components. There is a set of three cameras that work with Tango software – a RGB 16 MP camera, a depth camera and a camera with a fisheye lens. On the back panel there is also an LED diode, a secondary microphone and a biometric sensor. This last component has been placed too low for me to get used to its location. I would have seen him on the spot where the index finger was placed alone. It is worth mentioning that all lenses protrude above the face of the housing and the biometric sensor was gently lowered.
Lenovo phab 2 PRO_11

Lenovo phab 2 PRO / fot. gsmManiaK.pl

Lenovo phab 2 PRO / FOT. GSMmANIAk.PL

Lenovo phab 2 PRO / fot. gsmManiaK.pl

Lenovo phab 2 PRO / FOT. GSMmANIAk.PL

Lenovo phab 2 PRO / fot. gsmManiaK.pl

Lenovo phab 2 PRO / FOT. GSMmANIAk.PL

Lenovo phab 2 PRO / fot. gsmManiaK.pl

On the front panel, the capacitive white backlit buttons are illuminated under the screen (they automatically light up when used in dark areas). At the top we have a speaker mask, sensors and a camera to Selfie. The volume bar and switch are located on the right side of the phone, the card drawer – on the left. The bottom edge is occupied by a multimedia speaker, a microUSB 2.0 port, and a microphone. On the top edge we have a 3.5mm mini-jack headphone connector. In terms of design, Lenovo phab 2 PRO is not unique, except for the unusual back panel of course. I would say that it is a very traditional construction, from which the already significant industry is leaving. However, this does not change the fact that Lenovo phab 2 PRO might like it .

Battery

In such a large device, the manufacturer decided to use a 4050 mAh battery , which does not stand out from anything but competing phablets, but with a diagonal screen.

Lenovo phab 2 PRO / FOT. GSMmANIAk.PL

Lenovo phab 2 PRO / fot. gsmManiaK.pl

And while it may seem like the battery is a bit too low, it's enough for one day during normal use (with automatic backlight adjustment). It is therefore decent. Of course, it could always be better, but the producers have already accustomed us to such a standard. In the synthetic tests Lenovo phab 2 PRO achieves similar results to Honor 8 Pro or LG G6. But worse than the Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra. [Test wrench = "4" title = "normal use"] [test slug = "battery" order = "desc" selected = "22328" virtual = "product_id =" 22328,22166, 22230,22226,21910,22140,22192,22050,22182,22186,22186,21630 "] [/ wptab] [wptab style =" 4 "title =" Games "] [test slug =" battery "order =" desc " Selected = "22328" virtual = "battery-manhattan-3" type = "single" product_id = "22328,22166,22230,22226,21910,22140,22192,22050,22182,22186,22186"] [/ wptab] Wptab style = "4" title = "Charging time"] [test slug = "battery" virtual = "charging-ac" = "singlec" = 22328 "product_id =" 22328,22166,22230 , 22226,21910,22140,22192,22050,22182,22186,22186,21630 "] [/ wptab] [wptab_end] The equipment ran out as such a power management manager. Instead, I have the basic solution offered by Google Android – with low power level, the backlight of the screen will be reduced. The Lenovo phab 2 PRO uses a fast charging technology , which replaces the power from zero to 100% (using a dedicated network charger) for an hour and a half (90 minutes). If during the day running out of battery power, after 15 minutes of charging the battery will recover to 21% of energy and after another quarter of an hour it will increase to 44%

Screen

Lenovo phab 2 PRO offers a 6.4 "screen , which is a very rare size today. Last time, that big phablet I held in my hand a few years ago when it was on the top was the Xperia Z Ultra.

Lenovo phab 2 PRO / FOT. GSMmANIAk.PL

Lenovo phab 2 PRO / fot. gsmManiaK.pl

IPS screen, displays content at WQGD resolution (2560 x 1440 pixels). Such a connection translates into sharp focus and also scales the content properly. It is also ideal for using two applications simultaneously on a split screen. Unfortunately, this opportunity in Lenovo phab 2 PRO ran out. Shame. The maximum backlight of the screen is 475 cd / m2 , so it is so intense that the use of smartphone in full sun is not embarrassing at all. I also have no objection to the minimum backlight, which according to our calibrator is 8cd / m2. These are typical values ​​for mid-range smartphones. [Test slug = "battery-screen" virtual = "TEST_JASNOSC_AKU" order = "desc" selected = "22328" type = "single" product_id = "22328,22166, 22230,22226,21910,22140,22192,22050 "] [/ wptab] [wptab style =" 4 "title =" Minimum brightness "] [test slug =" battery-screen "virtual =" TEST_JASNOSC_AKU_MIN "order =" asc " Selected = "22328" type = "single" product_id = "22328,22166,22230,22226,21910,22140,22192,22050"] [/ wptab] [wptab_end] I am not too happy with color rendering, since the sRGB scale coverage Is 82.9% . In practice, this means washed out colors as well as blackness that goes into shades of gray. And while the screen settings have the ability to adjust the color temperature, I have not been able to adjust them anyway. I also did not find software for the display of a very popular recent blue light filter.

The camera

Main camera – characteristics, quality of pictures and videos

The 16-megapixel camera is characterized by rapid focusing and F / 2.2 light. There are also two (two-tone) LEDs to illuminate the LEDs, which trigger a strong light. Photos taken in daylight look decent – both in terms of detail and focus. The colors are gently washed here. Night shots are at a lower level – the noise is visible, and the detail drops. However, you can gently improve the quality by deciding to choose the night mode . Despite some shortcomings, I am of the opinion that the camera used on the Lenovo phab 2 PRO should meet the requirements of people making sporadically photos of a smartphone. >>> See example photos in full resolution Movies will be recorded in full- resolution Full HD (1080p) at 30 frames per second. They keep the same level as the photos, but only during the day, because in the night conditions, the quality of the material being recorded is falling heavily. It is also possible to record in HD. Worthy of praise is the ability to record surround sound, thanks to Dolby Audio Capture 5.1. However, I found a problem when copying files to my computer, namely, when I play a video file on my computer, the part of the voice is cut off. Below I have placed video material recorded with the Lenovo phab 2 PRO phone and presenting the capabilities of the camera. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pj0232j7FIs

Front camera – characteristics, quality of pictures and videos

Selfie has dedicated an 8MP camera with F / 2.2 light which is capable of making good quality photographs. When using the front camera, it is also possible to record video at FHD resolution. In addition, Lenovo has added a simple beautification mode. IMG_20170708_125114

Application for taking photos

Lenovo offers you a very simple, though easy-to-use application for shooting and filming. There are five modes, one of which is dedicated front camera – recording, AR, selfie group, panorama, night. There is also a quick switch for HDR on / off as well as for LED management. The settings include white balance, exposure, or the selection of scene mode.

Lenovo phab 2 PRO / FOT. GSMmANIAk.PL

Lenovo phab 2 PRO / fot. gsmManiaK.pl


Efficiency

Lenovo has chosen one of the most powerful SoC chips for mid-range devices, and the Qualcomm Snapdragon 652 is powered by 4GB of LPDDR3 RAM . The Snapdragon 652 is equipped with four main cores based on the ARM Cortex-A72 architecture clocked at 1.8 GHz and four quad-core ARM Cortex-A53 1.4GHz cores. The Adreno 510 integrated graphics chip, Adreno 510, is responsible for the graphics. This system is found in the HTC 10 Lifestyle as well as the LG G5 SE, which is cheaper than last year's flagship of well-known and respected brands.

Lenovo phab 2 PRO / FOT. GSMmANIAk.PL

Lenovo phab 2 PRO / fot. gsmManiaK.pl

And all would be great if not for the fact that Qualcomm decided to produce the Snapdragon 652 chip in an outdated technology process – 28nm, so that compared to competing SoC has a higher energy demand, and also less efficient. Probably from the characteristics itself, you are more interested in how Lenovo phab 2 PRO works in practice. And it works pretty well, although the ideal is a bit lacking. During everyday use, there was a slowdown in the interface itself , which is a bit of a surprise as the phone works under almost pure Google. Phablet is noticeably slower than Moto X Style, for which Snapdragon 808 works. But I have no reservations for RAM management – switching between open applications shortly. Type = "single" product_id = "pcmark-android-work" type = "single" 22328,22166,22230,22226,21910,22140,22192,22050,22182,22186,22186,21630,20922 "] [/ wptab] [wptab style =" 4 "title =" AnTuTu "] [test slug =" android -antutu-6 "order =" desc "selected =" 22328 "virtual =" antutu-total-6 "type =" single "product_id =" 22328,22166,22230,22226,21910,22140,22192,22050,22182, 22186,22186,21630,21158 "] [/ wptab] [3dMark]] [test slug =" 3dmark "order =" desc "selected =" 22328 "virtual =" 3dmark-ice- Type = "single" product_id = "22328,22166,22230,22226,21910,22140,22192,22050,22182,22186,22186,21630"] [/ wptab] [wptab style = "4" Title = "T-Rex"] [test slug = "gfxbench-fps" order = "desc" selected = "22328" type = "single" virtual = "t-rex-3-onscreen" product_id = "22328,22166, 22230,22226,21910,22140,22192,22050,22182,22186,22186,21630 "] [/ wptab] [test slug =" gfxbench-fps "order =" Desc "selec Ted = "22328" type = "single" virtual = "manhattan-3-onscreen" product_id = "22328,22166,22230,22226,21910,22140,22192,22050,22182,22186,22186,21630"] [/ wptab [Wptab_end] In popular benchmark applications, Lenovo phab 2 PRO wins with mid-priced smartphones , and is also able to compete with two-year-old flagships. However, it is not able to approach the flagship models of last year, but it should not be surprised anyone. Graphics capabilities are good – Adreno 510 supports all titles available on Google Play. High load of components, however, brings with it the problem of heating up the housing – the elevated temperature can be felt on the back of the phablet. This problem occurs during longer play, loading, or watching movies and browsing the internet. However, the highest temperatures were recorded using the Tango applications – and then phablet worked at full speed.

System and interface

The Google Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow , which has been slightly modified by the manufacturer, is waiting for potential buyers. The level of security is very outdated – from December 1, 2016. The same system I will not describe, because pure Android is not in any interest. Let me focus on additives introduced by the manufacturer. The software has added the ability to control the color temperature of the screen, a sound management application – Dolby Atmos, which has several defined modes, and allows you to add your own. There is even a floating button (this feature is named Intelligent button), which allows you to launch recently opened applications or access switches. It is also possible to wipe your smartphone by double-tapping the screen.

Lenovo phab 2 PRO / FOT. gsmManiaK.pl

Lenovo phab 2 PRO / fot. gsmManiaK.pl

And of course Tango , which is worth a few words – it is the most important feature of the tested device. Tango in a nutshell is an expanded reality on steroids. According to Google, thanks to the Tango device is able to offer the consumer a new kind of spatial perception through advanced imaging technology and special video sensors. In theory everything sounds great, but practice has shown that there is still room for improvement. The biggest disadvantage of this tandem is that at that moment a small amount of applications take full advantage of the opportunities offered by Tango. In the shop you can find primarily programs that allow you to arrange the interior, which for the average user is not attractive, unless we change the moment of the decor. Lenovo is proposing to us yet an extended reality for the youngest . When you turn on the camera application and choose AR mode, we get access to an expanded reality where we can interact with a cat, a dragon, a dog, and a fairy. Particularly noteworthy is the fact that the cat is able to jump through the furniture because phablet recognizes the depth. And while it looks interesting, I doubt I would use this feature very often

Equipment

Dual-band 802.11 a / b / g / n / ac wireless (2.4GHz and 5GHz) wireless LANs, LTE modems, and Bluetooth 4.0 are the communications facilities of the Lenovo phab 2 PRO. I do not want to be grumpy, but it's really weak, and that's because the NFC and FM radio are out of the middle of 2016, and the BT protocol is gently out of date (though it did well during the tests). Unfortunately, I can not write the same about WiFi, which works well only on the floor where the router is located – the change of the floor level is equivalent to the loss of signal and picking up the connection. The Hybrid SIM card slot (Dual Standby) is another communication solution that we will find in Lenovo phab 2 PRO. We can either use two SIM cards (nanoSIM + nanoSIM) or expand the built-in memory at the expense of dual SIM. Lenovo phab 2 PRO - GPS Objections I do not have much to do with GPS (with A-GPS), which quickly catches the signal itself. By using it we will reach without difficulty to the goal. By finishing the communication section, it is worthwhile to mention the microUSB port (standard 2.0), which offers support for OTG , so it is possible to connect pointers and storage devices. In the second case, however, I did not get to the contents of the external disk (without my own power), but the pendrive was handled without problems. Built-in memory for files is 64 GB, of which 58GB is available for the user. If you run out of memory then you can boldly use the memory expansion by using a microSD card reader that supports cards up to 256GB.

Lenovo phab 2 PRO / FOT. GSMmANIAk.PL

Lenovo phab 2 PRO / fot. gsmManiaK.pl

Multimedia speaker we received one – located in the right corner of the lower edge. It is characterized by the correct sound quality – it is not distinguished by anything but the sound level is sufficient. In general, the speaker gives advice, but only with Dolby technology enabled. The smartphone also includes three microphones and a speaker for calls. Making voice calls was without problems. It is worth adding that Lenovo supports Dolby Audio Capture 5.1 technology, so you can record surround sound. When it comes to listening to music on the headphones I am satisfied. This is primarily due to the dedicated headset supplied by JBL. The maximum volume could be at a higher level, but the sound is pleasant to the ear and clean. The fingerprint reader is located on the back panel. I mentioned that it was placed gently too low. However, to his actions I have no objection – during the tests he acted almost flawlessly and quickly, though not immediately. Of course it is active.

Summary and evaluation

I was wondering how to sum up my time spent with Lenovo phab 2 PRO . And that is because there are many contradictions in it. On the one hand, we get a modern phablet, and on the other, this modernity goes away after hitting the technical specifications. Tango is interesting in its own way, but I treated the Google platform as an exotic curiosity and more fun. At this moment I do not particularly see the place for virtual reality in such form at work. And it does not matter whether you are a designer, or whether you are just decorating the interior of your dream apartment. If we dump Lenovo phab 2 PRO from Tango then we will see phablet with a huge display , which our potential is not able to make full use of the old version of Google. A smartphone that has humor, but works reasonably well and allows you to comfortably consume content and play your favorite titles. I think that although I would be able to accept most of the shortcomings of this model, it is not, in general terms, a device with which I could make friends for a long time. I am curious about your opinion about this interesting, but probably too much underpowered phone.

Lenovo phab 2 PRO / fot. gsmManiaK.pl

Lenovo phab 2 PRO / fot. gsmManiaK.pl

[temperature2 product_id = "22328"]

Video review of Lenovo phab 2 PRO

After reading the test I also invite you to watch my video review Lenovo phab 2 PRO – it's material from gsmManiaK channel on YouTube . Https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VoCeQH7W3I As always, we look forward to your comments and comments. And of course, we strongly encourage you to subscribe to our YouTube channel , which will feature Android game reviews, hardware reviews and how-to guides.