Lenovo Launches Low-Cost Smartphones With Huge Batteries
Lenovo launched three new smartphones today, from the budget but LTE-capable Vibe P1m, to the higher-end Vibe P1, and the selfie-focused Vibe S1.
The Lenovo Vibe P1m brings a large 4,000 mAh battery, which should differentiate it from most other phones in its range. In the race to have everything more powerful, the battery life of the device is often disregarded as a priority by manufacturers, who at best try to maintain the same battery life as in the last generation.
The Vibe P1m also brings fast-charging capability, as well as dual-SIM support, which we're starting to see as the rule rather than an exception in most phones from the mid-range and down. It runs the latest Android 5.1 Lollipop version.
| Header Cell - Column 0 | Lenovo Vibe P1m | Lenovo Vibe P1 | Lenovo Vibe S1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| SoC | Mediatek MT6735P 1.0 GHz quad-core | 64-bit Snapdragon 615 1.5 GHz octa-core | 64-bit Mediatek MT6752 1.7 GHz octa-core |
| Screen | 5" IPS | 5.5" IPS | 5.0" IPS |
| Resolution | 1280 x 720 | 1920 x 1080 | 1920 x 1080 |
| RAM | 2 GB | 2 GB | 3 GB |
| Storage | 16 GB | 32 GB | 32 GB |
| microSD support | Yes (up to 32 GB) | Yes (up to 128 GB) | Yes (up to 128 GB) |
| Camera | 8MP | 13MP | 13MP |
| Front-camera | 5MP | 5MP | 8MP + 2MP |
| LTE support | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Dual-SIM | Yes (micro-SIM) | Yes (nano-SIM) | Yes (nano-SIM) |
| Battery | 4,000 mAh | 5,000 mAh | 2,500 mAh |
| Dimensions | 141 x 71.8 x 9.3 mm | 152.9 x 75.6 x 4.6-9.9 mm | 143.3 x 70.8 x 7.8 mm |
| OS | Android 5.1 | Android 5.1 | Android 5.0 |
The Vibe P1, the P1m's bigger brother, brings a more powerful Snapdragon 615 SoC from Qualcomm, "Rocket charging" capability that promises to give users 2.8 hours of talk with only a 5-minute charge, and an even bigger 5,000 mAh battery.
The device even gets a fingerprint scanner. It's good to see fingerprint scanners are already starting to trickle down to mid-range devices, not long after they've made their debut in high-end devices. However, until Android M brings the native fingerprint support, we don't know just how secure Lenovo's implementation is. We've already seen some major security blunders from better-known smartphone companies such as HTC and Samsung.
Finally, the Vibe S1 is Lenovo's selfie-focused smartphone that uses two front-cameras (one 8MP and the other 2MP) to create a depth of field effect for photos, not unlike what we've already seen in the HTC M8. On the back, it comes with a 13MP camera accompanied by a dual-LED flash.
The Vibe S1 also has an aluminum frame and an even faster octa-core processor from Mediatek, but only a 2,500 mAh battery life, with the capacity having been likely cut down to fit into a slimmer body profile.
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The Vibe P1m is expected to start selling from mid-September with a price tag of only $159. The Vibe P1 will cost $279 and will be available in early October in countries where Lenovo already sells smartphones. The selfie-focused Vibe S1 will start being sold at $299 in the same countries. However, none of these phones will be available in North America, according to Lenovo.
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Lucian Armasu is a Contributing Writer for Tom's Hardware US. He covers software news and the issues surrounding privacy and security.
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targetdrone If Lenovo really wanted to kick Samsung where it hurts they would have developed a removable 5 amp hour battery. ;)Reply -
lun471k I was really hoping they would be for NA people. These are interesting phones! I guess I'll wait for the 2015 Nexus 5 then...Reply -
dilbert The Vibe P1 has some serious specs for $279, at least on paper. It would be good to see some review comparing it to the Moto G, Zenphone2 and other phones in the 200-300 price range.Reply -
Durandul Yeah, these phones actually look awesome, always nice to see some beefy batteries. Too bad they're not coming to NA.Reply -
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Same comment from me too. Very few decent low-cost (sub-$200 for me) phones and tablets make it to NA. Most of those that are available still have specs reminiscent of 2011-2012.16566520 said:Yeah, these phones actually look awesome, always nice to see some beefy batteries. Too bad they're not coming to NA. -
turkey3_scratch What I wish is for a battery that has a second option of charging - wind power. There would be a tiny windmill-like extension from the bottom of the phone, so whenever you're extremely bored like sitting in a waiting room, you cam blow on it and charge your phone ever so slowly.Reply -
realnoize ReplySame comment from me too. Very few decent low-cost (sub-$200 for me) phones and tablets make it to NA. Most of those that are available still have specs reminiscent of 2011-2012.
I agree. And given the larger battery life, those look very interesting. I still don't get why Lenovo thinks selling their phones in NA is a bad idea. To me, these phones look a step better (on paper) than most cheap phones out there (those available in NA), and seems to be fairly priced. Again, battery life must be good and is something I find lacking in most modern mobile phones, even higher-end models. -
DrSparko These would do great in NA I think. My parents, who are in their 70s, would actually buy a smartphone as their usual reason for not getting one is cost of the device and the battery life. My dad could lose/get his stolen 5 times at 159 and it wouldn't be a big deal...this is why they can't have nice things. NA still have poor people too who rely on smartphones to find and submit job applications, check email...Reply -
AdviserKulikov Wow, the first phone in a while that has looked attractive to me replacing my 4 year old phone, and it's not coming to the US. Oh well.Reply -
jestersage I may not be able to win prizes in TH System Builder raffles, but I can buy this (P1) phone. Looking forward to next month's release.Reply