Lenovo’s Vibe series has undergone major changes over the past year. Last year’s Vibe X2 was made like a modular phone, creating quite a stir in the smartphone industry.
The company released the Vibe X3 this year and it is fast becoming the top choice in the so-called affordable flagship segment. Priced at Rs 19,999, the phone is a direct competition to the Motorola Moto X Play and the OnePlus 2.
Pros:
- Powerful hardware
- Long battery life
- Full-HD display
- Good audio output
Cons:
- Average cameras
- Clunky to use
- Available via flash sale only
What’s Good?
Lenovo manages to pack in a lot of features without going overboard with its pricing. The Vibe X3 feels like the refined version of the Vibe K4 Note with a better body and finish.
The 5.5-inch Full-HD display gets Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection and offers crisp content with sharp colour contrasts. The phone is a great option for gaming enthusiasts, with its loud, top quality front-facing speakers, big-size screen and Snapdragon 808 hexa-core processor.
The phone offers 32GB onboard storage which is expandable via the hybrid SIM slot that also supports a microSD card. The position fingerprint scanner at the back is in line with the way we hold a phone. It is quick to read your finger ID profile which comes in handy for people who like to secure their device.
Also, we’d like to mention that the Vibe UI interface running on the Vibe X3 is much better than the ones we have used before. Lenovo has gone back to basics, offering a stable software experience which also helps in reducing the load on the hardware, making sure the phone heats up less.
And finally, it’s hard to ignore the 3500mAh battery unit on the Vibe X3. The phone can easily last a day or more without pushing it to the limit. The Vibe X3 is more than reliable on the battery front, much like the P1 and scores top marks.
What’s Bad?
What we don’t like about the Vibe X3 are the size and the weight. If a Samsung can streamline the 5.7-inch Galaxy Note 5 to a manageable proportion, then we expect others to follow suit.
However, with the Vibe X3, Lenovo seems to have given its all, to pack in as many features as possible. The phone feels heavy and clunky and won’t work for people who’re looking for a lightweight phone with a big display.
Although the Vibe X3 has a 21-megapixel rear camera, we’re not sure if the numbers add up. Images clicked in broad daylight were satisfactory, but we always felt the images were sharper than they should be. We managed decent pictures with the fast auto-focus response but we found the output lagging in few areas.
If the phone had a Super AMOLED quality display then it was understandable, but without it, its hard to. The low light capability of the Vibe X3 is not up to the mark either. Something that Lenovo should keep in mind for future devices.
As an aside, it’s high time brands give up the flash sale format. Most people are looking to buy a phone as per their convenience. They’re not going to waste their time to sign in and wait for the doors to open, without a guarantee that they will be able to buy the phone.
Why Buy It?
The Lenovo Vibe X3 is an all-round multimedia package with quality front-facing speakers backed by powerful hardware, great for those who consume a lot of content on their smartphones. The 3500mAh battery is worth its weight and will easily last you more than a day.
However, the phone is clunky, big in size and has average cameras. So, if you really want the phone, then get set for the flash sale battle. If not, then the OnePlus 2 or the Qiku Q-Terra are great options too.
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