Lenovo Vibe S1 phone review - pros and cons

Released in 2016 by the Chinese manufacturer Lenovo Vibe S1 positions itself as the world's first model with a double front camera. It has established itself as a stylish device of the middle price category. The smartphone has already managed to catch the fancy of connoisseurs of a beautiful “wrapper” - its interface for a middle-class phone is made for five plus. What other advantages exist of this gadget and are there any disadvantages, we will consider below.

External parameters

Design

As mentioned above, this phone model impresses with its refined appearance. Despite the fact that the smartphone is not a newcomer, in 2018 the design of Lenovo Vibe S1 is still relevant. The gadget weighs 132 grams. The body of the smartphone is metal, the back panel is made of Gorilla Glass and has rounded corners. The glass is quite resistant to scratches and abrasions.In terms of aesthetics, it is better to choose a model in white. On it the defects which have appeared during operation are practically imperceptible. The edges of the gadget are made of aluminum. The smartphone is comfortable to use and does not slip due to the curved back panel at the sides. The Vibe logo is on the back.

The buttons that control the volume of the phone are located on the right side. However, due to the ultra-thin profile of the phone, they are not very convenient - "beauty requires sacrifice." The keys responsible for controlling the system are located under the display and are not backlit. Here, too, you will have to get used to their placement.

Due to the presence of two front cameras at once, the front side of the Lenovo Vine S1 is a little more “perforated”.

The cameras are located above the display next to the light sensor. On the left side there is a slot for a SIM card and microSD. A significant disadvantage of Lenovo Vine S1 is the choice: either 2 SIM cards, or a SIM card and microSD. Owners of two SIM cards will have to sacrifice additional memory or purchase another gadget. In 2018, Lenovo Vibe S1 will no longer compete in this regard with its counterparts, released with 3 slots. The micro-USB port is located at the bottom of the phone, and the headset with a 3.5 mm output is at the top. The color scheme is presented in three colors: white, blue and gold.

Display

The screen diagonal is 5 inches, the screen resolution is 1920x1080. The display is equipped with a system of 5 touch points, has 16 million colors. It is possible to manually adjust the color balance and brightness of the screen. For the dark time of the day, a "night" mode is provided. But in sunny weather on the street, the brightness does not “live” - you need to bring the gadget closer and peer.The sensor works perfectly, quickly responds to touch. In the cold season, you can activate the special sensor sensitivity mode, which will allow you to control the gadget through gloves.

Key features of the phone

Camera

Now about the notorious "hybrid" camera: the soloist here is an 8-megapixel camera (which takes pictures of you), and the role of the second violin will be played by a 2-megapixel one (its function is to capture the background). There is a separate flash for selfies in order to increase the brightness of the photo. The manufacturer claims that the photos are obtained as on a professional SLR. However, here he is a little disingenuous. For a good photo, at least everything should be good with lighting. But for an avatar in a social network, the quality will be very good.

What are the features of the dual camera? You can make the background blurry. Both foreground and background. Here it is important that the camera recognizes the face. Set the focus, say, on the wall will not work. Automation simply will not fix it.

You can also cut out the face and paste it into another background (suddenly being against the backdrop of the Eiffel Tower is not a problem at all). There is a "beautification" button that allows you to make yourself as attractive as possible.

The main camera (13 megapixels) is pretty decent. Equipped with LED flash. If you shoot in a well-lit place, the pictures will come out decent. The extension reaches 4096x2304 (16:9). With a 4:3 frame - 4160x3120. The quality of the recorded video is high (Full HD). The files are stored in MP4 format. The camera shutter is released by tapping the screen or by swiping. For convenience, you can define a volume slider for this function.

In general, for a mid-range gadget, the camera is quite tolerable, provided there is sufficient lighting.For lovers of night shots, it is better to find something more worthwhile. Smartphone autofocus in the dark often misses.

Sound and speakers

There are 2 speakers in the gadget: conversational and hands-free. The speakerphone is located on the bottom end. With the quality of the speakers, everything is in order. Being even on a noisy busy avenue, the interlocutor is perfectly audible. The same is with the speakerphone: you can safely move within 30 square meters, carrying on a dialogue without a phone in your hands.

Speaker volume and sound quality Lenovo Vibe S1 - a four. When listening at maximum volume through the speaker, the quality of the music is not particularly distorted, the sound clarity is average. The presence of a voice recorder and an FM tuner (for the latter you will need headphones). Speaking of headphones: the downside is the lack of advanced settings for the internal equalizer. The audio player does not appear in the list of "native" applications, but you can use the "cloud" ones.

autonomy

The battery capacity is 2400 mAh, the full charge time is approximately 2 hours. The battery, frankly, is not the strongest point of this smartphone. The manufacturer claims 24 hours of standby time and 8 hours of active use. However, in reality, the gadget can withstand an average of 4-6 hours of active work. To watch a video at maximum brightness, the charge will last for about 5 hours (respectively, with a decrease in brightness, the phone will “live” a little more).

For normal use, this is quite enough, but fans of active games on the phone will not last long without charging. But in the settings you can activate the power saving functions. It is possible to choose the automatic mode of activation of energy saving when a certain level of charge is reached.While power saving mode is enabled, sync and vibration are disabled, reducing performance.

Interface

Lenovo Vibe S1 runs Android 5.0 Lollipop with VIBE UI shell. This is the so-called Chinese version of the android. A lot of "driven" applications. Such programs include office programs, a Chinese browser, work with electronic wallets, an additional store with games and stuff like that. Installed application for transfer between gadgets in case of lack of Internet. It's called SHAREit. And in case of accidental formatting of data, the SYNCit application will come to the rescue. In principle, it does not take up much memory.

All subsequently installed programs will be located on the desktop - there is no separate “menu” application here.

The interface is quite varied. The theme allows you to customize the "picture" both in pastel colors and with the addition of bright effects. You can adjust the display manually or "entrust" it to automatic adjustment. There is an LED indicator on the speaker grid. It is configurable to signal missed calls or notifications from apps.

App notifications are displayed on the lock screen. Double-tap to open a message directly from the lock screen.

The Vibe S1 keyboard does not support continuous input. The absence of borders between the buttons complicates the set a little.

Of the chips there is the possibility of a quick snapshot. If you need to take a picture urgently, you can simply press the volume button twice. Even if the phone is locked, the frame is already captured.

There are more chips. As mentioned above, the battery of the phone is so-so.And in order to somehow extend the life of the gadget, you can set up scenarios on your phone. You just set a specific time (for example, from 23:00 to 07:00) and all services that consume the most energy are turned off.

There is such a function as a "safe zone". “Safe Zone” is such an option that allows you to switch your phone to another mode with the press of a button, while closing what you previously worked with (contacts, photos, applications, etc.). It was as if none of this happened. Of course, not every user will need such a bonus, but someone will undoubtedly say “thank you” to the manufacturer for this.

In addition, the manufacturer took care of security and installed an antivirus that controls the operation of applications.

CPU

For a mid-range phone, the Lenovo Vibe S1 has good specs and performance. Processor MediaTek MT6752 - 8 core, 64 bit. Operates at a frequency of 1.7 GHz. Graphics also did not let us down - one of the powerful accelerators from ARM is responsible for it. RAM is 3 GB. Built-in got 32 gigabytes. In practice, only 23.4 GB are free from the built-in. If this seems not enough, you can use an additional memory card. It is possible to connect a simple flash drive to the gadget - the phone supports USB-OTG.

The smartphone supports the following frequency bands: 1800 MHz, 2600 MHz and 800 MHz. The rest of the wireless communications include Wi-Fi 802.11 a / b / g / n, includes 2 bands (2.4 and 5 GHz). There is Bluetooth 4.0.

If necessary, you can use your phone as a modem. And activate the Turbo-boot mode. When activated, WLAN and mobile Internet are used simultaneously to download files.

Navigation and location are provided by GPS and GLONASS satellites supported by A-GPS technology.

The shell of the smartphone is well optimized. Special hangs and glitches are not noticed. In AnTuTu, the device scored 47,000 points, in GekkBench - 803 (single-core test) and 4084 (multi-core test) points.

Games

An important question for lovers of virtual toys. Everything here is, in principle, not bad. The graphics of the phone are decent, the settings are maximum, the gameplay is excellent. The phone does not lag, so you can pass the time on boring studies or on the way home at high settings. With most popular games, the gadget copes lightly. However, Vibe S1 is still not worth advising hardened gamers.

Equipment

The package includes a standard set:

• Telephone;
• Instruction;
• A paperclip to remove the SIM card from the slot;
• Charging adapter;
• USB cable.

The cost of Lenovo Vibe S1 is an average of 8,000 rubles.

Pros and cons of Lenovo VIBE S1

• Stylish and expensive look of the gadget;
• Lightweight and thin body;
• Quality assembly;
• Pretty powerful processor;
• Non-standard front camera with two cameras;
• Decent graphics;
• budget cost.

• The inability to use 2 SIM cards and microSD at the same time;
• Low capacity battery;
• Lack of an NFC interface, which does not allow mobile payment systems to work;
• There is no "enhancer" for higher sound quality in headphones.

As a result

Lenovo Vibe S1 is a fairly budget model (comparing with fancy "brothers"). At the same time, it looks much more expensive than its cost. This is one of the main advantages of the gadget, so it is perfect for a gift for lovers of beautiful devices.There is also a uniqueness - after all, the first phone with 2 front cameras, albeit not the most perfect pictures come out of them.

In terms of functionality, the gadget is average. Average sound, average photo quality, average processor power. No fancy frills. The autonomy is a bit weak for those who are used to spending hours on the net and in toys. You can’t call a powerful gadget technically, but for the average user, this is a good budget option. And very stylish.