Lenovo Z2 Plus

Last week, Lenovo pulled the wraps of their Z2 Plus (Zuk Z2 internationally) and it is worth saying that it is the cheapest smartphone to boast a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor. The Z2 Plus is a new smartphone in India, but not in other countries. It was launched in China five months ago as the Lenovo Zuk Z2.

The Z2 Plus packs a powerful hardware and comes in two variants. The mid-range segment is already loaded with some decent smartphone from the company’s Chinese counterparts such as Xiaomi’s Mi 5 and LeEco Le Max 2. That being said, both the smartphones offer good value for money. In this article, we will compare the specifications of three smartphones. Let’s go on.

Design
In terms of design, all the three smartphones look great. The Lenovo Z2 Plus features a curved 2.5D glass on the front with which it looks much premium than the two. And, the Xiaomi Mi 5 was the best smartphone Xiaomi has ever made. Both the Z2 Plus and Mi 5 are built using metal and glass and they are lighter than their rival- Le Max 2.

Xiaomi Mi 5

On the other hand, the Le Max 2 comes with an uni-metal body, which has become the norm in these days. However, it looks decent as well, but the metal body is an added disadvantage than the other two because it is slightly thicker and heavy. That being said, all the three smartphones offer good value for money in terms of design, but we recommend the Z2 Plus and Mi 5 over the Le Max 2, due to its form factor.

Display
Firstly, consider this fact, we were at the launch event and felt that the Z2 Plus just feels incredibly good when taken into hands, thanks to its smaller 5-inch display, which is a 1080p panel. The Xiaomi Mi 5 has slightly bigger display than the Z2 Plus at 5.15-inch and also has the same 1080p panel. The Le Max 2 edges both the Mi 5 and Z2 Plus in terms of the display because it has Quad HD display, which is good to see at this price range.

Hardware
As said earlier, all the three smartphones are powered by the same quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 chipset, which is the flagship chip. The Xiaomi Mi 5 comes with 3GB of RAM and is available in only one variant, whereas the Z2 Plus can be purchased in 3GB/4GB RAM variants. The Le Max 2 also has 4GB/6GB of RAM. Now, it depends upon you, if you’re a power user, then go with the higher RAM device.

LeEco Le Max 2

Camera
The Lenovo Z2 Plus comes with a 13MP rear camera with support for OIS and PDAF along with smaller f/2.2 aperture. It also has the Electronic Image Stabilisation (EIS). The Xiaomi Mi 5 comes with a 16MP rear camera, which also has support for OIS. And, the LeEco Le Max 2 has a 21MP rear camera with OIS and f/2.0 aperture. All the three smartphones are capable of recording 4K videos.

Up front, both the Le Max 2 and Z2 Plus feature an 8MP sensor and the Mi 5 has a smaller 4MP front-facing camera, which is low in megapixels but is capable of producing some good results.

Battery
In the battery segment, the Z2 Plus is a clear winner with 3,500mAh battery followed by the Le Max 2’s 3,100mAh battery and the Xiaomi Mi 5 has a smaller 3,000mAh battery, which doesn’t last a day for its skinned heavy MIUI.

Xiaomi Mi 5 Black Gold

Software
All the three smartphones run Android Marshmallow out-of-the-box with the company’s own skins on top of it. The Lenovo Z2 Plus comes with a nearly stock Android type of skin. There won’t be any introduction to the Xiaomi’s Mi 5 because the same MIUI skin and the Le Max 2 comes with heavily skinned EUI.

Pricing and Verdict
The new entrant, Z2 Plus, is priced at Rs. 17,999 for the 3GB RAM variant and Rs. 19,999 for the 4GB of RAM variant. While LeEco has cut down the price of Le Max 2 by Rs. 4,000 and is available for a price of Rs. 17,999, but the pricing is only for this festive season. That being said the Mi 5 recently received a price cut of Rs. 3,000 and now retails for Rs. 22,000, but will be available for Rs. 3,000 less for this festive season.

Going by the specs, we recommend you to the go with the Lenovo Z2 Plus as it as beautiful design and less bloated Android software. You can get one yourself it on Amazon. Thanks to the pricing as well.