Phones on Budget

We recently made a post about the Lenovo Phab 2 Pro, an excellent smartphone capable of Augmented Reality (AR). Now, we are going to look at its cheaper sibling, the Lenovo Phab 2.

The Lenovo Phab 2 is an excellent smartphone for the budget conscious. But is it worth its price? How is it compared to the Lenovo Phab 2 Plus and Lenovo Phab 2 Pro? Let’s take a look.

Release: September 2016 (earlier for US)
Device Type: Smartphone
Display: 6.4 inches (720 x 1280 pixels)
Camera: 13MP
Hardware: Mediatek MT8735, 3 GB RAM
Battery: 4050 mAh
Price: US$ 199

See Full Technical Specifications

Design and Display

The Lenovo Phab 2 is the entry-level phone in their new line of smartphones which also includes the Lenovo Phab 2 Plus and Lenovo Phab 2 Pro. The Lenovo Phab 2 is the cheapest at only US$199.

The Lenovo Phab 2 Plus and Lenovo Phab 2 Pro are priced at US$299 and US$499, respectively.

With this price differences, you may expect that the Lenovo Phab 2 has a modest build. The Lenovo Phab 2 is mostly made of plastic material while the other two are made of metal.

The Lenovo Phab 2 has no fingerprint sensor, unlike its siblings and this is understandable considering the Phab 2’s lower price. Currently, you will only find a fingerprint sensor in more expensive smartphones.

Nevertheless, you will find that there is not much difference in the design. All three have a 6.4-inch display, beveled edge near the rear, and rounded corners. This kind of design will provide you with a more comfortable grip and that’s important for a smartphone with a bigger display size like the Lenovo Phab 2.

It is 9.6mm thick just like the Phab 2 Plus. They are both slightly thicker than your average smartphone. It weighs 225 g which is not far from the weight its siblings. The weight is just right for its size.

All three smartphones come in two color choices: Gunmetal Grey and Champagne Gold.

When it comes to display sharpness, the Lenovo Phab 2 has the lowest resolution among the three with its HD display that has 229 pixels per inch. Even our top 10 smartphones under US$200 only have an HD display, with the exception of HTC Desire Eye.

So the level of sharpness is actually a good trade for the low price.

The display technology is IPS LCD which is the same technology used in its siblings and even in flagship smartphones like the latest iPhones. If you like a smartphone with excellent viewing angles and the same vividness and color saturation of the iPhone, the Lenovo Phab 2 can give you that.

Performance

The Lenovo Phab 2 comes with a Mediatek MT8735 chipset that comes with a 64-bit Quad-core (up to) 1.3 GHz CPU. It also comes with 3GB of RAM.

This level of processing power is decent enough to enjoy high-performance LTE, PC-like browsing, and 3D gaming in an entry-level smartphone.

The 3 GB RAM is actually impressive because most smartphones under US$200 only have a 2 GB RAM size. This allows smoother multitasking and running of apps.

The Lenovo Phab 2 Plus, on the other hand, has a slightly faster chipset compared to the Lenovo Phab 2. The Lenovo Phab 2 Pro contains a much faster chipset among the three and it can closely compete with the upper mid-range devices in terms of processing power.

The internal storage of the Lenovo Phab 2 is 32 GB and can be expanded up to 256 GB with a microSD card. The microSD will use the SIM 2 slot.

It also runs on the latest Android OS (Marshmallow) so you can expect several new features that come with this software.

If you are interested in Tango technology which allows Augmented Reality (AR), it is only available in the Lenovo Phab 2 Pro which has a Tango-optimized chipset. You may check out more details about the Lenovo Phab 2 Pro here.

Camera

The camera features of the Lenovo Phab 2 can closely compete with the top smartphones under US$200. The rear camera has a 13MP resolution which is the highest resolution available for a US$200 budget.

It has phase detection autofocus, LED flash, face detection, HDR, and panorama shooting mode. HDR mode allows capturing brighter and better quality photos.

The front camera, on the other hand, has a 5MP resolution.

The Lenovo Phab 2 Plus has a dual 13MP rear camera and an 8MP front camera which has a large pixel size, so it can capture better quality pictures even in a low-light setting. The Lenovo Phab 2 Pro has a 16MP rear camera and 8MP front camera.

The Lenovo Phab 2 Pro has a 16MP rear camera and 8MP front camera.

Battery Life and Other Features

The battery capacity is 4050 mAh just like its siblings which is just right for their display size.

It also LTE-capable with LTE band 1(2100), 2(1900), 3(1800), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 20(800), 38(2600), 40(2300), 41(2500) for EMEA. The LTE bands for USA are band 2(1900), 4(1700/2100), 5(850), 7(2600), 12(700), 13(700), 17(700.

You will also like the Dolby Atmos feature which can give you a cinematic sound experience with active noise cancellation. This is an excellent feature that you cannot find in most entry-level smartphones.

Other cool basic features that you will like are Wi-Fi connectivity, Bluetooth for you wireless accessories, GPS with A-GPS for finding locations, FM radio, Acceleration sensor, Gyroscope, Proximity sensor, and Compass.

Lenovo Phab 2, a Perfect Choice for Modest Users

The Lenovo Phab 2 has a lot of good features that can closely compete or even surpass the current top smartphones under US$200.

If you like bigger displays for watching movies and other related uses, and you don’t want to spend too much, this smartphone is a good choice.

It has a decent processing power for your modest needs, a high-resolution camera, huge battery capacity, and cinematic audio for quality entertainment. For the price, it’s totally worth it.

If you have an extra budget, the Lenovo Phab 2 Plus and Lenovo Phab 2 Pro are also excellent choices when considering their features relative to their price.

Click Here to Check Out the Top Smartphones Under US$200

What do you think of this new smartphone from Lenovo? I would love to hear from you.

Just leave your comment in the comments section below. ?