The Lenovo Vibe X3 is a flagship device from Lenovo, which has already been launched in global markets. The phone will be launched in India soon, but we got the opportunity to have a go at it early. Here's a first look at the device.
Before we start, here is a quick rundown of the specifications of the phone at hand:
Display: 5.5-inch, 1080p
SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon 808
RAM: 3GB
Storage: 32GB
Camera: 21MP, 8MP
Battery: 3500mAh
Starting from the bottom, the phone has its navigation keys below the display which remain unlit, but are pretty easy to ascertain.
The 5.5 inch FHD IPS LCD display itself seems quite sharp. The colour saturation looks really good and the thin bezels around the display make the phone look good.
At the top and there's a 8MP front-facing camera, which sits on the top bezel. The phone also has stereo front-facing speakers, one at the top and one at the bottom. Lenovo has made a number of audio enhancements to the phone, including the Wolfson 8281 audio hub and more. The Wolfson chip though is used only for voice, while Lenovo has added a different chip for music etc.
The phone has metal edges which are chamfered and the phone looks quite premium.
The right side of the Lenovo Vibe X3 has the power button as well as the volume rocker. They are well spaced and tactile.
The micro-USB port is at the bottom of the phone. Lenovo still seems hesitant to use the USB Type-C port. You can also see that the phone has a curved back, which is part of the new design language the company is following, very reminiscent of Motorola designs. Interestingly, the Vibe X3 looks a lot like the Moto X Style smartphone.
The top of the phone has the headphone jack and it also has an infrared blaster, which you use to control your TV and other devices. According to Lenovo, this phone has also been tweaked to control Indian DTH services like Tata Sky, Airtel IDTV etc.
Coming to the back of the device, the phone features a polycarbonate back, which is non-removable and has a matte-ish feel to it — it feels really good.
There is a 21MP camera at the back, coupled with a dual-LED flash. Below it lies the fingerprint sensor and the setup carries the same design language that Lenovo introduced with the Vibe K4 Note recently.
While the phone runs Android 5.1 Lollipop, Lenovo has made the UI much closer to stock Android this time, which is something many would like.