Lenovo K9 first impressions: Dated design with average specifications

Lenovo has launched a new phone after almost one year. The comeback phone is Lenovo K9, the successor to the popular K8 Note. The new Lenovo phone is accompanied by an entry-level Lenovo A5. Lenovo K9 is priced at ₹8,999, while the A5 will retail at a starting price of ₹5,999.

Lenovo's K series smartphones were once among the top budget smartphones under the ₹10,000 bracket. The company last launched K8 Note back in August, 2017. During the time Lenovo was missing in action, India's budget segment has gotten more competitive with newer players like Realme and Honor making their presence felt.

Ahead of the launch, we spent some time with the new Lenovo phone. Here's our detailed first impressions.

Design

Lenovo's comeback phone aims to deliver unique design experience, but the phones like Realme 2 Pro have set the design benchmarks quite high. Even though the aspect ratio is higher at 18:9, the overall look and feel of the Lenovo K9 is dated. Contrary to the trend, Lenovo's large-screen phone doesn't have a notch, which is certainly not a negative. The problem, however, is that it has relatively thick bezels on top and bottom.

But let's not rush to a judgement as yet. Lenovo K9 has a 5.7-inch HD+ display with 2.5D glass on top. During our brief usage, we found the display quality very crisp with impressive indoor and outdoor legibility.

The rear panel of Lenovo K9 looks pretty good with the 2.5D glass adding a premium touch to it. The glass panel is also reflective similar to the Honor's 9N and 9 Lite smartphones. Lenovo K9 is pretty light and perfect for one-handed use.

For performance, Lenovo is powered by MediaTek's Helio P22 processor which is built on the 12nm process. A longer and thorough use of the phone will determine its performance. But during our usage, it seemed pretty fast. Navigating across the phone was a breeze. To top it off, Lenovo K9 runs an almost stock Android 8.1 Oreo on the software front. There are a few pre-loaded games like Asphalt Nitro, Sonic Runner and more.

The highlight of Lenovo K9 is its quad-camera setup. The smartphone houses dual 13-megapixel and 5-megapixel cameras at the front and back. It features AI for features like bokeh and beautify. The bokeh mode on Lenovo K9 comes with an aperture meter where you can reduce it to enhance the background blur. This feature can be used on the front and rear cameras.

Something interesting on the Lenovo K9 is the USB Type-C port. A feature found mostly in premium phones and few mid-range ones. While the smartphone doesn't support quick charge, USB-C will offer faster charging.

Lenovo K9 does not appeal one aesthetically but the smartphone packs promising specifications and features. It has been impressive enough so far during our short time with the phone. A better judgment can be given in our full review of the phone. As of now, it will compete with popular under ₹10,000 smartphones like Nokia 3.1 Plus and Realme 2.