The mid-range smartphone range has Honor and Huawei as its exceptional protagonists. Surprisingly, however, this Lenovo S5 Pro fits in, which offers a really aggressive price and does not miss anything from the point of view of design and technical characteristics.
We reveal why it surprised us in (almost) everything and why we highly recommend it to those looking for a cheap but absolutely efficient terminal.
How it's done
Let's start with aesthetics first. In this case, Lenovo S5 Pro is not surprising at all. Not because it has an insufficient look. Far from it. It has the classic design originating from the post iPhone X era, with a front notch in plain sight, well-optimized frames, with a slightly more evident border at the bottom of the screen.
It is a clean terminal, certainly not original, but which absolutely makes a good impression in the hand. It is very slippery, but the dimensions and the low weight help to use it with one hand: the 170 grams, to tell the truth, seem much less, and the dimensions 15.45 x 7.55 x 0.77 are now compact considering that the main top of the range have larger dimensions.
On one side the power button and volume rocker, on the other drawer for the two SIMs, while on the bottom there is a 3.5 mm headphone jack and USB-C input. The back has the two cameras positioned vertically in the upper left corner, with the LED flash placed below, while a little further down in the central part is the Touch ID for an unlocking that is always rapt and reactive.
We repeat, aesthetic not original, but pleasant. The terminal is in aluminum, well assembled, giving the idea of a higher-end product in consideration of its solidity and low weight.
Technical characteristics
Often, thanks to coupons and discounts, Lenovo S5 Pro can be purchased for 170 euros. It is with this price in mind that jaw-dropping technical features can be read. The display features a 6.2-inch unit, with 2246 x 1080 Full HD + resolution, 18.7: 9 screen ratio, with a contrast of 1500: 1. It mounts an Octa-core CPU, Snapdragon 636 at 1.8 GHz, flanked by 6GB of RAM, 64GB of integrated memory expandable via MicroSD up to 256 GB.
The screen turns out to have a good quality, with well balanced whites and blacks, which do not stand out naturally as on an OLED screen, but which on the whole can satisfy and above all do not turn with the change of angle.
The brightness does not have excellent peaks, but the terminal is also used well outdoors, with some interesting adjustments for the night mode, which allow you to adjust the hue.
The multimedia department is also absolutely stunning when you look at the price. The rear camera, in fact, is 12MP + 20MP with aperture F / 1.8 + F / 2.6, 2x optical zoom, autofocus, HDR, AI support, with the front camera that instead will make the happiness of all selfie lovers, thanks to a dual camera from 20MP + 8MP, AI support and the possibility of a Portrait effect also on the front.
Considering the selling price, this is an absolutely not bad technical data sheet, which translates into a convincing daily use, fluid at the right point, not so much to reach the top of the range, but enough to not make them regret.
In everyday use Lenovo S5 Pro is enjoyable, you can surf the net without problems, you can use the messaging and social apps, you can read your mail, you run all casual games with extreme fluidity, as well as always fluid and the UI appears reactive.
Touch ID doesn't miss a beat, it's very fast and reliable. From the point of view of the sound, Lenovo S5 Pro defends itself well, and even if it does not reach absolutely the top of the range, it presents an enjoyable audio.
The sound is not very full-bodied and deep, but neither is it cold and metallic as is often the case with smartphones in this price range. Note that, in addition to the speaker grille, Lenovo S5 Pro uses the ear capsule to simulate a stereo effect, even if actually the sound coming out of the latter is barely perceptible.
Cameras
The Lenovo S5 Pro is equipped with a 20MP + 12MP dual rear cameras. It is the first smartphone to use Sony's 2x optical zoom camera at this price point. Among other features, it offers a real-time 9-level depth of field adjustment, in order to obtain a more than satisfactory image quality in the Portrait shot.
Still, the camera includes smart HDR, face detection, and noise reduction technology. The camera offers a variety of really interesting filters and effects, both for traditional shooting and for the Selfie portrait, which offers studio and other colorful effects, which allow you to take really nice pictures. In this sense, the Selfie shot deserves attention, which allows you to color only the subject in the foreground, and to leave the background in black and white.
When it comes to daytime shots, Lenovo S5 Pro is among the best in this price range. The details are excellent, the colors are natural, with a very high general purity for a smartphone of this price range. HDR performance is also acceptable, with darker portions of the photo coming out brighter.
The strength of the smartphone is certainly Sony's 2x zoomless lossless technology: it is the first smartphone in the price range to integrate such technology. It works well, certainly without reaching the levels of the latest top-of-the-range smartphones, but the 2x zoom capability is truly worthy of recognition.
At night, or in dimly lit environments, things tend to change, but this is a known trend with almost all smartphones. While color reproduction is still accurate, noise tends to be present, with a lot of detail being lost.
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2X Zoom
Portrait mode is also an added value of this terminal. In principle, the bokeh photos are perfectly enjoyable, with some small uncertainty in the contour of the hair, but with a pleasant result, even with the front camera, where, moreover, colored and studio effects can be applied.
The front camera deserves praise because of Sony's 1 / 2.8 ″ 20 MP IMX476 sensor. This lens is paired with an 8MP infrared sensor module, making this configuration the most powerful, or one of the most powerful, in this price range.
Software
Lenovo S5 Pro comes with Android 8.1.0 and ZUI 10 customization. The operating system has a very clear, minimal and modern design, with the ZUI offering small customizations that make the system enjoyable. There is only one thing that, in the humble opinion of the writer, is not satisfying: the gestures.
It is possible, in fact, to hide the keys on the screen, and take advantage of the iPhone X-style gestures. They work without any problem, but are not comfortable: to go back you need a slide upwards, to return to the Home you need a slide towards the '' high by keeping the finger pressure on the screen (the one that calls multitasking on the iPhone), while to call up the apps open in the background you need to slide from left to center.
Now, the gesture to return to the Home is uncomfortable and not too fast: you have to keep the pressure of your finger in the center of the screen for a few moments after making the slide, while it would have been appropriate to reverse this gesture with the simple slide towards the tall.
Furthermore, the gesture to call up multitasking often ends up calling up the Google feed which is included in the home page, and which is called up, precisely, by making a slide from the left towards the center, just like in the case of the gesture to open multitasking. .
In short, something is wrong. However, these are small things, which we underline precisely because they are a small exception to the general qualities of the terminal.
Conclusions
Lenovo S5 Pro impressed us positively. It is aesthetically beautiful (not original), it is used well in everyday life, it has quality hardware components, starting from the processor to the camera system.
The Touch ID works great, the display is pleasant, the performance acceptable, and the price really low, especially when it is at 170 euros. Suitable for a young audience, lovers of selfies and photos in general.
At the moment you buy at the lowest price: just 171 euros directly at this address, and in the version with 6 GB of RAM.
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