Lenovo K3 Note Review – another affordable Octa Core smartphone

The Lenovo K3 Note is using the 64 bit octa core processor running lollipop over a 5.5 inch screen with full HD resolution. This handset comes with 2GB RAM and 16GB storage. It is priced at ₹ 9,999.

K3 Note Unboxing (Retail Unit)
Inside the box you will find the handset, a screen guard, data cable, travel charger (5V ~ 1.5A) and battery of 2900 mAh capacity. Earphone is not included. SAR Value as mentioned on the box : 1.590W/kg @ head and 0.688W/kg @ body.

Design and Display
If you have seen or used the Lenovo A7000 or the A6000 or the A6000 plus, then you have already experienced the K3 Note, design wise. Yes apart from minor changes the K3 note build quality and the finishing is the same. The body is made of plastic and rear side is with a matte finish. The back panel covers up almost 80% of the handset.

Weight with battery is 144 grams and dimensions are 76.27 x 152.35 x 7.93 mm.

Power button and volume rocker is placed on the right side and 3.5mm audio jack and micro USB port is placed on the top. There are dual mics for noise cancellation. This is a dual SIM handset you need 2 micro SIM’s and both the SIM slots support 4G/3G/2G.

Lenovo K3 Note sports a 5.5 inch screen with 1920 x 1080 pixels resolution. The screen does not come with any protection and hence a free screen guard is provided, better use it. Colour reproduction, viewing angles and touch response is pretty good.

There is LED notification and following sensors – Accelerometer, magnetic, proximity and light. Native video calling is not supported.

Memory, Storage and OS
This handset is packed with 2GB RAM and 16GB storage. You will get about 920MB free RAM on the first boot and about 10GB free internal stroage space. There is micro SD card slot but apps are getting installed on internal storage space. In storage you can select SD card as default write disk, after reboot you will be able to install app on external storage. OTG is supported.

K3 Note is running 64 bit Android 5.0 with Vibe UI.

Performance
I got a 17MB update notification once I powered on the handset for the first time. I updated the handset before working on the review.

K3 Note is using the MediaTek MT6752 1.7GHz cortex A53 octa core processor coupled with Mali T-760 GPU. Performance was smooth, no lags and handset also did not heat-up much. The max temperature was 39 degrees.

Benchmark

Benchmark App Score
Quadrant 20368
Antutu (64 bit) 1st – 40267 , 2nd – 32497 3rd – 45828
Nenamark 2 61.7fps
Multi touch 5 point

Gaming
I installed the Asphalt 8 game, the game got installed on the internal storage. There was a mild lag (hardly noticeable) while playing in High visual quality mode. The game play is much smoother in medium visual quality mode.

Camera
K3 Note comes with 13MP AF camera placed on the rear with LED flash and 5MP front fixed focus camera. Camera quality is above average. The rear camera can shoot full HD videos however while shooting the video tap to focus will not work instead that capture the image. Auto focusing is very slow in video mode.

Check the sample images and videos at the end of this review.

Others
Loudspeaker sound is loud and clear. In-call sound is also pretty good. 4G worked, I am using 2300 4G in Mumbai. No issues with 3G, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. GPS lock was instant.

This handset comes with Dolby ATMOS features and to experience it you will need really good quality headphones.

Battery
The K3 houses a removable 2900 mAh battery that delivers 3 to 5 hours of continuous moderate to heavy usage on a single charge.

Performance Time Battery drop % Battery Max Temp
Benchmark 19 Minutes 6% 39 degree
Gaming (Asphalt 8) 20 Minutes 9% 39 degree
FHD movie play with full brightness + Wi-Fi on 34 minutes 11% 39 degree
Wall Charge (on standby) 2 hours 40 minutes 13% to 100% (charge) 35 degree

It looked as if the max temperature was stuck at 39 degrees, and it seemed accurate as the handset was not very hot.

Verdict
The Lenovo K3 Note is powerful, light weight and comes packed with above average camera. The screen quality is good and battery backup is decent enough. This is again a very good buy, a 64 bit octa core running 64 bit OS for ₹ 9,999.

Lenovo K3 Note is available on Flipkart for ₹ 9,999.

Image Gallery

Rear Camera Sample

Front Camera Sample

Video review