Review of the smartphone Lenovo K12 Pro - long-playing, but not very nimble

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

The budget of the filling is not overshadowed by either a capacious battery or a bright case.

If you want a smartphone that needs to be charged every two days or even less often, then here it is - our today's hero Lenovo K12 Pro. The 6,000 mAh battery looks very tempting, especially when the device costs less than 15,000 rubles. But in this budget, you will have to put up with some features: far from the most modern screen, not a very fast processor and some thoughtfulness. Whether it is worth it, let's figure it out in this review.

Table of contents

• Specifications
• Design and ergonomics
• Display
• Iron
• Sound and vibration
• Operating system
• Cameras
• Autonomy
• Outcomes

Specifications

Operating system	Android 10
Screen	IPS, 6, 8 inches, 1 640 × 720 pixels, 263 ppi
CPU	Qualcomm Snapdragon 662 (8 cores, 11 nm)
RAM	4 GB
Built-in memory	128 GB, microSD support up to 512 GB
Cameras	Main: main - 64 Mp, f / 1.7 with a 1/1, 97 ″ sensor and 0.7 micron pixels; macromodule - 2 Mp, f / 2, 4; depth sensor - 2 Mp. Front: 16 MP
SIM cards	2 × nanoSIM (one slot - hybrid with microSD)
Connectors	USB Type ‑ C, 3.5mm
Communication standards	2G, 3G, LTE
Wireless interfaces	Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0
Battery	6000 mAh, charging - 20 W
Dimensions (edit)	172, 1 × 76, 8 × 9, 7 mm
The weight	221 g
Additionally	NFC, fingerprint reader

Design and ergonomics

Lenovo K12 Pro belongs to the class of so-called shovels, although now the line between them and devices of standard sizes is inexorably blurred. This is due to the rather large screen measuring 6, 8 inches and large frames by modern standards.

The smartphone is really bulky and heavy, therefore, for example, it is not very convenient to carry it in the pocket of light knitted pants - it is delaying. The plastic case does not help either: the device still weighs almost a quarter of a kilogram.

Despite the rather large frames, the window for the front camera is still cut in the screen - closer to the left edge. Although it seems that with such dimensions it would be possible to move the display down a bit and leave it intact by placing the camera separately higher. Also on the front panel you can see the earpiece covered with a black mesh.

The back cover of the smartphone is ribbed, decorated with a pattern of concentric circles. For the test, we got a version in a purple shade with a soft, almost matte, but still metallic sheen - very beautiful and festive. There is also a more familiar graphite gray color.

The ribbed surface proved to be a good solution from an ergonomic point of view. A massive smartphone does not slip out of hands, does not hide in the folds of the sofa at any convenient opportunity. Of course, sometimes dust gets clogged into the ribs themselves, but on the whole everything looks very neat. And the prints do not remain, which is already an achievement in the modern world of gloss.

The rear of the Lenovo K12 Pro houses a camera module and a fingerprint scanner. The scanner is located too high: in order to reach it with your index finger, you need to intercept the smartphone or spread your fingers to an uncomfortable state. Literally half a centimeter lower would already be better. It may be easier for users with larger hands.

The camera unit is shifted to the left side of the rear panel and is decorated in the best modern traditions: with a step and four windows. There is no longer a ribbed pattern on the ledge - it has been replaced by a smooth matte plastic.

There are many buttons. On the right side there is a volume rocker and a power key, on the left side under the tray for the SIM-card and memory card there is a separate button for calling the voice assistant.

All buttons are designed in different ways: the volume is usual flat, the menu is ribbed like a back cover, and the key for the voice assistant is completely semicircular. It is impossible to confuse them tactilely.

At the bottom there is a USB Type-C connector, speaker holes and one of the microphones. On the top edge there is a headphone jack and another microphone hole.

In general, the appearance of the device is quite pleasant, but the dimensions are simply royal - not every pocket will fit, and this should be taken into account.

Display

The Lenovo K12 Pro has a 6.8-inch IPS LCD display with a resolution of 1 640 × 720 pixels, which is HD +. On such a large diagonal, the resolution with a low pixel density per inch - only 263 - does not look very good. If the fonts are still not very grainy, then, for example, the splash screen when loading Pokemon Go looks too jagged. But at the same time, the interface is drawn neatly, and even the program logos inscribed in the circles look good.

The display doesn't have very many settings. You can select the color rendering from Natural, Vivid, or Vivid. The last two modes make the picture colder, more contrasting and juicy. However, at this resolution, the smartphone often produces artifacts, so it is better to stick with the "Natural" version - a little more muted and warm. You cannot manually correct the white balance and color temperature.

In the screen settings of the Lenovo K12 Pro, you can also choose a style - a color theme, fonts and the shape of application icons. Initially, there are three options available, but you can build your own. The sizes of the font and icons change in individual menu items.

The screen itself is not very bright, in the sun you have to set the brightness to maximum, but indoors it is enough for about 70%.

Iron

Lenovo is developing smartphones in conjunction with its Motorola, and one of the main charms of these brands' devices is optimization. The company's engineers managed to achieve good performance even from not the most top-end hardware, allowing them to solve everyday tasks without problems. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about the Lenovo K12 Pro.

The smartphone runs on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 662 hardware platform - four Kryo 260 Gold cores at 2.0 GHz and Kryo 260 Silver at 1.8 GHz. Graphics - Adreno 610, 4 GB of RAM, 128 GB of custom memory.

And he's very brooding. Applications do not open immediately, but the way the built-in camera program behaves is simply amazing: the viewfinder itself slows down, does not keep up with the movements of the hands, the picture shows in jerks. Modern games take a long time to start, but they feel more or less fine at medium graphics settings with small drops in frame rates. The smartphone does not get very hot under load - and this is good news.

Sound and vibration

Remember how the "Time Machine" sang: "Here is a sea of young people swaying superbuses"? The vibration motor Lenovo K12 Pro is quite capable of replacing these very superbasses and stirring up that very sea. He is very, very powerful and evil. The plastic case, apparently, also plays the role of a resonator, because the smartphone not only buzzes during vibration, but also rattles.

It is impossible to miss a call - even the softest pillows in the back of the sofa shake from vibration. But if you turn it off and leave only the sound, then everything is not so simple. Because there is only one speaker, and it is enough to even slightly cover it with your finger to reduce the volume significantly. At the same time, the speaker itself sounds strong and clear, it conveys voices well.

In the large body of the Lenovo K12 Pro there was a place for a mini-jack - on the upper edge. The sound in headphones connected to a smartphone with a cable is simple but pleasant. It will help to brighten up the time on the trip.

There is one weird thing about the sound: when using wireless headphones, the LDAC codec is not available, which, it would seem, is licensed for all devices running Android 8.0 and newer. It can be selected in the developer settings, but when a suitable headset is connected, it is reset to aptX. So in terms of wireless sound, you will have to limit yourself to them.

Operating system

Another important plus of Motorola and Lenovo smartphones is the minimum of software junk. The devices come with almost pure Android. The K12 Pro model has a small Motorola software package with funny gesture tricks, a set of applications mandatory for Russian devices and nothing more.

But, alas, even with pure Android 10 (which will be updated to Android 11 in July), not overloaded with a heavy shell and a mountain of rubbish, the smartphone works slowly - at the level of competitors who have shells.

Maybe he has enough strength for daily surfing on the Internet. But for us, for example, even Spotify hung up - the interface was not fully loaded (instead of half of the playlists there was empty space), and this application cannot be called resource-intensive. In the same Pokemon Go, it was impossible to work in AR mode - the slow camera also affected, and, apparently, not the most adequate operation of the depth sensor: the smartphone could not determine a flat surface on which the Pokemon should be placed.

Cameras

Despite the fact that there are already four eyes in the main unit, there are only two cameras there: the main one and the macro. Two more seats are occupied by a depth sensor and a flash.

The main camera is 64 megapixels, its manufacturer has not been disclosed. It is created using Quad Bayer technology, that is, it combines four subpixels, the size of one pixel is 0.7 microns with the dimensions of the sensor itself being 1/1, 97 inches. The lens has an aperture of f / 1, 7 and a focal length of 26 mm, there is a phase detection autofocus.

By default, such a camera produces images with a resolution of 16 megapixels with an aspect ratio of 3: 4, but you can switch to 11 megapixels. With an aspect ratio of 9:16, resolutions of 12 and 8, 3 megapixels are available, respectively. It is possible to switch to the full 64 megapixel, without merging the subpixels. Similar options are available for the selfie camera.

Since 2013, the color rendition of Motorola cameras can be called a "tlenofilter": with a lack of lighting and incorrect focusing, images very willingly roll into gray and dirt. Lenovo K12 Pro does not change this rule: if there is not enough light, wait for sadness.

Sharpness is not enough: green lawns look like a solid mess, it is difficult to recognize individual blades of grass. The zoom is only software, and therefore not of excellent quality. And autofocus periodically plays pranks, which does not add clarity.

Filming with the main camera on a sunny day. Photo: Alina Rand / Lifehacker

Filming with the main camera at dusk. Photo: Alina Rand / Lifehacker

Filming with the main camera in cloudy weather. Photo: Alina Rand / Lifehacker

Filming with the main camera at dusk. Photo: Alina Rand / Lifehacker

The macromodule is 2 megapixels, the aperture is f / 2, 4, and it also has autofocus, which is rare. But catching this trick is very difficult. In most situations, macro photos were less clear and detailed than those taken with the main camera.

It was not always possible to achieve a beautiful blur at the edges - just because the autofocus worked strangely (but at the same time, such an effect was quite possible on the main camera). The portrait mode of the main camera caused a similar impression: unfinished.

Filming with the main camera. Photo: Alina Rand / Lifehacker

Shooting with a macro lens from the same distance. Photo: Alina Rand / Lifehacker

Artificial intelligence does not particularly interfere with the shooting process - it only signs that you are shooting if it can recognize the object, and slightly adjusts the saturation.

The maximum video resolution is 1080p at up to 60 frames. Stabilization only works at 30 frames. There is also a proprietary "Color extraction" mode: all video, except for a certain shade, becomes black and white.

The selfie camera works at 16 megapixels, is backlit before shooting and supports gestures. It is comfortable and quite good.

As with Motorola devices, the Lenovo K12 Pro camera can be launched by shaking the smartphone twice with the wrist. The gesture is simple and convenient, but it doesn't make much sense: the application opens slowly, and the viewfinder lags behind the movements of your hands, so you won't be able to quickly take pictures of some beautifully flying bird.

In general, I simply do not want to use the camera.

Autonomous work

But where the Lenovo K12 Pro excels is in the battery. A 6,000 mAh module is installed in it, and paired with not the most powerful hardware, a dim screen with a low resolution and, it seems, adequate cooling, the smartphone lives without problems for two days. And this with periodic viewing of broadcasts on YouTube and Twitch, constant reading of sites and Instagram feed, synchronization with Bluetooth devices, including headphones, through which music from streaming services was played for a couple of hours a day.

The complete 20 W charger charges the battery in about two hours. Also, the smartphone can share the charge with another device - there is a powerbank mode, albeit only 2.5 W, that is, the recharging process will be very slow.

In general, the Lenovo K12 Pro has no problems with power supply - that's for sure.

Outcomes

A couple of years ago, Lenovo decided to sell only smartphones under the Motorola brand on the Russian market, but now it wanted to return with models under its own name, starting with the budget segment. And the Lenovo K12 Pro has a great design, pure Android, a working NFC chip and a huge battery.

But disadvantages are added to the pluses: the smartphone is thoughtful and does not fit into every pocket, and its camera is inferior to competitors in terms of equipment.

At a price of 14,990 rubles, the set is, in general, quite a compromise. Something can be forgiven for a large battery and a funny design, but it is up to each individual user.

With the same capacious battery, there is, for example, Poco M3. It works on the same platform, but its screen is smaller, due to which the device itself is somewhat more compact, and the resolution is FullHD + - so that the charge will go away faster. You can also remember the Xiaomi Redmi 9T, practically the Poco M3's twin in terms of characteristics, and the Samsung Galaxy M21 with an AMOLED screen. The options are plentiful, but Lenovo also has a lot to offer.