REVIEW: Lenovo ZUK Z2 - $ 220 American flagship

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

The Lenovo ZUK Z2 offers the user a flagship processor, excellent camera and good battery life with the same convenience as Apple smartphones. Only much cheaper.

The ZUK brand was coined before Lenovo acquired Motorola. The devices and software were supposed to occupy the current niche of the North American market: powerful, but cheap devices on Android.

The previous smartphone of the brand was not widely used in Russia, despite the powerful filling and low cost. Internet resources branded the series with the nickname "discounter" and discouraged any desire to acquire the ZUK Z1.

Among Chinese smartphones, the ZUK family really looks original. Unlike most Xiaomi or Meizu devices, there is not even a hint of simplification of any characteristics in them. All this at $ 220.

Specifications

CPU	4-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 @ 2, 15 GHz
RAM	4 GB
Built-in memory	64 GB
Display	5 inches, LTPS, 1,920 x 1,080 pixels
Main camera	13 MP ISOCELL f / 2, 2, phase detection autofocus, electronic image stabilization
Front-camera	8 megapixels
Wireless interfaces	2 nanoSIM (LTE FDD band 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8; LTE TDD band 38, 39, 40, 41, VoLTE, GSM 900/1 800/1 900, 3G), Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth 4.1
Navigation	GPS, GLONASS
Operating system	Android 6.0 Marshmallow with ZUI 2.0
Battery	3,500mAh, support QC 3.0
Dimensions (edit)	141, 65 × 68, 88 × 8, 45 mm
Weight	149 g
Materials (edit)	metal, plastic, glass

Appearance and ergonomics

The phone comes in a plain white box. The package includes a sync cable, power supply, instructions and a paper clip.

The appearance of the ZUK Z2 is as simple and laconic as possible. Glass top and bottom, all the same color. It may seem that the smartphone looks boring. But it differs from most of the Chinese (and not only) devices. If only because it frankly copies the most successful iPhone model.

On both sides, the ZUK Z2 is protected by 2.5D tempered glass with a good oleophobic coating. The side frame is made of fiberglass-reinforced plastic.

The controls are located conveniently for hands of any size. The smartphone has a fingerprint scanner.

Double-clicking with a click brings up the screen of running applications. Normal tap, no click, sends back one screen. By swiping the touch button to the left or right, you can switch between running applications, just like on desktops on a desktop.

There are no classic touch or screen buttons "Back" and "Multitasking" in the ZUK Z2. The scanner works well, not inferior to either Xiaomi flagship devices or market leaders like the OnePlus 3 or Meizu Pro 6.

Display

The first generation of ZUK smartphones was equipped with the same 5.5-inch matrix. The latest generation includes two models. The older device ZUK 2 Pro is equipped with a screen of the same size. The younger ZUK Z2 is equipped with a 5-inch panel based on an LTPS matrix with FullHD resolution.

The screen contrast is 1000: 1, the color gamut is 70% of the visible field. The maximum brightness according to the passport is 400 cd / m2²… In practice, this means that the smartphone does not lose display quality in bright sunlight. Viewing angles do not affect image quality at all: there is no color inversion or other distortion.

The responsiveness of the touchscreen is excellent, the response is pleasant.

Hardware platform and performance

The main advantage of the ZUK Z2, in addition to the form factor, is the platform used. Today it is one of the most affordable smartphones on Snapdragon 820 with a nominal frequency of 2.15 GHz. In addition, the latest firmware can overclock the processor up to 2.3 GHz.

The size of the RAM is 4 GB of LPDDR 4 standard. This is an excellent start for the next couple of years. The device's memory size is 64 GB (it can be expanded with a memory card), but it complies with the eMMC 5.1 standard, while most smartphones on Snapdragon 820 use the faster UFS 2.0. Despite this, the results of synthetic tests are impressive.

Real performance doesn't lag behind. The interface works smoothly, without lags. Switching between applications occurs without delay. The performance will be enough to run the most powerful games at maximum graphics settings.

Operating system

The smartphone uses the ZUI add-on based on Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow as the base operating system. Recall that the ZUK Z1 came with two firmwares, which were installed depending on the place of sale. Devices with ZUI were supplied to the domestic market. In other countries, Lenovo ZUK Z1 came out with Cyanogen OS.

Unlike the previous line, there is officially no international firmware for the ZUK Z2. However, the Russian craftsmen ported to the Cyanogen OS 14 device based on Android 7.0 Nougat and translated the ZUI.

If you wish, you can stop at the base firmware. Despite the incomplete translation of the menu, Russian can be set as the system language. Some of the elements will remain in English.

But this is not a reason to abandon ZUI. The shell is similar to another iOS clone, but compares favorably with MIUI and Flyme. It has its own Control Center called Quick Switch Panel. The shutter is located at the bottom of the screen. I don’t know about pure Android fans, but in my opinion it’s much more convenient.

The system has a lot of built-in applications in English: a corporate security center, a good file manager, themes, an application for tracking and installing updates. The interface is well designed, there are no problems when using it.

In the near future, the smartphone will receive an official update of the proprietary system to Android 7.0 Nougat.

Multimedia capabilities

Unlike the ZUK Z2 Pro, the younger device has a 13-megapixel main camera. Sensor - ISOCELL. It is covered by a 5-component lens with an aperture of f / 2, 2 and a focal length of 24 mm. In addition, there is digital stabilization and hybrid autofocus.

The hardware capabilities are spoiled by the standard photography application - its settings are extremely scarce. Rescues perfectly working automatic mode and a set of ready-made presets for shooting in various lighting conditions.

In good lighting conditions, be it the sun or the lucky artificial light, the ZUK Z2 camera allows you to take beautiful, clear photos with correct color reproduction.

In HDR mode, the camera subtly adjusts tones without increasing saturation, keeping the photo natural.

The front camera uses an 8 megapixel sensor and a lens with an aperture of f / 2, 0. The pictures cannot be called outstanding, nevertheless, they are better than those obtained with Chinese devices in this price range.

The smartphone shoots video with a resolution of 3 840 × 2 160 pixels at 30 fps and stereo sound. Among other advantages of the camera, it is worth mentioning the presence of slow-motion shooting in HD-resolution (without sound) at speeds of 120 fps, 240 fps, and even 960 fps.

Sound

The ZUK Z2 copes with voice communication to the fullest. The external speaker is also not disappointing: there is a headroom, and the tonal balance is quite even.

The sound in the headphones is good. But there is one big drawback - the smartphone has practically no volume headroom. Without system "enhancers" of sound or equalizer, this minus can ruin the mood of the music lover.

Cellular and interfaces

ZUK Z2 is equipped with a combined slot for two nanoSIMs. The radio module is one. Both slots are equivalent and can work with 4G. The set of supported frequencies is sufficient for use in Russia and the CIS, there is support for LTE band 3/7. The most common LTE band 20 is not supported.

The set of wireless interfaces is limited to dual-band Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.1. NFC and IR port are missing. The primary wired port is USB-C, conforming to the USB 2.0 standard.

Geolocation can work with both GPS and GLONASS. A cold start takes no more than 20 seconds, a hot start about 5 seconds. Tracking accuracy in the city is good, so the smartphone can also be used as a navigator.

Battery and battery life

When using the ZUK Z2 as a navigator or multimedia device, a long battery life will come in handy. The smartphone has a 3,500 mAh battery with support for QC 3.0 fast charging. Thanks to this, the charging time is only 2 hours and 10 minutes. From 0% to 75%, the device charges in just 70 minutes.

The small screen and large battery have a great impact on the autonomy of the device. In mixed mode of operation with a serious load, the ZUK Z2 is guaranteed to survive until late at night. This is taking into account calls, a couple of hours of watching videos, using instant messengers, social networks and other standard workload.

In other scenarios, the results are no worse:

• Video playback (from memory, at maximum brightness, with airplane mode on) - 16 hours.
• Surfing (Wi-Fi, 50% brightness) - 14 hours.
• Surfing (4G, 50% brightness) - 10 hours.
• 3D games (Wi-Fi, 50% brightness) - 4 hours.

conclusions

Unlike most Snapdragon 820 smartphones, the Lenovo ZUK Z2 is a budget device with decent features. At the moment, there are two options on sale: black and white. The cost of the first is $ 182. The second will cost the buyer $ 180.

Considering the cost, there are no direct competitors (primarily because of the screen diagonal) to the device on the market today: everyone has either lower performance or not a very good design. The first category includes devices such as the Xiaomi Redmi 4 Pro ($ 160 for the 3/64 GB variant), the Xiaomi Mi4S ($ 237 for the 3/64 GB variant).

There are even fewer productive, but cheap smartphones on the flagship Qualcomm processor. If you look at the price-performance ratio, this is the LeEco Le Max 2 ($ 220 for the 4/32 GB variant). If you remember the screen diagonal - the still very expensive ZTE AXON 7 mini ($ 346 for the 3/32 GB version).

A real alternative to the ZUK Z2 could be the lower-end Xiaomi Mi5, bought at one of the past or upcoming sales (from $ 230 to $ 260 for the 3/32 GB version).

Among all the presented variants, the ZUK Z2 stands out for its strict, neat design, very convenient control and balanced filling. The combination of excellent performance and long battery life make the Lenovo smartphone the most successful device in the under $ 250 category.

But only if you put your hands on the device and close your eyes to some of the shortcomings. In this case, the smartphone will delight the owner with excellent performance for at least a few more years.