It so happened that we simultaneously received two devices of similar design for testing. You are reading a review of the first one right now, and the second one will be released tomorrow. Their similarity (or rather identity) is simply amazing - at first I confused them on the table with the screen facing up - the only difference is the company logo on the back side. Who are they copying, you ask? Of course the sixth iPhone.
Telegram channel of the creator of Trashbox about technology
So, today we will review the Lenovo S90 - an almost budget (when compared to the price of the original) copy of the iPhone 6 with one difference - Lenovo is positioning its smartphone as an ideal solution for selfie lovers.
What exactly does the smartphone copy and what is the front camera? Let's figure it out.
Specifications
- Android 4.4.4
- Display 5 inches, 1280x720 pixels, 293 ppi, Super AMOLED HD, protective glass, oleophobic coating
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 (MSM8916), 64 bit, 4 cores up to 1.2 GHz, Adreno 306 graphics coprocessor
- 2 GB RAM, 32 GB internal memory, no memory cards
- Two microSIM cards
- Front camera 8 megapixels, fixed focus, flash
- Main camera 13 megapixels, PureCel sensor, LED flash
- Battery Li-Pol 2300 mAh, stated talk time - up to 27/18 hours (2G/3G), standby time - up to 15/21.5/18.5 days (2G/3G/4G)
- LTE FDD Band 1, 3, 7, 20, LTE cat. 4
- Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0
- Dimensions – 146x71.7x6.9 mm, weight – 129 grams
Equipment
The smartphone comes with a charger, a USB cable, a headset, accompanying documentation and a paper clip with which you need to remove the SIM. I don’t know if everyone had them, but our box also had protective films, and the smartphone itself was in a transparent case.
⇡#Autonomous work
The device is equipped with a lithium-polymer battery of 8.74 Wh (2300 mAh, 3.8 V). For a modern five-inch smartphone, this is not very much. With active use, the gadget may run out before the end of the working day - owners will have to carry a charger with them. Even a new battery drains very quickly. What to do after six months or a year of operation, when its capacity decreases due to wear and tear? Users do not have access to the battery; replacing it by simply buying a new one will not work. You will have to take the device to a service center.
In continuous video playback mode at maximum screen brightness with an active Wi-Fi connection and data updating “in the background,” the device discharged a little faster than in five hours. The result, frankly speaking, is mediocre. To extend battery life by an hour or two, you can lower the display backlight level and activate some power-saving options. A full battery charging cycle using a standard charger (1 A) takes about two hours.
Lenovo S90 - Power Saving Settings
The smartphone has a special “emergency mode” in case the battery percentage is too low and you cannot remain without communication. In this mode, all “smart” functions are disabled - the device can only be used as a means of communication.
Appearance
As for the design of the smartphone itself: its appearance almost completely copies the iPhone 6.
At the top end of the Lenovo S90 there are the main antennas located in a plastic insert. The iPhone is a little different, but the principle is the same. There is also a plastic insert in the case at the bottom back.
The case itself is made of aluminum alloy, the paint from which gradually begins to wear off or “scratch”, leaving the gadget in not the best shape - a couple of careless movements and it becomes scary, which is probably why the smartphone arrived immediately in a case. But the camera on the body is located flush and does not stick out.
It is not indicated anywhere what kind of glass is used in this model, but it is clearly worse in quality than the “Gorilla” - small scratches are visible if you look closely at the screen from different angles.
Below the display there are three touch keys, and above it there is an 8MP front camera with autofocus, flash, speaker and sensors.
On the left side there is a slot for two microSIM cards.
On the right side there is a volume rocker key and a power button. At the bottom there is a microUSB connector, at the top there is a 3.5 mm headset jack.
With dimensions of 146x71.7x69mm, the S90 weighs 129 grams (exactly like the iPhone).
In general, among the more global differences in design, it is worth noting only the speaker grille, connectors that look different and the build quality itself - it is not bad, but “not the same”
Official renders:
⇡#Display
The smartphone has a five-inch screen with a low, by today's standards, resolution of 720 × 1280 pixels. The pixel density is moderate at 293.7 ppi. It cannot be called insufficient - individual pixels are not striking. Nevertheless, if you bring the device closer to your eyes, it won’t be difficult to see them. True, this does not particularly interfere with comfortable work with the device. The detail in photos and videos is quite high.
Lenovo S90 - fragment of screen photo
The smartphone uses a Super AMOLED matrix, and this is what explains the slight graininess of the display. The thing is that the subpixels in this case are arranged according to the PenTile scheme. The above photograph clearly shows an artifact characteristic of many AMOLED matrices: purple (top) and green (bottom) halos on contrasting transitions between colors. This effect is especially noticeable in small fonts such as captions for icons. Because of it, the text on the S90 screen looks rough; fonts lack antialiasing.
Lenovo S90 - AnTuTu MultiTouch Test results
The touch layer in the device is quite responsive. The gadget quickly and accurately responds to touches, even if the user’s fingers are wearing loose gloves. True, this does not apply to the touch keys under the screen (they do not notice the finger in the glove), which is somewhat strange. The device correctly detects gestures and supports up to five simultaneous clicks. The viewing angles of the matrix are very wide - it’s convenient to watch a movie together on the S90 screen. The black color remains quite believable even when the view deviates from the perpendicular.
As is known, in AMOLED matrices the luminosity of the white field is not made up of the sum of the luminosities of the three primary colors - red, blue and green; it is approximately two times less than this same amount. The white field luminosity we measured on the Lenovo S90 screen reached only 263 cd/m2. For a Super AMOLED screen this is an acceptable value, although it could still be a little higher. To work with the device in artificial lighting conditions, the display brightness is enough for the eyes, but in direct sunlight, the screen backlight may not be enough for comfortable work. The minimum luminosity of the white field is only five candelas per square meter. It is noteworthy that it can be made even smaller using a special “night mode”. In pitch darkness, the smartphone display is very gentle on your eyes and does not “burn” them.
Lenovo S90 - Display Settings
The black field luminosity of AMOLED screens is so low that it is not possible to measure it in our test laboratory. This means that blacks look very rich at any brightness level. Therefore, we consider the contrast of all AMOLED-type matrices, and the S90 display in particular, to be conditionally infinite.
The grayscale color temperature of the Lenovo S90 screen averages 7500 kelvin, with a reference of 6500 kelvin. Because of this, the image on the screen has a subtle “cool” tint. Unfortunately, there is no provision for manual white balance adjustment - in this case it would be very useful.
The gamma curve of gray color is generally close to the reference one - a slight deviation in the middle part can be safely neglected. The gamma curves of the primary colors - blue, red and green - look slightly worse. Judging by them, midtones and bright tones on the S90's display look a little darker than they should be. However, only those who work with color will see this. When watching movies and photographs this is not noticeable.
Lenovo S90 - smartphone screen color gamut (yellow triangle) compared to sRGB color space (white triangle)
What is really noticeable when working with the Lenovo S90 is the “cartoonish”, oversaturated colors typical of AMOLED matrices. Of course, the color gamut of the screen is almost 50% wider than the reference sRGB space. Unfortunately, no color profiles are provided here to provide more “calm” colors, as, for example, in Samsung devices. Obviously, more time should have been spent setting up the display.
At the same time, from the point of view of physical characteristics, the screen of the Lenovo S90 is quite good. The front panel is covered with protective glass, which quite successfully protects the matrix from scratches and other damage. The device can be carried in the same pocket with your keys - this will not cause it to lose its presentation (tested). There is no air gap between the glass and the matrix itself, which has a positive effect when working in direct sunlight. The protective glass is covered with an oleophobic layer, making the front panel of the device easy to clean from fingerprints and other dirt, and the panel itself is very pleasant to the touch. Finally, there is a very effective polarizing filter that reduces glare and reflections when working in bright conditions.
Screen
The 5-inch screen has a resolution of 1280x720 pixels and a pixel density of 293. The downside is a small brightness margin.
Otherwise, the screen is not bad: the colors are saturated (sometimes even more than necessary), the viewing angles are wide, and, despite the small brightness reserve, it is enough to read information from the display in sunlight. The branded shell also plays a certain role in this - bright, clear and contrasting.
Simultaneous recognition of 5 touches is supported.
Smartphone display
The screen is bright, juicy and moderately contrasty. Still would! There is a Super AMOLED matrix installed here with a resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels, which occupies 65.8 percent of the front area of the device. The dot density is 294 ppi. This is not much by modern standards, but the difference with Full HD can only be noticed with direct comparison. Without this, you look at the screen and no discomfort arises.
For clarity, I will give an example photograph of the display of our hero and the Sony Xperia Z3 (5.2-inch display). It looks creepy under magnification, but in reality everything is much better.
Screen of Lenovo S90 (left) and Sony Xperia Z3 (right)
The sensitivity of the sensor is good: I did not notice any misses or partisan silence when touching. Up to 5 simultaneous clicks are supported.
As for viewing angles, this is also expectedly not bad. Photos in the dark from different angles below are in their rightful place. You can see from them that the display of the iPhone 6 Plus is not perfect, but it conveys the picture more naturally. Due to the use of a Super AMOLED matrix, the S90 has a slight bias towards green shades.
I didn't like the work of the light sensor. In the sun, for some reason, the backlight does not turn up to maximum and you have to squint and grimace in every way to see anything on the screen. With a sharp change in lighting towards darkness, approximately the same thing awaits us. The brightness is not enough and I want to turn it up manually.
Screen under sunlight
Iron
Lenovo S90 runs on a 4-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 chipset, MSM8916 with a clock frequency of 1.2 GHz. Adreno 306 is responsible for graphics.
Applications and games run well: fast launch, excellent graphics, no lag, no complaints.
The amount of RAM is 2 GB, built-in 32 GB, which should be enough for all your needs, since there is no support for memory cards.
Battery
The smartphone received a battery with a capacity of 2300 mAh, which is quite small for the screen and processor used. Be prepared for the fact that you will have to constantly recharge the device, especially if you are used to using your gadgets intensively.
As my personal experience has shown, even with a low screen brightness (about 40%), the smartphone only lasts for a day, and note that I’m talking about moderate use, no frills.
The battery is fully charged in 2 hours. The smartphone could not pass our test - the software had some kind of protection built into it against prolonged use with the display turned on, as a result of which the test was reset every time.
Calls, multimedia
The Lenovo S90 Sisley implements simultaneous operation of two Micro-SIM cards based on one radio module. The smartphone has several sound profiles: Standard, Silent, Vibration, Outdoor. The first and last allow you to set different ringtones and messages for SIM cards. The SIM card operation settings are similar to other smartphones. Telephone conversations can be recorded using standard means.
The quality of telephone functions is at a normal level. The speaker has a good volume reserve, the voices of the interlocutors sound legible. The vibration alert is average in strength and can be felt in clothing pockets. The multimedia speaker in our sample had an average volume - the signal of an incoming call was practically indistinguishable from the pockets of clothes, and the mid frequencies were reproduced with noticeable distortion, which was clearly visible from the distortion of people's voices. We hope that this is just a feature of the test sample.
The quality of music playback is “slightly above average”; the Lenovo S90 Sisley will satisfy most users in this regard. The volume reserve is small; it will be difficult for a smartphone to drive headphones with a resistance of 32 Ohms or more. Those who like to watch videos on their smartphone should immediately install a third-party player, because codec support leaves much to be desired.
Camera
The camera interface is unlikely to please those who like to set their own settings, but this is not as critical as the fact that the 13 MP main camera has problems with focusing and taking pictures in the dark.
To its credit, indoors and outdoors, in daylight, the pictures come out pretty good.
The 8 MP front camera deserves special mention - after all, this is how the smartphone positions itself.
Of course, the flash allows you to somewhat expand the time of day during which you can shoot yourself, but is there a big profit from this?
The question should probably be asked to big fans of such entertainment - not to me. Probably among all the reviews of selfie phones, mine will be the last. Anyway. The question is: does the front camera need such resolution? Probably yes, if you are choosing between other similar devices. And why not, if it fits?
⇡#Communication
The Lenovo S90 smartphone is interesting for its communication capabilities. The fact is that this is one of the few smartphones that simultaneously support two SIM cards and can work in LTE networks. Typically, “dual-SIM” gadgets are limited to third-generation networks. Of course, 4G only works for one SIM card - the second will be content with 2G/3G. Working with two SIM cards is implemented in a standard way: the user chooses which card to call from, which one to send messages and access the Internet. Everything is very simple - you won’t get confused. The volume reserve of the conversational speaker is decent - you can hear the interlocutor, even in noisy places. We have no comments about the quality of signal reception. The device did not lose connection to the network for no apparent reason. The S90 uses Micro-SIM cards.
Lenovo S90 - AndroiTS GPS Test results
The device's range of wireless interfaces is quite sparse. There is no NFC support, no infrared port for controlling household appliances - only single-frequency Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. The device can be used as a car navigator - it navigates the terrain quite quickly, and the size of the gadget is suitable. A minute after the “cold” start, the smartphone detected nineteen satellites of three navigation systems - GPS, GLONASS and BeiDou - and was guided by eleven of them. The navigation error radius was extremely small - only ten meters.
Software
Lenovo S90 runs Android 4.4.4, and in theory, it should support the next version of Android, all that remains is to wait for the update.
I already wrote about the branded VIBE UI launcher - but I repeat, I quite like it. Beautiful bright colors, clear lines and fonts are pleasing to the eye.
Software features
No naked Android, only a branded launcher, only hardcore! The main features of the interface are as follows. Firstly, all applications are placed on desktops, which, in turn, can be rotated, twisted and controlled as you please.
Secondly, these are the themes. There is a small selection of pre-installed skins. They are all very bright and colorful. At times even too much. Chances are you'll find something to your liking.
The so-called “Shake-lock” allows you to quickly lock your phone by shaking it quickly. It's a cool thing and maybe even useful. It always worked for me. You need to quickly swipe the device to the side. The main thing is not to make sudden movements near psychiatric clinics and in the zoo.
There are plenty of gestures in the S90. Here you can unlock by swiping your finger over the touch buttons. It works every once in a while, let's be honest. Okay, how do you like drawing the letters “V” or “O” on a locked display? The first instantly activates the camera, the second - the Chrome browser. Here everything is debugged much better than in the previous version.
Let's move on. You can customize your device's behavior depending on the time of day or location. At night, this could be turning on the “Airplane” mode and reducing the brightness to a minimum, and during lunch, switching to a silent call profile. War is war, but lunch is on schedule.
A feature called “S-menu” provides quick access to the most popular applications such as a calculator, music player, and so on. Does anyone even use these extra buttons on screens or “smart” areas, as seen in competitors?
Let's sum it up
Initially, I don’t understand the idea of creating and buying copies of top smartphones when they offer you something worse
original, but at a high, far from budget price. Of course, no one is closing the question of how controversial the word “worse” is in this context.
Yes, Lenovo S90 is not about that at all - it’s not a copy, it’s for selfies, as if in my mind the developers from Lenovo are denying it and they can be understood - now almost all companies have such devices, they need to compete, and a proven “external visual” base - What's not the best start for development?
The advantages include the software, display and front camera itself. The downside is the mediocre battery and hardware.
⇡#Conclusions
At the start of sales, they asked for twenty thousand rubles for the Lenovo S90. True, now a smartphone can be purchased somewhat cheaper - in varying degrees of dullness, online stores offer it for 15-18 thousand rubles. This is a completely reasonable price for what is called a “middle class” smartphone. True, when purchasing a Lenovo S90, you should be aware that you are paying primarily for the good appearance of the device and high-quality assembly. These are the main and most significant advantages of the device.
Advantages of Lenovo S90:
- monolithic metal case with high build quality;
- display with wide viewing angles and “infinite” contrast;
- protective glass of the front panel with an effective oleophobic coating and a polarizing filter;
- possibility of installing two SIM cards;
- support for fourth generation networks;
- high-quality front eight-megapixel camera with flash.
Disadvantages of Lenovo S90:
- the screen is not perfectly calibrated (there is also no possibility of manually adjusting the image);
- low level of productivity;
- short battery life.
In general, it’s easy to guess that the Lenovo S90 is intended for those who use their smartphone primarily for voice calls and access to the Internet. The gadget looks really good and works great as a camera, including for selfies. But resource-intensive games, as well as use at maximum load throughout the day, are not for him. However, it would be strange to demand the capabilities of a flagship from a device that costs 18-20 thousand rubles.
