We go hands-on with the Lenovo Vibe X3

Lenovo’s been busy the past few months restructuring how they release their smartphones. After completing their purchase of Motorola, the Chinese giant has streamlined how they design and release their phones. Motorola will now be the go-to brand for high-end devices while Lenovo will concentrate on mid-range and entry level offerings. There’s a bit of an overlap on higher-end, mid-range phones though, which probably explains the Vibe X3’s existence. Today we’ll be taking a look at the Vibe X3’s value proposition, and it’s placement in Lenovo’s product lineup.

Lenovo Vibe X3 specs

• Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 hexa-core processor
• 3GB of RAM
• 5.5-inch full HD display with Gorilla Glass 3 protection, 1920 x 1080
• 32GB of expandable storage
• 21-megapixel rear camera with Sony IMX230 sensor, PDAF, 4K recording, LED flash
• 8-megapixel front camera
• Dual-SIM
• 3G, LTE
• WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, A-GPS, Fingerprint scanner
• 3500mAh battery

Initial impressions: premium full metal design with awesome sound to boot

Metal is the new plastic, at least from the design standpoint. Manufacturers are now turning to unibody aluminum designs for their mid-range and even entry-level devices and Lenovo is no exception. As far as overall design goes the Vibe X3 looks a lot like the more affordable K4 Note, exuding the same curves in its body as its more affordable brethren.

Despite that there’s a definite sense of premium-ness in the overall construction and materials used in the Vibe X3 compared to the K4 Note. It has all the hallmarks of a high-end device: bevelled edges, hefty but not heavy feel, full metal construction and heavy-hitting specs.

Looking at the Vibe X3 head on, you’ll notice two front facing speakers embedded on the top and bottom part of the phone. The Vibe X3 uses physical capacitive keys on the bottom, right on the chin of the device.

Black borders on the chin and top of the phone give you an illusion that the display is bigger than the advertised 5.5-inches. Both the power and volume rocker are on the right side, while the 3.5mm jack and IR blaster sits on top. The USB port (that’s OTG certified) is on the bottom of the phone.

Once you flip the device over you’ll see the 21-megapixel rear camera, along with the fingerprint sensor on the back. The fingerprint scanner is fast and unlocks the phone quickly enough for most people. The 3,500mAh battery is non-removable.

Inside the Vibe X3 beats a Qualcomm Snadragon 808 hexa-core processor, paired with 3GB of RAM. While the 808 SoC is getting a little long in the tooth, it’s still a particularly quick, and scores decently in AnTuTu benchmarks. One nice thing about the Vibe X3 and by extension, the K4 Note, is that Lenovo has promised a Marshmallow update come Q3 this year. That’s not a particularly quick update schedule, but it’s better than nothing.

Lenovo is also bundling a VR headset with every purchase of the Vibe X3 which also works on their K4 Note. There’s also an ESS Sabre 9018C2M DAC for HiFi audio if you’re better than average sound reproduction.

The Vibe X3 is priced at Php 22,099. We’re still trying to get a review unit so we’ll update you guys on the review once we finish.