Lenovo Phab Plus Hands-on, First Impressions: A Tablet Masquerading As A Phone

Lenovo Phab Plus Hands-on, First Impressions: A Tablet Masquerading As A Phone

Lenovo Phab Plus 12
We go hands-on with Lenovo’s Phab Plus!

Today Lenovo has officially unveiled their absolutely gigantic Phab Plus to the PH market. And when we say gigantic, we mean it – the Phab Plus has a 6.8-inch full HD display, and is almost as tall as a regular tablet. What does Lenovo’s behemoth bring to the table? Find out in our hands-on below. First, the specs:

Lenovo Phab Plus

  • Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 processor
  • 2GB of RAM
  • 6.8-inch full HD display, 1920 x 1080 resolution
  • 32GB of storage, expandable via microSD up to 64GB
  • 13-megapixel rear camera with AF and dual color flash
  • 5-megapixel front camera
  • WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, A-GPS
  • 3500mAh battery
  • Android 5.0 Lollipop

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Initial impressions: feels like an iPhone 6 Plus that went on a week-long food bender

There’s no easy way to say this, so we’re just going to say it: the Phab Plus looks a lot like an iPhone 6 Plus, if the 6 Plus went on a massive eating binge. There’s a lot of design cues in the Phab Plus that is present in the iPhone 6 Plus – from the positioning of the screws, antennas and microUSB port, there’s no denying that the Phab Plus takes a lot of inspiration from the iPhone 6 Plus.

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That’s not entirely surprising – Lenovo is the same company that’s responsible for the S90, after all – and if there’s one company you want to copy, you can’t do any better than Apple.

Lenovo Phab Plus 06

Because of that, the Phab Plus feels very premium, as its unibody aluminum construction feels very, very solid. The controls are laid out just like a regular smartphone – power and volume buttons on the right, 3.5mm jack on the top, USB port on the bottom. Unfortunately the Phab Plus isn’t a regular phone, and Lenovo could have actually moved the buttons a little lower on the right side to facilitate easier one-handed use.

Lenovo Phab Plus 14
The 6.8-inch Phab Plus beside the 6-inch OPPO R7 Plus

The display is obviously the biggest draw of the gigantic phone, and it doesn’t disappoint. Color reproduction is good, with overall colors being punchy and vivid. Because of the big screen, it’s the perfect device if you consume a lot of media – watching YouTube clips and movies on the thing is pure bliss.

Can't use it one-handed, unless you have Shaq hands
Can’t use it one-handed, unless you have Shaq hands
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It does have a one-handed mode, but it’s still pretty akward to use

The biggest problem that you’ll have with the Phab Plus is its sheer size – unless you have Shaq hands, using it one handed without software help is obviously impossible, though there is a one-handed mode that allows you to use it, well, one-handed. Even with software assistance, using the Phab Plus one-handed is still akward, and this is coming from a person who has borderline gorilla hands. Women with daintier hands will have trouble using this, and two-handed use is mandatory with the phone.

Women with dainty hands will find the Phab Plus a literal handful
Women with dainty hands will find the Phab Plus a literal handful

Internally, the phone uses a Snapdragon 615 procesor paired with 2GB of RAM. That’s more than enough for mundane tasks and moderate gaming, though Android gaming afficionados may find the phablet lacking in power.

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Lenovo is partnering with Allphones for the release of the Phab Plus in the PH, where it’ll be sold for Php 14,999. It’ll also be available through Globe’s Tattoo Plan 999 with a Php 9,000 cashout.

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