We go hands-on with the Vibe P1!

Each year smartphones get better and better – they get better processors, faster cameras and awesome features that most people don’t even use. Unfortunately, there is one part of the smartphone that’s usually left out of the equation with each new release – the battery. Lenovo’s trying to solve that problem with their new Vibe P1 smartphone. The P1 has a bigger than average battery and Lenovo’s betting big that people will fork over money for the ability to use their phone for more than a day without charging.

Lenovo Vibe P1 specs

• Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 octa-core processor
• Adreno 405 GPU
• 2GB of RAM
• 5.5-inch full HD display, 1920 x 1080 resolution
• 32GB of storage, expandable
• 13-megapixel rear camera with flash
• 5-megapixel front camera
• 3G, LTE
• WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, A-GPS
• Android 5.1 Lollipop with Vibe UI
• 5000mAh battery

Initial impressions: Massive battery in an elegant body

For a phone that has a ridiculously large battery inside of it, the P1 looks pretty darn good, though there’s no getting around the fact that it looks like HTC’s previous flagships. The resemblance is so uncanny that we’d forgive you if you mistook this particular device to be HTC One M8. That doesn’t mean that the phone is just a mere copycat, however, and while the phone is a little unoriginal with its design, at least Lenovo decided to copy the unibody aluminum shell of the M8 as well.

Considering that it has more juice than your regular mid-ranger, we’d forgive the slightly chubby dimensions of the Vibe P1, though there’d be some people that would consider the 9.9mm overall thickness of the P1 just right. The phone is solidly built and we really can’t find a fault in its overall construction – everything feels nice and premium. The phone feels comfortable to hold mostly due to its gently curved back. If you feel comfortable holding an ASUS Zenfone 2, you’d feel right at home with the Vibe P1.

The P1 uses a 5.5-inch full HD display, which gives the phone an overall pixel density of 401ppi. The display is bright, has good colors, sharpness and viewing angles, but we’ll have to use the phone as our primary device to really see what the display is capable of.

Fingerprint scanners are becoming a standard feature for mid-range smartphones now, and the Vibe P1 is no exception. For the Vibe P1, Lenovo placed the fingerprint scanner in the home button, much like Samsung and their sister company, ZUK. Fingerprint registration is quick and easy, and the phone unlocked quickly using the home button.

The Vibe P1 also has a dedicated hardware key on the side of the phone that activates the battery saving option that Lenovo says doubles your battery life.

Obviously the phone already has a bigger than average battery inside its body compared to other phones but we’re still thankful that Lenovo included a switch for when you forget to charge the phone (repeatedly).

Just like other mid-range devices offered by international brands in the market the Vibe P1 employs Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 615 octa-core processor, paired with 2GB of RAM. We’re up to our necks in Snapdragon 615-equipped phones by now, but there’s a reason why companies like using this particular processor. It’s relatively fast, doesn’t create that much heat and is fairly reliable – traits that a mid-range smartphone values the most. Naturally the Vibe P1 uses Lenovo’s own take on Android via their Vibe UI laid on top of Android 5.1.

Lenovo has priced the Vibe P1 at Php 14,999, which puts it in direct competition with other mid-range smartphones like ZUK’s Z1, ASUS Zenfone 2, Huawei’s G8 and others. The mid-range market is fast becoming the new battleground for international brands, and we’ll have to see if the Vibe P1 is worthy of your cash once we get more time with it.