Lenovo A7000

The Lenovo A7000 is the latest from the Chinese manufacturer in the budget segment and goes squarely against what is available from other vendors such as Xiaomi, Huawei, and the Yu Yureka. The device boasts decent hardware for its asking price, and when combined with Lenovo’s stellar build quality and the inclusion of Dolby Atmos makes for an intriguing handset.

Specs include a 5.5-inch IPS display with wide viewing angles and vivid colors with a resolution of HD (1280 x 720p). For those looking to customize their devices, Lenovo will offer the A7000 in a series of bright colors, and although the device is constructed out of plastic, it boasts great build quality for the price it is being offered for. With several devices in this price category also tailored at being great value for money offerings, such as the Mi 4i, Moto G and the Yu Yureka, the Lenovo A7000 manages to hold its own and is a worthy alternative in this segment.

Being a mid-range device in 2015, the A7000 offers several hardware features that are considered par for the course at this stage: 1.5GHz octa-core MediaTek MT6752m SoC with eight Cortex-A53 cores and a Mali-T760MP2 GPU. There’s 2GB of RAM, 8GB storage, a microSD card slot that can increase storage to 32GB, and Android 5.0 out of the box. Lenovo was oft-criticized in the past for its custom skin, Vibe UI, but the manufacturer has fixed several shortcomings in its latest iteration, Vibe UI 3.0. The interface certainly looks more modern, and goes well with the contrast-rich screen.

The A7000 comes with an 8MP camera at the back, 5MP front shooter, and a 2,900mAh battery that is claimed to last at least a day on normal usage.

The dual-SIM phone supports Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, and 4G LTE. Lenovo’s heavily touted the Dolby Atmos sound technology in the A7000, which is basically a software-driven equalizer that boosts audio, and tailors it to mimic surround sound.