Lenovo Vibe S1: a glance
Lenovo Vibe S1 is one of the new smartphones that we announced at IFA 2015 in Berlin. This happened just recently - September 2, and today we are in a hurry to share with you a preview (well, or “first glance” - anyone like it better) on this gadget with a dual front-facing selfie camera. Details are under the cut, and we answer the questions according to good tradition in the comments. So let's go!
Many journalists who have already managed to hold Lenovo Vibe S1 in their hands say that the device looks very much like Motorola smartphones. Well, we will not deny: a slightly curved back cover gives out. By the way, it is due to this bend and a small width (70.8 mm) that the smartphone lies perfectly in the hand. The gadget weighs 132 grams, the thickness of the case is only 7.8 mm.
The body is completely encircled by a strong metal frame with small plastic inserts at the upper and lower ends - they are needed for the correct operation of the wireless modules and antenna. Despite the fact that the back side is curved, it is covered with a protective glass Gorilla Glass 3. Live looks very impressive.
The buttons below the screen are touch sensitive, with beautiful non-standard icons. No backlight is provided, but it is difficult to imagine a user of an Android smartphone who is not used to them yet.
Two gratings are located below, under one of which is a built-in speaker: The
combined slot for two nanoSIM cards (one radio module) is located on the left side of the device. Instead of one of them, you can install a microSD card. The maximum supported capacity is 128 GB.
On the right are the volume and power buttons, they are also metal:
Well, on top there is a microphone hole and a headphone jack.
On the front panel, it would seem, nothing unusual, but ... there are two front cameras at once, yes. We will write about them and the main photomodule in more detail, but a little later.
Comparison of Lenovo Vibe S1 and last year's Lenovo S90 selfie phone suggests itself. And here, of course, all the arguments in favor of the Berlin news. The screen size remains the same (5 inches), but now it is based on an IPS panel with a resolution of 1920 × 1080 pixels. The picture has become brighter, and the color rendition is better, in the sun it will be very comfortable to work with such a display.
Inside Lenovo Vibe S1 is a 64-bit 8-core MediaTek 6752 processor with a clock frequency of 1.7 GHz, as well as 3 GB of RAM and 32 GB of internal memory. All this makes Vibe S1 a very, very peppy device: if you do not clog RAM with different processes to the eyeballs, then you will not even notice any hints of glitches in the interface.
There will be no problems with the launch of demanding games, as the numbers from benchmarks confirm: more than 46,000 points in AnTuTu and almost 10,500 points in 3DMark Ice Storm Unlimited. Of course, the back panel becomes a little warm with a noticeable load, but we are not talking about any overheating either. By the way, we recall that this is a test sample, so in the final samples performance figures may vary.
The smartphone is running Android 5.0, which is complemented by a proprietary interfaceLenovo Vibe UI . About his main "tricks" we already wrote once , therefore we will not repeat ourselves.
The resolution of the main camera Lenovo Vibe S1 is 13 megapixels, it is complemented by an LED flash. Here, too, has its own "chip" - phase autofocus, which helps the camera very quickly focus on sharpness. Skipping significant moments will now be much more difficult.
One of the volume buttons can be used as an analog shutter button. The interface allows you to manually change the ISO value and select a white balance preset, and the minimum focusing distance is short enough to make nice close-ups.
The overall brightness of the frame varies depending on which object the user clicks on the touch screen. If it is bright, then exposure correction will take place in plus. If the light, then vice versa. In especially severe cases, software HDR will help.
Well, now about the main feature: Lenovo Vibe S1 is the first smartphone in the world that allows users to take selfies where they have not been. A joke, of course, although true. There are two front-facing cameras on the front panel of S1: one has a resolution of 8 megapixels, the second has 2 megapixels. By default, the first of them works, all the main features of which are already described in the Lenovo S90 review.
But if you click on the small virtual button, the interface will change a little, and the user will be able to make magical self-portraits. Firstly, the presence of two cameras allows you to change the depth of field of the background or change the way it is blurred.
Secondly, the user can easily “cut out” his face from a regular photograph by placing the Eiffel Tower or, for example, a glass pyramid near the Louvre as a background. The gadget outlines the self-portrait contours pretty well (the more uniform the background in the original image, the better the result) and in automatic mode. However, it can easily be improved manually with the help of simple tools - an eraser and a brush.
A few dozen photographs in four different categories, including magazine covers, have already been loaded into the smartphone’s memory.
The finished result looks something like this:
And just a regular selfie without special effects for comparison:
Of course, during the exhibition, and even on the pre-production sample, it is not possible to accurately measure the battery life of Lenovo S1 in the mode, for example, video playback. Therefore, we restrict ourselves to just the information that a 2420 mAh battery is installed inside - which is very good for such a compact case.
Well, let's finish the blitz review with the fact that the Vibe S1 will go on sale in Russia this November. Why at the moment we find it difficult to name the exact final cost of the device, everyone will surely understand perfectly. But if in November everything will be about the same as now, it is logical to focus on the same amount that was estimated at the launch of the Lenovo S90, that is, about 25,000 rubles.
Thank you for your attention, we are ready to answer your questions.
Appearance
Many journalists who have already managed to hold Lenovo Vibe S1 in their hands say that the device looks very much like Motorola smartphones. Well, we will not deny: a slightly curved back cover gives out. By the way, it is due to this bend and a small width (70.8 mm) that the smartphone lies perfectly in the hand. The gadget weighs 132 grams, the thickness of the case is only 7.8 mm.
The body is completely encircled by a strong metal frame with small plastic inserts at the upper and lower ends - they are needed for the correct operation of the wireless modules and antenna. Despite the fact that the back side is curved, it is covered with a protective glass Gorilla Glass 3. Live looks very impressive.
The buttons below the screen are touch sensitive, with beautiful non-standard icons. No backlight is provided, but it is difficult to imagine a user of an Android smartphone who is not used to them yet.
Two gratings are located below, under one of which is a built-in speaker: The
combined slot for two nanoSIM cards (one radio module) is located on the left side of the device. Instead of one of them, you can install a microSD card. The maximum supported capacity is 128 GB.
On the right are the volume and power buttons, they are also metal:
Well, on top there is a microphone hole and a headphone jack.
On the front panel, it would seem, nothing unusual, but ... there are two front cameras at once, yes. We will write about them and the main photomodule in more detail, but a little later.
Display
Comparison of Lenovo Vibe S1 and last year's Lenovo S90 selfie phone suggests itself. And here, of course, all the arguments in favor of the Berlin news. The screen size remains the same (5 inches), but now it is based on an IPS panel with a resolution of 1920 × 1080 pixels. The picture has become brighter, and the color rendition is better, in the sun it will be very comfortable to work with such a display.
Performance
Inside Lenovo Vibe S1 is a 64-bit 8-core MediaTek 6752 processor with a clock frequency of 1.7 GHz, as well as 3 GB of RAM and 32 GB of internal memory. All this makes Vibe S1 a very, very peppy device: if you do not clog RAM with different processes to the eyeballs, then you will not even notice any hints of glitches in the interface.
There will be no problems with the launch of demanding games, as the numbers from benchmarks confirm: more than 46,000 points in AnTuTu and almost 10,500 points in 3DMark Ice Storm Unlimited. Of course, the back panel becomes a little warm with a noticeable load, but we are not talking about any overheating either. By the way, we recall that this is a test sample, so in the final samples performance figures may vary.
The smartphone is running Android 5.0, which is complemented by a proprietary interfaceLenovo Vibe UI . About his main "tricks" we already wrote once , therefore we will not repeat ourselves.
Main camera
The resolution of the main camera Lenovo Vibe S1 is 13 megapixels, it is complemented by an LED flash. Here, too, has its own "chip" - phase autofocus, which helps the camera very quickly focus on sharpness. Skipping significant moments will now be much more difficult.
One of the volume buttons can be used as an analog shutter button. The interface allows you to manually change the ISO value and select a white balance preset, and the minimum focusing distance is short enough to make nice close-ups.
The overall brightness of the frame varies depending on which object the user clicks on the touch screen. If it is bright, then exposure correction will take place in plus. If the light, then vice versa. In especially severe cases, software HDR will help.
Front cameras
Well, now about the main feature: Lenovo Vibe S1 is the first smartphone in the world that allows users to take selfies where they have not been. A joke, of course, although true. There are two front-facing cameras on the front panel of S1: one has a resolution of 8 megapixels, the second has 2 megapixels. By default, the first of them works, all the main features of which are already described in the Lenovo S90 review.
But if you click on the small virtual button, the interface will change a little, and the user will be able to make magical self-portraits. Firstly, the presence of two cameras allows you to change the depth of field of the background or change the way it is blurred.
Secondly, the user can easily “cut out” his face from a regular photograph by placing the Eiffel Tower or, for example, a glass pyramid near the Louvre as a background. The gadget outlines the self-portrait contours pretty well (the more uniform the background in the original image, the better the result) and in automatic mode. However, it can easily be improved manually with the help of simple tools - an eraser and a brush.
A few dozen photographs in four different categories, including magazine covers, have already been loaded into the smartphone’s memory.
The finished result looks something like this:
And just a regular selfie without special effects for comparison:
Battery
Of course, during the exhibition, and even on the pre-production sample, it is not possible to accurately measure the battery life of Lenovo S1 in the mode, for example, video playback. Therefore, we restrict ourselves to just the information that a 2420 mAh battery is installed inside - which is very good for such a compact case.
Instead of a conclusion
Well, let's finish the blitz review with the fact that the Vibe S1 will go on sale in Russia this November. Why at the moment we find it difficult to name the exact final cost of the device, everyone will surely understand perfectly. But if in November everything will be about the same as now, it is logical to focus on the same amount that was estimated at the launch of the Lenovo S90, that is, about 25,000 rubles.
Thank you for your attention, we are ready to answer your questions.