Introduction
Lenovo branded phones have made a big comeback with the “Killer Note” series. Today, these Lenovo phones have become challengers to affordable Redmi phones.
Lenovo is back in action with three new launches: Lenovo Z6 Pro, Lenovo K10 Note, and Lenovo A6. Of these, the Snapdragon 710 powered K10 Note is in the most aggressively priced. Can the K10 Note stand against the RealMe 5 Pro and Redmi Note 7 Pro?
Let’s find out
(Psst.. if you would like to sell your old Lenovo mobile to upgrade, make sure to hit us up!)
Price in India, Variants, Availability
The Lenovo K10 Note comes with a starting price of Rs 13,999 with 4GB RAM+64GB storage, and the 6GB RAM+128GB storage variant costs Rs 15,999. It comes in two colours Knight Black and Stardust Blue.
Box Contents
Inside the retail package of the Lenovo K10 Note, you will find the phone itself, apart from the other accessories like the wall charger, a USB Type-C charging cable, a SIM eject tool, and some documentation. Sadly, no case or earphones are included.
- Lenovo K10 Note
- MicroUSB cable
- Adapter
- SIM ejector tool
- Quick start guide
- Product information (including the Warranty Card)
Key Specifications
- Display: 6.3 inches IPS LCD,1080 x 2340 pixels, 19.5:9 aspect ratio
- CPU: Qualcomm SDM710 Snapdragon
- GPU: Adreno 616
- Memory: 4GB + 64GB, 6GB + 128GB, up to 256GB external memory (Hybrid SIM-Slot)
- Rear Camera: 16MP main, 8MP wide-angle camera, 2MP portrait camera, 2MP macro camera
- Selfie Camera: 16MP
- Battery: 4050 mAh, 10W charging power
- Security: Fingerprint sensor at the back
Design and Build
The simplicity of the Lenovo K10 Note design is striking. Although it has a 6.3-inch large display, it is compact and easy to capture. On the front, the device comes with a Bezel-free Dewdrop Notch display on the sides. However, it has a little chin at the bottom. It also features a shiny plastic back panel with a vertical triple-camera setup below which the fingerprint sensor is.
Display
The Lenovo K10 Note displays a 6.3-inch FHD + display with a resolution of 1080 × 2340 pixels, and a 19.5: 9 aspect ratio. The LCD panel comes with HDR10 support, which is excellent, considering the price range. The display offers bright and punchy colours and works well in open light conditions. However, reading text in sunny conditions can be a bit problematic.
To overcome this, Lenovo has several colour settings – Warm, Standard and Cool. There are also two saturation settings, Vibrant and Standard. If you are a movie freak and would like to watch videos on your phone, this is the device for you. However, the thin bezels near the notch and the thick chin at the bottom will keep you away from the full-screen entertainment experience, but the whole experience can prove to be amazing.
Performance
The Lenovo K10 Note gets its power from the Qualcomm Snapdragon 710 SoC. It is an octa-core processor built on a 10nm processor. This chipset comes with the Adreno 616 GPU, which we’ve already seen on RealMe X.
The Lenovo K10 Note comes in two variants – 4GB RAM and 6GB RAM. The former offers 64GB of internal storage, while the latter comes with 128GB of storage. Internal storage is expandable using a microSD card. The smartphone performs moderately when multi-tasking. It does not take long to load applications. The Snapdragon 710 SoC offers good gaming performance as well as power efficiency. My only plunge is how the device warms up an hour after continuous gaming.
The Lenovo K10 Note has a single speaker, but with Dolby Atmos support. It improves overall audio performance. Users also have the option to tune the sound output according to their listening habits. For the best audio experience, I recommend the use of earphones.
Software
The Lenovo K10 Note runs JUI 11 based on Android 9. As soon as you turn on your smartphone, you’ll see an app drawer full of bloatware. Of these, some applications can be uninstalled. You can disable these apps, however. Lenovo has also added a feature called 4D U-Touch, which allows gestures by changing the phone’s navigation button. If you have used Stock Android before, you may be having some trouble at first. But you will soon become accustomed to this customised navigation.
Cameras
The rear of the Lenovo K10 Note has a triple camera setup. It includes a 16-megapixel primary camera sensor, an 8-megapixel telephoto lens with 2x optical zoom, and a 5-megapixel depth sensor. Interestingly, most smartphones in this price range do not offer optical zoom. This gives the device an upper hand over its rivals. However, there is considerable variation in the quality of photos taken using optical zoom.
The 16-megapixel primary camera performance is excellent. Daytime pictures are of good quality. Background colours also come in high with pictures. In some cases, however, the photos may or may not have natural colours.
We would only say that there is no software optimisation for utilising the ability of a triple camera setup to click good images. Proper fixing of this part is something we all expect in the upcoming software update of Lenovo. AI visual recognition improves the performance of the camera, providing sharp and clear images.
Night mode on the smartphone is useful in low light conditions. However, due to the sharpness of the images taken in Night Mode, you will find some distortion around the corners. One thing that impressed me about the camera was the speed with which the subject was focused. It definitely finds the edges of the subject and creates a beautiful bokeh effect in the images.
For wide-angle photography, it also has a dual-image mode feature that can be used to click landscape images or group photos. The Lenovo K10 Note can record video at 4K UHD resolution. Image stabilisation helps the camera produce a consistent video by eliminating light shakes.
The 1080p video has been stabilised, although we did notice a light focus hunt while moving around. Video quality suffers most in low light due to the soft details and slight blinking due to electronic stabilisation.
For selfies, the Lenovo K10 Note comes with a 16-megapixel camera that delivers decent quality. Dual-mode is useful when taking group selfies. The mode blurs the background perfectly in selfies, giving the portrait effect to the group photo. The Camera app also features a variety of beautification features and filters.
Battery
The Lenovo K10 Note also impressed us with its battery endurance. Our battery loop test was able to clock the 4050 mAh battery for 12 hours and 58 minutes. When it comes to real-world performance, we’ve been able to provide the K10 Note for more than a day, playing some games, syncing, having our social accounts on music streaming, and clicking on some photos and videos.
The Lenovo K10 Note comes with an 18W fast charger. With the bundled charger it takes two hours to go from 0 to 100 on the K10 Note. Charging speeds can be as fast for the first 50 per cent.
Audio and Security
The bottom speaker feels a bit small, but at least the placement isn’t blocked when holding the phone. Lenovo has continued to partner with Dirac, which powers its Real Sound Technology. However, unlike Dolby Atmos Mobile, it only works when you plug in headphones.
There is no fingerprint sensor integrated into the display. The Lenovo K10 Note comes with a fingerprint sensor placed in the back of the smartphone.
Pros & Cons
PROS:
- Good app & gaming performance
- Decent battery life
- Vibrant display
- Decent daylight images
CONS:
- Looks bland, body attracts smudges easily
- Average low light photos and video performance
- Dated security patch
- Charging is slow
On paper, the Lenovo K10 Note is a good comeback from Lenovo in the budget segment. The price is perfect for both models, as they are checking the most appropriate boxes in this section. It’s lightweight, has good application performance, performance is clear, battery life is solid, and the rear cameras are good enough to have enough light around. Adding a telephoto camera is a nice touch from Lenovo as nobody else seems to do in this segment; however, we’ve found that you can get comparable results with digital zoom on competing smartphones.
Areas where the Lenovo K10 Note could have done better include the finish of the body. The plastic back is a nightmare to keep clean. The software isn’t as feature-rich as some of the other custom skins we’ve seen and the cameras struggle in low light. The lack of electronic stabilisation is a little disappointing too, and the selfie camera isn’t particularly great either.
All in all, while the Lenovo K10 Note is certainly acceptable, other phones at similar price points such as the Realme 5 Pro and Xiaomi Mi A3 offer better value.
