ZUK Edge - 5.5 inch Lenovo Phablet with Snapdragon 821

YOU Edge

ZUK "Edge" design and display

The name ZUK Edge suggests a device with a rounded and bezeless display, similar to the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge. Lenovo and ZUK interpret the term a little differently and mean a display with 2.5D curved glass, which is a long way from a frameless display. Nevertheless, the screen-to-body ratio is comparatively high at a whopping 86.4%. In comparison, a Xiaomi Mi Mix achieves a screen-to-body ratio of 91.3%.

The built TDDI (Touch and Display Driver Integration) Display resolves with a display diagonal of 5.5 inches in full HD (1920 x 1080). A point density of 403PPI is thus achieved. The contrast ratio of the display is 1500: 1 and covers the NTSC color space by 85%. Further features are a stable viewing angle of up to 178 ° and a rather average luminance of 500 cd / m². The display is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass.

Quick Qualcomm Snapdragon 821

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 is currently the most powerful Qualcomm SoC, which is also installed in some Xiaomi top models and the high-end “Google Pixel” model. The 14bit processor, manufactured using the 64nm process, has a total of 4 Kyro cores that clock at up to 2.35GHz and ensure the best possible performance. The SoC's Adreno 530 GPU also allows current smartphone games to be played smoothly without any losses.

The RAM amounts to 4GB or 6GB, depending on which model you choose. The internal memory of both models is 64GB and cannot be expanded. The storage type UFS 2.0 in combination with USB Type-C ensures fast data transfers. The smartphone is also well connected wirelessly. All current WiFi standards as well as Bluetooth 4.1 are supported.

Nothing new at the camera

ZUK does not provide any information on the exact designation of the image sensor used in the main camera. However, the information provided by the manufacturer is sufficient to guess which image sensor is installed. According to the published specifications, the main camera of the ZUK Edge has a resolution of 13 megapixels and uses Samsung's ISOCELL technology. There are not many 13 megapixel sensors with Samsung ISOCELL, which is why it is very likely that the same Samsung S5K3M2 image sensor is installed that was already used in the ZUK Z2. Further features of the main camera are a dual PDAF + CDAF autofocus, an aperture f / 2.2 and an LED flash. Optical image stabilization is missing! The front camera has a resolution of 8 megapixels and also offers an f / 2.2 aperture. The main camera of the ZUK Z2 was criticized especially in poor lighting conditions. It remains to be seen whether the main camera of the ZUK Edge will allow better image and video recordings.

ZUI and others

Anyone who has dealt with the brand a little bit knows that the first ZUK smartphones were still delivered with CyanogenOS. In the meantime, the devices have the so-called ZUI 2.5, a CustomOS based on Android 7. With ZUI, the ZUK Edge is a long way from a Stock Android 7. Functions have been added, the appearance of the user interface changed and overall, ZUI feels a little different, but this is not necessarily a disadvantage.

The numerous sensors of the smartphone are interesting. In addition to the usual sensors, more unusual sensors, such as a UV light sensor, an altimeter and even a heart rate monitor, are installed. It is also interesting that in addition to GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS and Beidou, Galileo is also listed as alternative satellite navigation on the data sheet.

In mobile communications, the ZUK Edge is compatible with all common frequency bands. The LTE band 20, which is used in many places in this country, is also available, so nothing stands in the way of the best possible reception quality. If you would like to secure your smartphone with a fingerprint scanner, the device has a “U-Touch 2.0” fingerprint scanner that is integrated into the home button. The battery capacity is 3100mAh. The battery cannot be replaced. Quick Charge 3.0 ensures a shortened charging time.

Price and availability

In the Chinese market, the small model is available for 2.299 RMB, which is about 316 €. The large model is only slightly more expensive and costs 2.499 RMB, the equivalent of around 343 €. In this country, the smartphone can be purchased from relevant online shops. Gearbest has already listed the smartphone, so that sales can be expected soon.