The Z5 Pro is an economical slide that combines the best mid-range processors with some flagship product specifications, including display fingerprint sensors, but is it worth importing into the UK? This is our full review.

Comprehensive Evaluation

Lenovo's Z5 Pro is a very interesting proposition in the mid-range handset market, combining flagship product specifications with the Snapdragon 710 processor to bring the price down to an affordable level.

It provides a full-screen display by sliding the screen mechanism, with no holes or notches to accommodate the self-timer camera. By capturing a dual-lens camera behind the monitor, Lenovo achieved a 95% screen-to-body ratio. There is also a display fingerprint sensor that is a relatively rare feature on the flagship, so seeing it on a phone that costs about £300 is a welcome surprise.

The problem with Z5 Pro is that it is not officially sold in the UK, and our sample is shipped from China via Handset Recycle. This is not a problem in itself, although the setup is a headache - we have to resort to Google Translate to browse the Chinese configuration and setup menus. Fortunately, after completing this work, we can make it easier for you to directly understand how to set up Lenovo Z5 Pro for use in the UK.

Like many Chinese handsets, it lacks support for one of the three main bands in the UK for 4G LTE connectivity: Band 20, or 800MHz. Most networks also use Bands 3 and 7.Where can I buy Lenovo Z5 Pro?

Handset Recycle provides our evaluation sample, 6GB RAM, 64GB storage model (purchased here). It also has a version of Z5 Pro with 128GB of storage (purchased here).

At the time of this writing, the 64GB model costs £367.05, plus the UK Priority Hotline £4.07 for shipping.

You can reduce this price to £282.58 at checkout using coupon code TAZ5Pro64 (for 128GB models, please use TAZ5Pro128, pay only £299.16).

Please note that when shipping goods from China to the UK, you will be subject to import duties if needed. This is based on 20% of the value printed on the shipping documents.

Design And Construction

With a 6.39-inch full-screen display and a cool sliding screen mechanism, the Lenovo Z5 Pro is a futuristic and stylish high-end device. It is located on the 9.3 mm thick side.

In fact, we don't mind the extra width, because it helps the phone feel more stable in your hand when you turn the screen on and off.

Impressively, even though all three phones are equipped with a 6.39-inch 19.5:9 Super AMOLED display, Lenovo is the shortest and narrowest, which means it does its best to minimize screen borders - here Only 2.07 mm.

The screen itself is gorgeous, vibrant, with intense colors, dark black and bright white. In our tests, it was brighter than the 407cd /. This should make it easy to see in direct sunlight.

Hardware And Performance

Lenovo is our first benchmark phone running the Qualcomm Snapdragon 710 processor, a mid-range chip based on a 10 nanometer manufacturing process. It's faster than the 14nm Snapdragon 660, but not as fast as the flagship 10nm Snapdragon 845. In Z5 Pro you can also get 6GB of RAM and 64 or 128GB of storage.

The Snapdragon 710 integrates the Adreno 616 GPU with the third-generation Kryo 360 CPU. It is one of the best mid-range chips on the market. Based on the Snapdragon 660, the power consumption of streaming video and games is reduced by 20% and 40%, respectively, and overall performance is increased by 20%. The application's startup speed has also increased by 15%. In the ZUI Labs menu, you have the option to add the selected six applications to the flash boot function.

Camera And Photography

The Z5 Pro has four cameras with two lenses on the front and two lenses on the back that capture the popular blurry background bokeh effects from both sides.

The main camera combines a 16Mp, f/1.8 Sony IMX576 lens and a 24Mp, f.1.8 Sony IMX519 lens. It supports a large 1.8um pixel, which means it performs better in capturing detail in low light, although the ability of our test shots (such as the scene shown below) does not leave it too impressive. In low light conditions, the camera is difficult to focus and does not perform well in shooting scenes. There is a lot of obvious blur and noise.

Software

The Z5 Pro has great potential in the mid-end market, but for the English listener, one thing that really hinders it is its Chinese setup program. Of course, it seems unfair to complain that Chinese mobile phones are too Chinese, but for some British users, it will make people feel right out of the box.

Turn on the phone and you will see a ZUI 10 splash screen. ZUI 10 is a customized version of Android Oreo 8.1, which was later replaced by Android 9.0 Pie. Although the security patch installed on the phone will last until the end of September, it is not behind. You can press a button on this page and click on it.

The next screen asks you to connect to your Wi-Fi network, so you should be able to find yours in the list and enter your password without much trouble. When you type it, press the button in the lower right corner of the keyboard and you will usually find the Enter key in it.

The next two screens are related to setting up cloud storage and fingerprint sensors, but it's much easier to do when everything is in English, so we want to skip this. Don't press any of the buttons at the bottom of the screen; instead, click the link in the top right corner of the screen just below the notification bar. Do this twice to skip cloud storage and fingerprint settings.

Verdict

If you can pass the complicated Chinese settings, the Lenovo Z5 Pro is a cracked phone that costs around £300. It has a flagship design and many features, as well as one of the best mid-range processors on the market. Unfortunately, audio and photography disappoint it.

I think the phone recycling website Handsetrecycle.com is a great place to sell my mobile for best price. My mobile phone sales process was very simple when I sold my phone, and I received the payment on the same day.

Therefore, I highly recommend the Handsetrecycle.com website for mobile phone recycling.