Lenovo K4 Note (A7010) hands-on, first impressions

The Lenovo K4 Note is set to be launched in the Philippines next month and we managed to get an early unit to review. It is the successor of the K3 Note originally released in the Chinese market last year and arrived in the Philippines as the Lenovo A7000 Plus (international version).

Lenovo has drastically changed the design of the K4 Note compared to the K3 Note. While we’re not exactly sure why they moved towards this direction, they are actually quite a number of significant improvements under the hood.

The processor was changed from a MediaTek MTK6752 to a MediaTek MTK6753 octa-core processor with more RAM (3GB up from 2GB on the K3 Note). The display is still the same — 5.5-inch IPS LCD with full HD resolution (401ppi) although the newer one now has Corning Gorilla Glass 3.

There’s NFC as well and the battery has been bumped up by 10% to 3,300mAh. On the imaging department, the 13MP rear camera was retained but now has Phase Detection Auto Focus for sharper photos.

There’s also two front-facing stereo speakers (same layout as the HTC One) with each one having 1.5W power output. The speakers are impressive, very loud yet crisp.

The design of the K4 Note is reminiscent of the Moto X with its curved back panel in smooth, matte finish as well as the metallic silver frame. The device is also a bit hefty at 160 grams and much more chunky (9.144mm) compared to its predecessor.

The back cover is removable to expose the internal battery which has a small sticker sign to “not remove”. There are two micro-SIM card slots with the second slot able to support up to 128GB of microSD card.

The fingerprint sensor at the back is just below the camera module. It’s a welcome addition and rarity among devices in its price category.

Lenovo K4 Note specs:
5.5-inch Full HD IPS display, 403ppi
Corning Gorilla Glass 3
64-bit MediaTek MT6753 1.3GHz octa-core CPU
Mali T720-MP3 GPU
3GB LPDDR3 RAM
16GB internal storage
up to 128GB via microSD
13MP PDAF rear camera w/ LED flash
5MP FF front camera
Dual-SIM (micro)
4G LTE, 3G HSPA+
WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac
Bluetooth 4.0 LE
GPS, A-GPS
FM Radio
NFC
Dolby Atmos virtual surround sound
Front ported 2X1.5W stereo speakers
WM8281 audio codec
3,300mAh battery
Android 5.1 Lollipop
153.7 x 78.74 x 9.14mm
160g

We’ll post more about the Lenovo K4 Note in our full review in a couple of weeks.

As of the moment, the Lenovo K4 Note is not yet officially released in the Philippines but you can get one from Widget City at the moment (see listing here).