ZUK Z1 Review

ZUK Z1 Review

Table of Contents

Display and Multimedia

The 5.5-inch IPS screen presents itself with a Full HD resolution and a 1500:1 contrast ratio. Viewing angles are good, while images appear crisp and is also bright enough to be seen outdoors. There are also functions for the screen’s color temperature to be optimized at the user’s current environment via LiveDisplay, and the built-in adaptive brightness function works really well. You might be a bit concerned about the small black border from the bezel to the display, but it does not hamper the overall smartphone experience.

ZukZ1 (4)

Multimedia content such as movies play well in the Z1. The speakers may appear to be a bit muffled when set to the highest volume, but is capable of blasting noise that can be heard inside a small, quiet room. ZUK didn’t include headphones in the package, but the audio feed from the headphone port is capable of delivering good quality sounds. There’s also a built-in synthesizer for tuning in to a sound of your liking.

Camera

The Z1’s camera app has live filters and modes such as Action, Steady Shot utilizing the OIS, and HDR in real-time. It also has minimal controls, and the autofocus is quick enough when aiming at the subject. You can also change how the touch focus sets on (the minimum is at 5secs), and the ISO before taking a picture.

With all the praises so far, we can’t really say that the Z1’s camera, with its stock camera app, be seen as its strongest point. It does a good job of capturing photos with great detail and color in broad daylight, but noticeable grains take part when you do the picture-taking indoors or during low-light conditions even with ambient lighting. Take a look at our sample gallery:

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: Front Cam

: HDR

The videos are also okay and produces well-balanced clips in Full HD resolution at 30fps. Grains are evident as well and instances of shakiness can still be noticed despite having the OIS present. Here’s a sample video:

https://youtu.be/RdjJPMZo_RU

OS, UI, and Apps

As for what’s in the device, Cyanogen 12.1 based on Lollipop 5.1.1 is the star of the show. Appearance-wise, a lot of Material Design cues are still intact, and this can still make users feel at home with stock Android builds, unlike other ROMs that throw the UI away in favor of their own custom experience.

zukz1-ss2

True enough, there’s a ton of features the normal Juan would find useful. Some of the noteworthy features are already mentioned beforehand, and here are more, to name a few: an option to put a password lock on a group of apps on your home screen, change your phone’s theme, shield your personal data from being accessed by apps, and TrueCaller integration so you’ll find out who calls you without even asking. There’s also an option to switch to on-screen navigation controls when you feel pressing on capacitive keys ain’t your thing, and scroll the app drawer without having your fingers swipe around that much.

zukz1-ss3

Several apps are also present in the device such as a Screencast app and AudioFX for tweaking music. There is 64GB of storage, leaving you with 54.6GB usable for both apps and media files. Sadly, this can’t be increased as there is no microSD card slot present on the device.

Updates are very often, too. Despite being a fork of the original Android OS, it’s refreshing to see that a lot of support has been pouring in. In fact, we received an update the moment we booted up the phone for the first time.

Next Page: Performance and Benchmarks, Battery Life, Conclusion

12 Comments

Aaron Gwapz Giray says:

9 years ago

nice so ganda naman nyan edi wOw! malina camera hahahaha bibili ako nyan ma try nga..
- Reply
Sed says:

9 years ago

Hello, does anyone know where can I buy a case for this phone? Thanks!
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Joey says:

9 years ago

I bought my ZUK Z1 at the Lenovo Store at the Digital Exchange Glorietta 3. Look fo Jessica. :)
The ZUK Z1 though almost 1:1 with the OnePlus One, performs way better. The battery definitely rocks! 24hrs on a single charge, mobile data always on and some online games.
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Joey says:

9 years ago

no case available for this yet. as for wifi and data connectivity, relative to my OnePlus One and Nexus 5, the ZUK Z1 is performing just as good. in terms of mobile data, it has better reception esp with LTE.
Sed says:

9 years ago

Hello Joey, is the wifi connection good on this phone?
Zorounggoy says:

9 years ago

may case or flip cover na bang available?

Jay says:

9 years ago

where is ZUK Z1 avaialable?
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Aaron Gwapz Giray says:

9 years ago

its available sa store syempre..
mandirigma says:

9 years ago

may nakita din ako sa ABC Store Robinsons Ermita/Manila.
Carl Lamiel says:

9 years ago

Hi Jay! The ZUK Z1 is currently available at MemoXpress, Abenson, and Electroworld outlets.

Paul says:

9 years ago

Smartphones like this should bring some excitement to the midrange above 10k-below 30k segment.

Usually on the public commute I see folks with either the budget phones at below 10k (CM Flare, Galaxy J etc), or they’re those with the latest iPhone or high end Galaxy S at above 30k.

Now with this first offering by ZUK, Vibe P1 and Phab Plus from Lenovo, Xperia M5 and C5 Ultra from Sony, and even Galaxy A8 from Samsung, customers have more choice if they want to spend more for decent specs and imported brand quality… without sacrificing their entire Christmas bonus. ;)
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