Introduction
Deliver more for your hard earned cash, thats what the Lenovo Vibe K5 is all about. Mind you, were not talking about the Vibe K5 Plus we already reviewed a while ago. This time its the base Lenovo Vibe K5 - no Plus or Note in the model name means fewer add-ons and therefore an even lighter price tag.
So its even cheaper than the K5 Plus, we hear you ask? Indeed it is, and the price is one of three downgrades (not one to complain about) compared to the K5 Plus. The other two are the display resolution (720p vs. FullHD, but 5 inches nonetheless) and the chipset (Snapdragon 415 vs 616). Thats that.
The rest of it is shared between the K5 and K5 Plus and that includes the metal back (on a decidedly entry-level phone), 13MP/5MP camera combo, 2GB of RAM and 2,750mAh of a swappable battery.
Lenovo Vibe K5 key features
- Dual-SIM support
- 5.0-inch IPS LCD of 720p resolution, 294ppi
- Snapdragon 415 chipset: Quad-core 1.4 GHz Cortex-A53 & quad-core 1.0 GHz Cortex-A53, Adreno 405 GPU, 2GB of RAM
- Android 5.1.1 Lollipop
- 13MP rear-camera, f/2.2, autofocus, single-LED flash, 1080p@30fps video
- 5MP front-facing camera, f/2.8
- 16GB of storage, expandable by up to 32GB via microSD (dedicated slot)
- LTE Cat.4 150 Mbps, Wi-Fi b/g/n, GPS/GLONASS, Bluetooth 4.0, FM radio
- Removable 2,750mAh Li-Ion battery
- Noise canceling with dedicated secondary microphone, rear-firing stereo speakers, FM radio
- Model designation is A6020a40, not to be mistaken for the A6020a46, a.k.a. Lenovo Vibe K5 Plus
Main disadvantages
- Limited regio nal availability, vastly different pricing in different parts of the world
- No Marshmallow
- Effectively 48GB of maximum storage
We pointed out the very same list of disadvantages in the Vibe K5 Plus, and they hold true for the K5 as well. For the most part, at least - the Vibe K5 seems to be more widely available, both alongside the Plus in certain markets and on its own in others.
Lenovo Vibe K5 press images
Swapping microSD cards when you run out of storage is the definition of a first-world problem. Now, we guess its not a deal-breaker for most of the likely buyers, but we figured wed mention it nonetheless. The dated Android then remains our main gripe with the Vibe K5, as thats likely what the phone will spend its entire life on, given the usual update policies for budget models. Again, weighed up against the K5s price, thats another one we could pretend we didnt see.
We did see the phone though, and handled it too, and thats what the next page is all about. The design and handling chapter follows right after the break.
Lenovo Vibe K5 Plus 360-degree spin
The Lenovo Vibe K5 measures 142 x 71 x 8mm, identical to the K5 Plus. This makes it a standard-issue 5-incher in terms of size. Marginally more compact in footprint, the Xiaomi Redmi 3 is slightly thicker, with a larger ba ttery to show for it. The Galaxy J2 (2016) is virtually the same as the K5, while the Oppo F1 is a millimeter taller, but a fraction of a millimeter thinner.
Hardware overview
The Lenovo Vibe K5 is an entry level phone, but you cant tell by just looking at it or holding it in hand. Part of the reason is the metal back, which adds an unexpected touch of premium. Sure, its a no-nonsense design that looks just like the next phone, but its hard to find fault with the Vibe K5s looks, especially considering its price.
And, as is customary with metal-backed phones, the K5s rear panel isnt entirely metal, there are two plastic bits top and bottom. Typically, those are used to allow the antennas to pick up signal, but on this particular model it would appear that the metal cover itself acts as an antenna - there are contacts on both sides, as well on the inside abo ve the battery.
The plastic bits get cutouts for the camera lens and flash in the top one, and the speakers in the bottom. There are in fact too speakers, which is another surprising feature in a smartphone this inexpensive, when even many flagships still make do with just one.
Satin finish on the metal cover • Camera, flash and mic pinhole in the top left
The cover is removable and comes off together with the sides, buttons and all. Theres a groove in the bottom right corner to get it started, which isnt the easiest task. Once you do, the panel is out of the way in an instant.
Underneath the cover, you get access to the removable battery, the two microSIM slots an d the dedicated microSD slot. The speakers can be seen below the battery too.
Insert fingernail here to pop cover off • Battery, phone, cover - a classic setup
Nothing out of the ordinary on the front either - the 5-inch display is 720p here, unlike on the Vibe K5 Plus, but with the power off it looks essentially the same. Bezels arent exactly minimal and theres also a black outline around the display itself, but those would be grounds for complaints on a more expensive phone - here its par for the course.
The entire face of the phone is defined by a shiny frame, which serves to protect the edges of the glass, and also as tactile clue where the display ends. Its quite obviously made of plastic, but when did we get so picky.
The bottom bezel is home to the capacitive keys, which have icons etched in the front panel. They arent backlit, though. Above the display theres the earpiece in the middle with the front camera and sensors on either side. There is a notification LED in the right corner here.
Looking at the front • Standard top bezel arrangement • Capacitive keys in the bottom bezel
Other phones have card slots on the sides, but the Vibe K5 keeps them tucked underneath the rear cover. Hence theres not much going on here, other than the p ower button and volume rocker on the right side.
Nothing on the left • Right side is home to the power button and volume rocker
The bottom is similarly minimalist - nothing but a primary mic can be found there, as Lenovo likes to put the microUSB port on top on its budget models. The 3.5mm jack is on top, too.
Microphone on the bottom • microUSB and 3.5 jack up top
A 5-incher is always going to be easier to handle than phablets and the Vibe K5 is one of the former. The gentle curves on the back do add a bit of comfort, but its still quite slippery thanks to the fine satin finish on the back.
In the hand
5-inch display with 720p resolution - cant complain
The Vibe K5 relies on a 5-inch 720p IPS display. The resolution is one of the few downgrades, compared to the Plus. Or rather the Vibe K5, being the base model, gets the base resolution. At 294ppi, pixel density is still good enough, even if we have to add "considering the price" once again.
No surprises when we put it under the microscope - the Vibe K5s panel has a standard RGB layout with an equal number of subpixels for each primary color.
The Vibe K5s display is capable of more than 400 nits of brightness in its default mode, which isnt spectacular - more like average. Its black levels arent too good either, and that somewhat ruins contrast.
| Display test | 100% brightness | ||
| Black, cd/m2 | White, cd/m2 | ||
| 0.44 | 441 | 998 | |
| 0.53 | 426 | 804 | |
| 0.42 | 520 | 1238 | |
| 0.49 | 561 | 1145 | |
| 0.38 | 523 | 1376 | |
| 0.00 | 346 | ∞ | |
| 0.00 | 480 | ∞ | |
| 0.46 | 408 | 897 | |
| 0.43 | 540 | 1243 | |
Color r eproduction is reasonably accurate in default mode, with an average DeltaE of 6.1. You can adjust the colors in settings and achieve an average DeltaE of 3, but at the expense of maximum brightness, which drops by about 100nits.
In the sunlight legibility test the Vibe K5 posted virtually the same score as the Plus. The dispay being one of the few parts not shared between the two, we thought this might be an area where they performed differently. Well, they didnt and the Vibe K5 scored a good figure for an LCD - not iPhone-6s-good, but better than the HTC 10, for example.
Sunlight contrast ratio
- Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+
4.615 - Samsung Galaxy S7 edge
4.439 - OnePlus 3
4.424 - Samsung Galaxy S7
4.376 - HTC One A9
4.274 - Samsung Galaxy A3
4.241 - Samsung Galaxy S6 edge
4.124 - Samsung Galaxy Note5
4.09 - Huawei Nexus 6P
4.019 - Vivo Xplay5 Elite
3.983 - OnePlus X
3.983 - Oppo R7s
3.964 - Huawei P9 Plus
3.956 - Samsung Galaxy A7 (2016)
3.918 - Samsung Galaxy A5
3.895 - Samsung Galaxy J7 outdoor
3.879 - Samsung Galaxy J2 outdoor
3.873 - Samsung Galaxy A8
3.859 - Apple iPhone 6
3.838 - Samsung Galaxy A9 (2016)
3.817 - Motorola Moto X (2014)
3.816 Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016) outdoor mode
3.802- Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016)
3.789 - Apple iPhone 6s
3.783 - Meizu Pro 5
3.781 - Microsoft Lumia 650
3.772 - Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016)
3.756 - Oppo F1 Plus
3.709 - Vivo X5Pro
3.706 - Apple iPhone SE
3.681 - Samsung Galaxy A7
3.679 - Meizu PRO 6
3.659 - BlackBerry Priv
3.645 - Apple iPhone 6s Plus
3.53 - Samsung Galaxy J3 (2016) outdoor mode
3.523 - Samsung Galaxy J3 (2016)
3.523 - Acer Jade Primo
3.521 - Microsoft Lumia 950
3.512 - Oppo R7 Plus
3.499 - Samsung Galaxy J7
3.422 - Meizu MX5
3.416 - Oppo R7
3.32 - Samsung Galaxy J2
3.235 - Sony Xperia X Performance
3.234 - Motorola Moto X Play
3.222 - Huawei P9
3.195 - Lenovo Vibe Shot
3.113 - Motorola Moto X Force
3.105 - LG Nex us 5X
3.092 - Huawei Mate S
3.073 - Microsoft Lumia 640 XL
3.065 - Apple iPhone 6 Plus
3.023 - Sony Xperia X
2.989 - Samsung Galaxy Note
2.97 - Huawei Mate 8
2.949 - Sony Xperia XA Ultra
2.906 - LG G5
2.905 - HTC One S
2.901 - Sony Xperia Z5
2.876 - Microsoft Lumia 550
2.851 - Sony Xperia Z5 compact
2.784 - LG V10
2.744 - Xiaomi Redmi 3
2.735 - Sony Xperia M5
2.69 - Huawei P9 Lite
2.679 - Vivo V3Max
2.659 - Xiaomi Mi 4i
2.641 - Sony Xperia XA
2.609 - Xiaomi Mi 4c
2.574 - LeEco Le Max 2
2.567 - Microsoft Lumia 640
2.563 - Lenovo Moto G4
2.544 - Oppo F1
2.528 - Sony Xperia Z5 Premium
2.525 - Huawei Honor 7 Lite / Honor 5c
2.506 - Sony Xperia M4 Aqua
2.503 - Motorola Moto G
2.477 - Lenovo Vibe K5 Plus
2.473 - Huawei G8
2.471 - Sony Xperia Z
2.462 - Lenovo Vibe K5
2.459 - Huawei Honor 7
2.406 - Sony Xperia E5
2.386 - ZUK Z1 by Lenovo
2.382 - HTC 10
2.378 - Samsung Galaxy J5 (2016)
2.378 - HTC One E9+
2.305 - Alcatel One Touch Hero
2.272 - Lenovo Vibe K4 Note
2.254 - Sony Xperia C5 Ultra
2.253 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (MediaTek)
2.249 - Sony Xperia C4 Dual
2.235 - Motorola Moto G (2014)
2.233 - LG Nexus 5
2.228 - Huawei P8
2.196 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 2
2.166 - OnePlus Two
2.165 - HTC One X
2.158 - LG Aka
2.145 - Archos 50 Diamond
2.134 - Xiaomi Redmi Note
2.119 - Acer Liquid X2
2.084 - Huawei P8lite
2.078 - Moto G 3rd gen max manual
2.026 - Xiaomi Mi Max
1.996 - Sony Xperia E4g
1.972 - OnePlus One
1.961 - Meizu m3 note
1.923 - BlackBerry Leap
1.892 - Meizu m2 note
1.892 - HTC Butterfly
1.873 - ZTE Nubia Z9 mini
1.759 - Sony Xperia U
1.758 - Asus Zenfone Selfie
1.68 - Motorola Moto E (2nd Gen)
1.675 - ZTE Nubia Z9
1.659 - Motorola Moto E
1.545 - Sony Xperia M
1.473 - Xiaomi Redmi 2
1.311 - Sony Xperia C
1.283 - Meizu MX
1.221 - Sony Xperia E
1.215
Connectivity
The Vibe K5 is a dual-SIM smartphone and it takes microSIMs in both slots. Both are 2G-capable, but only one gets the 3G/4G treatment. LTE is Cat. 4 fot theoretical transfer speeds of 150Mbps down and 50Mbps up. It has a dedicated microSD slot - so no dilemmas between extra storage and a second SIM.
You get Wi-Fi b/g/n (no ac) with hotspot support, GPS with A-GPS, Bluetooth v4.1, and an FM radio receiver. Theres no NFC or an infrared port, though.
The microUSB 2.0 port is USB OTG enabled, and you also get a standard 3.5mm headphone jack.
Lenovo Vibe K5 battery life
The Lenovo Vibe K5 packs a 2,750mAh battery - the same as the K5 Plus. A different (supposedly more frugal) chipset and display resolution is sure to affect battery life in a positive way you say. Not it this case it doesnt.
The Vibe K5 posted largely the same numbers as the Plus, and while that is more of a testament to the Plus for squeezing the same endurance with higher-grade hardware, this plain K5 is by no means inadequately powered.
Close to 9 hours on the web over Wi-Fi, and 8 h ours of video playback are average numbers, and actually pretty good for the battery capacity. The 3G talk time isnt great, at 13 hours, and thats where the K5 Plus lasts a little longer.
The battery testing procedure is described in detail in case youre interested in the nitty-gritties. You can also check out our complete battery test table, where you can see how all of the smartphones weve tested will compare under your own typical use.
User interface
The Lenovo Vibe K5 runs on a heavily customized Android 5.1. Its named Vibe OS, but you wont find that advertised throughout the interface like other makers do. The overlay isnt too consistent, and there are hints of Material design here and there, mixed up with remnants of older concepts.
The lockscreen is a rather standard affair. The default layout consists of a clock widget with a date, followed by a list of notifications. You also get shortcuts for quick access to the dialer and camera.
Default lockscreen
In typical fashion for a droid coming out of China, theres no app drawer - all your apps reside on the homescreens. New ones can be added with ease, existing ones can be rearranged and any homescreen tab can be set as default home. Screen transition effects can be selected, and you can choose whether to be able to cycle back to the first one after reaching the end or not.
Homescreens
Theres a wide selection of themes available too, complete with icon packs, and these can change the vibe of the Vibe K5 completely. Some of them look better than others with non-system icons - the more customized the theme, the more out of place Google Chrome looks, for example.
Themes
The capacitive keys below the display are Recent tasks/Home/Back, left to right. The recent tasks one doubles as a context menu button and thats a bit odd in truly Material design apps, which have the three-dot menu in the top right. Making things even less intuitive, the context menu and the three-dot menu often contain different options.
Thanks to the ambiguous nature of the left capacitive key, getting to the recent tasks requires a long press, instead of a tap. Naturally, that adds an extra bit of waiting to an action youd be doing constantly. Theres a "Clear all" button, in the diagonally opposite top right corner, so youd be stretching your thumbs a bit.
Additionally, theres a task manager that gives you more detailed information on what resources each app is using.
Recent apps • Task manager
The notification shade works in two stages. Pull down once with one finger, and you get notifications only, pull down a second time and you get the entire list of quick toggles, with notifications squished below. Theres no priority row of toggles that gets opened on the first pull, its none or all.
Notification area
Synthetic benchmarks
A chief difference between the Vibe K5 and the K5 Plus is the chipset. Whereas the Plus relies on the Snapdragon 616, the K5 gets a 400 series chip, the Snapdragon 415. Unl ike the 410, however, the 415 incorporates an octa-core CPU with four Cortex-A53 cores that go up to 1.4GHz, and another four capped at 1.0GHz. So in effect, the 415 sits closer to the 616, than it does to the 410 with its quad-core CPU.
And its not just the processor, the GPU is the same Adreno 405 as in the K5 Plus Snapdragon 616. Both SoCs are manufactured on a 28nm process too. Additionally, the Vibe K5 comes with 2GB of RAM, just like its Plus sibling.
All this considered, we didnt expect significant differences in benchmark performance, certainly not to the extent suggested by the 600 vs. 400 family difference. If anything, the lower resolution of the K5 coupled with otherwise similar hardware might actually mean better scores, we thought.
Well, it doesnt, not for the most part. In GeekBench, where raw CPU performance is measured, the K5 is only some 1 1% behind the K5 Plus in single-core tests, though the difference becomes more pronounced in multi-core.
The quad-core budget Galaxies and the Xperia E5 are no match for the K5, not in single-core and certainly not in multi-core tests. Then again, 600-series Snapdragons found in the Moto G4 and Oppo F1, for example, are noticeably more powerful.
GeekBench 3 (single-core)
Higher is better
- Meizu m1 metal
883 - Meizu m3 note
807 - Lenovo Moto G4
713 - Lenovo Vibe K5 Plus
689 - Lenovo Vibe K5
616 - Sony Xperia E5
540 Samsung Galaxy J3 (2016)
396- Samsung Galaxy J2 (2016)
385
GeekBench 3 (multi-core)
Higher is better
- Meizu m1 metal
4825 - Lenovo Moto G4
3182 - Lenovo Vibe K5 Plus
3038 - Meizu m3 note
3028 - Oppo F1
3014 - Xiaomi Redmi 3
2842 - Lenovo Vibe K5
2493 - Sony Xperia E5
1490 - Samsung Galaxy J2 (2016)
1207
1247
Overall performance is examined in Basemark II 2.0, and the Vibe K5 does a reasonably good job. Again quad-core entry-level devices are far behind, but the K5 is the lowest-ranked of the octa-cores. The Snapdragon 616-equipped Redmi 3 isnt much better though, and neither is the Helio P10 in the m3 note. The Oppo F1 makes better use of its S616, in this test at least, and the Xperia XA proves the P10 is capable of a lot more.
Basemark OS 2.0
Higher is better
- Meizu m1 metal
1039 - Sony Xperia XA
1013 - Oppo F1
961 - Lenovo Vibe K5 Plus
884 - Meizu m3 note
852 - Xiaomi Redmi 3
804 - Lenovo Vibe K5
789 - Sony Xperia E5
575 - Samsung Galaxy J2 (2016)
406 - Lenovo Moto G4
341 - Samsung Galaxy J3 (2016)
326
Antutu comes next, in current and older flavors. In the latest pre-6 release, the Vibe K5 scores about 35K points, inching ahead of its Plus brother. Order is restored in Antutu 6, where the Plus regains the lead over the plain K5.
AnTuTu 5
Higher is better
- Meizu m1 metal
49508 - Meizu m3 note
41838 - Lenovo Vibe K5
35295 - Lenovo Vibe K5 Plus
35141 - Xiaomi Redmi 3
34077 - Samsung Galaxy J3 (2016)
21536
AnTuTu 6
Higher is better
- Sony Xperia XA
47170 - Lenovo Moto G4
46949 - Meizu m3 note
44898 - Oppo F1
35353 - Lenovo Vibe K5 Plus
35291 - Lenovo Vibe K5
33414 - Sony Xperia E5
32248 - Microsoft Lumia 650
31353 - Samsung Galaxy J3 (2016)
24884 - Samsung Galaxy J2 (2016)
24697
When it comes to graphics performance, you can easily tell that the Adreno 405 is much happier pushing 720p than FullHD, just by a quick glance at GFXBench numbers. In the offscreen test the the K5 lags behind the K5 Plus (lower clock rate possibly to blame), but pulls ahead in the onscreen part, rendered at the devices respective actual resolutions. That said, the Oppo F1 and Xiaomi Redmi 3 s till manage a couple of fps more than the K5.
GFX 3.0 Manhattan (1080p offscreen)
Higher is better
- Meizu m1 metal
8.4 - Sony Xperia XA
7.2 - Lenovo Moto G4
6.5 - Xiaomi Redmi 3
5.8 - Oppo F1
5.8 - Lenovo Vibe K5 Plus
5.5 - Meizu m3 note
5.4 - Lenovo Vibe K5
4.8 - Sony Xperia E5
3
GFX 3.0 Manhattan (onscreen)
Higher is b etter
- Sony Xperia XA
15 - Xiaomi Redmi 3
12 - Oppo F1
11 - Lenovo Vibe K5
9.4 - Meizu m1 metal
8 - Lenovo Moto G4
6.8 - Sony Xperia E5
6 - Lenovo Vibe K5 Plus
5.5 - Meizu m3 note
5.4
Basemark X levels the field to 1080p rendering and the K5 is again slightly behind the Plus, but the Redmi 3 and the Oppo F1 speak louder for team Snapdragon 61 6.
Basemark X
Higher is better
- Meizu m1 metal
8526 - Lenovo Moto G4
6932 - Sony Xperia XA
6420 - Oppo F1
5314 - Xiaomi Redmi 3
5108 - Lenovo Vibe K5 Plus
4863 - Meizu m3 note
4567 - Lenovo Vibe K5
4263 - Samsung Galaxy J3 (2016)
1424 - Samsung Galaxy J2 (2016)
1419
Custom phonebook
The Lenovo Vibe K5 has a fully custom phonebook. It is laid out across four tabs: dialer, call log, contacts, and favorites. Theres smart dial support, as well as speed dial.
Dialer
Contacts is self ex planatory - you get an alphabetized list of them, which you can search or filter them by first letter.
Contacts
The Vibe K5 is a dual SIM device (both micro SIMs) and as such has settings for SIM handling. Each card can be assigned a name and a number, and cards can be disabled from the menu, so you dont have to physically remove them, if for some reason you dont want to use one.
You can select default cards to use for voice calls, messaging and data, or have the phone ask you each time.
Dual-SIM settings
The Lenovo Vibe K5 scored a Good rating in our loudspeaker test, which is a bit odd given that its Plus sibling managed a notch higher. Presumably the hardware is the same - two speakers, in stereo.
If you look at the numbers though, they are only a decibel or two lower in each individual test, but it adds up to a different overall rating in the end. Its still pretty loud, and louder than major competitors, so theres nothing to worry about in this department.
| Speakerphone test | Voice, dB | Ringing | Overall score | |
| 64.1 | 65.3 | 68.5 | Below Average | |
| 62.0 | 67.5 | 69.4 | Below Average | |
| 66.1 | 65.5 | 70.6 | Average | |
| 63.2 | 68.3 | 70.9 | Average | |
| 66.5 | 64.6 | 71.7 | Average | |
| 67.7 | 75.6 | 64.8 | Good | |
| 64.7 | 70.8 | 72.8 | Good | |
| 66.5 | 66.6 | 75.8 | Good | |
| 67.2 | 70.7 | 74.5 | Good | |
| 70.3 | 70.0 | 78.5 | Good | |
| 75.7 | 69.6 | 75.9 | Very Good | |
| 72.8 | 71.3 | 81.9 | Very Good |
Messaging and text input
The messaging section is business as usual with all SMS/MMS communication organized into threads. Attaching a photo, video, audio recording or the like automatically turns your message into an MMS.
The Lenovo Vibe K5 employs the stock Android keyboard. It doesnt have a dedicated number row, but numbers do come out upon a long press. You can choose between a number of color themes or even pick a photo of your own for back ground.
Messaging and text input
Gallery
The Vibe K5 uses a non-customized AOSP gallery. Youre greeted with a grid view of your albums, and you can easily create a new one. Inside the album the images are displayed two-a-row, and no pinch gesture is going to change that.
Gallery
The editor, on the other hand, is a bit more powerful. It offers the obvious cropping, rotation and mirroring, color filters and picture frames, but also more serious editing like curves adjustment.
Viewing an image • Detailed properties • Editing an image
Theres no dedicated video player, the task is handled from within the gallery. Theres little in the way of features other than looping the video.
Playing a video
Music player
The music player is a similarly barebone app. It has the usual tabs for artists, songs and playlists and can pull album art and subtitles off the internet.
Music player
The Vibe K5 comes with Dolby Atmos certified audio enhancements. Theyre accessed from the settings menu where the Dolby Atmos screen holds the equalizer and other settings. You can change different modes (Movie, Music, Game, Voice, Custom), each getting its own 5-band equalizer setting. Additionally, you have things like surround virtualizer, dialogue enhancer and volume leveler.
Dolby Atmos
FM radio
The Vibe K5 comes with an FM radio receiver. It lacks RDS so youll need to enter station names manually. You can assign favorites and record off the radio, and you can play through the loudspeaker, but you need to have the headset plugged in so serve as the antenna.
FM Radio lacks RDS
Audio is a little quiet, nicely clean
The Lenovo Vibe K5 isn’t the loudest smartphone we’ve subjected to our audio quality test, but it’s as clear as most when used with an active external amplifier. And the below average volume certainly isn’t too hard to swallow given the lowly price tag.
The headphones test went very well too - there was a pronounced stereo crosstalk hike, but the other readings remained unchanged so once again it’s better than we expected.
| Test | Frequency response | Noise level | Dynamic range | THD | IMD + Noise | Stereo crosstalk |
| Lenovo Vibe K5 | +0.02, -0.08 | -90.0 | 91.3 | 0.0024 | 0.085 | -91.5 |
| Lenovo Vibe K5 (headphones) | +0.02, -0.10 | -90.0 | 90.9 | 0.023 | 0.062 | -52.5 |
| Lenovo Vibe K5 Plus | +0.02, -0.08 | -93.8 | 92.8 | 0.0037 | 0.034 | -91.3 |
| Lenovo Vibe K5 Plus (headphones) | +0.09, -0.03 | -93.5 | 92.6 | 0.070 | 0.075 | -49.0 |
| Huawei Honor 7 Lite (5c) | +0.03, -0.44 | -90.4 | 90.9 | 0.0019 | 0.011 | -87.9 |
| Huawei Honor 7 Lite (5c) (headphones) | +0.04, -0.47 | -90.3 | 90.7 | 0.0067 | 0.072 | -73.1 |
| Huawei Honor 5X | +0.02, -0.08 | -93.4 | 90.1 | 0.0028 | 0.012 | -93.4 |
| Huawei Honor 5X (headphones) | +0.10, -0.03 | -92.9 | 89.8 | 0.0048 | 0.071 | -78.2 |
| Samsung Galaxy J3 (2016) | +0.04, -0.24 | -92.4 | 92.5 | 0.024 | 0.023 | -91.3 |
| Samsung Galaxy J3 (2016) (headphones) | +0.37, -0.04 | -88.5 | 90.6 | 0.045 | 0.226 | -56.9 |
| Sony Xperia E5 | +0.14, -0.81 | -92.3 | 92.4 | 0.0072 | 0.0093 | -91.9 |
| Sony Xperia E5 (headphones) | +0.15, -0.88 | -89.5 | 88.9 | 0.0090 | 0.370 | -50.7 |
| Motorola Moto G4 | +0.02, -0.07 | -92.4 | 92.5 | 0.0028 | 0.0084 | -92.1 |
| Motorola Moto G4 (headphones) | +0.04, -0.08 | -92.0 | 92.0 | 0.0073 | 0.070 | -63.8 |
| Lenovo Vibe K5 Plus | +0.02, -0.08 | -93.8 | 92.8 | 0.0037 | 0.034 | -91.3 |
| Lenovo Vibe K5 Plus (headphones) | +0.09, -0.03 | -93.5 | 92.6 | 0.070 | 0.075 | -49.0 |
| Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016) | +0.02, -0.07 | -94.3 | 92.2 | 0.0065 | 0.010 | -95.0 |
| Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016) (headphones) | +0.42, -0.01 | -93.4 | 87.1 | 0.029 | 0.254 | -53.0 |
Lenovo Vibe K5 frequency response
You can learn more about the tested parameters and the whole testing process here.
Okay 13MP camera
The Lenovo Vibe K5 features a 13MP camera with a maximum resolution of 4160 x 3120 pixels in its native 4:3 mode. The lens has an f/2.2 aperture. A single-LED flash is present but there are no niceties in the line of OIS and phase detection/laser autofocus - not that youd expect them at the price point.
The user interface of the camera app is logically laid out. On the top left you get four shortcuts (front/rear camera switch, flash mode selector, HDR toggle and shutter release mode). The set tings menu is accessed via a dedicated shortcut in the bottom left corner, which brings up a tabbed interface with tabs for stills, video and general settings.
Camera interface
Lenovo has provided the basic shooting modes - theres Normal, Panorama and Effects. While other makers give you a Pro/Manual mode, here you can just go about and tinker with some of the variables from the settings menu. You get white balance presets and manual ISO selection, but also access to image properties - sharpness, saturation, the lot.
Rich manual control over shooting and image parameters
The camera output of the Lenovo Vibe K5 exhibits qualities youd expect to find in this segment. In bright daylight it captures average to good detail, yet its images are a little too soft. Intricate high frequency details like distant foliage are not its forte. Noise is also guaranteed to be found in the shadows.
We didnt find the colors as punchy as on K5 Plus, but we figure thats due to the 4 months between the reviews making a difference in weather and lighting. Saturation is one of the picture controls that can be adjusted in settings anyway, so you can influence that with the touch of a slider.
The smartphone consistently exposes well, there are no pronounced tendencies to err on either side. Dynamic range isnt among the K5s greatest strengths - shadows often end up pitch black.
Camera samples
The HDR mode on the Vibe K5 does what its meant to - brightens up the shadows and tones down the highlights. On occasion it produces over-the-top results (the outdoor image pair below a prime example), in other scenes the effect is more natural. HDR shots are a touch softer than regular photos, but overall detail is preserved. Oddly, the FOV gets a tiny bit narrower in the process.
HDR mode: off • on • off • on
The Panorama mode on the Vibe K5 appears to be based on video capture, and produces very low-res results.
Panorama sample, shot in portrait
You can take a look at how the Lenovo K5 stacks up against the competition in our Photo Compare Tool.
Lenovo Vibe K5 in our photo compare tool
The Lenovo Vibe K5 is equipped with a 5MP front-facing camera, mated to a rather dim by todays stand ards f/2.8 lens. It creates detailed images, and its limited dynamic range is par for the course, so overall its a decent selfie shooter.
Selfie sample
Video recording
FullHD at 30fps is the best the Vibe K5 can offer in video recording, but thats hardly grounds for complaint in this price range.
Videos are recorded with a bit rate of 20Mbps with a stereo audio stream at 96Kbps. The captured detail is about average, its certainly not impressive, but weve seen worse. Perhaps the most annoying bit about the K5s video recording is the persistent focus hunting, which you can observe no less than 4 times in the 30-second video below.
You can also download the 108 0p video sample (12s, 30MB) taken straight from the Lenovo vibe K5.
You can check out our Video Compare Tool to see how the Lenovo Vibe K5 fares against the competition when it comes to video capturing.
Lenovo Vibe K5 in our video compare tool
A couple of browsers
The Lenovo Vibe K5 comes with two browsers pre-installed - UC Browser and Google Chrome. Chrome you know and love for its integration with your Google account among other things, but UC Browser isnt as ubiquitous.
The squirrel-branded alternative is designed to be fast and light but has the bases duly covered with a data-saving feature, night and incognito modes, and a built-in adblocker.
UC Browser
Other apps
Pre-installed, youll find the Route 66 navigation app, or at least a free 30-day trial for voice-guided navigation. Considering a license is €30, youd probably stick with Google/Bing Maps or similar.
Route 66 navigation (30-day trial version)
The Lenovo Companion is a mobile trouble-shooter. You can search for walkthroughs for your device (in written or video form), you can check for firmware updates (with data back up included) and diagnosing all the hardware of the phone (e.g. testing the vibration or the loudspeaker).
Lenovo Companion can help you find and correct issues
The File browser makes it easy to find files of a specific type (e.g. documents or photos), it will even handle ZIPs. Of course, you can browse the full folder structure of both the internal storage and the microSD. It supports mass actions too.
File Browser with built-in FTP server
A handy feature lets you wirelessly manage your files through your computer browser (as long as both the computer and phone are connected to the same network). This functionality is based on SwiFTP, which is available on the Play Store as FTP Server. Its better to use a proper FTP app, though, your browser offers only limited functionality.
SYNCit allows you to backup Contacts, SMS and Call log to the Lenovo cloud. If you dont want to set up an account, you can backup to the SD card.
SYNCit backup: Contacts • SMS • Logs • Other tools
Theres a trial version of McAfee LiveSafe, which can scan for viruses, protect your personal info, and help you recover your device in case you lose it.
McAfee LiveSafe
You get a built-in compass app, so you dont have to deal with ad-supported alternatives from the Play Store, the calculator has a scientific mode in portrait (and knows proper order of operations), and the sound recorder can save in .amr, .3gpp, and .wav formats.
Compass • Calculator • Sound recorder
Final words
If this entire review sounded familiar to you, theres a good reason. The Lenovo Vibe K5 is very much the same phone as the Vibe K5 Plus weve already seen. And thats a good thing, really.
It means a removable battery, two SIM compartments and another dedicated microSD slot, all of those underneath a removable metal back cover. A pair of booming stereo speakers is another area where the K5 delivers above its pay grade.
The K5 is about as dependable a photographic tool as you could expect for the money - good output when the light is right, less so in dim scenes. Video hasnt been fixed from when we reviewed the K5 Plus and its erratic focusing renders it unusable at times.
The key differences are mostly in principle, rather than experience, and start with the display, where the vanilla Vibe K5 makes do with 720p resolution. Pixel density aside, the panel is equally good, posting reasonable scores in all tests without deal-breaking weaknesses.
Battery life is quite respectable too, though the lower resolution hasnt given the K5 much of an edge over the Plus. Performance isnt an issue either, despite what you might have thought seeing a Snapdragon 400-series chipset - the 415 is closer to the 615s of this world than it is to the 410.
Lenovo Vibe K5 key test findings
- Generic, no-frills design with a metal back to add a touch o f premium
- The display doesnt excel in any test, but doesnt fail either. Average maximum brightness and contrast, decently accurate color reproduction in default mode, which can be made even better by tweaking the settings (at the expense of brightness, though)
- Battery endurance rating of 64 hours, average numbers across the board. We appreciate the fact that the battery is user-replaceable
- The Snapdragon 415 may be a 400-series member, but thanks to its similar octa-core CPU and same GPU its only slightly behind 61x models. 720p resolution helps too.
- The Android Lollipop on the K5 seems unlikely to get a bump to Marshmallow - such is the fate of most budget models. The custom overlay isnt perfect, but after a period of adjustment you can get used to its quirks.
- Stereo loudspeakers are loud, the Good rating is oddly a notch down from the K5 Plus
- Detailed, if a little noisy, images from the 13MP primary camera
- 5MP selfie camera c aptures good detail too, you can look past the almost universally clipped highlights
- Otherwise decent 1080p video is marred by persistent focus-hunting
Its worth noting that the Lenovo Vibe K5 ranges from a reasonably priced offering to a straight-up steal. In Europe its priced in the ballpark of 170EUR, while in India, for example, it carries a much lower price tag, equivalent to 95EUR (for comparisons sake). And since its a value for money proposition, its a lot more easily recommended at that latter price.
Its not without rivals though. Theres obviously the Vibe K5 Plus on top of that list, and thats a dilemma that may be solved for you by availability - the two arent necessarily available in all markets together. If you do have to choose, its rather a philosophical question - the FullHD resolution of the Plus is nice, but if you can live with 720p why not save that money.
Lenovo Vibe K5 Plus
There is a whole bunch of Xiaomi Redmi 3s, that are on the same shelf as the Vibe K5. Perhaps the closest competitor though is the Redmi 3s. Its Snapdragon 430 has a similar CPU, but a better GPU, the Redmi has Marshmallow and a notably larger 4,100mAh battery. Those in favor of removable batteries may still opt for the Vibe K5, though.
Xiaomi Redmi 3s
Samsung has the hugely popular Galaxy J2 (2016) in this segment, but that one only brings half of the K5s storage and 1.5GB of RAM, plus an inferior chipset. It boots Marshmallow, on the other hand, and its got that Smart glow on the back, which you can appreciate if for some reason you like keeping your phone face down on a table.
Samsung Galaxy J2 (2016)
Shopping around for affordable 5-inchers is sure to bring you to the Meizu m2, or for a little more cash - the m3. The m2 has a weaker chipset, with only a quad-core CPU, so you should probably consider the m3 as the more futureproof device, especially if you opt for the pricier 3GB/32GB version. Thats if Meizu sells in your region at all.
Meizu m2
No Meizus in Europe, but the K5s price there makes the Xperia E5 a viable option, though still slightly costlier. The E5 does get you Marshmallow, but has half a gig less of RAM, and somewhat worse battery life.
Sony Xperia E5
Its not every day you see an entry -level smartphone that does a decent job all round and we had a deja-vu moment with the Lenovo Vibe K5, after its Plus brother left a very positive impression a few months ago. This one even outranks it on the value-for-money meter, and the trade-offs dont make it a worse smartphone. Just more affordable.
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