First Impressions: Lenovo Zuk Z1 Hits the Sweet Price Point

Zuk Z1 from Lenovo is the first phone, besides the OnePlus One and Yu phones, to get CyanogenMod.

Lenovo Zuk Z1 with CyanogenMod. (Photo: The Quint)

Lenovo is the first mobile player, barring OnePlus and Micromax’s Yu, to gets its hands on CyanogenMod in India with the Zuk Z1 smartphone. The phone, marketed as Zuk Z1 globally, gets the Lenovo branding in India just so that people retain faith in the product.

Priced at Rs 13,499, Lenovo has pitched the Zuk Z1 to buyers who are looking for an exciting product that doesn’t burn a deep hole in their pockets. With 64GB storage onboard, it also serves the power users well, which gets boosted further by the built-in 4100mAh battery unit.

Lenovo Zuk Z1 gets a 5.5-inch full-HD display. (Photo: The Quint)

We like the fact that Lenovo hasn’t gone overboard on the display, sticking to the basic 1920x1080 pixels full-HD display that we’ve gotten used to at this price.

The phone has a metal treatment and the fingerprint scanner is on the front. The use of Type C port ensures that the Zuk Z1 is future-ready and the detachable cable with the adapter is a big relief (why can’t others do the same with their Type C phones).

Zuk Z1 gets a metal body. (Photo: The Quint)

And there’s the matter of the 13-megapixel camera at the back. Ideally, we found the snapper at par with the likes of Xiaomi Mi4i, and a couple of Lenovo’s Vibe offerings. Same goes for the front-facing camera which promises selfie pictures worth sharing.

13-megapixel camera at the back of the Zuk Z1. (Photo: The Quint)

The biggest factor that works in favour of the Zuk Z1 is the availability of CyanogenMod version 12.1 which will soon get upgraded to version 13. One of the major setbacks for OnePlus One in India was its unexpected divorce with the operating system and for Zuk Z1 it could be the blessing the phone needs.

Lenovo Zuk Z1 gets the familiar CyanogenMod OS. (Photo: The Quint)

Powered by Snapdragon 801 quad-core processor, Zuk Z1 helps us forget aspects like heating and lags which will never pose major issues.

We’re confident about the Zuk Z1 but will refrain from putting the finishing touches to our opinion till we use the phone for a longer period.