Of all the smartphone lines that we’d love to see make its way to the UK one day, Lenovo’s Vibe range is right near the top of the pile. We’ve already fawned over the beastly Vibe Z2 Pro before, and the Vibe X2 is equally desirable.
Rather than leave us be to wallow in our sadness, Lenovo has decided to tease us with yet another premium handset. MWC 2015 saw the unveiling of the Lenovo Vibe Shot, a device which looks like it could legitimately replace your compact digital camera.
Let’s get right down to it: the camera on the Vibe Shot looks to be extremely impressive. Whilst, at 16, it may not have the highest megapixel count we’ve ever seen, it’s been proven time and again that that is no longer the single most important factor when it comes to smartphone photography.
Things like f/2.2 aperture, OIS, tricolour flash, a low-light back-illuminated sensor and infrared focus all play an equally important role part as megapixels. These are some of the features boasted by the Vibe Shot’s camera.
What’s most intriguing of all, and really highlights the importance the Vibe Shot places on photography, is the presence of a slider on the side of the phone. This slider has two settings – ‘Smart’ and ‘Pro’.
When set to Smart, the Vibe Shot does most of the tricky work for you. Think of it as essentially an automatic setting which ensures you get the best image possible without any effort. It has intelligent object recognition which can tell the difference between an inanimate object and a face, and apply the appropriate settings depending on it. It can also help you line up the framing of your shot.
When set to Pro, the onus is on you. You can endlessly tweak and alter the numerous settings available to get the exact image you want – iso, white balance, and all that other good stuff is fair game.
Lenovo hasn’t skimped on the rest of the phone to deliver a top-notch camera, though. It’ll come running Android 5.0 Lollipop, packs Qualcomm’s first octa-core processor the Snapdragon 615, and is fronted by a 5-inch 1080p full-HD display. Both sides of the device are layered with Corning Gorilla Glass, too.
On the back side of the device there’s also a gorgeous brushed metal strip running down the length of its left hand side, giving the whole thing the look of a traditional digital camera. The metal band running all around the device’s edge completes the sturdy, premium build.
It comes in both 16GB and 32GB storage variants, which is thankfully expandable via microSD up to 128GB – so no need to worry about getting trigger happy with the snaps.
Pricing starts at $349 and it should be arriving in stores mid-June. Will any of those stores be in the UK? Hell, will they even be in Europe? Probably not, but we’re allowed to dream aren’t we?
