Lenovo Z2 Plus vs Xiaomi Mi 5 vs LeEco Le Max2 vs OnePlus 3: Price, specifications and features compared

Lenovo’s newly launched Z2 Plus is the cheapest Android smartphone powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 820 processor. We compared the smartphone with its closest competitors and here’s how it fares.

Earlier today, Lenovo launched its flagship smartphone, the Z2 Plus in India, which is basically the rebranded version of ZUK Z2 that Lenovo has launched in China earlier this year.  For the Indian markets, Lenovo has dropped the ZUK moniker and calling it Z2 Plus instead. With prices starting at Rs 17,999, it is the most affordable smartphone to be powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 820 quad-core processor. While smartphones with metal frame are common these days, Lenovo has used fiberglass material for the Z2 Plus, which it claims is ‘stronger and lighter than metal.’

The Lenovo Z2 Plus features a unibody design with 2.5D glass on the front and curved glass at the back. It sports a physical home button with U-Touch control technology. It’s a touch sensitive button with gesture support, allowing you to navigate through the interface using your thumb or fingers. It doesn’t have capacitive buttons for back and app switcher, instead – a single touch on home buttons acts as back function, single press for home, press and hold to bring up Google Now, double press to switch apps,  and swipe from left to right switch between apps.

Lenovo has also added a motion sensor inside the phone, which powers its U-health app that logs your health-related information such as steps, distance covered and amount of calories burned. The Lenovo Z2 Plus will compete with the likes of Xiaomi Mi 5, LeEco Le Max2 and OnePlus 3, all of which run on Snapdragon 820 processor. We pitted all three smartphones based on their price, specifications and features, and here’s how they compare.

Price: Lenovo Z2 Plus will be offered in two variants – 3GB RAM + 32GB storage for Rs 17,999 and 4GB RAM + 64GB storage for Rs 19,999. It will go on sale starting September 25 at 11:59PM and will be available exclusively via Amazon India. The OnePlus 3 is also available via Amazon India and will set you back by Rs 27,999. The Xiaomi Mi 5 is priced at Rs 22,999 and can be purchased viaMi.com/in, whereas the LeEco Le Max2 is available to purchase via Flipkart or LeMall.com. It is offered in two variants – 4GB RAM + 32GB storage for Rs 22,999, whereas the 6GB RAM + 64GB storage will set you back by Rs 29,999.

Display: The Z2 Plus sports a 5-inch display with 2.5D curved screen, Mi 5 houses a 5.15-inch display, whereas the OnePlus 3 features a slightly larger 5.5-inch display. All are full HD panels running at a resolution of 1920×1080 pixels. The Le Max2, on the other hand, flaunts the largest display among the four smartphones – 5.7-inch QHD IPS LCD running at resolution of 2560×1440 pixels.

Chipset and RAM: Under the hood, all four smartphones are powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 820 quad-core chipset (four custom kryo cores), paired with Adreno 530 GPU. The Xiaomi Mi 5 comes with 3GB of RAM, the Z2 Plus comes with 3GB/4GB of RAM (depending on the variant you choose), OnePlus 3 comes with 6GB of RAM, whereas the Le Max2 comes with 4GB/6GB of RAM (depending on the variant).

Storage: On the storage front, both the Z2 Plus and Le Max2 come with 32GB or 64GB storage options. The Mi 5 comes with 32GB storage, whereas the OnePlus 3 is offered in 64GB onboard storage. Unfortunately, none of the smartphones feature expandable storage option.

Cameras: Lenovo has equipped the Z2 Plus with a 13-megapixel rear camera of aperture f/2.2 with PDAF, LED flash and electronic image stabilization (EIS). The camera also supports 4K video recording, time-lapse videos and HD slow motion videos at 120fps. Up front, there is an 8-megapixel selfie camera of aperture f/2.0. The OnePlus 3 and Mi 5 feature 16-megapixel rear camera with dual LED flash, and 4K video recording capabilities. ALSO READ: Xiaomi Mi 5′s 4-axis OIS camera explained

The Mi 5 also supports 4-axis optical image stabilization (OIS). While the Mi 5 comes with a 4-megapixel front-facing camera, the OnePlus 3 comes with an 8-megapixel selfie camera. The Le Max2, on the other hand, sports a 21-megapixel rear camera of aperture f/2.0, and supports PDAF, optical image stabilization (OIS) and 4K video recording capabilities. It also features an 8-megapixel front-facing camera for selfies and video calling. ALSO READ: Xiaomi Mi 5 camera review: It’s fast and reliable

Battery and connectivity: The Lenovo Z2 comes with a 3,500mAh battery, the Le Max2 comes with a 3,100mAh battery, whereas the OnePlus 3 and Mi 5 are both armed with a 3,000mAh battery. All smartphones feature Quick Charge 3.0 support for fast charging. On the connectivity front, all smartphones include dual SIM card slots, 4G LTE with VoLTE support, Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth and GPS. While USB Type-C connector is used on all smartphones for charging and data transfer, LeEco is using the port for audio output for headphones too.

Operating system: Lenovo’s Z2 Plus boots Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow out of the box, the Le Max2 also runs on Android Marshmallow-based EUI, OnePlus 3 runs on Android Marshmallow-based OxygenOS 3, whereas the Mi 5 runs on Android Marshmallow-based MIUI 8.

On paper, all smartphones look powerful with the latest Snapdragon 820 chipset on board. For the price conscious folks, the Lenovo Z2 Plus would do the trick.

Comparison Table: