The Lenovo Z5 Android smartphone made its official debut on Tuesday, June 5, and it's not the notchless handset everyone was expecting.
Lenovo had been building up hype ahead of the big release and posted teasers and sketches online, hinting at an all-screen smartphone with no display notch. That's what drew attention to this smartphone in the first place, otherwise, a Chinese smartphone launch might not have made the international news.
Nevertheless, Lenovo's teasers piqued everyone's interest and observers worldwide eagerly awaited the launch event to see how the company managed to create an all-screen phone without a display notch.
Lenovo Z5 With Display Notch
Well, as it turns out, it didn't. The teasers shared by Lenovo don't quite match the reality, and the Lenovo Z5 does have a display notch. For those unfamiliar with the concept, a notch is a special cut-out at the top of the display, designed to house the front camera and sensors while allowing for a higher screen-to-body ratio.
The display notch trend started out with Apple's iPhone X and caught on, with other OEMs launching their own smartphones with notches and more expected to follow suit. Not everyone likes the notch, however, which is why Lenovo's prospect of an all-screen, notchless phone stirred so much interest.
Lenovo Z5 Specs
In terms of specifications, the Lenovo Z5 looks like a glorified mid-ranger that created more hype than it deserves. The smartphone features a large 6.2-inch display with a resolution of 2,246 x 1,080 pixels, an 18.7:9 aspect ratio, and a notch centered at the top of the screen.
Under the hood, the Lenovo Z5 packs a Qualcomm Snapdragon 635 processor, 6 GB of RAM, and 64 GB or 128 GB of internal storage space. In the camera department, the handset sports a dual rear camera setup of a 16-megapixel sensor and an 8-megapixel lens, paired with an 8-megapixel shooter on the front.
Other specs include a 3,300 mAh battery to keep things up and running, a USB Type-C port for charging and data transfers, a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner, Android 8.0 Oreo on board out of the box, and Lenovo's own ZUI skin on top. Unlike other recent smartphone trends, the Lenovo Z5 also includes a 3.5 m headphone jack.
The smartphone is set to go on sale in China on June 12, but it remains to be seen when or if it will make a global debut. Lenovo has yet to announce the details on international availability.
